Chapter 10Bronx's POV
After about fifteen minutes of failed attempts to try to convince Kas to come out from under the bed, I call
Lenora and a nurse to help coax her out. I go to my room to shower and change while they do that.
Lenora meets me out in the hallway before I can go back into Kas’s suite.
“Is she alright?” I ask, searching Lenora’s eyes for the truth.
“Yeah, but that whole thing exhausted her. She is back in bed sleeping,” she admits, shoving her hands
in her pockets.
"Bronx, I know I told you to be here and be with Kas, but maybe you should go get some sleep yourself,"
She looks at me sympathetically, "I cant believe you were so distracted that she was able to break your
nose. You have to take care of yourself if you're going to take care of her."
I sigh in frustration and rub my hands over my face, “I’m fine, Lenora.”
"No. You’re not fine. An eighty pound she-wolf just broke Bronx Mason’s nose. Does that sound fine to
you?,” her tone is forceful, “I'll stay here for a few hours. You go get sleep and get your head straight.”
"Fine. But if anything else happens to her, Leni-"
"It won't. Now get the Hell out of here. Go get some sleep. You look like shit."
I go back to my room and lay down. I take off my eye patch and rub my hands over my face again.
"Do you think our mate will be okay?" Saint whimpers.
"I hope so, buddy. I hope so. I haven't even had a proper conversation with her and I just want to spend
every moment with her."
"Yeah. What are the chances the Moon Goddess would mate us with someone else who has scars?" he
muses.
"She does everything for a reason," I mindlessly touch my fingers on the place where my left eye used to
be.
"I'm not tired, Bronx. Let me out. I wanna go for a run," Saint sighs.
"Yeah, that's a good idea. Mind if Ghost and Crusher come along?"
"The more the merrier."
***
We run at breakneck speed until we get to the river. We shift back to our human forms, grab some shorts
from the lockbox at the edge of the woods, and sit on the river bank. The river has a high iron content
which makes the water turn red with rust. It looks like blood, hence the Blood River pack name. Not
nearly as ominous as the rumors would have you think.
"So break it down for me, Bronx. What's her deal?" Reggie asks.I light a cigarette and explain everything I am able to piece together from Lenora, the Silver Moon pack,
what happened while I was at their packhouse, and what the doctors said.
"So that's it. She was a slave. She didn't even want to be referred to as an omega, according to Lenora.
Silver Moon's doctor said she has no family. The Alpha and Luna and others in the pack have been
abusing her mentally and physically for years."
Thinking about her mistreatment still boils my blood.
"Other than the doctor, who was completely insane and the nurse who Kas seemed to trust, there wasn't
a single wolf in the pack that the Elders spoke to who had not either hit her or said shitty things to her."
"Lenora said her scars are intense," Milo says quietly after a minute of silence.
"Yeah, like Freddie Krueger intense. Our doctors called the marks on her back 'keloid scars'. They are
thick and raised up like big bumps. Usually only humans get them. They said it's because that fucker
used wolfsbane on whatever he was whipping her with and it made it more difficult to heal. Imagine how
damn strong you have to be to go through abuse like that and live. She was just a kid. She didn't have
anyone, not even her wolf to help her through any of it," I rub my hands on my face and look at them,
"And those are just the physical scars. The emotional scars, who knows how deep they go. The brain
can be a twisted place."“We know man, we have been through it with you and we will be right by your side for this as well,"
Reggie claps his hand on my shoulder, "We're always here for ya man...and your mate."
"Thanks, man," I force a smile.
We all sit for a while longer, taking in nature while I finish my cigarette.
"Bronx, I'm not trying to add more pressure but you need to talk to the Elders. Find out what to do if she
isn't well enough to become Luna. You only have nine months left," Milo says.
"Summer Solstice. Don't remind me, man. I know. Let's see if we can get her out of her current state first.
I don't know anything about her, only that she is my mate. Once we are sure she even wants the
pressure of being a Luna Regent. Then we can think about the pack's future."
“Well, that and putting up with your dumb ass, Bronxy," Milo says with a smirk, breaking the serious tone
of our conversation.
“Fuck you, Milo," I smirk back.
We sit around and talk for a while longer before we all shift into our wolves and head back to the
packhouse.
I get a quick shower and go directly to Kas's room.
“Nothing to report, Alpha," Lenora stands and salutes me.
“Knock it off, Lenora. How is she?" I ask, looking at my tiny sleeping mate. Why does she have to be so
tiny and fragile? It makes her even more adorable.
“Honestly, she has been tossing and turning and even whimpering a bit in her sleep," Lenora puts her
hand on my forearm, "Bronx, you should lay down with her. Having her mate next to her will help calm
her down. Trust me. Milo and I are most content when we have physical contact. Even if it's just holding
hands."
A few things to know about me, I'm twenty-four years old. I run the largest werewolf pack in all of North
America. In the olden days, I would've been considered the king of the northwestern United States and
southern Canadian regions. Nowadays, I'm called an 'Alpha Regent', which means I'm responsible for all
the smaller packs in my region. We haven't been in a monarchy for centuries. Each pack has an Alpha
and Luna who enforce the laws for their pack. If there's a problem, I get involved. If it's a big problem, we
have a Council of Elders who get involved in the situation.
I've fought in two werewolf wars. I declined to take the title of General and fought in the ranks with the
rest of the militia. Yes, my wolf Saint and I have killed werewolves. We've also killed vampires, witches,
and even a werebear. I'm not proud of it but death is inevitable in war. Maybe it's my military background,
but I'm strictly business when I'm in public. Maybe more often than I should be. It's earned me a
reputation of being...well...I guess you could say 'not so nice.' I do have to admit, I can be a bit of a
hothead. It's not as bad as it used to be though. When I'm with my family or my ranked members, I've
learned to relax a bit.
With all that being said, I haven't had time to hold a girl's hand other than a handshake since I was
sixteen years old, let alone lay next to a girl. My palms felt a little sweaty at the thought of laying next to
Kas. She is the most beautiful wolf I have ever laid eyes on. I'm also a little worried that Saint won't
control himself.
"Don't put this on me, buddy. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to meet her wolf, but I'm not gonna jump an
unconscious girl, for Goddess sake!" He chimes in.
“Come on, Bronx. You had no problem holding her in the car ride here," Lenora justifies when she sees
me looking uncomfortable.
"Well, I mean, that was different, ya know. She was wrapped up in a giant quilt, not in my bed wearing
my favorite t-shirt but, uh, okay. Yeah, uh, I'll give it a try after you leave," trying to play it cool but failing
miserably.
Lenora rolls her eyes at me and heads out the door.
“Good luck, Casanova!” she calls as the door closes behind her.
I stand awkwardly next to the bed and clear my throat as I rock back and forth on my heels. I'm not sure
how to go about this.
"Dude. Start by sitting down. You're making me nervous," Saint scolds.
"Sit. Yeah, good idea. Uh, okay..." I look around as I wipe my sweaty hands on my pants and grab a chair
from the kitchen table. I move it to the bedside and slowly reach out for Kas's hand.
"It's not a live grenade, it's just our mate's hand. Stop being a weenie," Saint teases.
"Knock it off, dude. I'm not trying to scare her again," I growl.
I have always been taught that you need to ask a woman's permission to touch her, unless she is trying
to kill you, then all bets are off. Right now seems like an ask permission situation, but there is no one to
ask. My mate seems to be in an endless sleep."Kas," I whisper softly, "um, Lenora thinks it would be a good idea if I laid down with you, but I don't want
to do that. I mean, I do but I want to be sure that's what you want first. So, um, if it's alright, I'm just going
to hold your hand for a while. Hopefully it will help you somehow? I don't know. Just please understand,
I'm doing my best to control myself here. I want to do what's best for you. It would be a lot easier to do
that if you woke up and told me exactly what that is."
Just as she has for the last three days, she lays deathly still. I take a deep breath. Here goes nothing.
Little zaps of electricity hit me as our fingertips touch. She sighs deeply with a slight whine and turns her
head toward me. I almost pull my fingers back, but I see her face look more relaxed than it has in the
week that I've known her. Very slowly, I slide my hand into hers, letting the sparks flow between us. Her
hand in mine feels like the most natural thing in the world. I pull our joined hands to my lips and place a
small kiss on her hand. Her scent of fresh rain and lilacs overwhelms my senses and makes me relaxed
too. I lay my head against the mattress and just watch her sleep.
"I'm sorry I scared you earlier but I'm here now, Kas and wild werebears couldn't drag me away from
you," I whisper. I pull her hand toward me and press it to my cheek.
I haven't slept more than an hour at a time in almost a week but I can't bring myself to look away from
her. I sit there and watch her sleep, with her soft hand against my cheek. I don't know how much time
passes before my eyes feel heavier and heavier and sleep takes me away.