Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Watch me." I start running to catch up with him, but the door slams and my weak legs give way beneath me and I fall over, bashing my knees, cursing loudly. Clicking the door is locked. I stand up again quickly and I start thumping at the door.

"You bastard. Let me out. Coward. Damn you Zoren. Let me out!"

Hearing the gentle click of another lock I see the Matron come hustling in through the hospital office door. She is a middle age lady with sandy short hair and an air of importance and impatience about her. Her skin was pale as though she'd spent her life inside taking care of the ill and injured. Eyeing me, almost angrily she looks up from her clipboard, placing it on the desk.

"You're awake." She says bluntly.

"Yes?"

"And out of bed?"

"Yes, it appears I am."

She marches up to me and starts checking my temperature and bandage hastily.

"That was a silly thing to do. Not letting your mate complete the marking. Very dangerous. I have had many young girls die in this walls from the loss of blood."

I gulp at these words. "I wasn't aware."

"No one is aware they are about to die." She snaps, pulling away, satisfied I'm not about to drop down and dead in her presence.

"Why don't they tell people? Surely it should be a priority to warm young girls and boys alike."

She turns to look at me, pointing a stubby wrinkly finger at me. "You don't think I have? Gosh I tell Paul every year. But does he bloody listen?" It shocks me to hear her say Paul's name without a hint of respect or at least calling him alpha. I wonder how many girls she has seen to die at the Mating Ceremony. I don't want to think about.

"I'll make him listen."

"You will? You're just a girl."

"Me? I'm an Alpha."

"So? You're still a girl."

This woman is provoking me. I stand up out of my bed.

"I am just as powerful as the rest of them. I deserve to be Alpha just as much as any man."

When I look at her again, she is smiling with satisfaction. "Right you are. Now you have a council meeting to attend."

I pause, realising. She was trying to get this reaction out of me. I like this woman. "Thank you. Why thank you." I want to hug her, although I get the feeling she wouldn't be too impressed if I grabbed her in a hug.

"Oh, and one question, has my room been cleaned up?"

"Yes, alpha it has."

I sigh. "Good."

***

Marching into my bedroom avoiding other wolves, I see that the Matron was true to her words. My bed is stripped of mattress and all sheets, the floor coated with bleach powder to rid it of my blood stains although the metal scent still hangs in the air, an unwanted presence. I know I need to be quick if I want to catch up with Zoren and prove him wrong as I shower, the water running orange with blood still caught in my hair and skin, chuckling away my pjs from last night. There's no way I can rescue them. I smother myself with Strawberry shampoo and conditioner.

Packing a quick night bag, I feel angry at Zoren for abandoning me. He just left me. I nearly died and he walked out to a Council Meeting. That I was meant to be going to too.

Checking my phone, I look at the text, sent 3 hours ago from Paul. Yes we have a Alpha group chat. I mean we hardly ever use it as it usually ends in fights. The Council is in Paul's pack, a good 2 hour drive away from here and it starts in one hour. Everyone else is probably already there, save Zoren. There's a knock on my door and John comes in, with a backpack already on his shoulder.

"You ready to go?" He asks, unaware of last night's trauma. For now, I'd like to keep it that way. "What happened to your bed?" His face is mask of confusion with his eyebrows slightly crooked.

"I have a Wolf Council meeting."

"So do I." He repeats calmly.

"Oh?"

"Dad only told me this morning after he was making arrangements for the wolves from the ceremony. He's staying to look after them so I'm going. He said you would be going slightly late." He eyes my room suspiciously. "I have a feeling you two aren't telling me something."

I poke my head up from where I was kneeling, shoving my pants into my rucksack. "I'll tell you later. We're late."

"I gathered Sherlock." He answers dryly. "You ready?"

"Just about. I hope I left a charger in the car."

"Why is that your priority."

"Yours would be the same if you weren't so infatuated with Jason."

"I am not." He blushes so his face is almost the same colour as his orange hair.

"Yes, and I am not Alpha. He's texted you 5 times since we've been in the room." I direct my gaze to his hand where his phone is, vibrating with the caller ID of Jason. He hides his hand behind his back.

"Shut up!" He pouts with a whingey voice.

I laugh, standing up and playfully hitting his shoulder. "Come on lover boy. Let's go."

***

Aurora, calm down. It's going to be okay." Tam reaches out to touch my arm in reassurance. I run my hand through my hair hand smile at her weakly, appreciating her support.

"I know." I sigh. "I know. I just want everyone to be safe."

"And we will be when you're not panicking. Things only go wrong when you panic."

I smile at Tam. "I know."

"Plus, I am the strongest warrior of our pack and-" I tsk to her statement. "Okay, okay, I'm joking. It's fine."

I hug them briefly: avoiding Tam's threat of a sloppy kiss; shaking hands with Peter; hugging Aunt Lou as Uncle Sam has a briefing in the pack house with the warriors to protect the young wolves here for the ceremony; high fiving Mickey in our secret handshake before clambering into the car. John is already in the front on his phone, retro sunglasses on and humming to himself as he fiddles with the CD player to find a radio station suitable for his tastes.

I shut the door behind me and strap myself in. "Don't touch that. I had it finely tuned."

"To the radio?"

"We need to know what's going on." I start the engine and put the car into first gear. "Unless you can brief me on the second Fields attack."

Pulling away, out the drive and down the road John speaks up. "It happened between 2-4pm. The attacked the outskirts, blocking the pack house by a wall of fire so the warriors struggled to get through without a major burns. Petrol and fire." Involuntary I shivered. How do you stop burning petrol? What if it reached the pack house? Are we even equipped to protect ourselves?

"Four deaths now, many more injured."