In Reach?

Mira’s POV

Aiden and Noah escort us down to the infirmary. We were walking in one of the hallways when I noticed Theo walking our way as he’s carrying Max’s unconscious body over his shoulder. At this point I am so thankful that these hallways are specious enough for me not to have to move out of the way to avoid touching that asshole as they walk past. But I do. I don’t even want to breathe the air around him.

“You two wait here.” Aiden says to Noah and me as he points to the chairs in the hallway. “I’ll have a look at Sarah for now.” He holds the door open and gestures for her to go in.

She looks as me questioningly and I just nod at her. In all my time here, I know that Aiden is not someone to be afraid of in that regard.

I sit on one of the chairs, but Noah isn’t sitting. He’s standing against the wall opposite me and is just watching me. Seriously? Does he not want to sit next to me now? Does he see me as someone dirty now? I release an annoyed huff and start playing with the tips of my hair. I don’t like this attention on me and it’s making me too uncomfortable right now. Not to mention, I still don’t know what they plan to do with us afterwards.

I notice Aubrey is in one of the rooms, setting stuff up. She really does help around everywhere she can. She notices me watching her and gives me a nervous smile. Honestly, it looks more like she is just fidgeting around in the room, like she’s waiting for something.

After a few minutes, the door opens and Aiden walks out with Sarah. “Well everything seems to be fine. Sarah is fine to go home now.”

I stand up at his confirmation. “Great to hear. Come on Sarah, I’ll walk you home.”

“Wait, I still need to give you a check up Mira.” Aiden tries to step in front of me blocking Sarah from my view.

“No, you don’t. Not that I want one either.” Aiden and Noah are giving each other serious looks, no, it looks more like…….concern. I can even see Aubrey standing in the doorway of the other room trying to hear what’s going on here.

Aiden takes a small step forward. “Mira, I just want to treat your bruises………and to have you checked.” He seems too hesitant as he’s talking to me, like he’s cautious of something.

“I said no.” I continue before Noah tries to cut me off. “You know, you guys have made it perfectly clear since day one, that you don’t trust me one bit. Well in case you haven’t figured it out yet, I don’t trust you guys either. I don’t even get the whole point of this.” I point to the two of them.

“I mean, what is this? Are you keeping an eye on us so you can also take us to the dungeons for ‘questioning’?” I say with air quotes. Sarah looks worried now as she looks between the two men. “So why don’t you want me to walk Sarah home? What are you guys planning to actually do with us now?” I fold my arms over my chest and wait.

This time, Noah speaks up. “Mira, we’re not going to hurt you. We just want to help you girls.” He actually sounds sincere. Why is he talking all gentle with me too?

“Help? You honestly expect me to believe that? You guys started this night off by defending a rapist, two for that matter. Then you try to blame me for all the havoc that happened, before I could even say a word. And I’m pretty sure you would have made light of the situation had I not spoken up, seeing how afraid Sarah is to even speak up to you guys.” They both look at Sarah at that last remark and she’s practically hiding her face behind her falling hair as she’s looking down to the floor.

“You’re not doing this to help anybody.” I gain their attention back to me. “You’re doing this because you were told to. You’re just assholes as well.” Aubrey and Sarah suddenly look up at me with shocked faces, Noah looks like I just swore at him and Aiden looks like a hurt puppy. “None of you even apologized for your parts in that ridiculous accusation you had in there. You were in the wrong and you know it”

Everything seems quiet now.

“Come on Sarah, let’s go“. I side step Aiden and try to reach for her.

“No, wait. I’ll walk her back. It’s already so dark out and Alpha wouldn’t want you walking around alone so late at night.” Aiden steps in again.

“Oh please, as if he even cares.”

Noah gives me a strange look and asks, “do you want him to?”

“What?” He caught me off guard with the question I don’t even know how to answer it. So I just stay quiet.

“Okay, Sarah, let’s go.” Aiden looks at Sarah and gestures for her to walk along with him.

“I’ll take you to your room then.” Noah says. I see Aubrey over his shoulder, and she’s giving me a really concerned look as well. What is going on, is there something about me that I don’t know about? I turn and walk with him.

As we’re walking up the stairs to my room, Noah break the silence, “You know, you didn’t answer my question.”

Really. He’s not going to let this go. “What does it matter? I’m already so exhausted for constantly having to look over my shoulder to see what he’s going to throw at me next. Tell me, do you two tag team on your torture games?”

He looks offended. Good. “We would never play any part in something like that. Especially Liam. It’s…… disgusting.”

“Says the man that literally asked me to give him proof of rape like it’s the most casual question in the world.” He looks shocked, probably only realizing now what he did. But I’m getting too angry at him trying to play all innocent in this as well. “How dare you?! How dare you of all people say that, especially since………” I bite my lip as the sentence just hangs in the air.

“Since what?” He looks at me curious. Crap, I almost let it slip.

I take a deep breath and stop in the hallway; he stops as well and faces me. “If you really want to protect this pack as much as you say, then you should probably start by questioning your ability to discern between friend and foe.” Now he’s looking at me all confused.

“Mira, don’t try to tell me how to…” I interrupt him before he can even finish that ridiculous sentence.

“Noah, you accused someone that was just trying to tell you the truth, yet you invited the enemy into your home. Doesn’t matter how hard you try, you’re not going to make an enemy out of me. It is not going to work. At worst, you’ll get me to hate you. And all that means is that I will completely cut you out of my life. Torturing and killing isn’t exactly my style.” I give him a brief sarcastic smile at the last part.

He’s looking at me with something I’ve never seen before. It’s creepy and it’s also making me feel good. He’s looking at me with…………respect. Like my words actually meant something to him.

“Anyways, this is my room.” I point to the door behind me. “Oh and please don’t bother calling me for dinner, I’m not hungry.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I just want to take a long bath and go to bed.” I turn and go into the room before he tries to make this moment any more awkward than it needs to be with his small talk. Since when does he try to talk to me?

After a nice, relaxing, long bath, I look at myself in the mirror. I don’t think I’m as bothered by the bruises or the attempted rape as I should be. But this is not really a shock to me. I’ve seen it too many times, how guys try to rape girls in the foster homes. A couple of times, it was tried on me. But none of them actually got as far as the guy today. He actually got me to the point of wanting to cry. But Alex taught me how to be strong. And he kicked their asses for me.

I get dressed in the PJs and gown, and walk out of the bathroom still trying to dry my hair with the towel. I walk towards the bed, but I sense someone behind me, I sense him.

I turn around and see him sitting in one of the chairs in the corner of the room. He’s hunched forward, with his elbows on his parted knees. His knuckles seem bruised. He must have been at it very roughly if the bruises are still there. He looks up at me with a very concerned look on his face.

What’s this all about? “Uhm, I thought the questioning was done for the night.” His stare on my body is starting to make me uncomfortable. What is he looking for?

He seems to notice my attempt at trying to cover my body with the gown, and looks back down pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Aiden tells me you didn’t want him to get you checked.” Is this what this is about?

“And?”

He looks back up at me and gets up from the chair.

“I ordered for you to get checked. Come.” He’s walking towards me and grabs my hand before I can pull it away. ”I’m taking you to Aiden right now, so he can have a look at you.”

“What, why? I already said I’m fine. I don’t need it.” I try pulling my hand back.

“Why can you never just do as I ask?”

“Why should I? What do you want to gain from this?” He stops.

“What? What do you mean?” He really looks lost now. He let’s go of my hand and is facing me again.

“Don’t act like you care. For all I know, you could have arranged the whole thing.”

He growls as I see him getting angry. “Is that what you think of me? You think I’m some kind of monster?”

“Isn’t that what you also see me as?” My question seems to catch him off guard. “So just stop pretending like you care.”

“Of course I care.” He steps closer to me. He looks like he’s going to caress my cheek, but instead he feels my damp hair between his fingers. I don’t know when it is that we got so comfortable being in each other’s space, but I’m still happy I’m holding this towel. Otherwise my hands would have started to jitter to try and hold him. “I protect everyone in my pack.”

I look up into his eyes. I walk backwards as I speak. “That’s just it. I’m not part of your pack. I’m nothing but a rogue that accidentally wound up here. So, you shouldn’t care about me. You shouldn’t care if others hurt me.” I walk back until my calves feel the bottom of the bed hit against them. "I’m nobody to you."

I’m barely done when he practically shouts, “You’re mine!” with his eyes glowing.

“What?”

He’s a few steps away from me, and he’s standing still, like he’s trying to figure out what he just said.

“I mean, you’re mine to protect. You are under my protection for as long as you’re here.”

“What?” This is confusing me even more.

He seems bothered, like he doesn’t want to continue this conversation. And I’m not surprised that he changes the topic. “So let’s go to Aiden and have you checked.”

“I already said that I’m fine. Why do you keep pushing this?”

He runs his hand through his hair. Something I’ve learned he does when he’s frustrated.

“I need to know. I need to know what he did to you.”

Oh no. This isn’t something I really want to go into detail, especially not with him.

He seems to notice my discomfort at his request, and slowly walks to me at the foot of the bed.

“I want to punish him for everything he did to you. He’s already going to lose his hands for daring to lay them on you. But I need to know everything, so I can make him suffer for it.”

Damn, he really must hate the idea of rape, if this is how he wants to punish him.

I look to my hands feeling a bit awkward at his focus on me and being so close. “I already showed you the bruises. What more can you want?”

Gggrrrhhh! I look up as I hear him growl. He’s pacing in front of me with his eyes glowing on and off. It almost seems like he’s having an argument with his wolf in his head. But he seems to be getting more agitated. He walks towards the window and punches a hole in the wall next to it.

I gasp at this sudden outburst and he looks back at me.

“Mira.” He’s slowly walking back to me. “Please I just need to know.”

“I already told you. What more do you want to know?”

“Did he fuck you?!” He shouts before I could even finish.

Woah. That’s a little straight forward. I’m quiet as I’m caught a little off guard by it. Wait. Is this what this whole visit is about? He wants to know if I was actually raped? Is that why everyone was looking at me like that earlier?

“Mira please.” He closes the gap between us and is cupping my face, forcing me to look at him. “Did that fucker rape you?”

I lose grip of the towel and use my hands to try and get his hands off my face. But he just tightens his grip as his fingers snake behind my neck. Just how huge are his hands, or am I just that small?

“N…n-no.” I try to answer him, but that intense gaze of his is making it difficult to focus.

He clenches his jaw. “You hesitated.”

I’m too afraid to try and say ‘no’ again, so I just shake my head.

He leans his forehead against mine, closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “Mira, please. Don’t try to lie to me about this.” He takes another deep inhale through his nose. “I could smell his scent all over you before. I don’t know how long I can keep it together, with the thought that someone like him had you when you were mine to protect.”

I don’t know what this is I’m feeling right now, but I like hearing him say those words, -that I’m his to protect. I can’t help but lose myself in his scent as well. It’s actually calming my nerves. I wonder if my scent does the same with him. I mean, he does sniff me a lot. But then again it may just be a wolf thing, and I’m probably just delusional with a very unhealthy crush on this god of a man.

“No.” I say the word more firmly now. He opens his eyes looking at mine. “He didn’t get that far.” I say as I slightly shake my head.

Since I seem to have his full attention now, I might as well. “And I swear, I had nothing to do with any of this.”

“I know, I know.” He whispers in my face, as his thumb is caressing my cheek.

I can’t help but stare at his eyes. For once they are in sync with his face. Is he really concerned about me? No, it can’t be. I’m too focused on his eyes, I don’t even realize that his gaze has moved away from mine.

He removes his one hand from my left cheek and the movement wakes me from my stare, dropping my hands from his. He caresses my hair with the back of his hand, but he pushes it past my shoulder revealing my neck.

“You seem to at least be healing quicker now.” He clenches his jaw the longer he looks at my neck. “It annoys me knowing how close he was to your neck; he could’ve marked you.” He says in a whisper, as if he’s talking to himself.

Mark. Isn’t that what mates do to say that they belong to each other? “Mark, why would he mark me?”

He looks at me even more concerned. “Wolves can force their marks on others who aren’t their mates.”

What!? That means if he did mark me, I would have belonged to that asshole forever? Am I just now understanding the seriousness of this situation?????

“Which reminds me.” He says more sternly though. “Stop going around and biting people on the neck.”

Oh shit, he’s right. “I-….” Wait, was I just about to say ‘I’m sorry’ to him? Why would I feel sorry? For disappointing him? Oh hell no.

He raises his brows as he waits for me to finish my sentence.

“I don’t have to do what you say, you know.” He looks disappointed by my choice of words. “But, thank you for the warning.” It’s not like I know how this marking thing really works. What if I did mark that asshole? That would just be a nightmare to even consider.

“You should get some rest.” He takes a step back. “It was a rough day.” He grabs me again, but into a tight hug, and his head in my neck. “I’m sorry.” He whispers into my hair.

But then he suddenly just let’s go and walks off to the door.

For some strange reason, I don’t want him to leave just yet, and I almost get excited when I see him hesitating to leave. What is it with this man always leaving me in a flustered state?

But all things must come to an end. Besides, after the day I had, I really just want to slip under the covers.