The next morning, I woke earlier than normal. Despite feeling exhausted, I was restless and unable to get comfortable. It didn't help that with every passing hour, the ache in my bones and ribs grew worse. Eventually, I gave up trying to fall back asleep and sat upright in the bed.

Running a hand over my eyes, I squinted to get a glimpse of the clock on the wall.

5:02 AM

Brilliant.

Huffing, I pulled myself from the bed, only to collapse as shooting pains shot down my torso and thigh. I exhaled heavily, trying to catch my bearings. I couldn't stay in this room; it was way too confining. In the past, when I couldn't sleep for many reasons, I always found myself outside, and that was my plan for this morning.

Stretching away the pain, I made my way to my drawers. Pulling on some underwear and socks, I grabbed a hoodie, leggings and some boots. I loved boots. So versatile. Wear them with most things, get you through rough terrain and rain...

Zipping them up, I tapped my heels together before making my way down the hallway. I eyed the death box elevator with hatred before deciding it was my best bet to get outside without falling down the stairs and breaking my neck.

With a grumble, I pushed the button to call it, wrapping my arms around myself as I waited. When the doors pinged, a loud ding alerted the quiet night of its arrival and I inhaled deeply before stepping inside. Hitting the ground floor button, the doors closed softly behind me. The death box surged as it started up and I counted the seconds for it to reach the bottom level.

Eight seconds later, the death box stopped and my stomach churned with the need to get out. Confined and trapped, like a bird in a cage. It was scarier alone, that was for sure.

Scrambling out once the doors opened, I let out the breath I had been holding. Straightening my back, I gauged my surroundings. It was deathly silent. The only noise I could hear down here was the churning of a nearby heating source.

Smiling triumphantly, I made my way down the hall to use the back exit. Walking through the kitchen was creepy in the dim light, but I shook off the strange feeling as I continued to the exit. Once I reached it, I tried the handle, hoping it was unlocked.

I wasn't so lucky.

Cursing, I eyed the keyhole with a scowl. I had to find a key.

If you were a werewolf living in a huge hotel, where would you keep the back door key?

Running my hands along the crevices in the door, I came up short. The only discovery was a layer of dust coating my fingers. I glared out of the clear glass; the sky getting lighter as morning approached. Springtime always meant earlier mornings, and I wanted to be out there before that happened.

"Looking for something?"

I shrieked with alarm, jumping from the spot I was in to spin around. My eyes were wide like a deer caught in headlights as I tried to make out the owner of the voice.

A feminine figure walked closer, a soft sigh of relief when I found out who it was.

"You scared the shit out of me." I mumbled, glaring at her.

"Sorry." Mya laughed. "Humans are so loud and deaf."

I scowled, crossing my arms. "Rude."

"I could practically hear your every breath." She commented, scanning my body. "You're in pain."

I shrugged, looking away from her. "Nothing I can't handle."

She grimaced, stepping closer. I noticed she was just in a sports bra and leggings, sweat dripping from her skin and her dark hair tied back. Faint white scars lined her body, most on her stomach and ribs, but two large ones down her forearms caught my attention. They looked painful, deep, and spanned the length of her forearm.

I blinked, shaking my head to avoid looking like I was staring at them.

She must've been working out, but why so early?

"What are you doing up?" She asked.

"Can't sleep." I answered, glancing outside. "I wanted to go for a walk."

"Alone at five in the morning?"

"I could ask you the same thing." I huffed.

Her lips peeled back into a grin, and she let out a light laugh. "I see... Well, I was just exercising. I can't sleep when I'm... yeah."

I nodded with understanding, avoiding looking at her toned body anymore than I already had. I wanted to ask about the scars, but I knew better than to pry. I had to keep my curiosity at bay; it wasn't right for me to ask when she obviously had gone through a rough time.

"I'll join you." Mya spoke.

"The door is locked."

"That is because..." She grinned, stepping closer to me.

I inhaled sharply. The scent of her was strangely intoxicating. It was almost like those old comics where a character would smell an apple pie and follow its scent trail to a little cottage kitchen.

Mya leaned away, a golden key glinting in her hand. "You didn't look properly."

I gasped, looking behind me to where she had got the key from. Upon further inspection of the sideboard, I saw a wooden box full of letters, but beside it was a small ceramic tray that had another golden key upon it.

Mya laughed at me, reaching around to unlock the door. I blushed at the close intimacy of her body near mine, finding it difficult not to breathe in her scent again. Wolves had some weird magic.

Creaking open the door, she stepped outside first. As soon as my aching feet hit the grass, I inhaled deeply, taking in the fresh night air. It smelt of mud and damp grass, the small sounds of birds waking in the treeline. I could see a faint glimmer of the sun rising behind the tall trees, the morning truly beginning.

She led the way, and I just followed, my slower, more painful strides causing her to stop a few times to keep in tempo with me. My legs ached pretty quickly, my ribs aching if I so much as slouched. We were quiet for a couple hundred yards until I built the courage up to ask her a question.

"Mya..." I began, and she turned to me with a raised eyebrow. "Your scent, why is it so..."

"Alluring?" She teased. "That's just what heat does to us. It's easy to resist when I take tablets, but because I've worked out tonight, it's stronger in my sweat."

"Oh, okay." I nodded with a frown. "Why does it affect me? Isn't it a wolf thing?"

"Humans have weaker senses, but they still aren't immune." She shrugged.

"We were told old tales of how women used to lure young human men into the forest to have their way with them." I commented.

She turned fully to me, falling into a fit of laughter. "Really?"

I nodded. "Honestly. The tales they told us, just so we wouldn't wander into the forest."

"That's crazy! What else did they tell you?"

"That you craved human flesh and blood and would kill us if you saw us."

She was still laughing. "Well, we wouldn't kill you on the spot unless we needed to. We can only legally hunt once a year."

I frowned, thinking of my dad. "Legally?"

She nods, laughter dying down. "If we kill a human outside of the hunt, and someone finds out, we will be punished."

"Has that ever happened?" I wondered.

"Not in a long time." She shook her head. "They put the last wolf that killed without reasoning to death. He got caught by a couple of patrols."

I nodded quietly, absorbing the information. They killed my father outside of a hunt. I wonder if that relates to what she was talking about. The bodies were a mess of organs and blood, but they counted four of six, so where were the other two? Dinner?

I think I may have to read Sherlock Holmes again to get some tips.

"What's with the random questions?" She wondered. "Concerned someone may eat you?"

"Something like that." I smiled tightly.

"You're the true mate of our Alpha. No one is going to hurt you whilst he is around."

Funny she says that, because I once was told the same. Darius had always told me how no-one would ever hurt me, that I'd always be his. Some promise that was because he turned out to be the tormentor.

"I have a question for you." Mya suddenly asked.

I looked at her, her height only a couple of inches more than mine. I nodded for her to continue, and she nervously chewed her lip.

"What is it?" I asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Okay, so I will make a deal with you." She began clearing her throat. "I saw you eyeing my arms earlier. If you answer me something, I will tell you something."

I paused in my steps, my chest heaving as nervousness crept over me. It only made my ribs worsen with every breath, knocking my pain up a notch.

"That depends on the question..."

She smiled. "Humour me."

Scanning her eyes for any sign of dishonestly, I sighed. "Okay..."

"When you came, you were obviously injured, but Eve noticed a lot of old scarring on your body." She started, holding my nervous gaze. "All you must do is say yes or no... But... did your family do that to you?"

I paused, my eyes darting between hers to the gentle slope of her nose and mouth as she frowned. Hesitance had my fear grip on me. I couldn't tell her, could I? Darius said I couldn't tell anyone. That they wouldn't believe me... But... he wasn't here now, was he? I was in a new reality, a new world...

I was safe in a dream, right?

So, I nodded, a quiet yes escaping my lips.

Mya nodded in return, a harsh scowl covering her features as she looked away from me. She inhaled sharply, staring at the rising sun in the distance. We had walked around to the side of the house, and I knew I wouldn't make it much further.

"Okay." She mumbled, shooting me a small smile.

She raised her left arm, her right fingertips grazing over the raised, angry scar. I watched curiously as she glared down at it before dropping her arm back to her side.

"When your true mate rejects you for someone else, it's a pain like no other. Most wolves don't come out of it alive, and I almost was one of those." She started, gritting her teeth. "I tried to die, I really did. I thought tearing myself apart would lead me to that, but my damn healing wouldn't let me. I even used silver, since it doesn't heal and burns us, and that's why I scarred so badly."

"How... how did you survive then, if you used silver?" I wondered.

"Eve found me." Mya sighed. "She said she felt something was off and found me bleeding out. She called for help and that's when Alpha Asra came. Once I healed, he helped me redirect my emotions into exercise, and here I am."

It was silent as I observed her, seeing her in a new light. She looked tough, and scary on the outside, a fierce looking she-wolf... But she was just as damaged as the rest of us.

I reached out my hand to clasp her own, running my hand across the back of her hand. "Thank you for telling me."

She smiled down at me, squeezing my hand in return. "Come on, you look like you're barely hanging on to being upright."

I laughed softly, nodding my head. "I am in so much pain right now."

"You do well to hide it." She commented. "You don't have to, you know. I'll just smell it, anyway."

Rolling my eyes, I kept a hold of her hand as she led me back to the door we left earlier. Stepping inside, I winced as I had to raise my leg to step over the threshold. Mya left me to lean on the sideboard as she locked the door, and I took in a shaky breath as my ribs protested.

"You okay?" She wondered.

Despite the sudden growing nausea, I nodded shakily. "Yeah."

She reached out her arm for me to take, and I looped my own through her elbow. "I'd offer to carry you, but I take you as the stubborn type."

I laughed, nodding. "You would be right."

She grinned, slowly leading me through the kitchen as I focused on moving my legs. We were about to step into the hallway when she stopped, and I looked up to see what the hesitance was for. Only, I wish I hadn't. Narrowing my eyes at the Alpha male, my hand gripped Mya's elbow tighter.

"Alpha, can we help you?" Mya spoke, bowing her head once.

"I thought I heard something." He answered her, although his eyes were on me.

I shifted my weight, grimacing as a twinge of pain shot up my body. His eyes noticed the movement, narrowing his eyes at the look of pain on my face. I gritted my teeth together, wanting nothing more than to sit down and take the weight off my feet.

"We just went for a walk. Couldn't sleep." She smiled. "That was probably it."

His eyes drifted to where ours linked, a faint tick in his jaw as he saw how hard I was holding onto her. "Very well. Maybe not be so loud next time."

"Yes, Alpha." She bowed her head. "I was just taking Ailia back to bed."

He quirked an eyebrow. "You were?"

"Yep, she is in a lot of pain." She commented.

His face lost all of its expression as he studied me once more, more importantly, my stomach and chest. I narrowed my eyes at the memory of only a few hours ago, of how he had interrupted me naked. Upon realising this, I also realised he would've seen all of my scarring along with my naked ass and breasts...

Brilliant. More questions.

"I see." He commented before shifting his weight to glance over his shoulder. "I will leave you to it."

Glad he saw he wasn't wanted here.

Mya bowed again as he turned away and dismissed us. Once he was out of eyeline, her tense shoulders relaxed and she continued her way to the elevator. Pressing the button, she pulled me in and exhaled loudly.

"What was that about?" I frowned.

"His wolf is inclined to know your whereabouts. I thought I would just rub it in a little after his display from earlier." She shrugged, grinning wickedly.

I felt a smirk tug at my lips at her amusement, but deep down, I hoped it didn't backfire against us. I needed to heal up, and the last thing I wanted was more drama.

********