Purple String {EDITING}

Drunk and Dangerous

Juniper shuffled along the road, hefting an unconscious Black over her shoulder. Blood leaked from the numerous cuts and grazes she'd received as a result of Black's reckless driving. Flashing lights behind them were the only indication of what had happened. The wreckage of the sleek black car her mate had been driving was already being towed away, the road being swept of all the debris their little accident had left behind. She had no idea how she'd walked away with nothing but a few cuts and grazes...

Black had left the restaurant angry, and Juniper had paid the price. She couldn't see out of one eye, thanks to the flying glass from the bottles Black had smashed in his rage. He was oddly terrifying when he was angry, but then so was Juniper. They matched. They fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. They were both broken, albeit in different ways, but there was always one underlying cause.

Family.

Broken families.

A car screeched to a stop beside them, eyes surveying them worriedly as the Alphas arrived on scene.

Black was soon loaded into the back on a stretcher, a ponytailed brunette fussing over him whilst Juniper was led to the front seat by Luna Queen Lyra.

They were back in Blagmoor Castle in a flash, Black being whisked away to the hospital alongside her, once Alpha Hunter had spotted the blood flowing freely down her tawny beige skin.

"Lie down." He ordered, showing her to the hospital bed that sent shivers down Juniper's spine, having decided that she needed treatment ahead of her mate.

"Sure thing." She mumbled, lying back against the oddly comfortable mattress.

"I can heal all these scratches, if you'd like me to."

"Why wouldn't I want you to?"

"I'll take that as a yes." He mumbled, swiftly placing his glowing hands over all her injuries, pausing when he reached her face. "Your eye..." He whispered, staring at the shard of glass stuck in her pupil. "Why didn't you say anything?!"

Juniper shrugged. "I've had worse."

"I'll need to numb the area before I do anything." He said, watching as she nodded, merely watching with one good eye as the Alpha of Medicine got to work, healing her eye in a matter of minutes once he'd removed all the glass.

"I still can't see." Juniper said, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"Your vision will come back slowly." Hunter explained, placing the bandage over her eye, covering it with a neat black eyepatch which made Juniper feel like a pirate from one of the stories her father had told her.

"That's good to know." She smiled fragilely. "Till then, I suppose I'll rock the pirate look."

She stood, suddenly leaping down from her perch, wandering over into her mate's room, watching as Hunter swiftly declared there was nothing wrong with him. He was just simply unconscious from the copious amount of alcohol he'd consumed earlier that evening.

"I don't think I'll be letting you two loose on the town for a little while..." Alpha King Rylan sighed, weaving his fingers through his mate's as he sat down at the blonde's bedside. "You two can't seem to stop causing us trouble..."

Juniper shrugged. "It's a gift."

"Black told you everything, didn't he?" Rylan stood, his eyes fixed on hers.

"About his past? Yeah." Her hand fell onto Black's, gently caressing the smooth unbroken white skin.

"Are you going to stick by his side?" He asked, cuddling Lyra as they sat there, waiting for her response. "You've seen how he gets when he's drunk..." Pale blue eyes gazed into her darker ones. "Are you really going to see him through all of that...?"

"He's trying to quit." Juniper said, her stare falling back to her unconscious mate.

"Trying." Rylan's expression remained hard. "Just like he's been for the last few years... Change isn't easy, Juniper."

"I know." She said, sitting down on the bed, pulling Black's hand into her lap. "But maybe I can distract him..."

"You really think love can conquer all...?" He asked, smiling sadly. "This isn't some novel, Juniper... Not everyone can be saved."

"So, you want me to leave him?" She tilted her head. "Sounds like you don't want him to be happy... Besides, you should know what happens to people who fight their Bonds... The Bond between them becomes unstable. If Black and I were to meet again, we'd be marked and mated before we knew what'd hit us."

"An Unstable Bond only becomes a problem if you've marked each other." Rylan folded his arms. "The Bond between you will try to pull you together, yes, but you'll be able to resist it, unlike if you were marked."

"Forget it, Alpha King." Juniper scowled. "Get it through your thick head... I. Am. Not. Leaving. Him."

"You tell him, girlfriend." Lyra grinned, winking at her.

"Are you ganging up on me, Ly-bear?"

"Of course." Lyra smiled. "You're trying to split them up, Ry."

"No, I wasn't."

"Flix paired them together for a reason." His mate continued, squeezing his hand affectionately. "Besides... Not every relationship is plain sailing... We had a few bumps when we started..."

"Yeah, but if that was a bump, then this," he waved around the room, "is a fricking hill... No. A mountain..."

"Are you always this melodramatic?" Juniper tilted her head, staring at the man.

"I just don't want to sit around and watch you getting hurt every time that idiot has a few to drink." He sighed, earning a pat on the head from Juniper.

"You're a real cinnamon roll, Rylan." She whispered, kissing him on the forehead, winking at Lyra. "But trust me, I'll be fine."

"Yeah." Lyra said, pulling her mate's head around until he was staring at her. "Us girls aren't as weak and helpless as you think."

"I think you've shown me that much, Ly." He whispered, his forehead pressing up against her own.

"Keep it PG rated, kids." Juniper mumbled, watching as lips intertwined, the occasional tongue snaking into the other's mouth as they engrossed themselves in a make-out session, not bothering to watch as Juniper lay down on the hospital bed, staring out across the small room. Her back was pressed into Black, the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest lulling her to sleep as she lay next to him on the narrow bed.

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ILLENIS HERE

Sorry about the wait - I nearly forgot to upload the chapter, but thankfully I remembered just in time.

Hope all's well.

See you at the next update, because I really ought to be getting some sleep.

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