Hospitals aren't nice places. Sure, they advertise their friendly staff and their doctors are legally required to care for you...

But hospitals are cold, with squeaky clean tiles and an overwhelming antiseptic smell. Everything is too clean, unlived in...died in. Kaia shivered.

"Are you cold, dear? I can turn up the heat," offered Kaia's nurse, a portly lady with a gentle, round face. She was the kind of lady Kaia figured would bake cookies in her free time. They'd be delicious cookies. 

Kaia slowly shook her head. "No, I'm fine. Thanks."

She was not fine. She wanted with all of her being to be anywhere else. She wanted to be in the woods again, the smell of smoke all around her and nature swallowing up her worries. She wanted to lean against her wolf, bury her face in his fur and stay there until her dad forgot all about the little cut on the back of her head. Oh god, what would her dad think about her being so close to a wolf?

Kaia stared at her dad, asleep on a chair next to her bed. It was late afternoon now, and the light that streamed in from the floor to ceiling windows revealed how tired her dad was. One morning and a little blood, and her dad had aged ten years. ...He was always like this.

She didn't want to be there when he woke up, see the sadness and subtle frustration in his eyes. "Can I go to the vending machine in the hallway? I'm a little hungry," Kaia said to the nurse, who was folding sheets in the corner of the room.

Her eyes filled with regret like it hurt her to say no, "I'm sorry, love. I don't think it's a good idea for you to be up and about until your scans come back. Can I get something for you?"

Kaia fought to keep her frown suppressed. She wasn't hungry at all; she just wanted to escape the crispy white hospital room.

"I just...I want to go for a walk," Kaia confessed, "I'm tired of sitting here."

Another look of regret, "I'm sorry, but you're to stay here. But I'll go fetch something for you if that'll help." She disappeared out the door. No one ever expected Kaia to think, to be more than a weak, helpless child. Maybe that was Kaia's fault, for never having tried. But her nurse had made it too easy. 

Kaia swung her legs off the bed, shivering again when her bare feet touched the freezing tiles. She padded over to the door and pulled it open bit by bit until she could peek out of it. Her nurse was nowhere in sight.

She couldn't believe she was doing this, sneaking away. It wasn't like her to do so, but it was just for a little while. That's what she kept telling herself. Her dad might not even wake up, and he wouldn't know anything had happened.

Soon she was standing in front of an enormous wall of windows that stretched the length of the entire building. She could see the hospital entrance from so high up, the busy desk and the people waiting for care.

But instead, she just turned and looked out the windows, watching snow fall lightly over the sprawling woods below her. The mountains in the distance were snowcapped, like sleeping giants. She leaned against the railing, watching the snow, imagining her wolf flying through the trees like a shadow. It seemed like a perfect world, so different and peaceful compared to the bustling reality behind her. 

"Excuse me?" 

Kaia bolted upright, turning to see a man in front of her. He looked like he was in his thirties, wearing a red plaid shirt and dirty jeans. He looked like a lumberjack, with the beard and the stocky build and everything. "Do you know where a restroom is? I'm lost, this place is huge." He had a lumberjack voice, too, baritone and gravelly. There was something off-putting about his face as though his eyes were maybe just a little too close together or his nose was a bit too slanted. 

"Um," Kaia started, staring at him for maybe a little too long. He smelled weird, like cigars and dirt. "I think it's that way," she said, pointing, scanning her memory from her trip here.

"Sorry, where?" he asked, "Could you just show me?"

Kaia hesitated but nodded. It was a big hospital, and Kaia wasn't even sure if she'd be able to figure out how to get back to her room. So she led this stranger away from the window and the main entrance to one of the side hallways where she thought she'd seen a restroom.

"I think it's-" Kaia heard a flick, like metal sliding over metal, and then saw a flash. Her back slammed against the wall with a thud, knocking the wind out of her. Something cold pressed against her neck.

"You're quite stupid, aren't you, Fishbait?" he said, amusement in his voice.

"Wh-What are you doing? This is a hospital, someone will come, they're-" It was a knife pressed against her neck, something she only realized when it bit into her skin a bit. She felt warm dampness flow down to her collarbone. She was bleeding. Her attacker's other hand was pressed against her chest, pinning her to the wall and making it hard to breathe.

"Oh, I don't think anyone will come," he hissed, "My guys are guarding both ends of this hallway."

"What the hell..." Kaia choked out. For some reason, she wasn't shaking. She gasped for air. "I can't...breathe," she managed in an exhale. She reached up to grab his wrist, try to force him off of her or at least loosen his grip, but instead, the moment she touched his skin, pictures flashed in front of her eyes.

Running through the woods, panting. The forest protested at his being there, cracking underneath his paws. The smell was delicious and peculiar. It made him hungry. And then it was a girl, standing alone in the woods. He would...

Kaia ripped her hand away. "You're...from...the woods."

"Oh, clever girl, huh? How did you figure that out?" he asked, confusion on his face. He eased back a bit, letting her get in a lung full of air. But it smelled so badly of cigars that it made Kaia cough.

Her brain was running a mile a minute. She couldn't quite get her head around the fact that a man could be a man and a massive wolf at the same time, saliva dripping from its fangs and death in its eyes...

She didn't know what to believe, what to trust. It was terrifying not to trust something that seems so real. Reality had always been clear, but lately, it had become muddled, confusing, scary. 

"You were going to kill me," she said, anything to give her more time. She had to figure out a way out of this situation. But it looked grim. She doubted she could take this guy on, both because he was larger than her and because he had a weapon. Not to mention the guys at the ends of the hallway he'd been talking about. But, if she could get that switchblade...

He nodded, delight in his eyes. "How insightful of you. Yes, and I'm still going to kill you. Why the hell did you think I followed you here?"

Kaia subtly eyed the knife. "I...because you're my number one fan?"

A perfect combination of confusion and surprise graced his face. Kaia would have spent more time enjoying that, but she'd have missed her chance. Her knee shot up, landing right where no guy wants to be kneed. The guy doubled over, a howl of outrage exploding from him. If a man attacks you, always go for the groin, Kaia. Be merciless and kick as hard as you can. Advice from her mom.

Kaia grabbed his wrist, bending it at an unnatural angle until the metal fell from his palm and clanged to the ground; it was something her dad had taught her in their many training sessions, the very sessions Kaia had dismissed as unnecessary. Kaia dropped to her knees, scrambling to pick it up, but she was too slow.

The man stomped on the knife before Kaia could get it and landed a solid kick on her ribs. Kaia heard a crack, and she screamed, clutching her side. She'd never been in so much pain in her life, had never really broken anything before. No one had ever really hurt her. It was foreign, terrifying.

"Stupid bitch," spat the man, looming over her. His voice became terrifying, hoarse and guttural, inhuman. "Time to gut you."

This was it. This was the end. Kaia was going to die. Was this what her mom had felt like when she'd been attacked? Empty and afraid, hopeless? Kaia thought of her dad, of Cole. They wouldn't live through this, not again.

Thud. Kaia didn't know what that sound was. She didn't dare open her eyes. She didn't want to see that knife descending, burying itself in her-

"You idiot," growled a voice. A new voice. "Why aren't you in your room?!" A furious voice. 

A voice, a person she didn't know. But at the same time, it seemed familiar, that deep growling sound. It was powerful, seemed to surround her.

Kaia finally opened her eyes, deciding that the knife was taking too long to find her. But when she opened her eyes, the lumberjack was gone. In his place was...

Was probably the most beautiful being she'd ever seen. It nearly shocked the pain away. But for now, all she cared about was that he wasn't a threat. She knew that. Trusted that. 

So Kaia squeezed her eyes shut, blocking it all out. Her side hurt. Her adrenaline was still pumping and her heart was slamming painfully in her chest. 

"Sorry," he apologized. She focused on the sound of his voice. Somehow, it comforted her. His voice was a frustrated growl. "Late again." Again? She cracked her eyes open, attempting to take shallow breaths to stave off the pain.  

His intense gaze was familiar, too. Golden, a color impossible for people, as far as she knew. Her fuzzy mind struggled. 

She started shaking now, finally out of danger, able to breathe again. Tears fell as the weight of what had just happened began to sink in. Twice in the space of twenty four hours, she'd thought her life was over. She latched onto the voice of her savior when he spoke again. 

"Your neck is bleeding, but it's shallow," he said. 

She nodded weakly as his fingertips touched her neck. As soon as he did, the pain coursing through her body eased slightly. She instantly relaxed as though he'd cast a spell over her. Kaia wanted to launch herself towards him, bury herself in his arms and stay there until the end of time, safe from everything that would hurt her. If he could make it stop hurting, she'd do anything. But she couldn't move, agonizing pain making every breath a labor. To make things worse, she couldn't really use her arm without feeling like it was going to tear off. 

Then Kaia realized that she was lying on her side like a limp doll next to her unconscious attacker, staring up at a stranger who was acting suspiciously calm after heroically rescuing her only a minute ago. Not exactly the most flattering, sure, but also unequivocally strange. She tried to sit up, but a stabbing pain in her side stopped her. She let out a pathetic cry and fought back the tears.

"Damnit." It was a growl again, deep, hostile. Somehow, she knew that his growl was for her sake. A familiar tingle pricked the back of her mind like deja vu. Kaia looked up at him and saw the rage in his shining eyes. Someone had hurt her, his moon, his life. He should have killed her attacker, but Pack laws prohibited it. 

No, those weren't Kaia's thoughts. They were...

Everything snapped into place. Warm fur. Gentle kisses. Spirals of breath in the air. Kindness and warmth. This was her wolf, kneeling before her in all his godlike glory, just as majestic as before, just as powerful. He looked down at her, his golden eyes possessive, angry. "You should have stayed in your room with Rosy. I sent her there to watch you," he scolded, leaning forward, frustration still in his voice. He sent who? The nurse?

He hesitated a moment before reaching out to touch Kaia, but when he finally did, Kaia didn't stop him from wrapping his arms around her and slowly helping her upright. This person was her wolf. He wouldn't hurt her, even if he were mad at her for being naive. Kaia inhaled as deeply as she could without her side hurting. "Woodsmoke and fir trees," Kaia said, her tears subsiding at the presence of her gentle wolf, the same one who took care of her in the woods. The more he touched her, the less pain she felt. 

He looked up at her as if he was surprised she had talked. Then the surprise sank into admiration like Kaia's voice alone was enough to lull him into a dream state. Some of his anger dissipated. Kaia let herself relax against the cold wall, her body suddenly hot.

"What's your name?" Kaia asked, staring at him. He swiped his dark hair out of his eyes, leaning forward again and meeting her gaze. Kaia almost flinched at how intense it was.

"Kaleb," he answered after a moment of silence. And then, as if his introducing himself was enough to make it socially acceptable, he reached forward and ran his hands along Kaia's waist.

She may have hesitated a bit too long, shocked, yes, but also a bit entranced. She'd never felt electricity at a person's touch. But she soon came to her senses. Kaia slapped his hand and he looked up at her, anger sparking in his eyes again. "What are you-"

"I should be asking that. What do you think you're doing?" Kaia demanded, "I just met you and you're trying to get to second base with me!"

There was a hint of amusement so brief in his eyes that Kaia thought for a moment that she'd imagined it. But it was so precious; she had to tell herself that it had been real. It made her feel like everything was ok, even if it wasn't. "I'm trying to feel if your ribs are broken," he explained. And then, without hesitating, he lifted her shirt, exposing her stomach. A purplish, reddish blotch was already forming on her skin.

Kaia couldn't do anything. She only froze up, letting Kaleb's hands glide over her skin. She couldn't lie to herself. It felt amazing, like heat and electricity and life was flowing into her, setting her nerves off. Kaia wasn't bold. She was inexperienced, having been holed up her entire life. But...at that moment, she felt like she could reach out and pull Kaleb down to her, and...

Kaia cried out. He'd touched a sore spot. "Your rib is broken." She let out a little gasp when his deep voice returned, snapping her out of her trance. God, that was embarrassing. 

He was done searching. He was going to take his hands away from her; Kaia felt a little bit of despair at the thought. But then...Kaleb didn't take his hands away. They stayed there, falling down to her exposed hips. He stared at her. What?

"Your shoulder is dislocated, too," he said, his voice gruff, but Kaia didn't really hear it. She was stuck under his eyes, unable to move, unable to think. His hands on her skin, his thumbs moving. Why did she feel like this? What was wrong with her? She'd just met this guy. This guy was literally a wolf. What was she doing?

But for some reason, Kaleb made her bold, like she could take control. And she wanted to. She wanted to reach out and take him into her arms, slide her tongue along his jaw, take his skin between her teeth...

Kaia blushed deeply, all the way down to her neck. She was insane.

Her blush seemed to wake Kaleb up, too. He cleared his throat, which Kaia found annoyingly sexy. And then his hands went to her shoulder, the one Kaia hadn't used. It was strange. She couldn't feel anything there, no pain at all. Maybe the pain of her ribs was making her forget about her shoulder.

"This is going to hurt, ..." Kaleb's voice trailed off like he was intentionally leaving silence where her name should have been. He was asking her for it, but Kaia had a feeling he was too proud to lower himself to her level and make a request.

"Kaia," she answered quietly, begging silently with her eyes for him to do it, to... He nodded, then his hands rested on either side of her shoulder.

"This is going to hurt, Kaia," he said, and Kaia let out a sigh. He did it, he said it. A rush came when her name slid from between those lips, the lips that Kaia wanted to reach up and touch, to see if they were as soft as they looked. They probably tasted-

Kaia screamed...again. Her entire existence was agony, and this time there wasn't any adrenaline to numb it for her. The world went blurry. And then it went black.

Kaleb's voice was a mile away, calling her name. Was he panicking? No, that couldn't be...not a guy who was so strong, who had called her an idiot like she was a child. He was in control; Kaia got the feeling that he was used to that. Surely, he wouldn't panic just because of Kaia.