I was awoken by a gentle and slightly annoying, consistent beeping. I opened my eyes slightly and noticed that it was dark and I was lay in a hospital bed. The beeping noise was coming from a medical machine. I also noticed I had an oxygen tube up my nose and an IV in my arm. I glanced around the room and saw a dark figure sat in a chair in the corner of the room. I screamed in freight and backed away the best I could in the bed. Shuffling was heard before a light was flicked on causing me to shield my eyes.
"Hey Evangeline. Calm down. You're safe. It's me, Carlos," he watched me cautiously as I took a few breaths to calm my racing heart.
He held my hand in his gently as if I would break from just the touch. "You passed out for a long time, maybe five hours. The doctor fixed you up well and you are to stay in here for a week while you heal. Your condition was worse than we first thought. You have a lot of bruises and a few minor cuts along with your leg injury and you are malnourished" He frowned.
I wasn't exactly sure how to respond to that. I knew the condition my body was in, so that didn't come as a surprise to me.
"Thank you for helping me" I squeaked.
He chuckled lightly. "It is more than alright. You're my mate. It's my job to take care of you" he smiled gently at me.
I offered him a small smile of my own. I realised how genuine he seemed. He was gentle and kind and not once in his presence had I felt anything but secure and safe. I didn't feel threatened by him but I didn't want to let my guard down yet. He may be my mate but I knew all too well not to trust quickly. I was a rouge, trusting people was not an easy task when you were so used to being attacked and always sleeping with one eye open.
Carlos drew out a sigh and leaned back in his chair that he had pulled up to my bed side. "I want to know more about you. What is your favourite colour?" he asked, randomly.
"Blue" I smiled almost instantly. There was something about the colour that made me feel safe. Perhaps because blue was often associated with water and I really liked water.
He grinned. I smiled lightly too. Something about his smile was infectious and I couldn't seem to keep a smile away from my own lips.
"What is yours?" I asked, feeling myself slowly coming out of my shell.
"Mine is green. I think it's from the forests and running through them in wolf form I just kind of fell in love with the colour" He smiled.
I nodded. I couldn't help but feel slightly jealous of him having his wolf. I know it sounded silly but I had always longed to have a wolf especially since I would never have been thrown out of my pack. I looked down at my hands at the thought. I missed my family.
Me and Carlos spoke for around an hour and I found out he played the guitar, he liked photography, his favourite food was steak, predictable saying that he was a wolf really, and much more. Somehow neither of us touched on family which made me wonder if he didn't want to talk about his family either. We eventually stopped talking because I was beginning to dose off again.
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"Carlos, please can I leave now?" I begged as he walked in with a tray of food.
"Evangeline, you heard the doctor. Two more days. You can do that" He smiled.
"But I'm bored" I pouted.
It had been five days since I was first admitted to the infirmary and it had been the most boring five days of my life. Carlos would visit me in the mornings and at night time but during the day he would have to leave so he could do some pack work. So I got very bored.
"I know. How would you like to meet the Beta's mate tomorrow? You know for some female company?" He suggested as he sat next to me on the bed and placed the tray in between us. It had two bowls of oatmeal with strawberries and two mugs of coffee.
"That would be nice" I smiled. I hadn't had female company in a long, long time. Even the people I traded with were all males and usually wolves. It made me wonder if female rogues were rare.
"I'll talk to her when I see her this afternoon" He grinned.
I wasn't sure if meeting her was going to be a good idea but if I was going to be Luna I guess I would have to start somewhere and meeting the betas mate was a lot less intimidating than another male or high authority. I didn't get on well with males. I just clashed with them because I had a strong personality and I also had bad experiences back when I was living in the woods. The thought of meeting someone new, female or male, made my heart beat increase slightly and I was still hooked up to a heart monitor which caught Carlos' attention.
"Are you alright?" He asked, worry filling his features.
I nodded although he didn't look convinced. "I've just not spoken to a girl in a long time, so I'm nervous"
Now his features swarmed with empathy. I groaned. "Don't do that"
"Do what?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Give me that look. You don't need to feel sorry for me and look at me like some rescue dog. I've gotten on fine up until now."I shrugged.
"Oh yeah, clearly" He huffed. "You're malnourished, you have a big flesh wound on your leg and you had to steal to make a living. That doesn't seem like fine to me"
I rolled my eyes although he had a point. I didn't get on fine. Everyday was a huge struggle for me and I wasn't proud of some of the stuff I had done. This suddenly had me feeling guilty. I had tried to steal from him and that's how I landed myself in the situation to begin with.
"I'm sorry for stealing from you," I sighed.
He chuckled. "It's alright. I'm glad you did, otherwise, I would never have found you."
He put his arm around me and kissed my forehead. "I'm so happy I finally found you"
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The rest of that day I spent some time listening to some music and drawing. I would draw to pass time before, it was relaxing. I listened to some celtic music while I was drawing and I drew a wolf. The wolf was what I had imagined my wolf to be like ever since I was younger. Long, light, brown fur which was soft to touch, my blue eyes appearing much more vibrant and strong white teeth.
I sighed. I never felt like I belonged anywhere. I wasn't fully human so I couldn't go to any sort of home, like a Foster home. The way I had been kicked out would never have been believed by the humans,they would've just listed me as a missing child and I would eventually have ended up in an orphanage. I didn't belong amongst humans.
I also realised that I didn't belong in the woods either. The amount of wolves I had fought and the unbelievable things that happened to me proved this .
Of course I also didn't belong in a pack either. Rogues were sneered at by other wolves in packs and some packs even killed rogues for just stepping on their land. And there is the obvious factor that I was thrown out of my home pack.
A sudden realisation dawned upon me. I didn't belong in this pack. I didn't belong anywhere. No one was ever going to accept me for who I was in general never mind as their Luna. If the pack wouldn't accept me then Carlos would be forced to reject me. I didn't even notice that I was crying until Carlos walked into the room with another tray of food which was dinner.
He held the tray in one hand as he opened and closed the door with ease. He spun around and grinned placing the food on the table. His eyes reached mine and his grin dropped and was replaced with a concerned frown. "Evangeline? What's wrong?" he walked around to the side of the bed and stood over me, pulling my hand into his own.
The warm tingles which fizzed throughout my body from his touch comforted me slightly but that was soon replaced with disappointment. I wouldn't feel them soon. I would have to convince him to reject me or reject him myself to save him from the pain and misery that being my mate would bring to him.
"I don't belong here" I avoided his eyes, I couldn't watch as I caused him this pain. "You need to reject me" Just saying the words caused my whole being to burn with pain, starting from my chest.
I glanced at him and he looked taken aback. "What are you talking about? Of course you belong here!" He tried to stop himself raising his voice. "I will not reject you."
"I'm a rouge, Carlos. You're pack deserves better. You deserve better," I argued.
He sighed. "Look. I don't know what happened in your past but I need you to trust me when I tell you you're safe here. The pack couldn't ask for a better Luna and I sure as hell couldn't ask for a better mate. You're an amazing person and I can't wait to get to know you and spend my life with you" He sat on the bed next to me and pulled me into a hug.
"You're safe here Evangeline. I promise you I will protect you until my last breath"
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