Previously, on Love bite
"Hi" I whimper, turning to look at him.
"Hey" he whimpers back nuzzling my nose gently with his own, he then turns towards the spot where Shelby was last standing. "Did you know she was that strong, Sophie?" he grumbles slightly, turning back to face me.
"No" I reply in a low whimper.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Now Sophie
As we come up to the white building of the training center, its black doors and roof ahead of us, all the wolves shift back into their human forms. I start to make my way to the head of the group, as I do I look behind me and see Art lifting Angie off Dylan's back and putting her gently back on the ground, Dylan shifting back himself only a moment later.
I grab a hold of the door closest to me, the one to my right. Once I've taken a hold of it, I motion for Chris to come over and grab the right one, and like the good head Beta he is, he does so and we slowly open the doors. When the doors are open, Chris and I turn back to face everyone.
"Come on everyone, let's go inside" I say, motioning them to follow Chris and I inside the dark building. As everyone starts to trickle in behind me, I reach over and turn the switch on the wall, instantly the lights come to life. As the last member of the large group behind me walks in, Chris closes the door, so that we won't let any of the cold air in. After I let everyone take it in for another moment, I speak up. "Alright everyone, since for some of you this is your first time here, I'm going to take y'all on a grand tour" I say as I start to follow the wall to my right, everyone follows behind.
As we come around the first corner of the wall I hear everyone's mouths drop at the sight of the scene in front of us, I let them take it in for a moment. The scene before us is a whole gymnasium of equipment we all have to use and share as a pack. Up in the upper right hand side of the room is the workout area, complete with treadmills, ellipticals, weights, and an assortment of other objects.
In the upper left hand side of the room is a sea of red, white, and black punching bags hanging from the ceiling, just waiting to be used. Then in the middle left side of the room is the meeting area, this is where we all can get together and talk about what training needs to be done, and what still needs to improve at the end of the day. There are also two shower rooms, one for the girl's and one for the boy's to clean up after training.
After a moment I speak up. "As you guys can probably tell, this is the gymnasium part of the training center. This is where you're going to be doing your workouts, and any physical training we ask of you." I then look towards the little doorway to my right. "This is the kitchen area" I state. "Now you guys won't be eating all the time in here, but if you just so happen to leave your water bottle at home or want a quick snack, it'll have you covered" I pause for a moment before continuing. "Alongside that, we also have a first aid station. Just for when one of you needs minor medical attention, but if any of you should ever need major medical attention at any time the pack hospital will be on standby" I then turn back and face the group. "Any questions before we move on to the other side?" I simply ask, my uncle's hand raises up instantly.
"Uncle" I say, acknowledging him.
"Yes Sophie. This is amazing, but how and where did you get all of this equipment for us to use?" he asks.
"Don't thank me, thank Dylan and Art both" I reply, looking towards the both of them. "Since Dylan's the more competitive of the two boys and knows the equipment best, when it was time to get the gear. I just sent him to the store with some money, and told him to get whatever he thought we needed. Art helped hook everything up, and put everything in its place" I state.
My Uncle then turns towards the two brothers, who are standing on the far right hand side of the group. "Well. Fine work, good job to the both of you" says my uncle, the group then chants with him in agreement.
"Thank you everyone" Dylan replies proudly.
I wait another moment, before I clear my throat. "Well, if there're aren't any more questions, we must be getting to the other side of the training center, come along everyone" I say turning around and motioning for everyone to follow me, well almost everyone. A moment after we start walking back down the hallway I take a look over my shoulder and see Chris setting up what he wants to show us for when we come back.
As we walk past the door that we came in from, I feel it again, the pounding, intense pressure in my head. I stop and let some of the pack members walk by me. As it turns out Art's one of the ones to pass me, my eyes watch him as if looking for an answer. He stops and I think starts to grimace, but I can't tell since I can only see the side of his face. After only a moment, Art finally turns towards me. Just like last time, once he looks at me the ache vanishes.
Come on, Alpha" he says.
I slowly shake my head, and then start walking again. "Sorry Art, I was in a daze" I tell him.
As we round the other side of the wall I hear everyone gasp again at the sight of the huge training arena that awaits them.
"And this is the indoor training arena. This will be used to practice any combat in your wolf forms, or in one on one training with a human or a hybrid. This will mostly be used when it's raining, or when some of you haven't been paying attention to what we're teaching you. But if the weather is right for it, we'll have most of our wolf form combat training outside" I say as everyone continues to stare at the large space out in front of them.
It's shaped like a large rectangle with white walls all the way around it, so that any outsiders watching will be protected if things ever get out of hand. On the floor of the arena is a few fine layers of brown sand, so that no one lands on the plane hard floor and gets hurt. The sand itself is a shade lighter than Luka, but a shade darker than Art and Dylan. Just the sight of the powdered grains there brings out my inner five year old. It almost makes me want to jump in there and build a sand castle or something like that, but that would be childish.
After a few moments lost in my own thoughts, I speak up. "Come on you guys, lets head back to the workout area. There's one more thing you all have to check out" I say as I turn on my heals and start to head back, the pack follows.
I make my way through the large group, and make it to the front just as we come back around the corner. From where I'm standing I can see that Chris has his setup ready for us. A small, round, brown table that he pulled out of the storage closet, and in his hand rests a small knife. The knife itself is small and light, so it's easy to carry around, but the handle is black and sturdy, so that it can go in deep if it has to. I point towards the table, I can then feel the pack nod as we walk over.
I walk around to the other side of the table, so that I can stand beside Chris, while the rest of the pack watches from the other side. I wait a moment for everyone to get settled, once that has been assured, I begin. "So. I see that some of you have caught sight of our new toy, you see, when we were building this place. The Emerald Stone Pack didn't just get some new training equipment and a new training arena, we also got some of these little babies" I pause as Chris then holds the knife where everyone can see it, and all the hybrid's eyes go wide as they make contact. "Now I don't know much about these knives, that's why I'm going to hand this off to Beta Chris. He's going to be the one to tell us how to use them, what they're used for, and more importantly who gets to use them" I state.
"Alpha Sophie's right" Chris begins, shifting his weight slightly. "I felt like the hybrids and pure humans of the pack needed something to protect themselves just in case something like this would happen, so when the Alpha told me we were going to be building a place like this I called a buddy of mine, and he hooked me up."
As Chris continues to speak I begin to zone out, feeling the headache like pressure for the third time today but unlike the last few times I think I know who's really fighting it, I look towards Art, and start to watch him closely. When we were back in the hallway a moment ago it was hard to tell if he was in any pain, but now that I can now see his face clearly I can tell he's grimacing.
"Now as stated these knives are going to be used by the humans and hybrids, since you guys don't have sharp claws and strong jaws like us werewolves do. This knife is light and easy to yield, but it packs one hell of a punch when it finds a target. The blade itself is made of stainless steel, and the handle is thick and sturdy, so you can really get the blade in deep if one needed to" Says Chris.
"Sir, why aren't the knife blades made of silver? Wouldn't that cause more damage to Ace's pack then just plain steal?" Jayson Bay asks as he raises his hand.
Chris looks right at him in response. "Well young Jayson, the use of any silver made weapons under any circumstances has been outlawed for over a thousand years. It was once said that if any being were to use any silver weapon, they were deemed no better than a Rogue and once it became outlawed you were banished from the pack. Now pretty much the only once to use silver in battle are the Rogue's themselves" I hear him reply.
As I continue to watch him, Art starts to grimace even harder, he then tries to hide it because he knows I'm watching him, but I'm not so easily fooled.
"Tomorrow we will teach you guys how to fight with these knives, as well as taking on multiple opponents at one time" Chris then says.
Everyone nods.
I then watch as Art goes pale in the face, still grimacing from the pain.
"Art, you okay over there?" I ask.
Art then looks me in the eye, and then everyone else steps aside. Good thing they did, for the next thing I know Art crumples to his knees on the floor, almost screaming from the pain.
"Art!" Mia calls out worriedly, wasting no time rushing to be at her mate's side, with my aunt and I following close behind.
With Dylan and Mia being so close to him, they are the first ones to reach him followed by aunt Sherry and myself. I can feel the pack starting to form a tight circle around their fallen brother.
"Step back guys, give him some air," I say as my aunt and I cut through the crowd of people. When we get to the center we find Art still on his knees, with his eyes closed, and his teeth gritting. Dylan's by his side with his hand on his shoulder, letting him know he's right there, while Mia is on his other side, holding his hand, skimming her thumb over the surface. "Art, what's wrong? Has your head been hurting?" I ask him as my aunt and I get to our knees ourselves.
Art doesn't respond, instead he just nods his head, squinting his eyes slightly tighter from the pain from the action.
"Art, does it feel like a normal headache?" Mia then asks, trying to keep her voice calm.
Art shakes his head no.
I see Dylan slightly squeeze Art's shoulder, as to let him know where he is. "Is it one of those headaches little brother?" he then asks calmly.
Art once again nods his head yes.
"Art" my aunt speaks up, her medical tone kicking in, "Have you ever had a headache like this before?" she then asks. Art then nods his head yes as a reply.
I'm suddenly confused. "Art, what are these headaches? What causes them? I've been feeling the pressure flare up ever since we got here" I tell him.
Instead of replying with a nod or a shake with his head, Art then takes his finger, lifts it up, and points towards his brother. I then look up slightly, towards Dylan and wait for my answer.
"Look Sophie" he begins. "Even though Art is healthy, when he gets very angry, he gets a bone splitting headache" Dylan tells me. "We don't know what causes this, all we know is when they do happen they cause Art an awful lot of pain" he then states. "We call them mood headaches."
I try to think of the last person to make Art angry today, I think of his name as an image of his face comes to my mind. Jayson Bay. I turn to look over my shoulder, and find him in the crowd. I find him with his gaze down cast towards the floor and his own face paled, similar to how Art looked before he went down. I then turn back, my attention once again on Art. I'll deal with Jayson later.
"Art, do you want to go to the pack hospital? My aunt asks.
Art shakes his head no.
"Do these headaches of yours last less than twenty four hours?' my aunt then asks him. Art nods his head yes. "You're sure?" my aunt asks him again, firmer this time. Art once again nods his head to her in a reply. My aunt then looks towards Dylan to confirm, he too gives her a firm nod.
"Well, do you want to go to the first aide station for the night?" My Aunt then asks. "I want it so Shelby and I can keep an eye on you, and get you to the pack hospital if this does end up getting worse."
Art once again nods his head to her.
"Alright then, Sophie can you help him up please?" aunt Sherry asks me.
I nod, then stand up, and hold my hand out for Art to take. Knowing Luka, I was expecting to hear him let out a slight growl when Art takes a hold of my hand, which leaves me quite surprised when it doesn't happen. Art takes hold of my hand and slowly gets back to his feet, with his brother and Mia at his sides. Then we turn around, and start walking.
The rest of the group parts, and Art, Dylan, my aunt, Mia, and myself walk towards the other side of the room. As we approach the entrance to the first aid station I spot Shelby already standing by the wall, waiting for us. My aunt walks over to her, and leans in. "Take Art back and get him laying on a bed, and once you've done that, can you get an ice pack for his head please?" I hear my aunt ask.
Shelby nods her head, she then turns towards Art. "Alright, come on Art" she says, taking on the calming tone she uses when she's doing her job. Art then follows her, leaving his brother and his mate at my sides. I then watch from the doorway as Shelby helps Art to lay down on the bed, and then covers him up with a creamed colored blanket. Shelby then walks over to a small fridge and pulls out a small Ice pack, she then walks back over to Art's bed and places it on his forehead.
As Shelby's about to walk away, I see Art mouth something to her, causing her to lean in. "What?" I faintly hear her ask. I see Art mouth pretty much the same thing as last time. "So what you're saying is, you want your brother and mate to be with you, is that right?" I hear her ask after a moment.
Art then nods yes.
Shelby then turns her head. "Come on in you two" she says calmly, and Mia and Dylan then walks through the door.
Once the two of them are at Art's bedside, Shelby turns her attention back towards me. "Can I close this door for a second?" I mouth to her as I point towards the door.
"Of course you can Sophie. In fact if you would close the door, and then keep it closed, that would really be great" she mouths back to me in a reply.
"I will" I whisper.
"Okay great, thanks Sophie" Shelby then mouths back as she then turns her attention back towards Art. I then reach in, grab the handle, and shut the door calmly.
I then turn back towards the large group awaiting my word, all with various looks of worry and anguish on their faces, especially Luka, Maloney, and Jayson. I clear my throat for a moment and then begin to speak.
"Art's fine" I say. "It's just a headache, nothing more. As of this moment he's resting on a bed in the first aid station, and his brother and mate are in there with him. With any luck, Art will be fine by tomorrow." I state, and everyone lets out a sigh of relief. I pause, and let myself take in a breath. "Now as for your training you guys are done for the day, tomorrow's training starts at dawn. Is that understood?" I ask, and everyone nods. "Alright, nice work today everyone."
One by one the group all fans out, some going out the door, some staying around, I walk over towards Luka who's standing with his back towards, me just looking around. I walk up quietly behind him when he's not looking and tap on his shoulder. Luka then turns around, and then his eyes light up when they make contact with mine.
"Hi" Luka says, a smile spreading across his face.
"Hey" I say, a smile spreading across my own face.
Luka's smile only gets bigger as he then pulls me gently closer towards him, filling the space between us. Are faces only a few inches apart now, my heart starts to pound so wildly against my rib cage that I can hear it in my ears. Luka then closes his eyes, as he then starts to lean in towards my lips, his face is only about an inch from my own. Then at the last moment my eyes too close as I feel the warmth of Luka's soft lips gently wrap around mine in a romantic kiss, and for a few moments we just stand there, feeling like we're the only two people in the room. But eventually all good things must come to an end when we feel the need to break apart, when our lungs are gasping and our chests are hurting, so after only a few moments we break.
After a moment of catching his breath, Luka looks back down at me, the large smile never leaving his lips.
"I've been wanting to do that since I woke up this morning, you have no idea, SophieJane. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore."
"I understand, to tell you the truth, Luka, I almost couldn't help myself either" I tell him. "Come on, it's getting late, lets head out."
As we start walking towards the door, I catch sight of my aunt and uncle talking, and I'm reminded of one more thing I want to do before my mate and I head home for the night. I walk over towards them, Luka follows behind.
"Hey Aunt Sherry" I say as Luka and I approach.
"Hey little Sophie, Luka" she greats with a smile as she sees us coming.
"Were you planning to swing by the pack hospital in a moment?" I then ask her.
"I was planning on it, why?' she asks with the cock of an eyebrow.
"I would like to tag along and check in on Keith and Alex to see how they're doing, if that's okay with you" I tell her.
"Of course you can tag along, in fact, I was hoping you would Sophie" she says. Turning towards my uncle, she then tells him. "I'm heading over to the hospital for a bit, but I'll be back, I love you." My uncle nods, giving her a small peck on the lips. Then my aunt and I both turn around, and start to walk away.
"Luka, you coming?" I ask as I then walk past him.
"You can count me in" he replies as he then turns on his heels, and starts to follow behind.
"Uncle, what about you?" I ask, looking back over my shoulder towards him.
"I'm actually going to stay here and look around for a bit, thanks for asking though Little Sophie" he replies.
"Suit yourself" I say, turning my head back around so that I'm now looking in front.
"See you later teach" Luka then pipes up and tells him as we're walking towards the front door.
"So you two, running there in wolf form?" my aunt then asks as we step out into the cool twilight air of the late evening.
"Nope" I shake my head. "Luka and I will walk on foot so that you can keep up with us, besides, it's not that far away."
"Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go."
"Lead the way, Aunt Sherry" I say as I let her walk out in front of us.
Luka then turns towards me as we start walking. "So, do you think this training will be enough?" he asks
"Well, we'll find out" I simply reply.
***
When we walk through the doors to the hospital a gush of warm air greets us, and I am grateful for the relief from the bitter cold, even with my jacket on I'm still chilled. I must be shaking because the next thing I know, Luka wraps his nearest arm around me, surrounding me in heat. I lean in closer, acknowledging his kind gesture
"Thanks Luka" I say with a smile as sparks begin to shoot across my shoulder.
"You're welcome Sophie my love" he replies sweetly to me.
After a few moments I feel the coldness leave my body and be replaced by a warm feeling that now courses through my veins, I give Luka a look, he gives an understanding nod, and unwraps his arm as we start to follow aunt sherry again. We follow her to the front desk, but before she can turn and walk away, I stop her.
"Wait Aunt Sherry, you didn't tell us where Alex's room is at" I tell her.
"It's not far Sophie, just go all the way down this main hallway, and then make a left, it's the first window door room you'll come to" my aunt instructs, gesturing down the seemingly empty hallway with her pointer finger. "You can't miss it."
"I'm sure we won't. Come along Luka, thanks again Aunt Sherry" I say as Luka and I start to make our way down the hallway.
"You're welcome sweetie, anytime, anyplace."
As we then round the corner I can see Keith and Alex's room out in front of me, with an aging creamed colored paint job that looks like it can use some love, and a small rectangular shaped window, that looks out towards the hallway. I turn towards Luka. Sensing my eyes on him, Luka turns towards me, and locks onto my gaze.
"Luka. Since Alex has been abused pretty much her entire life, there may be a chance that she has a fear of men. If that's the case, then I'm going to have to go into the room alone for a bit. It's not that I don't want you in there with me, it's just that I want her to feel comfortable and safe, so it's nothing against you" I tell him, trying hard not to hurt his feelings.
"I understand Sophie, that's perfectly fine by me" Luka says in an understanding tone.
Alright then, you stay here for a minute" I tell him as I take a slight step up.
"I'll hold down the fort until you request my presence m'lady" Luka says, acting like a total gentleman.
I blush slightly and step closer towards the door. I then lean in and peer through the window. What I see, leaves me dumb founded. The scene on the other side of the glass is one of Alex's painfully small, pale looking frame, sitting up on the side of the bet with her feet over the side, and Elliot sitting in a chair in the corner, keeping an eye on everything, but that alone is not what has me dumb founded. No, with everything that has happened in my life for the past few years, I would almost consider that as being almost normal. Watching Keith sit and braid Alex's hair from behind her, that I would consider as being abnormal and out of character for him.
With each passing second, my mind gets more blown as I watch the action of the tough head Beta that I once knew transform Alex's black and silver striped hair into a perfectly formed braid with the simplest of twists with his large hands.
This is so strange. Who would've thought that Keith's a romantic, where did he learn how to braid girl's hair? I ponder to myself.
Suddenly realizing that I've been standing here just doing nothing for longer than intended, I then take a deep breath, and softly open the door.
"Hello" I gently say as I make my way in calmly.
Elliot is the first one to see me, he turns his head towards me, a smile spreading across his face. "Hey Sophie, I thought that was you outside, nice of you to stop in" he greets.
Realizing that I've walked into the room, Keith pauses after twisting the last loop in Alex's hair, and looks up towards me. "Hi Alpha" Keith kindly greets.
At the mention of that last word to leave her mate's lips, I see Alex gasp like she's running out of air, and her eyes widen in fear. I then watch as Alex quickly turns around, gets off the bed, and sinks to her knees on the floor, with the bare skin of her back exposed from her hospital gown. A punishment position, I think as my steps come to a stop. I can't help but think of Luka, and the first time he saw me in this form. I remember my mate crawling under the park bench he'd called home, out of anxiety, out of fear, but I don't think a hotdogs going to fix this.
After a moment. Keith looks down at Alex's trembling form, holding the end of her unfinished braid with his hand so that it doesn't come apart on him. "Come up here my angel, I'll protect you" he says, holding his free hand down to her. Alex looks up at him nervously, as if judging to make sure it's safe, she then smile slightly, and grabs hold. Elliot then starts to get up from the chair, ready to defend Alex if Keith tries to harm her, but he stops as soon as Keith pulls her back into his lap. "See Alex angel, like I've told you before, I've got you, and I will always have you." Keith then turns his gaze towards me for a moment. "Sophie, can you please get that rubber band off the counter? I can't let go of her hair now, and I need two hands for what I'm about to do in a moment."
I give him a nod. "Sure" I say calmly. I then walk over, and get the small rubber band off the counter. I walk the rest of the way over to them, and give Keith the band while I'm at it, Elliot still watches him closely.
"Thank you ma'am" Keith says taking it, he then ties Alex's new look together. Looking at her now, it suits her, unlike that matted look she had on the night when she first arrived.
With his Arms no longer tied, Keith places his hands tenderly on his mate's shoulders in a reassuring manner, Alex's body still shaking slightly. "Hey Alex, I know you're scared of her right now, but you've got to trust me on something. Alpha Sophie is not going to harm you in any way, shape, or form, that's not in her nature. She's a gentle soul, pure and sweet, who knows what it means to be called an Alpha. Now Alex, you now have to trust her with your own life, just as I have" he tells her. Alex nods, a slight quiver to her lip.
I slowly get down on my knees on the floor so that way I don't look like such a threat to her, Alex looks down towards me, fear written all over her face, and over what she thinks I might do to her. I open my mouth slowly, take one of her hands gently in my own, and begin to speak. "It's nice to finally meet you Alex, my name is, Alpha Sophie Peterson, and welcome to the Emerald Stone Pack" I say calmly. Alex then looks back up towards Keith for a moment, unsure. Keith gives her a slight nod. Alex looks back down towards me, slowly but surely she bows her head in respect.
I then feel the connection chain from her inner wolf reach out and connect with mine, along with the rest of my pack. I look up at Keith, a smile spreading across my face. She's in, she's one of us now" I tell him calmly. I then stand up, eyeing the empty spot at the foot of the bed, I'm about to make my move when I remember something. I turn back towards Alex, her face still with worry, but not as much as a moment ago. "May I sit?" I ask her politely. She nods her head slightly, so I sit down.
I then turn towards Keith. "So how has she been doing the last few days?" I ask him simply.
"Well when she arrived here and after y'all left, the nurses wanted to start an I.V. and she was so scared that I had to hold her down while they tried to stick her, when they were finally able to. Your Aunt gave her some yip-nip to calm down" he tells me. "She was able to sleep through that first night, and then yesterday morning, she got her first taste of food I presume in weeks." I cut him off right there.
"How's her diet and appetite?" I ask, concern lacing my voice.
"Well since she's so malnourished, your Aunt Sherry has put her on a mostly liquid diet so that her stomach can get use to being full for once in her life, soup broth, and baby food, that's mostly what's on the menu for her. But she did get some applesauce this morning though. Yesterday morning Shelby brought her some chicken broth to try, at first she was refusing. Elliot told me that it was out of fear of it being poisoned or laced with wolfsbane, so like any good mate should, I ended up eating a few bites to prove to her that it was safe, slowly but surely sometime after that, she cleaned the bowl" he replies to me.
"Awww, so what happened after she ate?" I then ask him, slightly curious.
"Well after she had breakfast, she then got her first bath in years" he replies.
"Ooh, how did that go?" I then ask.
"Well at first it was a little scary for her since she had never been in warm water before, but then as the water started to do its work Alex relaxed, she didn't want to get out by the time it was done" he tells me. Alex then lets out a longing whimper, and Keith turns his attention towards her.
"What?" I ask her calmly to see if it's something I can help with.
She doesn't answer me, so Keith steps in. "She wants to know when she can have another bath Keith replies, and I can't help the grin that once again spreads its way across my face. Keith then smiles sweetly himself, and then says to her calmly. "Sadly, it's already too late angel, but maybe tomorrow. I'll ask the Doctor first thing in the morning.' Alex then lets out the slightest of giggles but it was there, I heard it.
"Yeah, Keith actually did something right Sophie, he showed Alex there was a better way to get clean, then me using cold water, a wash cloth, and an old bucket to do it" Elliot pipes up from the chair he's been sitting in, I'd began to think he was asleep. I turn towards him, wanting to know what he meant. "Back when we were in Ruby Stone, once a week I would go down to Alex's spot and clean her up a bit.
"Her spot?" I ask my eyes narrowing at him as I wait for an answer as to what he means.
Elliot notices my confusion a second later, and then goes to explain. "While I had a house back at Ruby Stone, Alex wasn't so lucky. The pack kept her chained to a pole near the main pack border with no food, no water. She would sometimes get scraps from kills, but it was always rotten, or very little. They left her out there with no shelter, no place to hide, or to keep warm. So one day I started taking care of her. I would bring her a small bowl of water daily, and sometimes I would sneak her fresh scraps of meat, and once a week I would take a bucket of water and a wash cloth to clean her up. Like Luka had his bench, Alex had her pole, but Unlike Luka she couldn't move very far from it if she wanted to" he tells me. "The only time she was ever let off the chain was when Ace was calling a pack meeting, that's why she was in the memories that Misty showed you, she got beat up pretty bad that night before Keith found her."
I snap my fingers. "Oh and speaking of that, silly me I must've forgot." I look towards the door, and clear my throat. "Hey Luka" I call calmly, a few seconds later the door softly opens and Luka pokes his head in.
"Did you request my presence Sophie?" he asks, and I nod.
Rather than going right to Alex, Luka walks in and heads for Elliot in his chair, Elliot stands up and smiles. "Hey bro, I haven't seen you all day. How has your day been?" Luka asks.
"Hey, Luka, Bro, Same here, I'm doing fine, what about you? I'm sorry, I had to stay here and watch over Alex" Elliot says, standing up and wrapping an arm around Luka's neck in a manly hug.
"Hey man same, don't sweat it, I understand" Replies Luka, breaking apart from Elliot and walking over towards Keith.
"What about you Keith? How are you holding up?" Luka asks, going in for a hand shake, knowing Keith's not much of a hugger.
"Hanging in there Luka, hanging in there" Keith replies, meeting Luka's out stretched hand with his own. After a moment, the two of them let go.
"So, how does it feel to finally have your mate?" Luka asks.
"It feels big, like something bigger has opened up inside of me" Keith replies.
Luka then comes to stand in front of me, he then leans forward and kisses the side of my head, he then turns and looks over towards Alex. "What do I do Sophie, how do I introduce myself Luka asks, standing back up but looking towards me.
"Luka get, down in front of her on your knees" I instruct, he does as he's told. "Okay now" I turn my head towards Alex. "Alex, this is my mate Luka, he's the future Alpha of this pack. Luka, this is Alex" I say.
Unlike with me, Alex doesn't shy away from Luka. "Hi Alex" he says calmly, trying not to startle her. Alex doesn't say anything, instead after a moment of staring at Luka, she very gently reaches out and places her hand on the side of his face, as if she searching for something.
After a moment of this, Elliot pipes up. "Yes, he was once one to" he tells her. Alex's eyes then fill with tears, a second later she gets off Keith's lap and wraps her arms around Luka's neck, Luka then wraps her in a gentle hug. Keith looks like he's going to growl at Luka, but before he can get the chance I mind link him.
"Growl at him and you're dead" I say in a warning, as I turn to face him.
"Understood Alpha Sophie" Keith says in a submissive tone, lowering his head slightly as the line goes dead, We then turn our attention back towards Luka and Alex, still hugging on the floor Keith then looks towards Elliot. "Okay I give up smart guy, why is she behaving like that?" he then asks.
"Simple, they're both Omega's who've had similar heart ships dealt to them. Thus they are the same" Elliot replies. After a few moments, Alex breaks apart from Luka, and then gets right back onto Keith's lap, my eyes then falling on her braid.
"Hey Keith, not to change the subject or anything, but, how and where did you learn how to braid hair?" I ask him.
Keith then turns towards me, giving me the you have got to be kidding me look. "Really? Is that something you want to know at a time like this? I'm spending some one on one time with my mate, and you want to know something like that?" he questions. Luka's head pops up, and he gets back to his feet.
"Keith was braiding hair?" he asks. "You must have the wrong wolf."
"No" Elliot replies, and we all turn our attention towards him. "I was here, I saw it with both my eyes." he then says. Elliot then turns towards Keith, a wide smirk on his face. "Okay Keith, you can take it from here."
We then turn back towards Keith, a smirk then spreading across his own face. "Thanks Elliot, I knew I could count on you" he remarks sarcastically. Keith then faces us. "Do you guys really want to know this?" he then asks the both of us.
"Heck yeah, now I know that there's some truth behind what I've just heard I wanna hear this" Replies Luka, Keith then rolls his eyes. "Fine, I learned how to braid during my time at Den House, Heather showed me how" he says.
I then look towards Alex. "Well, you did a great job,, I can tell you that much" I tell him.
"Yeah, I guess your time spent at my mamma's place wasn't all that bad" Luka says, a second later we all bust out laughing, well all except Alex who just stays mute.
After a long second of silence after our laughing fit, I lean forward, and scoot off the bed "Well, It's getting late you two, Luka and I better be heading on our way home" I say, turning around to face the duo sitting on the bed.
"Sure, sure thing Alpha" Keith says. I shake his hand.
Luka goes up to Elliot. "So Elliot, are you going to be coming with us to the training center tomorrow?" he asks.
"Sure thing man, sure thing, wouldn't miss it" Elliot replies, standing up from his chair.
"Okay, goodnight bro, see you in the morning" Luka says, wrapping his arms around Elliot's neck in one more brotherly hug.
I then go over to Elliot, while Luka goes over towards Keith. "Goodnight Elliot, see you tomorrow" I say as I wrap my arms around his neck in a hug. "And hey, you don't have to worry about her so much now, I know Keith will do everything in his power to protect her" I whisper to him as we then break apart.
"I know I shouldn't Sophie, but with Keith's history, and with her being a former Omega herself I can't help but worry about her" he whispers back to me as Keith and Luka are still shaking hands.
"That'll pass, your worry will pass in time" I whisper.
I turn just as I hear Luka's footsteps coming towards me. "Alright, are we ready to head out Sophie?" he then asks. I give a slight nod.
"Night everyone" I then say.
"Goodnight Alex, it was nice to meet you" Luka says.
"Bye you guys, thanks for dropping in" Says Keith.
"It was no problem at all Keith, no problem at all" I tell him. Then Luka and I slowly walk out of the room, letting the door close calmly behind us, but just a few steps up the hallway, Luka stops, causing me to stop as well. He then looks towards me, a small smirk on his face
"Hold on a sec Sophie" he tells me, turning back to face the door.
"For what Luka?" I ask, a bigger grin is my only reply as he starts to walk back towards the room. "Luka, what are you doing? What are you up to?" I ask him again, this time I'm ignored.
I look over my shoulder, and watch as Luka reopens the door, and pokes his head in, I listen in.
"Hey Keith, do you have time to do my hair as well?" I hear Luka ask in a playful chuckle, and I have to cover my mouth to keep from bursting out again.
"Goodnight Luka" Keith replies in an annoyed tone, while I can hear Elliot just a cackling in the background.
Luka then pulls his head back around, closes the door calmly again, and comes speed walking back over towards me. I turn my head back around, just as he comes to my side.
"I just had to do that" Luka says, his voice in a chuckle and his face in a grin.
As we both come up the hallway, about to walk out of the hospital. I look towards my mate and smile.
Luka. Always the crack up.
=================================
Hey guys let me know how do you like the long chapters? Yay? Or nay?
As always to all of our new Emerald Shifters please be sure to keep reading, because we like to watch the numbers go up. Vote, because we love the support. Comment, so that you can give your opinion, and if you find any mistakes, feel free to let us know. Add it to your reading list and library, to stay updated. And share it, to get it out there, Bye guys.