To Come Together

Chapter 15

Layla's POV

Cracking my eyes open I'm instantly blinded by light. I close my eyes as a wave of pain crashes over me.

"Open your eyes for me, baby,"Nick's voice says suddenly. I turn my head to the right, toward his voice. All I see is a blur, so I blink, clearing my vision. He finally comes into view and I smile weakly.

"How are you feeling?"Nick asks. 

"Great,"I lie and his face goes dark. I raise my eyebrows in confusion. 

"Don't do that,"he growls. "Don't lie to me anymore. I want, no I need the truth." I was not expecting that.

"I hurt but I've been through worse,"I tell him honestly. He gives a small smile, kissing my forehead before getting up. He opens the door and tells somebody that I'm awake. All of a sudden, everybody piles in the room. Somehow we all fit. After getting several hugs, I finally spot Ashley cowering in a corner in the back.

"Ashley,"I call out. "Please come here." Ashley slowly walks toward me, guiltily.

"You didn't do this,"I tell her. "It's not your fault and I should've been honest with you. With all of you." I look around the room at everybody.

"If you don't mind,"Nick says. "Can you tell us what happened?" I sigh and debate. If I tell them, I'll be pitied, but if I don't, I'll be lying to them. If I want to consider being their alpha female someday, then I need to be honest.

"Alright,"I say looking up. "My father beat me. It's always been that way. Any time I pissed him off or even just for fun, he would beat me to near death. We moved around so much and he made me get a job every time since he stopped working. So I set up my own business which you guys know as my 'dad's' job. I'm the one who actually works on computers and all that." Several gasps went throughout the room and I can see Nick's face pale. "That let us get into a semi nice house every time. It would have been cheaper to rent an apartment, but Derek never let me. He didn't want anybody to hear my... my screams." I swallow hard at saying that, my voice breaking.

"He had been getting worse lately and when I went to grab my stuff after the meeting with my mom, he beat me. I was so used to the pain that I pushed through it and then announced myself to the packs. I didn't tell anybody about my ribs and now here we are." The room is engulfed in silence, everybody trying to process everything that I just admitted.

"But why didn't you tell anybody?"Ashley asks. I hang my head and only look up when Nick puts a hand on my cheek.

"You can tell us,"he comforts me.

"I didn't want to be a big burden on you guys. With the wedding happening and everything, I didn't want to make it any harder."

"Well, I'm glad that we know now,"Jared says. We all laugh and they leave to let me sleep. Nick stays with me because he's my mate and the alpha. Once everybody leaves, Nick turns to me.

"Thank you for being honest with me,"Nick says and I nod. "Do you know that it was me who asked you to hack into my dad's laptop."

"Yes,"I admit. "But I understand why you did it." Smiling, he places his face into the curve of my neck and starts nuzzling. I can feel his desire to claim me practically radiating off of him.

"You can do it,"I say, giving him permission to mark me. That would let us be able to mind link each other and ensure me as the future Luna of the packs.

"Are you sure?"Nick looks up at me with his big, brown dreamy eyes. I nod and he grins. He takes his time, kissing my neck before finally marking me. A wave of pleasure envelopes me as I'm finally connected with my mate. My wolf howls in happiness.

"I love you,"I whisper. Nick kisses me on the lips and then takes my hands in his.

"I love you too, Layla. Now get some sleep. If you're up for it, I would like us to get married as soon as possible."

Nick's POV

I play with Layla's hair as she sleeps. My wolf is practically dancing, happy to finally be connected with our mate. I am too. The door suddenly opens and I look up to see Dr. Livingston walk in.

"When will she be able to leave?"I ask, afraid of the answer. I want to get married and start a life with her as soon as I can, but her health comes first.

"In a day or too since she has werewolf healing. She might hurt for a week or two, but seeing on how long she was able to hide this, I don't think it will be a problem." I growl at the thought of my mate having to go through this by herself for so long. I would go and rip Derek's throat out if I could, but Layla's parents are going to call the cops on him. If Layla agrees to testify against him, then he could be locked up for life. I hope she does so that they can nail that bastard.

"What are we going to do with their pack doctor?"I ask, wanting to rip his throat out too for whatever reason he had for not saying anything about how bad Layla really was.

"Probably interrogate him and see his reasons. After that, they'll either kill him or banish him, depending on his reasons. Either way, we'll catch him." She assures me. I nod and she leaves. I recall the confession from Layla. She was the one who hacked into my dad's laptop for me. I was upset over not winning Layla over and my dad was hiding something, so I took the chance and emailed that account. If I had known it was Layla doing it, I wouldn't have asked. I'm a little upset she didn't tell me about Derek, but I understand that she was afraid.

"What are you thinking about,"Layla rasps, obviously just waking up.

"Just about what you told us. You must be so strong to handle him all of those years. I can't even imagine. I would be rolling around on the floor crying like a baby.  I almost did when you told us." She laughs before her face goes serious and sad. What is she thinking?

"Are you sure you want me?" That's not what I expected to come out of her mouth.

"Why would you ask that?"

"I mean, I'm broken and I don't know if I can be fixed. Are you sure you want me now that you know that I'm not who you think I am?"

"Baby,"I say, sad that she would even question my love for her. "You are perfect in my eyes and I wouldn't change anything about you. And you are the same person that I've known for the past few months."

"And who's that?"

"You are the same caring, loving person that puts others before her even if it gets her hurt. The same kind person who accepts me for all of my flaws. The same person who forgives Ashley even after she was a bitch to you. You're the exact same person that I fell in love with." We're both tearing up and she cups my face with her hands.

"Thank you,"she says before slamming her mouth on mine, filling me with such burning passion that it's all I can do to not join her on the hospital bed. We pull away, both of us breathing hard.

"I love you too,"I say smiling. , glad to finally have my mate by my side.

Unknown POV

I hurry and type everything into my laptop about who hired me to kill Layla Morrison, knowing that he's coming for me. As soon as I told him that I was probably caught, he started screaming at me. I hung up and immediately started to type all the information of the deal, hoping that someone will be able to get into it. He needs to get caught. Hell, I need to get caught. 

I feel so bad that I agreed to do this. I used to be a hit man, but I stopped a long time ago. I was just so mad that-. 

I'm ripped out of my thoughts when I hear a door slam. I quickly finish encrypting the file and send it to the alpha of my pack. I shut my laptop as soon as Derek walks in.

"You bastard,"Derek screams, coming toward me and wrapping his big, meaty hands around my neck. I try to claw him off, but he's too strong for me and I feel my life slowly slipping away. He puts a hand on my neck and I recognize it as the position for snapping a neck. I close my eyes and he twists, making everything go black with a snap.