Just Accept Me

Ch. 15 Going Home

XANDER'S POV

I watched as my mate fainted in my arms, her face stained with tears, and her breaths still interrupted by hiccups. My heart cracked. What had happened that pushed her to have a panic attack like that? I gently scooped up my mate and carried her bridal style. I help her as though she was glass with a tiny crack in it, afraid that if I held her too tightly she'd shatter.

As I walked out of the room I passed my parents, younger siblings, and her 'family.' Ignoring them and their questions, I walked down the stairs and right out of the front door. I don't think I could deal with her family with out exploding, and right now the unconscious girl in my arms mattered much more than those worthless people at the moment.

I walked through the woods, the dried leaves and fallen twigs crunching and snapping beneath my footsteps. As soon as the pack house came into view, I mind linked the pack doctor, Andrew White, to prepare medical supplies in my bedroom. My mate needed to have a check up. 

As soon as I crossed the tree line and into the yard, the few pack members who were loitering outside took notice of my presence, more specifically, the girl I brought with my presence. I heard them begin to whisper, which I didn't bother to pay attention to. However, I did hear the word 'mate' come up occasionally. I suppressed a smirk, pleased that at least they will know that the beautiful unconscious girl in my arms was taken.

Once I reached my room, I gently laid my mate on my bed as the pack doctor waited for his cue to do his thing. When I was satisfied with how comfortable Katherine looked I nodded at Andrew. "Young Alpha, her check up will require me to touch the Young Luna," the use of the formal title of my mate caused my stomach to flip, it made the situation so much more real, "and to look at her body," he bowed his head. 

I growled lowly, but knew that it needed to be done if I wanted to know if my mate was okay or not. So I nodded my head for him to perform what he needed to do, suppressing the growls that threatened to come out every time his hands came near my angel. 

"Alpha, I am afraid that I cannot see much with the attire she is wearing. Perhaps you could change her into something more... practical. Perhaps shorts and a loose fitting shirt." Andrew spoke professionally.

I nodded my head and mind linked a trusted female omega to come up into my room. After a few minutes there was a light knock a the door and I let the omega, Linda,  in. Linda gasped as soon as she saw Katherine laying on my bed. I went to my closet and grabbed some of my smallest clothes, handing them to Linda. "I need you to change my mate into these, Andrew and I will step out for a moment. Please be as quick as possible, but be gentle." 

Andrew and I stood outside my room as Linda changed my mate into my clothing. "I know you couldn't do much with the clothes she was wearing but have you found anything significant yet?" I asked Andrew.

"Well," he cleared his throat ", from what I have observed so far, her hands are calloused and a bit chapped, her complexion looks unnaturally pale and ashen, and she is way below the weight limit for someone her age, even though she is of fairly small stature. With all of these signs, Young Alpha..." he trailed off.

"What is it, Andrew?"

"It seems as though she works-slaves away. The little details I have taken note of all indicate hard manual labor and judging by the bags under eyes, she has had little to no rest. Perhaps it's due to sleepless nights or due to overworking her body and her mind. It seems as though she is neglected."

Before I could say anything to him, Linda walked out of my room, her head down. "I have finished, Young Alpha." She lifted her head a bit and I was taken aback by the tears in her eyes. " I am so sorry," she whispered before disappearing down the hall. 

My wolf growled, 'what's wrong with mate?'

I wondered that too and walked back into the room with Andrew in tow. Seeing my mate on the bed wearing my clothes brought a sense of satisfaction, but then I remembered why she was in my bed wearing my clothes.

When I scanned her small frame, I noticed a small mark peeking out from the shorts she was wearing and I pulled the pant leg up slightly only to gasp as what I saw. There was a gruesome purple bruise that covered half of her thigh. Not believing what I saw I lifted the other pant leg, only to see more bruises and even small cuts that looked like they were only halfway healed, meaning that they were probably bigger before. 

I felt my body tense with anger but kept myself in check, making sure to remain as stoic as possible. However, when Andrew drew up the hem of her shirt past her navel I saw red. I wanted to deny the existence of the bruises and the possibilities of how they came to be, but the markings on her stomach and her obviously broken bones made it impossible. I growled.

'Whoever did this is going to pay,'  My wolf couldn't agree more.

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