The Last Rose of Winter

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Birds chirped and people talked as I came to. My vision was blurred and my head throbbed and pounded. My entire body ached.

What the hell happened?

Part of me hoped that I was dead and waking up in another world so I didn't have to be put through the torment of Alpha Albertine's scolding.

I knew I would be labelled the embarrassment again and even if it was true it was still cruel. Not that anyone of an Alpha rank cared.

Moving slightly I realised I was in a bed that was not my own and in a room I had never been in before. Instant panic set in as I tried and failed to sit up as my head spun wildly.

"Just relax," a masculine voice cut through the silence as my body became rigid all over again. "You have not been harmed in any way but you did hit your head pretty hard when you fell."

His voice was so familiar and soothing and the way my body responded made me realise who it was. "I'm sorry I fainted...." my words were weak as I tried to still the sudden nausea I was feeling. "And I'm sorry that you're stuck with me as your mate." I truly did feel sorry for him. I wasn't strong, I didn't come from an Alpha bloodline and I didn't even have family to help guide me through what should be done in this situation. "If you'd like to reject me I won't hold a grudge against you or make a scene. I'll accept it and carry on as I normally would." It wasn't that I was trying to make him feel bad or pity me but I knew I was no one's first choice as a mate. I'd be lucky if I was someone's last choice.

The room fell silent again as I waited for his words of rejection but they didn't come. Instead I heard a rustling noise and his face soon came in to view. He looked annoyed, sad and more than a little confused as he came to stand next to the bed. He dropped to his knees so that he could look me in the eye and I found myself wishing I'd just pass out again.

"Why would you say something like that?" He almost seemed hurt by what I'd said to him.

"Because you deserve better," was the only sentence my brain could string together. I didn't want him to go through life being disappointed in me or constantly being embarrassed of me. It wasn't fair on him or me.

"But you don't know me," he responded quickly, "and I don't know you. Would you have me reject you before getting to know you?" He seemed eager to give it a go but I was feeling so many things that I didn't know what to say.

Looking down at my hands I couldn't help but fiddle with them, I was so nervous. So unbelievably nervous. "Yes, if to save you the embarrassment of getting to know me."

Much to my surprise he laughed. Immediately my gaze lifted to his face and I saw a twinkle in his eye as he pushed himself away from the bed and stood up.

"I'd lost hope of finding my mate many years ago. I'm almost thirty. I'm old for an Alpha. Though I faced the prospect of never finding you I didn't give up and I didn't falter." He then straightened himself up and the laughter faded from his lips. "As much as you think yourself unworthy I would never reject you." He smiled again and took his position next to the bed. "And when you are well enough to travel I will take you with me back to my pack and show you all the reasons why you are the most worthy of my time."

The intensity of his gaze did funny things to me. He seemed dead serious about taking me back to his pack with him too. Something I had not anticipated at all.

"What's the matter?" He questioned me gently.

I was hesitant to answer him. I didn't know if I could get over my anxiety or not but it seemed I would have to try really hard. I couldn't disobey an Alpha.

"I just....this is all very sudden and I'm feeling so much and trying so hard not to freak out." I admitted freely. Although Weston was an Alpha he seemed far more lax and personable than Alpha Albertine. At least he was when no one else was around.

"Trust me I know how you feel," he chuckled. "If you'd like I can leave you to rest. I would like to speak with both you and Albertine." He casually dropped my Alphas name into the conversation which brought me back to reality. "I want to discuss you coming with me. If not as my mate then as a study subject for the doctor in my pack."

"Study subject?" I couldn't help but repeat as his words echoed through the otherwise silent room. "Am I going to be dissected or something?" The image of my laying on a table with my insides strewn about quickly flashed through my mind and made me shudder in fear. I didn't want to be something to study.

Again he laughed. "No you won't be dissected. I can assure you of that." A thoughtful look then crossed his face, "the virus," he began slowly. He looked like he was struggling with his thoughts but I had no idea why. "You survived it. Of everyone that contracted the virus you were the only one to recover. I'd like to know why." The more he spoke the less pained he looked. Had he lost someone to the virus outbreak too?

"Sure...I guess if it helps anyone in the future," I couldn't help but shrug. I'd wanted to know how I survived too amd why my parents and so many others didn't. What had happened to me?

"I'm sure if Rory, my pack doctor can figure it out, then you could save many lives in the future, Rose." I couldn't help but shiver at the way he said my name. It sounded important and made me feel needed. "If you need anything let me know. I just need to see to the two guards who hindered you yesterday."

He disappeared in the blink of an eye and left me with my thoughts. Everything quickly became overwhelming. I never thought in a million years that I'd find a mate and I never dared imagine being mated to an Alpha but what could I do?

Along with all the uncertainty I felt something else that I hadn't truly felt in a long time. A small grain of joy had planted itself in my heart and began spreading.

Would this be my way out of a pack that had all but abandoned me after my parents deaths? Would this be the new start I had always wanted?

All I could do was hope.