It was 3:16am exactly when the pale blonde began to stir, Jason had taken to leaning back in the chair with with a hand pressed against his forehead, his elbow resting supporting its weight as he leaned on the armrest. Dark circles lined his lower lashes and his eyes felt as dry as sandpaper due to his fixated stare on her throughout the better part of the early morning. Her shifting body snapped him out the dark abyss of his mind and its constant swirling perseverative thoughts.
His upper body immediately straightened and his feet planted firmly on the floor so that he could slide his chair as close to the bed as possible, his hand eventually reaching out to grab lightly at her wiggling fingers which seemed to tremble most likely due to the damage from the wound on her arm. Cane was busy in the background of the room seated in his own chair sending a message to the other Betas letting them know she was finally waking up.
Her free hand raised up shakily to press at her forehead as her brows furrowed from the discomfort of her throbbing head, a light groan erupted from her throat as her lips parted and then closed again from the unwelcome feeling of an incredibly dry mouth. Jason moved to standing at her side, moving his hand to her opposite shoulder and leaning over her as he rubbed her soothingly.
"Don't move too quickly." he whispered as if she was a fragile piece of glass and he was afraid she would break.
"W-what?" she moaned out with still clenched eyes that were beginning to flutter open, her vision having trouble adjusting to the darkened room lit by the glow of the surrounding medical equipment.
"Just take it slow." he spoke still in a whisper as he took a seat on the available spot on the bed by her hips, his hand moving up to her face so he could affectionately stroke her cheek with his thumb.
"W-where am I?" she said finally being able to focus on something, that something being him. His face being bathed in the blue lighting of the monitors glow, the sounds of the monitor beeping every few seconds filling her ears.
"You're in the pack hospital." his face still showing clear signs of worry as he kept his lowered tone.
"What? Why?!" a panic began to set in as she tried to prop herself up on her elbows, only to have her forward motion stopped by him placing his free hand on her other shoulder before she made any real progress.
Her eyes were now alert and she took in his disheveled tired looking appearance. The bags underneath his eyes, his unruly hair which obviously had fingers run through it countless times, the dark shadow of hair on his chin. He looked exhausted.
"You don't remember?" A confused curiosity set in on his face as his brows furrowed and he looked down at her, his hand leaving her shoulder and going up to her head to tuck her hair behind her ear and away from her face.
"N-no... W-what's going on?" her eyes were wide and staring straight into his showing the clear anxiety behind them that was beginning to ravage her mind.
"Elizabeth... Please calm down." he said as he continued to stroke at her hair, his touches counteracting her upset and providing a soothing effect.
"What happened?" she questioned as she shifted her head away from him to stop him from distracting her with the tingles emitting from his gentle touches.
"What do you remember?" he sighed as his hands lowered to the bed and planted firmly on each side of her waist, his upper body leaning over hers as if he was unconsciously forming a protective shield to keep her from harm.
"You...uh.." her brows furrowed and her eyes dropped down focusing on his chest as she tried to recall her last memory clearly. "You left me with Geoffrey and Joseph, and then you called him outside the room... and that's it." she said blinking a few times before looking back up into his eyes.
"That's all?" he asked for confirmation as his eyes searched hers, finding nothing but a confused look in return.
"That's all." she said with a small nod. Her arms shifting once more so she could try and sit herself up, a sudden searing pain shooting throughout her left arm causing her to wince and look down at the heavily bandaged forearm, her eyes growing wide with shock. "What happened?!"
Jason was unsure of how to proceed. Did he tell her that she did this to herself? Did he want her to remember that she was so upset that she would choose to do something like this? Would it be better for the both of them if they pretended that she had never done this? His eyes glazed over for a minute as the thoughts surrounding his inevitable need for a decision swirled around, eventually being brought back to the present by her unscathed hand reaching out and grasping his bicep.
"Jason, what happened?!" she pleaded looking between his eyes and the bandages on her arm.
His green orbs focused intently on hers, the panic, fear and anxiety buzzing with energy behind them was all the push he needed to make his choice. "I don't know Elizabeth..." he let out a sigh and averted his eyes for a moment to take in her vitals reflecting on the monitor, not needing to visually see her increased blood pressure and heart rate as he could hear the rapid pounding beats of her heart clearly. "I wasn't there." he said looking back at her and locking his eyes with her. "And I'm sorry, I wasn't there, because I know this wouldn't have happened if I was."
"Well, where is Joseph? Is he okay? Did you talk to him?" she asked the worry still clearly evident in her eyes.
"Jacob is getting all the information..." Jason said as his head turned back to Cane momentarily, who was still tapping away at his phone. He was busy letting him know that Jacob had better come up with a pretty good detail of events since the Alpha was choosing to not disclose the truth. "I came right away to be with you when I found out you were hurt." he said looking back at her, this time only giving her a partial lie. He did come, but not right away, he was too busy at first trying to brutally murder Joseph.
"But w-why?" she stumbled in her question looking at him.
"What do you mean why?" he asked back gently as he once again resumed running his fingers though her hair idly, feeling the softness of it between his fingertips, feeling the need to touch her as much as possible.
"Weren't you mad at me?" she asked, her eyes reflecting a bit of doubt and confusion as she tried to wrack her brain to determine if she was recalling everything correctly.
"No. I wasn't mad at you." he said firmly, so that she could remove that thought from her head. "I just have a lot going on right now and I'm sorry that I took it out on you." he leaned forward and placed a deep kiss on her forehead, his lips lingering on her skin sending warmth and shivers down her body.
She felt an immense comfort from his gentle words and touches, and a clear shock at the apology. He had never apologized to her, not once, for anything he had ever done. Even Cane lifted his head up at the apology in a marked interest, before delving back into his text message exchange. Jason finally pulled his lips away from her forehead, and replaced it with his own, the tip of his nose touching hers as he breathed in her scent deeply with closed eyes. The tension in his body had relaxed considerably and he was finding peace taking hold in his mind.
"Don't scare me like that again..." he whispered to her as a hand found itself rubbing soothingly up and down her bicep, eventually rubbing her shoulder and the length of her collar bone, her body responding in a light tremble from the sensitive sensations his closeness and touches were providing.
She had no idea what happened, and he apparently didn't either but it was evident that her injury somehow effected him as well. It was as if he was hurt too, his whole demeanor was entirely different in this moment and he seemed so gentle and caring. The details of her lesson from earlier in the day flooded back to her, especially the part about the Luna's effect on the Alpha and how he could be subsequently weakened through her. She was living a real life example of that right in this moment.
"I'm sorry..." she mumbled out not knowing what else to say, she didn't want him to be so worried about her but she still was confused about everything leading up to this point. Her bandaged hand carefully raised itself to allow her finger tips to rub at his rough unshaven chin, providing him with the same comfort he was doing as he caressed the delicate skin in-between her shoulder and neck.
Jason shuddered under her delicate touch, his hand moved to the back of her neck where he gripped it lightly to keep it in place, his forehead parting from hers so that his lips could meet her dry ones. The electricity bolted within each of them as her mouth parted and her lips moved with his allowing his tongue to delve into her mouth and dance with hers. Both of their bodies heating up rapidly in response to the overwhelming tingles erupting all throughout both of their cores and subsequent extremities. A barely audible moan emitted from the base of her throat as her hand slid from his cheek into his already disheveled hair.
Mark her.
His grip tightened and then softened on her neck and he reluctantly pulled his lips away from hers and took in some heavy breaths, placing his forehead back against hers not wanting to break the physical contact, but not wanting to risk losing his composure again. "You should get some rest.." he whispered, as he took a deep inhale of her scent to help soothe his rapidly beating heart. He spent over twelve hours waiting for her to wake up, but now that she was conscious and he could hear and see that she was truly okay, he was comfortable with her getting some more rest to heal.
"Okay.." she responded almost breathlessly with her eyes closed still as his forehead rested against hers. She felt that she could be easily persuaded to do anything in this moment had he suggested it, the warmth and comfort his touch brought her was overpowering.
Mark her.
He slowly began to pull away from her, his green eyes showing evidence that this was not something he wanted to do. Her eyes fluttered open as he broke all the physical contact and once again took to standing at the side of her bed. He watched her in a very loving almost creepy way, as if he looked away she would disappear.
"C-can you lay with me?" she asked quietly just above a whisper, as it looked like he was about to take his seat back in the chair. Feeling the need to say more as he seemed a little shocked by her request, "It would help me sleep." a blush barely visible tinging her cheeks as a shyness formed despite the fact that they had just locked lips moments ago.
Mark her.
He looked down at her for another moment before he wordlessly moved her body closer to the side of the bed he was standing at. Ensuring to be as gentle as possible, taking care that he didn't tug at the IV line or knock her arm against the railing and cause her discomfort. He then walked around the bed and climbed in next to her after kicking off his shoes, his large frame taking up the length of it, despite being in a curled position. One of his arms tucked underneath the pillow her head was resting on and the other wrapped around her waist where his fingers delicately traced her side. Both of them finding immediate comfort from the close proximity to one another.
Mark her...
"Get some rest." he whispered into her ear as his nose nuzzled into her hair.
She gave the briefest of nods before closing her eyes, and feeling his soothing warmth slowly carry her off to sleep. He fell asleep almost instantly, the weight of his arm across her growing heavier and the tension in his muscles relaxing within seconds of laying down next to her.
The only one who was still awake was Cane, who decided to go get a cup of coffee once he confirmed they both were asleep, notifications still lighting his screen as he walked down to the cafeteria with heavy steps.