Protecting You

--FOUR--

Chirping. I woke to the most annoying sound of birds chirping. Gnashing my teeth together, I turned onto my side to bury my face into the pillow I was on. A twinge shot down the right side of my abdomen, causing a hiss to spew from my lips.

After a minute, I gathered the strength to sit up in the bed and check my side. I first realized I was dressed in a nightgown from my dresser. Someone else dressed me. The thought made me a little panicky as I tried to recall what happened.

I was still sitting in the bed when the door flew open. In came Elisa. She paused mid-stride to gape at me.

"You want to tell me what happened?" I asked. "Why am I in my mother's nightgown?"

Her face softened before she said, "That's your mother's?"

"Yeah." Uncomfortable, I focused on the pain in my side and pulled the nightgown up. A purple bruise stained the skin on the side of my torso. The area was sensitive to pressure, I noticed.

"I didn't know it was your mother's," Elisa remarked softly while moving to the side of my bed. "Anyway, I didn't know what else to put you in. The gown was an easy thing to slip over your head."

"Why were you dressing me?" Now I pulled the gown back down.

A confused look drew her brows together. She said, "You don't remember the other night?"

"No."

"Oh...well, this lady got attacked by a bear in the woods and you tried to save her—well, you did save her actually. Anyway, the bear got you good. Broke two of your ribs, but they should be about healed up by now."

The memory came back to me. A colossal brown bear with daggers for claws and a vicious temper. The woman who nearly found herself diced up by those claws.

"Is she alright?" I inquired.

"Yep. She got dismissed from the hospital this morning."

"How long have I been out?"

"All of yesterday. Will asked about you, by the way. He thinks you had a fever." She winked. "Oh! And you will not believe who that lady is."

"What do you mean?"

Smirking, she replied, "It's his mom. Will's mom."

"I saved Will's mom?"

"Interesting, right? He was already pretty upset about his mom when he came to school, but when he heard you weren't going to be there..." Her tongue clucked against her teeth as she shook her head. "All I can say is you can't fight Nature."

"You're absurd," I snapped, rolling my eyes. "I'm sorry about his mother, but at least she survived. What was she doing out in the woods anyway?"

"She said she was out for a stroll at the park when the bear came across the trail. It ran her off into the deep woods."

"That's not good."

If bears were coming this close to the park, we needed to increase our scouts. It was our pack's job to protect this town, and I was sure the bear attack nearly gave Alpha a stroke. As if on cue, the man himself appeared in the doorway of my bedroom.

"Alpha," I greeted with a slight bow. Elisa followed in suit.

"How's your recovery coming along?" he questioned, crossing his arms while leaning against the doorframe.

"Okay, I think. I'm still a little tender, but I think I'll manage."

To prove my point, I shoved the rest of the covers off my legs and slid to the end of the bed. A series of smaller twinges fired through my abdomen, but I ground my teeth and pushed through it.

"Take it easy," he ordered, "but you do need to go to school today. The school thinks we neglect you kids if you're out of school for longer than a day or so."

I knew he was right, considering our pack house had received multiple letters on the whereabouts of Elisa after she fell off a boulder while chasing an elk on a hunt. We had no need to go to the doctor when our bodies healed so quickly, so we never had a doctor's excuse for our troubles. Seeing how the school and everyone else believed Alpha and his wife were our foster parents, they tended to be hyper-vigilant about our well-being.

"No worries," I assured him. "I'll get ready."

"Excellent. If you're up for it, I'll put you on scouting this afternoon. It's been awhile and I don't want you get rusty."

In reality, I had only scouted once, when I turned thirteen and was officially inducted into the pack. Scouting was a pack duty reserved for wolves ranked higher than me, wolves who the Alpha trusted enough to keep a lookout. Scouts had to be aware and swift.

"You want me to scout?" I asked doubtfully.

"Do you think you won't be ready?"

"Oh, that's not what I meant." I'd only been waiting on this chance for the last five years of my life. "Put me on the schedule, Alpha. Please."

He attempted to conceal his amused smile. "Sure thing, Jenna." Nodding at Elisa, he began stepping out of the room and spoke, "Don't forget you need to get ready for school too, Elisa."

"Yes, sir," she responded with a wide grin. The girl loved going to school. He didn't have to tell her twice.

Once Alpha was gone, Elisa darted to my closet and began rifling through my clothes. I studied her curiously while easing off the bed.

"What're you doing?" My voice rang with skepticism.

"Picking out your outfit, silly."

"Just because you dressed me once doesn't mean I'm your Barbie doll."

She stuck her tongue out at me. "No offense, but you don't always look your best. With your mate strolling around, you gotta be looking like a sexy beast."

"Heaven, help me," I muttered.