**Here's the next update guys! Chapter 14 is now on Inkitt and it is STEAMY. Link to it in my bio!! Also, if you leave a comment on inkitt know that I DO read them, but there's no way for me to reply to them!! Thank you for your continued support!**

Poppy's POV

I couldn't stop myself from pathetically crying at the situation I'd gotten myself into. I was trapped as my leg had gotten stuck in the hole that had broken open on the stairs and I also had a few larger chunks of the broken lumber spearing my leg. Every time I moved, they dug deeper into my leg and caused more blood to gush out. The pain was horrible, though I tried my best to block it out.

"HELP!" I screamed uselessly, though still praying that someone - anyone - was nearby and would hear me.

Knox? Are you there? I need help. I mind-linked desperately. I waited a few minutes, but there was no response. I tried again a few more times - unsuccessfully - before hysteria began to set into my mind. Why isn't he answering me?!

Thankfully, the bleeding had stopped, but I was still stuck and in a lot of pain. I had no one else to call besides Knox, Grace, or Jason. They were the only ones in the pack that I knew enough to call for, yet two of them were busy at work and the other was simply ignoring me for whatever reason.

I don't understand what happened...

I'd given up and had let myself succumb to my pathetic tears as a harsh sob of pain and fear wracked through my chest mere seconds before I heard the familiar noise of tires crunching on gravel. I instantly perked up and wiped the fallen droplets of water from my cheeks.

"Help! Help me!" I cried out while waving my hands hysterically, the large car coming into perfect view. The second the driver spotted me, they sped the car up before quickly hopping out and running for me.

"Poppy, what the hell have you done?!" Corbin hollered before squatting down next to my leg to examine the damage.

"The wood is old and rotted. I wasn't thinking or being careful and fell through. It really hurts and I can't move without making it worse," I winced as he slightly shifted the wood around to see if there was an easy way of getting me unstuck.

"I'm going to have to cut the wood piece by piece to try and wedge you out. Just wait here for a second," he insisted before running around my house to what I assumed was the shed. He returned seconds later with an old hand saw before starting to cut away. I felt my heart stop as he got extremely close to my flesh with the blade, but chose to trust him as I squeezed my eyes shut when my stomach rolled.

I knew the second I was released as the pressure in my leg let up immediately.

"Okay, you should be alright. We need to get you to the pack infirmary to check out those cuts and make sure no bacteria got inside," he insisted before helping me hobble along to his car. I flushed with embarrassment when remembering that I was wearing just a t-shirt - which clearly belonged to a very large man and reeked of Knox's scent - though Corbin didn't say anything or seem to be affected at all.

I couldn't help the whine that flew from my mouth as we hit a particularly large pothole on the way back that caused my leg to jarr.

"What were you even doing outside in the first place, Poppy?" Corbin asked in a chastising manner.

"I was, um, just getting some fresh air. I didn't really think my steps would go out from under me," I lied.

"Well, that's what you get for being so careless and naive," he snorted before rolling his eyes at me. I looked away while staying silent, feeling like I'd just been scorned by my father.

Corbin quickly ushered me into the pack house and to a room with a hospital bed similar to the one I was in not even a week ago.

Since when had I become so accident prone?

"Miss Nicole, I've seen you more in the last week than I have half the people born in this pack in their whole lives," the doctor chuckled, though it seemed as if he was just trying to tease me to get my mind off the obvious pain I was in than anything else. I chuckled too, though it was tenser than anything. "What seems to have happened?" he asked while lightly prodding at the wound.

"I took residence at that old cabin a mile out. Most of the porch's wood is rotted and needs to be replaced. I was on my front steps this morning when the wood gave out and I fell through. Thankfully, Corbin was nearby otherwise I don't know how long I would've been stuck there," I answered thankfully. Corbin gave me a cocky smirk and wink before resting his hands on my shoulders and sliding them down my arms in an almost intimate action. I grew uncomfortable at his touch and slightly squirmed, though he didn't get the hint - like always.

The doctor glanced at Corbin with an expression I couldn't read before examining my face and neck area intensely.

"Yes, well, I'll need to speak with her alone if you'd please step out, Corbin," the doctor asked as politely as he could.

"Why?" Corbin demanded defensively.

"Because I'd like to get her and her mates consent to touch her before I proceed - as I do with all my patients," the doctor muttered with annoyance in his tone, though he was still remaining respectful as he was speaking with his future Alpha.

"What are you talking about? She doesn't have a mate. The only permission you need to touch her is mine," he growled angrily. My body froze, scared of the aggressive nature his body language had taken on.

"Then what's this?" the doctor asked matter-of-factly before lifting my curtain of hair away from my body to expose my neck while simultaneously pinching the material of my t-shirt. Corbin's face grew a deep shade of red. If he were a cartoon, I was certain he'd have steam coming from his ears right now.

"What the fuck is this?" he roared at me while reaching for my neck and digging his fingers into the area he was intensely staring at. I yipped from pain before trying to pry his fingers off of me.

"Corbin! Let her go before I call for your father!" the doctor's voice boomed. Tears of fear gathered in my eyes as he let go but continued to stare at me with a menacing gaze. I could feel the bruise around my neck already beginning to form.

"I hope you know what you've just done. Those marks will not fade for at least a few hours. If I were you, I would hide," he ordered before shoving Corbin out of the room and turning to me.

"Are you alright, dear?" he asked quietly while gently grasping my hands in his own.

"I don't know," I answered honestly while starting to cry softly. It was the truth. I really didn't know. First Knox disappears, then my leg gets injured again, Knox deliberately ignores my call for help, and then Corbin basically tells the doctor and I, in a very unsubtle way, that he was my mate. There was so much going on that I wasn't sure how to process that my brain was in overload mode.

I need a good movie and a pile of junk food, I thought to myself. The doctor kindly bandaged me up before giving me some pills for the pain if I needed them and sent me on my way with a kind smile. I limped down the hall with a pair of crutches to keep from irritating my would, now donning a pair of sweatpant shorts and a hoodie that I'd been lent as to not startle anyone in the pack house.

I raided the pack kitchen before deciding I'd just wait until lunch and sulked off to the nearest entertainment room I could find. It was smaller than most of the other rooms in the house and it made me feel more comfortable - not so alone. I turned the massive T.V. on before flipping through the channels and stopping on some random movie that'd just started and settling in. I was about finished with the film when the door burst open and a hoard of teenage boys flooded in. I jerked up from my lying position, caught off guard by the burst of noise. They all halted in their tracks while giving me a wide-eyed look.

"Hello," I murmured politely, shaking away my jumpiness. I waited a few awkward seconds for a reply, but none came.

"Um, where did you all come from?" I tried again.

"Training..." One of the taller ones mumbled quietly.

"Oh...is there any chance you've seen Knox?" I asked hopefully, knowing that he helps train the warriors sometimes. Though I wouldn't classify any of these boys as warriors. Maybe in a few years, though.

"No," the same boy said.

"And I don't want to either," another one mumbled with a scared tone from the back. I chuckled before pushing myself off the couch.

"You guys can have the room," I said before beginning to limp around the couch in order to make my way to where I'd leaned my crutches against the wall near the door.

"No, please! You can stay! We'll find somewhere else!" A third boy insisted frantically. I furrowed my brows.

"No, it's alright. My movie's over and I was going to grab a late lunch anyway," I said before walking between the break they'd made in their crowd to exit the room. I eventually made my way to the large dining room area, self-conscious as those already occupying seats just stared at me as I made my plate - struggled to at least - and took a seat. I picked at my food, trying to get myself to eat because I knew I'd be hungry later, but I just couldn't get myself to stomach any of it. There was too much swirling around in my head. I released a frustrated huff before throwing the rest of my food away and going on a walk around the pack house to familiarize myself.

When will you be off work? I mind-linked Grace. She worked in the pack daycare and goes in every morning at nine, but she said that the time her shifts end always varied.

There were a couple kids that stayed home today, so they said they could let me off early. Where are you? She asked back almost instantly.

At the pack house roaming around. I have lots to tell you I answered back vaguely. I felt her curiousness through the bond before laughing and taking a seat on the random couch I'd found. I didn't have to wait long for her to find me.

"Girl, what the fuck did you do to yourself?!" She demanded while eyeing my leg with worry.

"I fell through my porch steps," I explained with a wince as I pushed myself up from the couch to stand.

"That's it. You're staying at me and Jason's from now on until everything at your house is finished," She ordered. "That place is a death trap right now."

"Alright, fine," I conceded, knowing she wasn't going to let me have a choice in the matter regardless.

"Let's go tell Jason first, then we'll go pack your things. What was all the stuff you wanted to tell me about?" She asked as we began walking.

"Well, Knox stayed over last night..." I revealed through a whisper.

"SHUT UP!" Grace gasped dramatically. I shushed her instantly, having caught the attention of a few passerbys. "Continue!" She demanded, completely contradicting herself.

"Well, things got a little...heated last night," I confessed, feeling my cheeks burn cherry-red as she squealed while clapping her hands.

"Stop being vague, I want details!" She insisted. "He's huge, isn't he?" she asked, suddenly serious.

"I don't know! It didn't go that far!" I hissed.

"Well, what the hell. If he didn't deliver you a package then what the hell did you two even do?" she asked skeptically.

"He, uh, you know," I murmured, moving my hand in front of my nether regions so she got the point.

"You let him eat you out?!" she exclaimed with excitement.

"Grace!" I shrieked while slapping my hand over her mouth as a few girls stopped to glare at us before moving on.

"How was it?" she asked just as we reached the main floor and were making our way to the training room.

"Incredible," I said through a sigh, thinking back to the intimate moment as my body tingled from the memory.

"So then why the hell are you here instead of humping him into oblivion at home?" she demanded, confused. Suddenly, I grew angry thinking about her question. I was finally processing what'd happened earlier as I spoke with Grace and it made me realize that I was livid with Knox.

"Because he stormed off this morning after I questioned him about not asking me on The Run yet. His response was that he didn't feel it was necessary," I spat. Grace gave me a sympathetic smile that made my stomach churn.

"Maybe it's not what you think? I mean, I've never seen Knox but maybe once since he moved into our pack and now that you're around I've seen him a plethora of times," she pondered.

"It gets worse, though," I responded, my anger still growing. "I fell through and hurt myself this morning because I was trying to find him after he'd run off. I was stuck and bleeding, calling him for help, and he purposely ignored me," I hissed. "I was scared, alone, and in pain Grace," I whispered before clearing my throat and blinking my resurfacing tears away as we reached the door to the training room.

"I would say just avoid him and move on because that guy is fucking scary and I couldn't imagine having a full-blown conversation with him, but you clearly have more courage than I by not only talking to him, but also letting him stick his head between your thighs," she joked before pushing the door open and entering the room.