Alpha's Guest

GEORGIE

All I could hear was that beep. It was driving me crazy. I opened my eyes and glanced across at the monitor. When I’d woken last time, I was too weak even to raise an arm.

I still felt weak, but I was fed up with having all these wires and tubes attached. I didn’t trust these people, if you could even call them that.

They were probably trying to poison me; that’s why I felt so weak.

At least he wasn’t here. The alpha. He was the one I trusted the least. Manipulating me, manipulating Ash. What had they done with Ash? He was the only one around here I trusted.

What was the saying? The enemy of your enemy is your friend. He was the one who had stepped up when they were going to hurt me. They had even taken my clothes.

I reached under the gown I was wearing—it only came to mid-thigh—and pulled the tapes from my chest.

The beeping changed to a continuous beep. Then I yanked out the tube that was connected to the back of my hand. It started to bleed, but I didn’t care.

I was about to sit up when the doctor and the nurses came rushing over.

“What are you doing?” one of the nurses screamed, panicking.

The doctor remained calm.

I glared at him. “You think I’m gonna lie here while you poison me?” I hissed.

He looked at me and his eyes flashed black. Before I knew it, two of the nurses were holding me down. They were strong, and despite my struggles, I couldn’t get free.

The doctor reattached the drip that had been in my hand, then a big male orderly appeared.

He looked about the same size as the guards from the prison, except he was dressed in white scrubs. He attached a soft cuff to either wrist, then attached them to the bed.

“You can’t do this!” I screamed, pulling at the restraints.

The doctor put his hand on my head. I tried to pull away, but he held it too firmly.

“Georgie, please calm down. This is for your own good,” he soothed.

Tears started to trickle down my cheek.

“Let me go!” I sobbed.

The doctor turned his head and looked at the orderly.

“Get me a sedative,” he demanded.

The orderly nodded and headed out of the room.

“I want to see Ash,” I screamed.

The doctor frowned and shook his head. He started to reattach the pads to my chest.

Once the machine started beeping, it was beeping a lot faster than it had been before.

The doctor looked concerned, and I realized that the beep was in time with my heart rate, which, after the recent trauma, was thumping hard in my chest.

“Get me Ash,” I yelled, “or…” I held my breath.

When I had been at school, before I was forced to leave, I had been a good swimmer.

I had been given certificates for the amount of time I could hold my breath underwater. Of course, holding your breath does cause your heart rate to rise, but that was what I was banking on.

I took a breath and held it.

After a few seconds, the beep started to increase. I could feel my heart pounding and the desperate feeling of wanting to take another breath as the oxygen in my blood decreased.

“Georgie!” the doctor growled. “Stop this right now!”

I glared at him and shook my head. The rate of the beep was beginning to increase. As it did, I began to feel lightheaded.

When the orderly reappeared, he yelled at him.

“Go to the cells, get the prisoner Ash, bring him here quickly!” he demanded.

The doctor quickly turned to look at me.

“Please, Georgie, he’s coming; just breathe,” he begged.

I gulped in a breath of air. I could almost feel my heart pumping in my ears.

I swallowed and took another gasp.

“D—don’t even…think about sedating me,” I hissed.

He didn’t, and I didn’t struggle against the restraints; there was no point.

Shortly after that, the door to the infirmary opened. I looked openmouthed in shock as I saw Ash being escorted in by two werewolf guards.

His face was swollen and covered in bruises. His wrists were cuffed, but at least they were in front, not behind.

“You have five minutes,” one of the guards growled before walking from the room.

“What did they do to you?” I wailed.

Ash shook his head. “Nothing I didn’t deserve,” he whispered. “He hasn’t…hurt you, has he?”

He brought his hands to my face and wiped away the tears.

“I think they’re poisoning me. I feel so weak. I didn’t feel this weak in the cell,” I sighed.

Ash shook his head again, “No, Georgie. They’re not poisoning you, they’re making you better; but listen.” He hesitated and looked around to make sure no one was listening.

“You have to get out of here… Not yet; when you’re stronger. The alpha, his name is Xavier. He wants a mate.

“When you reach nineteen, you’ll start to give off a scent. Only werewolves can detect it. Humans can sometimes be the mate of a werewolf. You can’t be here when that happens. You can’t let Xavier claim you.”

I frowned. “He hates me anyway; he hates all humans. What about you?”

Ash chuckled and shook his head. “He doesn’t hate humans, but you deserve better than him, better than me. You deserve to live a human life, not tied to some half-human monster!”

I tried to reach out to Ash, but the restraints stopped me.

“You’re not a monster, Ash. You’re the only person other than my parents who has shown me any kindness.”

Ash rolled his eyes.

“I really haven’t, but I’m going to help you now. Once you’re healed and you feel stronger, you have to get away from here. Go to the next town up; it’s about fifty miles away. Steal a car from here.

“When you get there, head to the train station, ask for Joe. Tell him Ash sent you. You need to tell him, ‘The crescent moon is lost.’ He’ll give you some money, an address, and a ticket to New York. You can start afresh.”

Ash grabbed my hand. “You’re a good girl, Georgie; you deserve a chance.”

I squeezed his hand. “What about you? What will he do to you?”

Ash shrugged. “He’ll probably kill me, but I probably deserve it.”

I felt tears pooling in my eyes, and tears began to trickle down my cheeks.

“I wish we could escape together. I don’t care what you’ve done,” I cried.

Ash gently pressed his lips to my forehead.

“You would care if you knew. If you hear that I did something really bad, just remember it wasn’t my intention. You just need to let them believe you’re going to do as they want; once they trust you it’ll be easier to run.”

I nodded. Before either of us could say anything, the guards returned and dragged him away.

“Whatever you did, I forgive you, Ash!” I called after him.

Ash looked back at me, forcing a smile, and silently mouthed the words “Good luck.”

My eyesight blurred as tears filled my eyes. Not being able to wipe them away, I just let them cascade down my cheeks and drip onto the pillow.

The doctor walked in and stood next to the bed.

“Are you okay, Georgie?” he asked quietly.

I turned my head away from him and closed my eyes, ignoring him.

I wasn’t sure I could do what Ash had suggested and do as they wanted. I now trusted them even less after seeing what they had done to Ash.

Maybe he was right about them not poisoning me, but I still wasn’t sure. How could he be?

All they seemed to want to do was subdue me. If that’s what they wanted, that’s what they would get.

Every time someone came to check on me or ask me if I was okay, I just turned my head away and ignored them.

When they touched me, I didn’t flinch or pull away. I just let my mind wander so I could subconsciously be somewhere else.

I let my mind drift. Sometimes, I would be aware of what was going on, mainly because of the incessant beeping.

Other times, I would doze off, dreaming lightly of better days when I was young and my parents were both in good health.

We didn’t have much, but we could still enjoy summer days with the sun on our backs.

Then I would be rudely awakened, the realization of my current predicament hitting me full-on, and I would feel the tears running down my cheeks again.

I was jolted from one of these pleasant dreams by the voice of my main tormentor. Ash’s warning was at the forefront of my mind. You can’t let Xavier claim you.

“Why the hell is she restrained?” Alpha Xavier demanded.

I didn’t open my eyes, and my head was turned away from him. I recognized the voice of the doctor responding.

“She ripped out the IV and the heart monitor. She claimed we were poisoning her…”

He hesitated for a few moments before continuing, “I think she’s shutting down psychologically. We haven’t been able to get a response from her.”

I heard someone sigh; I assumed it was the alpha. Then I felt the restraints being removed.

“I don’t think that’s wise, Alpha,” the doctor warned.

I felt a hand rest gently on my forehead.

“Georgie…open your eyes,” Xavier urged.

I ignored the request and closed my ears and tried to allow my mind to wander, concentrating on listening to my heartbeat.

One thing I couldn’t stop were the silent tears that escaped my eyes. They hadn’t stopped since Ash had left.

I felt Xavier’s thumb on my cheek, wiping them away, only for more to replace them.

“Remove the drip and the monitor,” Xavier demanded.

“I’m not sure that—” the doctor began.

“I said fucking remove them!” Xavier growled.

I felt the doctor disconnect the drip, then remove the cannula carefully from the back of my hand. As hard as it was, I didn’t move.

I didn’t even flinch when he put his hand inside the hospital gown to remove the heart monitor pads from my chest.

“She’ll need to continue the antibiotics, either by daily injection or orally, and she’ll need to eat,” the doctor advised. “I still don’t think this is wise,” he added.

I felt the blanket covering me being lifted, then an arm was placed under my back and another under my legs as I was lifted off the bed.

Ordinarily, I would have squealed or opened my eyes, but I didn’t. Had I shut down? Maybe, because I really didn’t care anymore.

Despite everything that Ash had said, I realized now that my life wasn’t my own, and I was unsure if I would ever get it back.

It was Xavier who had lifted me, and he carried me bridal style out of the hospital.

I was fully aware of how little clothing I was wearing. His hands pressed against my bare skin in places as he held me tightly to his chest.

“It’s okay, little one; I’m going to take care of you now,” he whispered in my ear as he carried me off to who knew where.