The Beast (Alpha Trilogy #1)

Chapter 12

Demon POV

We reach the clearing and I don't waste any time getting to my house. I head towards the bedroom, Shane following close behind me. He helps me place my mate gently on the bed, and I step back, admiring my little queen's beauty; even hurt she's still breathtaking.

Shane stays with me for a while, and I decide to use this chance to tell him what I want from him from now on.

'Shane' I get his attention away from my mate.

'Yes, alpha.'

'I want you to be her personal bodyguard from now on.' I tell him, waiting for his reaction. It's a pretty rash decision for me to make, but I already know he'll do anything for my mate. He said it himself.

'Bodyguard? Alpha, I'm not sure I understand. You want me to guard Luna? But I'm not-' He begins, but I interrupt him before he can continue, knowing he's about to refuse.

'You're the best choice. I can tell by the way you protected her today. Besides, you're the strongest warrior here and you have sharp instincts. That's why you followed her when she tried to leave, isn't that right?'

'How did you know-' he starts and his eyes widen in surprise.

'There is no way you could've reached her that fast unless you were close. I just put two and two together. Shane, I trust you with my mate's safety. You know how much she means to me, you're the only one I can entrust her with, apart from me. Leo may have assigned Mason as Beta, but you're still my favorite. I hope you accept my offer. If you don't, I will understand, but I'd really rather you protected her than anyone else.'

'Alpha, it's an honor, but after how I treated Luna I don't think I'm a suitable choice. She may not agree to this, either.'

'Don't worry about it. I can already see that there is no animosity between you two after what happened earlier. She wasn't wary of you anymore, like earlier.'

'You noticed? I'm sorry Alpha!'

'No need to apologize. I saw how uneasy she was whenever you were around, watching us, it wasn't that hard to figure everything out. But back there, there was none of it. She accepted you, just as you accepted her. That's why I want you to do this for me, and for her.'

'I'm really honored, Alpha. I agree. Like I said in the woods, I swear to you that I will protect Luna with my life.' He tells me, bowing again.

'Thank you Shane.'

'It's no problem, Alpha. I'm the one who should be thanking you for your trust.' He says with a bow and leaves the room.

I turn to my mate, hearing her stir, meaning she's going to wake up soon.

As soon as I see her move, I'm at her side, nudging her lightly with my snout, encouraging her to wake up. When she finally does, I lick her face, happy to see her gorgeous eyes again.

She slowly sits up, careful not to move her broken leg too much, and my heart breaks again, thinking of the pain she must be in.

I watch her look around the room quickly, probably confused as to how she got here. Then her eyes lock onto mine, making my heart race and everything around me disappear, leaving only her and me in our own little world.

'You brought me here.' She rather states than questions. I can only nod at her in response.

'You're like them, aren't you? You can change, too.' Again, I can only nod.

'Can you change now?' This time I shake my head, feeling utterly broken for not being able to talk to her.

She looks down to her lap, deep in thought, as if thinking of what to make out of this.

'Will you be able to change at all?' she asks, not looking at me, and again, I can only nod. She side-glances at me to see my answer and then again looks down.

'If you're keeping me here as food, I will not hesitate to kill you.' She tells me with a straight face, looking straight into my eyes, making me frantically shake my head at her. How could she think I was going to eat her?! Was that why she left? She thought I was going to eat her, hurt her? I would never!

'Okay.' She says, seeing my reaction, her tense shoulders slumping in what seems to be relief.

'I need to set my leg. Could you give me something to bite onto?'

My eyes widen in horror. She's going to set her broken leg herself? But that's going to hurt; I don't want to see her in pain. I shake my head, trying to somehow tell her not to do it. I can try to contact another Alpha to take her to a hospital; I can't let her do it. There are no painkillers at the house, there is no doctor; well, actually there is a pack doctor, but he's a wolf, so he won't be of much help.

'It's fine. I know what I'm doing; I just need to bite onto something, so I won't bite my tongue.'

We stare at each other, waiting for the other to back down. But the determined look on her face tells me I don't really have a choice in the matter. So I give in. I will always give in to her, she's my everything. But this, I'd rather she had professional help.

I go to the closet and get a shirt of mine to give her. I hand it to her, watching her roll it and put it between her pearly whites. Then she grabs her leg with one hand right above the break and the other right under it. In one move she snaps the bone back in pace, grimacing and groaning at the pain it causes her, her jaw clenching on the material of the shirt hard enough for me to hear the tick of it. I lick her face continuously, then her broken leg, trying to somehow ease the pain, despite knowing it will do nothing.

'It's okay, Puppy. I'm used to this.'

Puppy? I snap my head up to look at her so fast that I almost get a whiplash, only to see her already looking at me with tender expression, her eyes lighting up with amusement.

I huff and playfully growl at her, not liking the name in the slightest.

And then she does something that lights up my whole existence – she smiles. Genuine, soft smile graces her face, making my heart flutter at the sight. It warms my cold heart up, thinking that I'm the reason behind it. If that smile is what I get for being called that ridiculous name, then I will be her puppy for the rest of my life. A monster of an Alpha, a cursed horse-sized wolf becomes a puppy for his little mate. The pack better not hear about this, they won't let me live this down.

I grin wolfishly at her, then attack her with my tongue, licking every inch of her, trying to get her to do the impossible.

Laugh.

But I'm not successful. It doesn't matter, though. I will get her to laugh someday.

I can feel Leo pushing at the inner wall in my mind, trying to get the control back. I look at my mate, relishing the feeling of her dainty hands going through my fur and snarl at Leo to wait. He'll get his chance.

I lie down on the bed beside my little Luna and wrap my paws around her, purring contentedly. I feel her curling up to my huge form, finding position that doesn't cause her leg to hurt, tucking her head under my chin. Soon I hear her soft breathing, meaning she's fallen asleep.

This is where she belongs. Safe, in my arms, snuggled into me in my bed.

And I will keep her that way if it's the last thing I do.

No one will take her away from me.