Chapter 21 - Sleeping Beauty

Gunner.

That son of a bitch. He whipped her. He whipped her so fucking hard that her skin split open. Yet she was walking around the school like nothing had happened. Like she wasn't in agony the whole time. How can that be? I slowly rolled her back over on the bed and stared at her bruised and battered face. My hands were shaking, and I could feel my claws starting to sprout through. My skin began to burn and the blood in my veins bubbled with rage. That monster beat her bloody, he whipped her and has done Goddess knows what else to her. Seeing as she was half naked when I found her, the monster probably raped her as well. I want him dead. My bones started cracking and breaking and I quickly ran out of the room. I got to the bottom of the stairs when I snapped my head back and screamed into my change. I stood in the foyer on all four paws and threw my head back and howled. I'm going to tear that beast apart. I started to run for the door, when my father ran in from the kitchen and stood in front of me, blocking my path.

**I'm going to kill him!**

"No, son, you're not"

**Yes, I am. I'm going to tear his arms and legs off and then I will eat his fucking heart**

"Gunner, cool down"

**GET OUT OF MY WAY!**

"NO! Gunner. Go back to your Mate, she needs you here now"

**She needs that barbarian dead, that's what she needs**

"I said ENOUGH" he roared. The chandelier above us shook and the windowpanes rattled at the sheer force of my father's voice. I tilted my head as I felt his command start to bend my will, I shook out my fur and my body changed back. I sat on the floor of the foyer naked, panting hard with the anger still flowing through me. Dad stood above me breathing heavily, his Alpha command was still weighing over me.

"Go back up to your Mate, son". I looked up at him and felt a tear escape my eye. I wiped it away and got up off the floor and stomped back up the stairs. I would never say it to his face, but he was right. She needs me here, at least for now. I pulled on a pair of sweats that were on the floor and sat down in the chair by the bed and watched her sleep. Right now, I'm here, I'm with her. But soon, as soon as she's better, I will kill him. I swear it.

Hours have passed and I'm still watching Zelena. My eyes were starting to feel heavy again, when I heard her heart rate rise. I leaned forward to look at her face. Her eyes were moving around behind her eyelids. She started to toss her head from side to side and mumble and groan. She began kicking her legs and twisting her body, thrashing her head around.

"MUM!" I screamed standing up and holding down Zee's arms. I was worried she was going to hurt herself. With all the injuries she has, it's amazing that she could even move about this much. Zelena started yelling and screaming in her unconsciousness,

"Stop, please stop" she begged. Her body was thrashing around as she pulled at her arms from my grip. I have to do something to stop her,

"MUUUM!" I screamed again.

"Let me go" Zelena cried out, still not awake. Mum then burst through the door and ran to the side of the bed,

"What's going on?" she yelled,

"It's a nightmare! Get the cuffs, bottom drawer" I nodded at my dresser. She opened the drawer and pulled out the training cuffs from when I was a kid.

"Why do you still have these? You haven't needed them for years" Mum asked as she looked at the cuffs in her hands.

"Here, help me put them on her". Mum ran over and buckled on the first cuff and clipped it to the bed base, she then did the same to Zee's other hand.

"No, no!" Zelena called as her thrashing started to slow. Her crying stopped but her eyes and head still moved around. I sat back on the chair and sighed. Mum was standing beside me looking at Zelena, I heard her start huffing and looked up to see her crying. I stood up and hugged her.

"I'm sorry darling, you don't need me being all emotional" she sobbed,

"It's okay Mum, will you sit with me for a bit?" I pulled her down to sit on the edge of the bed. She wiped her tears and smiled at me sadly. I sat back in my chair and watched Zelena sleep while Mum was watching me. After a while of silence, she finally spoke,

"Baby, you said you think she is your True Mate?" she whispered,

"Yes" I replied without hesitation,

"I'd like to think that I have taught you enough to know just how rare that kind of bond is"

"I know Mum"

"And you still believe?"

"I don't just believe it, I can feel it". She glanced at Zelena and then back at me,

"Will you tell me about it?" she smiled leaning forward. I paused for a moment and looked at my mother's face, was she just trying to indulge me or did she really believe me. Her face was calm, and her eyebrows were bent up with curiosity. I think she believes me, or at least she wants too. So, I told her.

"On the very first day I saw her, I could tell right then that she was different. Then, when I looked into her eyes, something in me snapped and I had this kind of urgency to know who she was. Kids at the school were bullying her and they infuriated me, like I wanted to hurt them and protect her. When our skin touches, I feel tingles, like tiny vaults of electricity shooting through me. One smile, just one dazzling smile and I was hooked. I don't know Mum. It was like I could feel what she felt, I needed to be where she was, and to know what she was doing and if she was okay. I knew from the start that she was going to be my Mate, but it wasn't until I knew that she was a Were that I started to understand it was more than that". I looked at my mum and she was smiling proudly at me.

"Do you know what I'm saying?" I asked her. She leaned forward and put her hand on my cheek,

"Yes, darling, I know exactly what you're saying, and I think you may be right". I smiled excitedly at her. She got up and kissed the top of my head and left the room. Zelena had calmed and faded back into a deep sleep, I sat watching her all day, until the sun had set again. There was a quick knock on the door, I got up and stretched my arms and walked slowly to the door. I opened it and sitting on the ground was a huge plate of spaghetti and a vase with red roses. I picked them up and placed them on the table next to the bed.

---

The next few days all blurred together. I spent most of my time in the chair next to the bed. I slept there, ate there, and sat there for hours on end watching over Zelena. Zee had good days and rough days, some episodes were worse than others. She would lay motionless for hours and then have a sudden burst of panic, thrashing about and screaming, but she never fully woke up and never opened her eyes. I found myself feeling very grateful for holding onto the training cuffs all these years. They kept her reasonably still through most of her episodes. Which is what they were built for. Restraining a new wolf through their uncontrollable outbursts.

A few times a day a tray of food was left by the door with fresh flowers, which was Mum's way of taking care of us. Nat came by at one point asking to come in and see Zelena, the only way I could get rid of her was with my Visa card and the opportunity to go shopping to buy Zee some necessities. Both Cole and Smith flashed me a couple of times to check in, but I didn't feel like talking to them, or seeing them, or anyone else really. Artemis dropped off another jar of cream, but seeing how I barked at him the last time he tried to help, he just left it by the door. The whole time Zelena's heartbeat got stronger and her breathing steadied. With me siphoning what pain I could, her wounds were healing really fast. Now I was just waiting for her to wake up.

It was a little while after midday, and still no sign of life from Zelena. I put my laptop away and rested my head on the end of the bed. I had just dozed off when I was disrupted by another of Zee's thrashings. But when I sat up, I noticed that her eyes were open. Holy crap she's finally awake. I jumped to my feet and stood over her.

"Zee, Zee, Zee, calm down! You're alright" I said trying to get her to stop. She looked at me with confusion, blinking her eyes a few times.

"It's me, you're okay". I sat down on the edge of the bed and put my hand on her leg to stop her from kicking. She was looking at me like she didn't know who I was. Oh Goddess, I hope she doesn't have amnesia. She tried to talk, but instead she croaked and choked a little, so I grabbed a water bottle to let her have a drink. I sat back down on the bed and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I thought I'd lost you there for a little while". I was overcome with joy as a tear fell from my eye. I quickly wiped it away, hoping she didn't see that. I slipped my hand into hers and held it there, any skin to skin contact to help me stay calm.

"But you're okay now" I said with a smile. She pulled at her arm, and I realized she was still strapped down,

"Oh right". I quickly jumped up and started undoing the buckles, jeez I hope she doesn't think I'm some kind of kinky freak for tying her up like this.

"You were thrashing around a lot while you were out and we didn't want you to hurt yourself anymore, so we thought it best to you know, tie you up". She didn't say anything, just stared at me. She started to lift herself up and winced, and of course, I freaked out again.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down and I'll help you". I ran and got my pillow and put it behind her back as gently as I could.

"There you go" I said with a smile and sat down on the edge of the bed. I was damn happy she was finally awake; I knew she was strong, but I'm still impressed.

"Where?" she coughed, her voice sounded terrible,

"Just take it easy, try not to talk too much". I wanted to make her feel better and I wanted to comfort her. Her golden intense eyes staring right at me, made it difficult not to just pick her up and hold her. I put my hand on her leg, any contact with her was better than no contact.

"Where am I?" she asked coarsely,

"This is my room" I said,

"How long?" she croaked,

"You've been here for five days now. What's the last thing that you remember?" I asked her softly. Once I know where she is at with her memory, I can fill her in on the rest. She leaned back on the pillow and closed her eyes. Goddess she is beautiful, even with all the bruises. With my hand on her knee, I could feel her going through the motions. I leaned closer to her and concentrated on what I could feel from her. She was a little happy but that quickly disappeared, and it turned into anxiety and fear. I squeezed her leg to let her know I was still here. Her fear turned to pain and sorrow. I felt such sadness for her. I wanted to make her forget. She quickly flew up right and grabbed at her neck. I could smell the anxiety coming off her so strongly now. She lifted her shirt and inspected her ribs, then turned to look at me, she started to panic, and her breathing fastened.

"It's okay, you're safe now" I assured her. Moving forward on the bed, I wrapped her in my arms as she began to cry. Her tears were soaking into my shirt, but I just squeezed her tighter and gently stroked her hair.

"Shh, it's okay, I won't let him hurt you anymore" I whispered. I held her close to me, wanting so badly to make everything better. I began to siphon her pain and after a minute it made me feel weak, so I laid down and pulled her down with me, still holding her close. She squirmed her body closer, wrapping her arm and legs around me. I felt her energy seep into my skin, and it instantly made me feel stronger. Being close to her was revitalizing my own energy. It made me remember what Mum had said about True Mates and how they shared their powers. I've only been taking her pain, but maybe I could actually heal her. I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on healing her wounds. I pictured my own energy entering her body and working on her injuries. I pictured the wounds closing and the skin healing over, leaving nothing behind. I began to feel fuzzy, like a hairy blanket had been wrapped around me. It was working. Zelena fell asleep in my arms, and I along with her.