The Alpha's Lost Mate [Completed]

Chapter Four: The Unwanted Discovery

I stared at him in disbelief, not sure I even fully comprehended what he was saying. We held eye contact for what seemed like hours.

"Gracie?" He asked cautiously. "Please say something."

"No, no, this is too much," I gasped, hugging my arms around myself.

"Just breathe, please calm down. This is something we can work out, we can take it slowly. Hell, we can take it at a glacial pace if that's what you need," he promised, reaching for my hand again.

"No, no, no!" I shouted, swatting him away. The hurt in his eyes broke my heart, but I tried my best to ignore it. This was ridiculous!

"Gracie I can't imagine how overwhelming this must be for you, but I know you feel it. Your brain doesn't fully understand what it's feeling, but humans feel the mate bond, not as intensely as wolves at first, but I know you can feel it," he whispered. "Please, please tell me you can feel it."

The sheer panic in his voice calmed me down. All the colour had drained from his beautifully tanned face and I swore I saw a hint of tears in his eyes. Something about seeing this big, bad wolf man so scared and vulnerable resonated with something in me. I tried hard to slow my breathing down and collect my swimming thoughts.

I nodded silently, unable to make words form. My head felt so full, even the gentle nod sent pain shooting through my skull.

"You can?" He asked, letting out a huge sigh of relief. "Then that's enough. I promise I'll never push you to take things faster than you need to. We can move at whatever pace you want."

As the tension eased slightly the pain intensified and I buried my head into my hands.

"Okay, that's enough of this for now. You must still be hungry, or want a shower or painkillers, or sleep?" He asked, concern darting across his eyes.

I nodded again, barely able to keep my head up as the stress and panic washed over me upon the realisation that I might be a prisoner here. Would he let me go if I didn't want to be his mate? Would he hurt me, or kill me, even? Something deep inside me urged me to trust him and follow his lead, and I was too overwhelmed to deny it.

Jamie brought me a glass of water and painkillers in a flash, and tucked me up under a warm blanket while he got to work cooking behind me. I stared at the fireplace in front of me, lost in the crackling flames while I waited. He put a plate of scrambled eggs and toast in front of me, his brows furrowing when I continued to stare at him in silence.

"Eat, please Gracie, you don't have to talk until you're ready," he said gently, taking a seat next to me.

And so I didn't. I ate in silence, let him lead me to the bathroom when I was done and watched him turn the shower on. He pulled out shampoo, conditioner and shower gel, put towels on the warming rack and pulled the door almost closed as he went back into the main room.

I stood wordlessly staring at the floor until the room was as foggy with steam as my brain felt, barely registering that I could hear him having a quiet conversation with someone. Jamie finally came back in, concerned etched in his eyes with Sarah stood behind him. She took a long, worried look at me before stepping around him.

"Okay Alpha, I got her from here," she said firmly, closing the door gently in his face. "Gracie do you need help?"

I nodded, tears springing to my eyes as she quietly got to work helping me peel off my filthy clothes. She turned the shower off and ran a bath instead, overloading it with bubbles for some semblance of privacy. She helped me in, shaking with anger when she noticed the bruises on my arms and shoulder and the parts of my wrists and ankles that were shredded from restraints.