Linda's pov
I was getting ready for a coffee date with Gregory, when Joel's voice came to me through our pack link.
'Mama, please help me . . . I'm sorry. I thought I was ready . . . I don't want to die and Demmi is so afraid . . . I'm so tired mama and it's so cold . . . please__________.'
Panicked, I quickly tried to contact him, already making my way towards the door and pulling it open.
'Joel what's wrong?!Where are you?!'
No reply. I knew I shouldn't have let him go! As strong as he is, I knew he could only handle so much at one time, yet I let him go anyway . . . if anything happened to him again, it would be all my fault!
'Gregory, I need you!'
'Linda, I'm on my way to pick you . . . what's wrong?'
'It's Joel . . . I don't know what's happened, but he's hurt or he's thinking about hurting himself . . . we have to find him right now!'
'Do you want me to come and get you or do you want to meet at the school?'
'I can't wait, I need to go now!'
'Alright, I'll be there as soon as I can.'
Cutting off the connection, I rushed outside and did something I backen't done since my husband left us . . . I shifted into my wolf Delia and let out a whimper as she sensed her pup's anguish and confusion. I quickly made my way to the school and though it was one of the hardest things I ever had to do, I forced myself to calm down and search carefully for Joel's scent trail, knowing if I rushed I could run right past him without knowing. As I made my way down a nearly empty school hallway, I heard two girls talking and Delia told me to stop and listen to their conversation.
'Delia, we don't have time for this!'
'They're talking about our pup, Linda. I can feel it.'
'Why would they_______________?'
'Just listen.'
Forcing myself to quiet, I listened to what they were saying.
"Ugh, he's such a freak! I mean who would cheat on their mate and send pictures?"
"I know right and then to disappear like that without even defending himself, he could have at least denied it, right?"
"But who would have believed him?"
"He's just lucky he didn't get hurt . . . if my mate did that to me . . . well, he's not that stupid."
"Come on, we'd better get to class."
The girls had just disappeared down the hallway when Delia let out a whimper of fear.
'What's wrong?'
'Demmi . . . my pup, he's growing weak! We have to find him now!'
'But we don't know where he is!'
'I think I do . . . Linda I smell blood!"
'W-What?!'
'Let me keep control Linda . . . no matter what happens don't shift until I give the word, alright?'
'I . . . I don't______________.'
'We don't know what we're walking into and you might not be able to handle it.'
'O-Ok.'
I let Delia take most of the control of our body, only keeping a small part of my human consciousness. With her in control, I could now smell the blood, so strong that I could almost taste the salty metallic tang on my tongue and I heard the sorrowful whimpering we had both missed before.
'He's near . . . we have to hurry, something's wrong.'
Before I had time to think about Delia's words, I heard another whimper, this one not coming from Demmi or Joel and then a loud pain filled shout.
"Joel, what did you do?!"
We burst into the bathroom, freezing at the sight in front of us. Joel . . . our pup was unconscious, being held in the arms of Kyle, the Alpha's son; who was licking his wounds in a frantic attempt to heal him and there was blood falling from Joel's arms, forming a large pool on the floor. Kyle, suddenly sensing my presence, stopped and turned towards me; pulling Joel closer and letting out a possessive growl. I stopped where I was, immediately connecting with Gregory.
'He's in the boys bathroom . . . near the entrance of the school! Please hurry, he's lost a lot of blood!'
Breaking the connection again, I turned my attention to Kyle, who was glaring at me silently, his eyes following my every move. I stepped a little closer and he let out a panicked growl.
'Joel is my son. Please let him go.'
'No.'
'He doesn't like to be touched . . . if he wakes up and finds you holding him, it'll make things worse. You're his friend, right?'
'Yes.'
'Then you want him to recover . . . please put him down.
Kyle gently placed Joel on the floor, just as the door opened and Gregory walked through the door.
"Alpha Kyle, I need you to step back, please."
"I . . . I can't."
"If you want to help this young man, please move away."
"O-Okay."
Kyle started to back away, when he unexpectedly froze where he was, sniffing the air. I stared at him confused until Gregory's voice caught my attention.
"Linda I need you to shift. I'm going to need your help."
Tilting my head slightly in agreement, I focused on becoming my human self, taking the robe Gregory had thoughtfully brought with him to cover my nakedness.
"What do you need me to do?"
Gregory pulled a needle out of the small bag I hadn't noticed before and knelt beside Joel.
"Hold him down."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm going to wake him up."
"But doesn't he need to go to the hospital?"
"Alpha Kyle healed most of his wounds, his life's not in danger anymore. Yes, he still needs a blood transfusion, but that's not what concerns me. These wounds are self inflicted, Linda."
'Are you saying he tried to____________?!"
"Yes and if he was fully human it would have worked . . . his wolf and Alpha Kyle's healing ability are the only things that prevented him from bleeding to death. However, I'm afraid he'll try again if we don't watch him."
I nodded sadly, kneeling and placing my hands on Joel's shoulders as Gregory carefully stuck the needle into his arm and pushed down the plunger. Before I knew what to expect, Joel let out a loud scream, gasping for breath as his eyes flew open. He tried to jerk away from me and I tightened my hold, pinning him to the floor as Gregory leaned down until they were eye to eye.
"What . . . why____________________?!"
"Joel, calm down . . . everything's going to be alright."
"I can't . . . I-I c-can't ___________."
"I know son, I know."
"Please."
"Joel, you're not alone . . . I'm here for you and your mom is too. Please, don't give up."
"They hate me Dr Williams . . . mom will too, sooner or later . . . I-I lost the baby and I let him hurt me . . . I just want to go . . . please."
"I'm sorry Joel, I can't let you do that."
I had to turn away when Joel let out a choked sob and tears began to trail down his cheeks.
Gregory pulled out his stethoscope checking Joel's heartbeat and suddenly paused, looking at me in disbelief.
"We need to get him to the hospital now."
"I thought you said everything was alright."
"I'll explain later. Alpha Kyle, can you carry him to my car?"
"No! Not him!"
Ignoring Joel's protests, Alpha Kyle quickly lifted him up and rushed out of the room, heading outside.
"Please tell me what's going on."
"I don't know how I missed it before."
"Gregory?!"
"The baby's alive."
Kyle's pov
Where is he? Where is he?!
I can still see the hopeless look on his face as he pushed through the crowd . . . running away from me again. Even now, after everything he's done, I still love him and I don't want him to do anything stupid. I wanted to follow him right away, but the crowd surrounded me, offering sympathy for my pain and congratulations on my revenge and I had to stand there listening to their cruel comments, as if they knew anything about him. Finally after what felt like hours, but was really only a few minutes the bell rang and everyone, except me headed off to class and I breathed out a sigh of relief that I could search. As I started down the hall, a hand grabbed my shoulder, sending sparks through me and for a minute I thought Joel was standing behind me.
"Don't chase after him Kyle, please."
"Joey, what are you doing here?"
"I came to stop you . . . he's not worth it."
"Didn't you see his face before he ran off? I think he's going to hurt himself!"
That seemed to shake Joey for some reason and he released his hold on me, following me as I continued my search.
"Blood!"
I jumped slightly at Joey's cry before sniffing the air around me. He was right, it was blood . . . Joel's blood.
"He's close, I'm going to find him, you go and get help."
"I can't."
"What are ____________?!"
"I can't . . . this is all my fault."
"Joey______________!"
"I-I have to go."
Before I could get another word out, Joey turned and disappeared down the hall. Shaking my head in disappointment, I sniffed the air to pick up the scent again, following it to the boy's bathroom at the front of the school.
"Joel, are you in here?"
No answer.
I slowly made my way inside, afraid of what I was about to see. My heart nearly stopped when I found Joel lying on the floor unconscious, a pool of blood spreading across the tiles. I quickly rush over to him and pick him up, checking to see where the blood is coming from. Biting back a whine as I lift one of his shredded arms I wet my tongue and start licking his wounds, starting with the deepest one on his wrist until they start healing. As soon as the bleeding stops, I lift his other arm and repeat the process. Throughout my attempt to heal him, Joel lets out criess of pain and struggles vainly to get away from me. I let out a sorrowful whimper, which soon becomes an agonized shout.
"Joel, what did you do?!"
Hearing footsteps behind me, I scented the air around me, realizing whoever was approaching us was in wolf form and Joel tightly into my arms and let out a panicked growl. The wolf behind me, moved a little closer, but didn't try to attack me and I relaxed a little.
'Joel is my son. Please let him go.'
Really?! Did she really think I'd give Joel up just because she claimed to be his mom?!
'No.'
'He doesn't like to be touched . . . if he wakes up and finds you holding him, it'll make things worse. You're his friend, right?'
I wanted to shout out that we were more than friend and that Joel's baby was mine, but was that even true? Even if I wanted it to be, I didn't think so.
'Yes.'
'Then you want him to recover . . . please put him down."
I gently lowered him to the ground, when I heard footsteps behind me and a man's deep voice speaking calmly, but urgently.
"Alpha Kyle, you need to step back, please."
"I . . . I can't."
"If you want to help this young man, please move away."
Realizing that there was nothing else I could do, I slowly rose to my feet and backed away. Before I got too far, a familiar scent hit me and I froze in shock, missing what was going on around me. Why was Jason's scent so strong on Joel if he had refused him? An uneasy feeling went through me, but Joel's scream of pain brought me back to the present.
"What. . . why?!"
"Joel, calm down . . . everything's going to be alright."
"I can't . . . I-I c-can't_____________."
"I know son, I know."
"Please. "
"Joel, you're not alone . . . I'm here for you and your mom I too. Please don't give up."
"They hate me Dr Williams . . . mom will too, sooner or later . . . I-I lost the baby and I let him hurt me . . . I just want to go . . . please."
"I'm sorry Joel, I can't let you do that."
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding at the doctor's words, but my heart clenched when I heard Joel break down. The doctor's . . . Dr Williams, pulled out his stethoscope and placed it on his chest, suddenly freezing and looking up with wide eyes.
"We need to get him to the hospital now."
" I thought you said everything was alright. "
Noticing the nervousness in the doctor's voice, I turned my attention to him, but he kept his gaze on Joel's mom as he replied.
"I'll explain later, Alpha Kyle, can you carry him to my car?"
"No! Not him!"
Ignoring Joel's words, I gently picked him up, carrying him out of the school. Not knowing where the car was, scented the air, following the path until I reached my destination and carefully placed Joel inside; quickly sliding in beside him.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why do you smell like Jason?"
Joel didn't answer for several seconds and I thought he was ignoring me, then he turned to me, glaring weakly.
"Because I'm a whore . . . that's what you said, right? I opened my slutty legs and gave myself to whoever wanted it."
"Joel___________________."
"What do you want from me? You already hurt,abandoned and humiliated me, we're not together anymore, so why do you care what happened between Jason and me?"
"Because I_____________!"
Before I could explain, two car doors opened and the doctor and Joel's mom quickly got inside and we were off. Soon enough we were at the hospital and Joel was in a hospital bed.
"Why are you still here . . . I mean thank you for saving my life, but there's no reason for you to stay."
"I'm your mate, Joel."
Joel's head jerked towards the open door, searching for anyone that might be standing there and letting out a sigh when I told him the hallway was empty.
"You're not my mate, Kyle. I don't have any feelings for you at all. Don't tell my mom that it was your baby, it'll just make things harder when you and Joey get together."
"Joey?"
"Please, I'm tired . . . just go."
"If you would have just told me the truth instead of sending me those pictures, we could have worked things out. Why didn't you just_______?"
"It doesn't matter anymore, does it? You're free to be with whoever you want now so go away."
Joel turned his back on me and I instinctively knew he was shutting me out and that it was more than just physically. I walked out of the room and down the hall, heading for the exit, my mind a chaotic swirl of doubt, hurt, love an guilt. A part of me didn't want to give Joel up, I mean he's my mate and even after everything, I still love him . . . but another part of me was glad that we were no longer together; after all who wants to be with a mate you can't trust? I was about to walk through the door, when I felt a hand grab my shoulder and I turned to face the person behind me.
"Kyle, there's something I have to tell you."
"Joey, what are you . . . I mean how did you find us?"
"I followed your scents . . . how is he doing?"
"I saved him, but I . . . we're over."
"It's my fault."
"What do you mean?"
"He was always trying to protect me and I hated him so much for that . . . but when I saw the blood and realized it was his . . . I'm so selfish, I almost killed my brother because I wanted ____________."
I stared at him silently,but I knew he could see the confusion in my eyes.
"You, alright! I almost killed my brother because I wanted you!"
Grabbing his shoulders I shook him roughly, urgency and a deep feeling of dread flooding through me.
"Joey, what are you talking about . . . what did you do?"
"If you want to hurt me after I tell you, I'll understand, but please don't blame yourself for any of this . . . the pictures . . . they aren't of Joel . . . they're of me."
I shook my head, hoping the action would make Joey's words make sense in my mind, but all I could think about was how I'd ruined my relationship with Joel the boy I love, because I doubted him when he'd never given me a reason to and a pained laugh escaped my lips. Joey looked at me stunned and let out a gasp of surprise when I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug. Lifting my head, I placed my mouth against his ear and he shivered at the coldness of my words.
"You are going to take his place Joey, but I will never give you the love that I gave him. I will never forgive you and I will never forget how much you hurt the both me and your brother."
"Yes . . . I will accept what you give me. As long as I have you, I'll never complain."
I released him, a bitter smile crossing my lips.
"You're going to regret those words."