CHAPTER 12

Zavier POV

Her arms were covered in bruises, her collarbone full of scars from knives. She was crying. Crying for me. She was reaching out to me, but her father was saving her from basically suicide. I pushed through it, clawing my brother's chest violently, my head ripping from his and grabbing onto his other ear, ripping it off as well, making him whimper. He backed away and I hit him hard below the ear, making him fall flat on the floor, bleeding out. I grinded in pain as my paw hit the ground, the large wound from my neck bleeding out down my chest fur and onto the dirt. My legs wobbled as I struggled to stay awake for my mate.

She pushed herself away from her father's shifting from the same clothes she had worn on the day she was taken and ran to my aid, her white fur being stained with my blood. She licked my face as I collapsed on the ground, heavily breathing to stay awake. She whimpered, trying to lick my wounds before I growled at her, softly pushing her away. I now allowed myself to black out, my eyes closing.

I woke up in a hospital gown, my neck with stitches and all my wounds wrapped. I looked around and found Riz, her face slightly regaining color and her legs stitched and her arms wrapped. Her eye bags were gone, and her black eye was fading thanks to her werewolf healing. I looked at her curiously and found her sitting uncomfortably in her seat. I still up, no pain coming to me. "You were asleep for a week, Zavier," she mumbled. "I waited the whole time for you." I open my mouth for a question about her wounds but she holds up a hand. "My wounds are not the worst I have faced, Zavier."

"You're uncomfortable," I state.

She nods. "The stitches feel strange when they're in your abdomen. They just faded yesterday and I am still uncomfortable because I feel like they're still there." I look down at my hand and found only a brace on it. "The doctor said your healing process was remarkable. You heal so much faster than a normal wolf. You only need that on for a couple more hours." She was still uncomfortable and it was bothering me. She looked into my eyes, a soft glow coming from them. "My legs have another few days and my skin color will come back when I get out in the sun more."

"Nylarizza, you're hiding something from me." I whisper, sitting in the edge of the bed. I was in jeans but without a shirt, making everything just even more awkward. "Tell me what it is, little mate." She smiled slightly before a tear slipped down her cheek. "Is it bad?" I was surprised that I as speaking with such sincerity to her after her experiences. I have never spoken this way before.

"No, it's not bad, I promise, Alpha," she replied, placing her hand on the side of my face. That was just something that calmed me down. One of the only things that calmed me down. Riz's innocent touch against my face. I breathed in deeply before letting out when I looked directly into her eyes.

"Call me Zavier, Riz," I growled.

"No can do, Alpha," she teased, sending my wolf in a frenzy.

I grabbed her by the waist, lifting her and messing around lightly. I tickled her and she squealed childishly until she yelled. "Stop! Stop! You're going to harm the pup!" I placed her down gently and looked at her with a playful glance, not fully comprehending what she had just said.

Then that's when my eyes popped out of my head. "Wait. What? I'm going to be a father?!!" Riz nodded, smiling. "Oh, Moon Goddess... I am not ready for this! I am going to be a horrible parent!" Sorry rushed into my head. What if I try to be as cruel to our pup as my parents did to me? It's the only way I knew how to be a parent. I will need Riz's help.

"Zavier, you've changed since I was taken," she says casually. "I liked when you were a little more serious, by still had a heart. Right now, your worrying is making me worry and it's killing me."

I frown and growled. "Oh, shut up."

"Now you're speaking my language," she repeats, whispering against my ear.

I grin and hold her now fragile body against me, giving her my warmth. I brush her head with my fingers, causing her to place her head on my chest. She breathed slowly, her lips parting. She was asleep. I placed her back in her chair and I went out in the hall, seeing my Beta at the front desk, signing a few papers. "Are you ready to get out, Alpha?"

I nodded. "I have to wake up Riz. We'll leave in twenty minutes."

Then a rush if cold air hit me like a cannonball. I remembered that scent all too clearly. My mother.

"Hello, Zavier. I came to congratulate you on getting a mate. Obviously it's going well, if you're having a pup," she said in a monotone voice. "Four months and you're already getting busy." I growled, my eyes changing a different color.

"Why don't we take this conversation elsewhere?" I suggest, frowning. She nodded and stepped outside. I found my bag next to a seat where my Beta sat and threw on a shirt from inside. When I got her alone I got mad quickly. "Look, mother, I do not have that goal set in mind like you can to improve the pack. No, I am having a pup with Riz because we actually love each other."

"Has she told you that she loves you?" she asks.

I paused. And thought. No, she hasn't told me, but she has shown me. "That's what I thought, son. Don't be too sure of your love before she even admits it. When she does, that's when you know it's real." I growled at her. "Sorry, just don't want you to be left with the damned pup when she rejects you and leaves you with the child to become Beta of the Amber Sky Pack." I snarled, but found people around. I couldn't bash my own elderly mother.

I stormed back into the hospital and back to the hospital room where Riz was sleeping. "Riz, wake up," I said softly, touching her soft chin. "We're going home."

She smiled sweetly at me.

That's when my heart completely melted.