Zeke

Screams filled my ears as I walked inside the house. Ashlyn had passed out a few moments ago, while I ran over here. Since my hands were full, I just kicked the door down to get inside. Not my best idea, but it's an emergency situation. "Caroline!" I shouted, running up the stairs. I got to my floor as she was running down from the Alpha floor.

"Oh my god" she gasped, looking at the girl in my arms. "What happened to you guys?" Caroline asked, following me into one of the bedrooms. Moving quickly, she took the sheets off the bed as I gently laid Ashlyn down.

Carefully, I took the pieces of fabric off her arms. They were drenched with blood. "Help now. Questions later" I stated. She nodded, running into the bathroom and returning with a first aid kit. "The claw marks are deep. She'll need stitches. We need to clean them out good cause there's probably dirt in there too" I informed her.

Caroline nodded, opening up the kit and taking out all the wipes. She passed me a handful of them before we both started cleaning out Ashlyn's cuts. I was glad that she was knocked out. The wipes would probably be stinging her because of the alcohol. "Here" Caroline handed me a needle and some weird string.

I watched as she tied the string to the needle and began stitching up Ashlyn's arm. I copied her actions, until the wounds were all closed up. "Fold a pad of gauze and tape it on her arm" Caroline instructed, handing me two boxes.

I finished cleaning up the blood, before opening the gauze. I used the medical tape to tape the gauze onto her arm. "Where's our daughter?!" I heard shouting coming up the stairs.

Caroline sighed, handing me more gauze and tape. "Finish up here. I'll take care of her parents" she stated. I nodded, going around the bed and started tending to her other arm. I started putting all the supplies away, seeing my skin that was covered in blood.

My hands started shaking as I stared at the blood that wasn't mine. I don't even know whose it was. My head snapped to the door as it opened. Caroline and Nick walked in with two people behind them. It was clear that they were Ashlyn's parents and they did not look happy. Ashlyn's mom immediately went to her daughter's side. However, her father didn't even glance at her.

He started marching up to me. I straightened my back, ready for the screaming, punching, shoving, whatever he was gonna do to me. Nick quickly turned and stood between us. "This is your fault!" the man shouted, pointing a finger at me.

I clenched my jaw, allowing him to say whatever he wanted. It was my fault that Ashlyn got hurt. I took her out. I ran after that guy. I left her with the other rogue. And she got hurt. "You did this to her!" he screamed.

Nick was doing a good job at holding the guy back. Upon hearing the shouting, pack members crowded around the doorway. "Everyone out!" Nick demanded. They quickly ran away and Caroline closed the door.

Ashlyn's dad stopped trying to get closer to me, but he was still seething. "Roger" Ashlyn's mom pulled on her mate's arm. "Stop. It's not his fault" she said softly, attempting to steer Roger away from me.

The man scoffed. "Like hell it's not!" he exclaimed, pulling his arm away from her. "You put our baby in danger!" Roger shouted.

"Daddy" all our heads snapped to the bed. Ashlyn was blinking her eyes with her head turned towards us. "My head hurts" she mumbled.

We all moved on either side of her. Caroline started checking the back of her head. "Did she hit it?" she asked me.

I thought about it and shrugged. "She was knocked down when I got to her. The wolf was on top of her. She could've hit her head or fallen too hard" I said, not really sure. Caroline nodded, telling Nick to fetch some ice.

Ashlyn lifted her arms, seeing the pads of gauze. "Can I talk to Zeke? Alone please" she asked nicely. Roger was about to object, but his mate pulled him out of the room. Caroline also left just as Nick walked in with a bag of ice wrapped in a towel. Caroline took it out of his hands and tossed it to me.

Once the door closed, I turned back to Ashlyn. "Here, lift your head up a little" I said softly. She complied and I gently placed the ice behind her head. "I'm sorry you got hurt" I apologized.

She quickly shook her head at me. "Don't be. My dad's wrong; it's not your fault" she said, mustering up a smile. "Thank you for coming back when I screamed" Ashlyn stated, looking up at me.

The sight of that wolf on top of her flashed through my mind. It's claws digging into her skin. My blinked and my eyes drifted down to Ashlyn's arms. "The cuts were pretty bad. No training for the rest of the week" I demanded.

She nodded, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Yeah. I figured" Ashlyn stated. She started picking at the medical tape. Shaking my head, I separated her arms. "It's itchy" she informed me.

"You can't scratch your scratches" I told her. She frowned, but nodded her head. We both got quiet and I looked to the door. "My sister should be here any minute now. I have to get ready. I'll bring your parents in here" I offered.

Ashlyn nodded her head, moving the bag of ice away from her head. "Okay. I'll probably go home soon to get ready for that dinner thing" she said, putting the ice down next to her.

Nodding, I walked to the door. Ashlyn's parents were standing in the hallway when I walked out. "She said she's itchy. Um... Just make sure she doesn't scratch the cuts" I suggested. The woman nodded, a small smile gracing her lips. Roger on the other hand... "I'm terribly sorry that Ashlyn got hurt. I never meant for that to happen, Mr. Peters" I told the man.

He opened his mouth, but Mrs. Peters shot him a look. The man clenched his jaw and brushed past me towards his daughter. "It was nice meeting you, Mrs. Peters" I stated, just being polite to the woman.

She nodded, that smile still on her face. "Stephanie" she said, sticking her hand out for me to shake. I gently took a hold of her hand and shook it. I opened my mouth to introduce myself, but she cut me off. "Zeke Kingsley. I know who you are. I've heard several stories about you, young man" she stated.

Well, who hasn't. "However, I won't believe it 'till I see it" she told me. "I know you're the one that took her into the forest- for god knows why. But you brought her back alive. So thank you" she said softly. She didn't wait for my response before going inside the room.

I lingered by the door, watching Stephanie place a kiss to her daughter's head as Roger spoke to Ashlyn. That girl is lucky to have parents like that. Sighing, I made my way over to my bedroom.

***

Half an hour later, I was clean and dressed again. I walked out my bedroom, peeking into the room that Ashlyn was in. She was alone, staring off into space. "Knock, knock" I said, standing in the doorway. She gave me a small smile and motioned for me to come in. "Where'd your parents go?" I asked, stuffing my hands into my pockets.

She flipped her hair out of her face before answering. "My sister needed help with something, so they went back home" she informed me. I wonder why she didn't go with them. It's not like she's in the hospital or something. She should be healing already. "I didn't really want to go back outside" she said quietly.

I felt a pang in my chest. She wore the same expression that Piper had on her face all those years ago. She was frightened for her safety, for her life. "They can't hurt you again. There's one guy locked away in a cell, with guards to keep him in there. The rest are dead" I stated. Ashlyn took in a large breath of air before slowly exhaling. "You should take a nap. It speeds up the healing process" I suggested.

She nodded her head, but her lips curved down. "Can I have a blanket?" she asked slowly. Chucking, I nodded my head and grabbed the blankets from the chair Caroline threw them on. "Thank you" Ashlyn said softly.

"No problem. Uh... Get some rest" I said before slipping out the room. I gently closed the door behind me before bounding down the staircase. "Prison cells. Where are they?" I questioned, spotting Nick in the living room.

He sighed, putting down his sandwich and making a 'follow me' gesture. "I didn't want them in the pack house anymore. It's a short walk from here" he stated, exiting the pack house. "You looking for the one that attacked Ashlyn?" Nick asked.

I nodded my head as we got to a building. Three guards were standing in front of a door. We nodded at them as we passed. "He broke his wrist and his foot is snapped clean from his ankle" Nick informed me. The bastard deserved it. "Doc put some wolfsbane in him. He stopped screaming, kinda just lays there" we stopped in front of a cell.

There was a bed, but no one in it. The man was laying on the floor, his head looking up at the ceiling. "Hey, Jackass" I called. His head turned to me and he just stared. "You and your guys. Why'd you attack?" I inquired.

"Tell that bitch to stop sticking a needle in me and maybe I'll talk" he negotiated.

I scoffed. I'm not stupid enough to fall for that shit. "Tell me why you guys attacked and maybe I won't fucking kill you" I snarled. I made my eyes flash, but kept my wolf at bay. The man flinched, nodding his head.

Using his good hand, he pushed himself to sit up. "Avengence. The Monster killed our group. We set out to kill the Monster" he informed us. I knew I would bring this pack trouble. "Two years ago. At a human mall. It was neutral territory, we had every right to be there. Next thing we know, you killed five of our guys. Two pairs of mates" he started coughing after he finished talking.

I recalled that incident. But it wasn't like we attacked out of nowhere. "Me and my friends. We were leaving the mall. A guy followed us- the red head. He grabbed my sister- the Luna. We attacked. He fought back, more people came and fought with him. We didn't kill just to kill. It was self-defense" I told the guy.

He nodded, looking like he believed me. "Russell was a stupid man. Always tried picking fights. It was Brandon's idea to attack today. We all just went along with it- he's the leader. Russell was his younger brother" he stopped, looking up at me. "That girl with you. I didn't kill her did I?" he asked.

I shook my head and the man let out a breath of relief. "My wolf just took over. After my first time shifting, I never did it again. I never got the hang of controlling that damn thing" he muttered. I started to feel empathy for the man.

Before it got too deep, I turned and left the cellar room. "Zeke" Nick called after me. Ignoring him, I walked faster away from the building. "Man, wait up!" he grabbed my shoulder and spun me around. "What happened in there?" he questioned.

I ran a hand through my hair and clenched my fists. "Nothing. I just had to get out" I stated. He looked at me skeptically and sighed. "Nick. Don't worry about me. I can handle my shit on my own" I told him.

"Talk to me. I saw that look on your face when you brought Ashlyn in. It was the same look that you had when you saw bruises and cuts on Piper. And I saw how you looked at the guy in there. You understood him" Nick spoke in a quiet voice like he was telling me a secret.

Shaking my head, I let out a breath and unclenched my fists. "It was just like all those years ago. I couldn't stop Ashlyn from getting hurt just like I couldn't stop our fathers from hurting Piper. As for that guy that's locked up. I'm exactly like him. If I shift, people will die. I can't control it" I stated. The first time I shifted, I almost killed people in my pack- my friends. They had to stick me with a needle and put wolfsbane in my system.

Nick shook his head at me. "You are like that guy. Because he actually cared. Did you see the look on his face when he asked about Ashlyn? He never wanted to hurt her. It was his wolf that hurt her. Not him" he pointed to the building. "And when you and Piper were still here, you were a child. There was nothing that you could've done. But with Ashlyn, you saved her life. She got hurt, but you brought her back alive. That's what matters" he declared.

I sighed and nodded my head. "No matter what happens. You make sure I never shift again. I can't hurt someone like that. Promise me, you'll do whatever you can to keep me in this form. Even if you have to put me on a wolfsbane drip. That's what you do. I don't care. Just keep me from shifting" I begged.

Nick nodded his head in agreement. "I promise"

__________________________________________________________________________

"Truth is everybody is going to hurt you; you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for."

-Bob Marley

I think I'm just gonna start putting quotes in these note things. It just looks nice.

Anyways... Happy (late) Valentine's Day!

Kayyyzzzzz Byeeezzz

~A.J.