I wince as the doctor puts the final bandage on my arm. Grayson had just run off and now I'm even more upset and I don't know why. I don't understand why I keep feeling this way whenever he is upset.

"Thank you, doctor" I sign to her, with a small smile, tears still running from my eyes.

"It's okay. Please, call me Teresa" she signs back smiling.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, of course, love. Doctor is too formal for me anyways" she signs back with a grin.

"So, how are you feeling?"

"Sore and upset" I reply, wiping away the tears on my cheeks.

"Where are you sore? Your ribs?"

"Just everywhere. My ribs, my arm, my entire body, my heart..." I trail off on the last bit.

My heart is actually the thing that hurts the most.

"Aww, love. Well, your body should hopefully start to heal itself soon but why is your heart sore?"

"I don't know. Grayson left and I thought I would feel better but now I feel worse" I reply, my bottom lip quivering. She helps me stand up and hugs me.

"That's the pull that Grayson was explaining to you before. Whether you like it or not, you and Grayson are mates and you're stuck with him. He's here to love you and protect you Acacia" she replies slowly.

Oh no, not again. All I've done is gone from one captivity to the next. I just want to go back to my family. They probably think I'm dead.

Tears start to fall from my eyes again and I drop to the ground. Teresa pulls me into her and I let it all out. When I'm done, she sits me up against a tree and gives me a worried look.

"Why don't you want to be with the Alpha?" she signs, her expression saddening.

"Well, for starters, I know nothing about him. Two, he's the alpha of one of the most feared packs of our generation. What if he tries to hurt me? All I would have done is gone from one captivity to the next. What if he's just like them?"

"Like who, love?" she asks. I start to shake as memories of Zane cloud my vision, but Teresa rubs my back and keeps me grounded.

"The rogues" I sign back, more tears falling from my eyes. She looks at me in shock.

"What happened, Acacia? Who were you running away from?" she asks with a worried look on her face.

"I can't" I sign back, shaking hard. She squeezes me and I eventually start to calm down.

"Please try to tell me. At least tell me the important stuff. The stuff that might help start to fix everything?" she tries again.

I nod and breathe for a moment.

"Well... wait... do you know how old I am?" I sign slowly.

"No, you haven't told anyone how old you are, Acacia" she signs back, confused.

"Is there any way to tell how old I am?"

"Yes, we can create dental records for you and date them back. Love, do you not know how old you are?"

"No, I don't." I sign with a sad smile. I know I was eight years old when I was taken but from then on, I had no way to tell the date so how knows how long I was actually held captive? Plus, with everything that happened, keeping track of my age and the date was the least important thing on my mind.

She looks at me in shock for a moment before quickly regaining her composure.

"Well lucky for you, I did a dental exam when you were first brought to the hospital. My guess is you're about eighteen now"

My mouth drops open and now it's my turn to look back at her in shock.

It's been ten years. I was trapped there and tortured for ten whole years of my life.

Holy shit.

I look at her and breathe, trying to stop my bottom lip from trembling again.

"Well... Ten years ago... I was kidnapped from my pack when a war broke out. I was eight" I sign, closing my eyes for a moment to try and block out the memories.

"Oh my god. You're kidding right?"

"Nope. They held me in a cell for the past ten years, without my hearing aids. I only ate once every two or three days and I was never allowed out of my cell unless I was near death. But that was only to go to the hospital."

Tears threaten to spill from my eyes once more but I know I need to keep going.

"I shifted for the first time, my guess is maybe about a year ago I think? I would assume it would have been on my seventeenth birthday. But they tortured me for it. The other day was the first time that I've been in my wolf form since the first time I shifted" I finish, tears now streaming down my face.

"Oh Acacia, I'm so sorry" she signs back before pulling me into a hug. She eventually lets me go and I give her a sad smile.

"I ended up on Grayson's territory because there was a war that broke out between the rogues that were holding me and another group of rogues. They left my cell door open accidentally and it gave me a chance to escape so I ran and didn't look back. It felt like I was running forever and I'm surprised I lasted as long as I did, but then one of Grayson's men tackled me for being on his land" I sign before wiping away a few stray tears.

"Oh hun, I'm truly sorry about everything that has happened but Grayson and our pack would never try to hurt you" she signs back with a small smile.

"But what if he does? I'm a rogue Teresa. My family hasn't seen me in over ten years. They probably think I'm dead. For all I know, they could be dead too."

"Well, I'm sure Grayson can help you find them."

"You're missing the point, Teresa. I'm broken, used. And to make matters worse, I'm deaf. I can't hear anything goddammit. Why would Grayson want anything to do with me?"

"Because you're his mate, regardless of whether you are a rogue or not. It's his job now to protect you and to love you. You have to at least give him a chance sweetie" she signs back warmly.

I sigh and lean back against the tree behind me.

Suddenly, a wolf howl vibrates the ground under me and the tree behind me, sending shivers through my body. A pang of guilt and sadness shoots through my heart and I grab my chest.

"He's upset," she signs, frowning.

"Why?" I sign back, confused.

"He probably thinks you don't accept him."

"Accept him?"

"Yes. When two mates find each other, they need to accept one another as mates. But in your case, you haven't said you'll be his mate yet, which is why he will be upset. However, you not accepting him is totally understandable because you've been through a hell of a lot."

The guilt worsens and I look at her with a frown.

"If I accept him, what will happen?"

"You'll be mates and you'll spend the rest of your lives together, loving and protecting one another"

My bottom lip trembles again. He's gonna want to do things and want me to tell him what happened. I'm not ready for that.

"And if I don't accept him?" I sign nervously, tears threatening to spill again.

"If you don't, it's up to him what happens to you but I don't imagine it will be very good" she replies with a sad expression.

I nod and zone out as thoughts of what might happen if I don't accept him begin to fill my head but I am brought back to reality as Teresa gently touches my arm.

"But I promise if you accept him, he'll go at your pace. He's desperate, he needs you and he doesn't want to keep upsetting you so he'll do anything and if that means going slow then that's what he'll do" Teresa signs back smiling.

"How do you know though?"

"I just know love. And if you need anything you can always come and see me"

I nod and give her a small smile.

Teresa gently helps me to a standing position and we make our way back to the hospital. Once we get into my room, I get back into bed and she gets me some food. I eat it slowly as after not eating very well for many years, I'm not that hungry.

Teresa insists I eat as much as I can so I try my hardest. She comes in to clear up my plate and once she is done she comes back and sits down.

"Now, I'm going to need to keep you here another night just to make sure you're okay. After that, you can go to the packhouse with the Alpha" she signs, smiling at me.

I nod slowly but flinch when I see her sign the word Alpha.

"You've got to try hun," she says with a sad smile.

"I know, I'm sorry. I just have a hard time trusting people." I sign back, tears starting to roll down my cheeks again. She quickly pulls me into a hug and I feel myself begin to calm down.

"I understand. I'm sorry that I'm trying to rush you. It's just when the Alpha is upset, the whole pack is upset and they can sense they have a Luna now and they need their Luna."

"Wait, what? I'm the Luna?" I sign, looking at her in shock.

"Yeah, sorry. It's part of being the Alpha's mate".

"Oh right, I knew that," I reply with a slight smile. She smiles back before looking towards the door with a worried look before turning her attention back to me.

"What's wrong?" I sign nervously.

"Nothing, love. Grayson is back. He wants to know if he can come in and see you. He doesn't want to upset you again though, so you can say no" she signs, her happy smile turning into a look of sadness.

I bite my lip nervously and play with my fingers. I don't trust him yet but the small fluttery part of me wants to let him in.

"What are you thinking about?" Teresa signs, looking at me curiously.

"I can't trust him yet but there's a small fluttery part deep down inside of me that is telling me I should give him a chance" I sign back with a frown.

"That fluttery feeling will be your inner wolf, love" she signs, grinning at me.

"My what?" I ask, really confused at this point.

"Your inner wolf. You know, the voice inside your head..."

I raise my eyebrows at her and shake my head.

"Your inner wolf that comes out when you shift? That can talk to you whenever you need them and can sense danger?"

"I'm sorry. What?" I sign back, looking at her like she's crazy.

"Have you never talked to your wolf hun?" she signs, shocked.

"I guess not seeing as up until you just said it, I didn't even know that an inner wolf was a thing" I reply frowning.

"Oh no, well that's not good"

"Is it not?"

"No. You're supposed to be able to talk to them as soon as you shift for the first time. My guess is that maybe because you were tortured when you first shifted, it forced your wolf back into hiding?"

"Oh, yeah. I guess so. I'm really not sure" I sign, back meekly.

"Well hopefully now that you'll get to shift more, she'll come back out" Teresa signs, looking hopeful.

"But anyway, back to Alpha Grayson. What would you like to do?"

"Let him in, I guess?" I reply nervously. She gives me a small smile and squeezes my hand before getting up and heading out the door.

She returns moments later followed by a tired-looking Alpha Grayson. I tense up as he gets closer and I think he notices because he chooses to sit in a chair that is the furthest away from me while Teresa sits back down in the chair next to my bed.

"I'm sorry about before" he signs, face expressionless but I can see the sadness in his grey eyes.

I study him for a moment and see that his fists are busted and bloody. Another pang of sadness shoots through my heart.

I wriggle nervously in my bed as the "wolf" part of me itches to go over to him and hold him. Instead, I roll myself in the blanket at my feet and slowly pad over and sit down in the chair next to him. He looks at me in shock.

"You okay?" he signs, cautiously.

I nod a yes in reply and we all sit in silence for a moment before I suddenly feel super sick.

Dropping the blanket, I run to the bathroom and proceed to vomit up everything I just ate. Grayson and Teresa rush over and Teresa holds my hair back.

I eventually stop and I lean against the toilet weakly.

"When was the last time you ate?" she signs with a concerned look on her face.

"Before getting here, maybe like three days before I escaped? I'm really not sure though" I reply, feeling slightly dizzy. I watch as she and Grayson talk for a moment before they look back at me.

"Alpha Grayson is going to pick you up and carry you back to bed. Is that okay?" she signs, worried. I nod and Grayson scoops me up in his arms. I lean against him because he is warm and I suddenly feel really cold.

I feel him relax slightly and something warm in me stirs.

He lays me on the bed, grabs my blanket and puts it back over the top of me before sitting down next to me. Teresa then proceeds to put an IV in my hand before sitting down next to me too.

"I'm sorry. This is my fault. I shouldn't have told you to eat so much straight off the bat. I should've asked you when you last ate first. If I had known, I would have given you a feeding tube with liquid nutrients. For now, I will give you liquid meals and we will move up to solids in smaller portions" she signs with a sad smile.

"It's okay" I sign back, closing my eyes for a moment before opening them and looking back at Teresa.

"You need to tell him at some point Acacia" she signs, nodding in Grayson's direction.

I sigh and nod.

"I guess so."

"Do you want me to leave?" she asks, cautiously.

"Yeah, I think I'll be okay" I reply wearily before rubbing my eyes. She nods and smiles before getting up and walking out.

I close my eyes for another moment, trying to gather myself before turning my head to look at Grayson.

He sits still, watching me nervously. God, his fists look terrible. I shudder at the thought of what or who he might've punched. I give him a small smile and run a hand through my disgusting hair.

"What do you want to know?" I ask, signing nervously.

"Everything? Is that okay?" he replies, matching my nervousness with his own face.

I nod, sucking in a sharp breath.

Right, let's get this over with then.

_________________________________

Hey Guys,

I hope you enjoyed this newly edited chapter!! This is technically a new chapter to the book, however, it is actually a continuation of what was originally in the previous chapter.

Thanks, for sticking by me through all this and feel free to leave me a comment below letting me know whether you liked this chapter!!

If you feel so inclined, go follow me on my Instagram account @allamy_duffell for a look into my life outside of writing!

Love,

Allamy xx