Guilty As Charged

~Annora's POV: A Few Hours Later~

I opened my eyes slowly and yawned. It was dark out, though I could tell that I was in what looked like my bedroom. I sat up slowly, everything hurting, only to then lay back down as the world spun a bit. I was, in fact, in my room, and it felt like I had something around my neck. I ignored the feeling of something around my neck as I very slowly made my way out of bed, smelling blood. Possibly my blood. Someone was yelling from downstairs, making me freeze for a moment before going to the top of the stairs.

"You aren't seeing what I am saying Lucas!" My mother yelled, her voice cracking slightly.

"Oh, I see what you are saying! Crystal clear! But while yes, she is now mated, I refuse to ask the Alpha and Luna to transfer her halfway through the school year!" Dad shouted back, clearly annoyed.

My heart wasn't exactly pounding in that moment, but it was definitely beating a bit faster than it should have been. I jumped dangerously as arms wrapped around my waist gently, the sparks that erupted giving away who it was.

"Hey you okay? You were bleeding badly last night..." Caleb said softly behind me.

"I- Wait why was I bleeding at all?!" I growled, pulling out of his grasp as I turned around to face him. The conversation downstairs ceased abruptly as soon as the words came out of my mouth. "And why the heck are you here?!"

"Weeeell..." His voice got a bit high, like he knew he did something stupid. His voice gave him away, showing that he was definitely not proud of it anymore. "I might have gotten carried away last night at the bar and while we were mating I might have bit you to put you in your place.... And then this morning your parents pretty much smuggled me into the territory."

"WHAT?!" I screamed. I shoved him away, forgetting I was at the top of the stairs and falling down said stairs. I yelled in pain as all the pain that I was already in tripled. At least now I knew what was around my neck and why... The bandage must have ripped, somehow, as I fell however, as the smell of my own blood reached me.

"Norra!" Mom yelled, rushing over. Sadness shot through me, no doubt Caleb's sadness, as I struggled to breathe. I was winded from falling, and my body was screaming with pain. Not to mention the fact that my neck was bleeding as well. Yay. Note the sarcasm.

Mom's eyes clouded over a bit for a moment, then she gently picked me up with the help of my father and they carried me to my bed again. Caleb stood off to the side, his guilt flooding me, as my blood spread all over the place. He was unpredictable, I give him that. After what felt like forever, the pack doctor walked in. She looked at me as my parents stepped aside. She quickly bandaged up my neck again, only to start poking me in certain spots. Every time she poked it hurt more than the last time.

"Well there is good news, and there is bad news." She said, looking at my parents then Caleb a few minutes later. "Good news is that she doesn't have anything too major, at least not externally. Bad news is there are most likely nasty bruises on her backside and around her body that may make movement hard for a while as long as she's okay internally."

"This is my fault...." Caleb whimpered.

"You did nothing wrong." I mumbled regretfully.

Caleb walked out, clearly having not heard me, and by the way the front door shut after a moment, he must be heading home. I was going to be on bedrest now, without a doubt, and exams were right around the corner. I was screwed, both with my mate and with my grades. I just hope he didn't mindlink me every other hour. Even though I wouldn't mind that too much, I wouldn't be able to stand it after the first three times.

•One Week Later•

"Finally...." I mumbled as I got out of bed without pain for the first time in a week. Yup, a week flew by like that. But in that week, I also hadn't seen or heard from Caleb, not even once. My heart and my wolf both agreed that this was my fault and now he was punishing me by making me weaker by the day pretty much.

'I'm doing this for our sake, you hear me?' I whispered to my wolf. I took a deep breath, then mind linked Caleb. 'Hey.... You feeling okay? I haven't heard a thing from you other than your thoughts...'

There was nothing for a moment, then a faint whisper came back.

'No...' Came his response. Then he cut it off.

My heart sank as I realized that half my pain, half my guilt, was from Caleb. The bond was even yelling at me in a way, I guess. I walked downstairs slowly, trying to avoid falling again, without really thinking about it. I saw my brother sitting at the kitchen island worriedly, though I couldn't blame him. I couldn't leave my bed much for the week, let alone my room, while my body finished healing. If I were in his shoes I'd be worried too.

He looked over at me, and his whole face lit up. I could tell he wanted to run over and hug me, but he was being respectful and giving me some space.

"Hey Aiden." I smiled at him.

"I heard someone got themselves a handsome alpha?" he wiggled his eyebrows. "Why didn't you tell me!"

"I- Okay, in my defense I said nothing because I personally don't know if I like him much or not." I shrugged, only half lying. "Honestly not my type for the most part though."

"No one's your type, I know that. Not even the perfect little prince made by the moon goddess for you to go gaga over." He smirked..

"Aiden, don't rude." Mom snickered at the attempt to insult me. "Your father wants you to meet him at Alpha Luke's in an hour by the way."

Aiden groaned softly, no doubt knowing he was going to be thrown back into school for another year or so just to make sure he got his full education one way or another. I knew it, he knew it, Mom knew it. Even if we weren't supposed to know, it was kind of obvious.