Little Red

Chapter 24

Beep. 

Beep. 

Beep.

I groan at the annoying sound.

Opening my eyes, I'm greeted by the familiar tiles of the hospital ceiling. 

How many times have I been here already?

Far more than I'd like, that's for sure. 

"You're up."  A deep voice says.

I sit up quickly to see someone I never thought I would see again.  Okay, maybe that was a little dramatic.

"Demitri?"  I ask in complete confusion.  

He's sitting close to my bed, electric blue eyes staring at me with...is that joy in his eyes?

I must be seeing things.

My eyes snap down to the bed, where his hand is holding my own.  

Okay, now I'm reeeeeeally confused.  

I try to backtrack to the last thing I remember, but all that pops up is a strange dream...

"It's about time."  A new voice muses.

I tear my eyes away from the perplexing sight to see another familiar face, wearing a small smile.

Samuel enters carrying a tray and shuts the door behind him.  He walks over to me and places it on the table attached to the bed, sliding it in front of me.  Once that's set up, he sits in the chair at the end of my bed.

My eyes flicker warily between Demitri and Samuel's smiling faces.  It's quite unnerving to be honest. 

"What's going on?" I ask hesitantly, pulling my hand from Demitri's to rest it in my lap with my left hand.  I don't miss the way his smile droops at my actions before quickly pulling back up again.  I also try to ignore the longing in my chest at the loss of contact.

"Well, what's the last thing you remember?"  Demitri asks, looking hesitant all of a sudden.

I look at the corner of the room as I think.  Surely, he doesn't mean my weird dream.

It takes awhile, but I finally recall what happened.  

The clearing.

The wolf.

The fight.

Then, darkness.

"I remember a fight,"  I say questioningly, sounding unsure even to myself.

In my peripheral, I see Demitri's jaw tick but Samuel nods encouragingly.

"Yes, that's right."  He confirms.  "It was pretty badass too."  He adds in amusement.

"How are you feeling?"  Demitri quickly asks, causing me to look at him.  He sounds worried.

"Um, okay I guess."  I say, unsure.  I look away from him, instead focusing on the thin woven blanket covering me.  "How long have I been out?"  I ask after a moment.

"5 days," Samuel deadpans.

I balk at his words, looking up at him in shock.

"5 days?"  I ask in wonder.  "5 days..." 

"5 days," he confirms.

I look between the two for any sign of deception, but their faces are blank, although Demitri looks a bit strange as he meets my eyes.  I don't focus on it though.

"That's.....I've missed so much training!"  I exclaim, still unable to believe it.  "I need to get back as soon as possible!"  I say with sudden determination.

"Only you would think of training minutes after waking up from a coma,"  Samuel says lightly, rolling his eyes.

This is yet another side of him I'm seeing for the first time.

"Training?  You will not be training for awhile."  Demitri says sternly.

I look at him in shock.

"Excuse me?  Yes, I will be training.  I can train whenever I want."  I say stubbornly.

We both stare at each other, green irises vs blue.  His eyes are electric, daring me to disobey his wishes.  A shiver rolls down my spine.

"No, you will not.  You need to rest.  You will rest."  He emphasizes.  His stupid, beautiful eyes are hard as he looks at me.

"Dem-"  Samuel starts.

"Leave us,"  Demitri says, cutting him off.

To my annoyance, he listens to the overly-demanding Alpha.

I huff. 

"Listen, you don't have to pretend to care about me." I say.

He looks taken aback by my statement.

"I'm not-" 

"I'm fine.  You can go back to avoiding me now."  I say, wincing at the pain that flares in my chest at the reminder.

He notices, watching my movements like a hawk.  After a few moments of awkward silence, he rubs his face tiredly.

"Can...can we just start over?"  He asks, catching me off guard.

My eyes widen in shock at his pleading tone and the hope in his blue eyes. 

"Yes," I hear myself say breathlessly, caught up in his blue pools.  

Girl, WHAT?

Snapping myself out of it, I speak again. 

"Where shall we start hmmm?  Perhaps where I tell you I have no wolf and you look at me as though I am the most disgusting thing you've ever seen?"  I question bitterly.

This time, it's his turn to wince.

"I'm really sorry about that, I just didn't know how to react." He says.  

And he really does look sorry, sincerity in his gaze.  I don't let this get to me though.

"Well, I'm glad you were better prepared this time."  I snap.

His eyes turn icy and his jaw clenches tightly, no doubt angered by my tone.

"You may not like me, but you will respect me."  He states.  "I am your Alpha."

My expression morphs into one of mock amazement.

"Wow, a real-life Alpha - and you're all mine?"  I mock dreamily.  "How about no."  I deadpan.  "Respect is something you'll have to earn from me."

Instead of answering, he holds back.  Perhaps to stop himself from saying something he'll regret. 

I know I sound like a brat, but I don't even feel an ounce of guilt for it.  This man has put me through so much.  Taking me from my family, my best friend, then isolating and ignoring me.  So if he wants me to even feel something other than contempt for him, he'll have to work hard for it.

"Well, I'll keep that in mind."  He bites back. "I need to go."  He gets up and heads to the door.  Right before he closes it behind him, he turns back to me.  "I'll be back later...if that's okay with you."  Instead of the edge his voice once held, it's soft, and he looks nervous. 

I give him a hesitant nod.  I'm not sure what caused his sudden change of mood, but I remember the pain of his constant rejection too clearly to fall for anything.

At the action, he gives me a shit-eating grin.  It makes his face looks so much younger, he almost resembles a small child.  It's frustratingly adorable, and I feel my anger slipping momentarily.

I find my own lips pulling up into a shy grin, which only makes him smile wider and we end up just smiling at each other like fools.  We're interrupted, however, by Samuel's voice, who says something I don't catch to Demitri.  He rolls his eyes before turning back to me.  

"See you soon,"  He says, then he shuts the door.  His words hold a promise.  

The only question is, will he keep it?