My Wolf

Chapter 18

Four Years Earlier

Opening my eyes, I find myself in a strange place. What the....how'd I get here? I reach out to my side and feel the smooth cool metal beneath me. I quickly sit up and look around, instantly feeling light headed. Curling my legs beneath me I drop my head into my hands and take several deep breaths.

"Bekah, how are you feeling?" A calm voice says, entering the room smelling strongly of way too many chemicals.

I groan at the headache slowly forming from the sound if the man's voice. Even though I know it's barely above a whisper, but it's like he's shouting. I squeeze my eyes shut and rub my temples as his footsteps come closer.

"Bekah, I need you to answer me. How are you feeling?" He asks again, almost too patiently.

"Now Doc, don't push her. You know well enough that she's been through a lot and just hearing you whisper is probably too loud for her senses." A familiar voice answers - it can't be...Derreck?

"Of course Mister Haile, but I still need to make an assessment on her. I have to know if her body is healing correctly." The doctor answers, still in that too calm tone of his.

I don't move at all through their conversation, I just try to take control over my heightened senses. Starting with dulling the strength of my hearing until they're closer to those of a human. Then I work on my sight, making the lights less bright as my pupils contract to resist more light. Then I work on touch, trying to make the hard, cold table not as apparent as it would be with my full senses.

Suddenly I sense someone come in front of me, grabbing my hands carefully before moving them to my lap. Then the same hands gently grasp my chin, slowly pulling my face up to face their's.

"Please open your eyes, Beks?" That familiar voice pleads and I can hear the desperation in his voice.

My eyes fly open and I have to blink a few times to adjust to his proximity. Slowly I'm able to focus on the light green eyes with a few darker green colored flecks dispersed throughout them. Then I'm able to separate them from the long dark lashes that frame those gorgeous eyes. Next I take in his sharp nose and defined cheek bones. Then I get the hair line framing a tanned face with a nice, strong jaw line. Finally I'm able to recognize this face and put it with the man I've come to know as Derreck Haile. My step brother.

I gulp around the lump forming in my throat as the memories of the fire and seeing hunters fills my brain. "Derreck?"

"Hey, Beks." He chuckles a bit, smoothing my hair back from my face with a happy smile. "It's good to have you back."

"I'm good to have back." I say, shaking my head a bit when it doesn't even make sense to me.

"Good to see your sarcasm is still intact." He chuckles again, a sound I'd never expected to be happy to hear.

"Good to see you're annoying as ever." I retort, glancing around at the strange room. "Where are we?"

"Oh, right! Beks, we're at old man Henri's place. He's been helping you get the wolf's bane out of your system." Derreck says, pointing at a tall man with black-and-grey peppered hair.

"And he...wait, wolf's bane?" Is that possible? Could I have survived a bullet with aconite in it?

"Yes, the bullet that hit your shoulder was laced with a bit of aconite." Henri says, pulling a needle out of some kid of vile and flicking the thing to get rid of any bubbles.

"Then shouldn't I have died or something? And what is that stuff?" I ask, pulling a little away from the man with the vial of unknown liquid.

"This is a liquidized dose of naproxen. It'll help with the headache and make the pain not so terrible." He says, holding out to needle to Derreck. "You do it, she trusts you more than me right now."

"Are you okay with this?" Derreck asks me, indicating the medicine.

I nod. "I trust you."

He gives me a strange look before taking the syringe from Henri as they clean a spot on my upper arm to inject the pain killer, then sticks the needle into the same spot. "What's changed? Why do you suddenly look at me like I'm your best friend?"

I look up at Derreck as he removes the needle from my arm. "Because you're all I have left."

He gives me a sad smile. "I wish that weren't true. If it weren't for me...well, none of this would have happened. You'd be watching TV, annoying Paul and I, as we tried to ignore you."

"Actually, I'd probably be waking up...then slapping you because you'd fallen asleep on me. Seriously, how had we ended up in the basement?" I ask, trying my best to remember but I get nothing.

"You seriously don't remember?" He asks, raising an eyebrow.

I shake my head and he asks Henri to give us a minute alone. I can tell the man doesn't like being dismissed in such a way, but he makes no move to argue as he bows his head in respect before leaving. When we're left alone, Derreck kneels down in front of me. His eyes search mine for something before he sighs.

"Beks, you follow Paul and I to a party. I don't know exactly what happened, who you spoke to, but when we found you - well trashed isn't even close to what you were. I've never seen a werewolf get so drunk...which means you'd either been drinking for quite a while or you drank too much way too fast." He sighs again, rubbing his tired face with both hands. "You had this guy hanging all over you and he was...well, he was leading you upstairs, if you catch my meaning. Anyways, Paul pulled you from the guy and handed you over to me before he started wailing on him."

I gasp at the image of Paul defending me in any sort of way. He's hates me since...well, since I turned him down that day. "Why would he do that?"

Derreck raises a brow, as if the answer's obvious and I bite my lip nodding for him to continue. "You started yelling at him and eventually he stopped. He came over but you refused to let him touch you. He said it would be best to get you home. Of course, you put up another fight - you always fight us, I guess that's why we always have you a hard time - your so stubborn. So, we bribed you with water...saying it was in the car and you followed willingly. After a lot of fighting we finally got you home...but with most of the pack upstairs, we had to take you to the basement. You complained about being sick, so Paul went upstairs to get a bucket. Then you kind of attacked me..." His voice trails off.

I groan and shut my eyes. "Aw carp! Please just tell me I didn't do what I think I did?"

He chuckles and shakes his head. "Actually, you shocked me so much that we fell onto the couch. You said I had the most beautiful green eyes and called me Andrew - no clue who he is - before you promptly fell asleep. Paul came back down with the bucket about two seconds later and fled pretty quick. When I tried to untangle myself you latched onto me tighter and told me you were afraid of being alone. Why don't you want to be alone?"

I sigh and blink as a tear falls down my cheek. "I'd been sad about loosing my parents the other night. I remember following you guys and a girl telling me I'd be a loser forced to live alone forever. That I didn't belong in a pack and everyone would figure that out soon enough. I guess that's why I went a little crazy."

"A little?" He jokes, that brow shooting up again before he looks at the ground with sad eyes. "Beks, if me dragging you here after you got shot is not enough to show you don't have to be alone, then what is? Don't blame yourself for anything that's happened so far in your life, okay?"

I nod at the authoritative tone of his voice. "Okay, but what can I do..."

"You will never be alone again, you hear me." He says with a new strength picking up in his voice, forcing me to look up into his eyes. "Because I promise to never let that happen. I will always be here for you. No matter what."