little one

chapter three

sebastian's pov

I've never run faster in my life. Holding my tiny mate in my arms I ran back to my territory. I needed to get her to my pack doctor, my brain couldn't process anything else.

When my pack doctor, Ainsley, saw my little mate covered in bruises, dirty, and clearly malnourished, she broke into tears.

"Ainsley, Sebastian found his mate on the raid of that group of rogues. She's in bad shape, and I don't know how much Seb's wolf can take. Tread lightly with him." I glared at Jace's warning to Ainsley, but I knew he was right. My wolf and I didn't like seeing our mate in pain.  I was raised to believe that you not only love and cherish your mate, but you also protect them with all you have.  What kind of mate am I? I could have raided those rogues months ago. If I lose her... I can't even think of it.

"Seb, I'm gonna need you to hold her as close as you can and don't let go. We draw strength from our mates, and right now she doesn't have much strength left. If she wakes up while I'm examining her I need you to keep her still. You're not gonna like it, but she may feel some pain." Ainsley was cautious as she gave me instructions. I couldn't help but growl at the hearing of my mate's pain though.

I tucked my little mate against me so her back was facing my front. I dusted kisses over her face and rubbed circles on her arms. Trying to offer some form of comfort. I couldn't just do nothing. Ainsley began her examination, checking all of her bruises, looking for open wounds, etc.

*

Not long after Ainsley began her examination, Little One woke up. She was frantic. Her body was shaking, and she was whimpering softly;

"Shhh, Little One it's ok. You're ok. " I cooed in her ear and blew on her neck. To werewolves, the scent of their mate is especially calming, plus it's a semi-permanent way of marking her as mine so it's a win-win.  Her body stopped it's frantic shaking, and she unconsciously leaned closer to me. I couldn't help the giant smile. "Everything's gonna be ok Little One, they can't hurt you anymore, I won't let anyone hurt you ever again."

"W-w-why?" Her voice was scratchy, and if I had been human I definitely would have missed her soft, quiet voice.

"What do you mean why, Little One?" I couldn't be more confused about her question. I tried to speak as softly as I could, not wanting to scare her.

"W-why are you taking care of me?" She squeaked as I abruptly turned her so she was facing me;

"What do you mean why? Of course, I'm taking care of you Little One. Anything you need I'll provide. Anything you want you'll get. You're mine to cherish, and most importantly... protect." She looked at me like I had just told her I was big bird.

"B-b-but you're supposed to reject m-me. I'm worthless." As the tears rolled down her face I gestured for Ainsley and Jace to leave the room.

"Little One, why in the world would you think that?" I tried my best to keep the anger out of my voice. This beautiful creature that God blessed me to love doesn't know how worthy she really is.

"I'm a runt. Y-you're obviously h-high ranking, you need someone strong, not a defect." Her tears were coming faster, and my heart was breaking. I held her closer (if that was even possible) and put my mouth near her ear;

"Sweetheart, you being a runt doesn't make you any less worthy. I don't mind how small you are, I do mind that you've clearly been deprived of basic needs, and I'm going to do everything in my power to get you back to health, but you being small doesn't make you worthless. It means I need to keep you close, which doesn't seem like a hardship to me. You being smaller, means I can easily carry you around. You are the most beautiful woman I've ever come across Little One, and I'll tell you as many times as you need to hear it." Her tears never ceased, if anything they fell faster. I rubbed her back and rocked her desperate to comfort her.

"I want to believe you." Her words were whispered so sadly, and so quiet I barely heard her. My heart was breaking for my little mate. Whoever made her feel this way deserves a thousand deaths. My little mate deserves the world.

I kissed the side of her head, "Little One you don't need to talk about what they did right now, but Ainsley, my pack doctor, needs to finish examining you, is that ok?" She just buried her face in my chest and nodded against my chest. "Ok, I'll go get her."

I moved to get up, carefully setting her on the little cot, when she yelped.

"No! Please don't leave me alone. Please. Please. I'll try not to bother you." I began to reach for her, "Never mind. I'm sorry. I'm being stupid, go. I'm sure you have more important things to do, I'm sorry." She hung her head, clearly trying to control her body's tremors.

"Don't worry Little One, if you want me by your side, you'll have me by your side. Ok? Never be afraid to ask me for something." I dusted kisses across her face, cautious of scaring her. I picked her tiny body up, wrapping her legs around my waist, I set out to find Ainsley. I didn't need to look very far, Ainsley was not far away from the room where we were in. She looked up as she sawing us walking;

"Are you ok with me continuing my examination? I don't need to do much more, just a blood sample, and height and weight." She directed her question to my little mate, clearly trying to put her at ease. But her attention seemed to do the opposite. She hid her face against my neck and I could feel her slight trembling.

"Little One," I cooed in her ear, "I'll be right by you the whole time, are you ok with Ainsley finishing examining you?" I rubbed my arm up and down her back, wishing I was in her head so I knew how to comfort her.

"I'm sorry. Sorry. Yes, that is alright. I'm sorry." Her words were rushed, but still quiet as she spoke.

"No need to apologize, Luna, whenever you're ready we can get started." At Ainsley's words, her head shot up, almost beaming me in the chin;

"Luna?!? I can't be a Luna! I'm defective! I knew you were high ranking, but... you're an Alpha? There's no way you can accept me. No way. No." Her head shook back and forth as she battled with herself;

"Little One, you more than anyone else deserve to be a Luna. I'm not going to reject you. I'll never reject you,  ok?" My hand brushed across her cheek, and she flinched.

"I'm sorry Alpha, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She kept repeating herself refusing to reach my eyes.

"No need to be sorry Angel, and you definitely don't need to call me Alpha. To you, it's Sebastian." She looked shocked, "What about you Little One? What's your name?" As much as 'Little One' suited her,  I couldn't call her that forever.

"Thea. My name is Thea." Her words were quiet and forced as if she was carefully thinking about every word she said.

"That's a perfect name for you Little One." I placed a kiss on her forehead and turned towards Ainsley, "Can we hold off on the bloodwork until tomorrow? She needs some rest."

Ainsley nodded, and she gestured us over to a scale. I carefully set Thea down on her feet, placing my hands at her hips to make sure she was stable. Thea's eyes never left mine as Ainsley wrote down her weight, clearly frustrated Ainsley was shaking her head.

"What? What is it?" I tried to keep my voice calm, but I was fighting a losing battle.

"Her weight is low even for a runt, and she's about 5'0." My wolf was near frantic at the news. I knew she was small. But, hearing those words, hearing how frail she really is, was soul-crushing. I kissed Thea on the side of her head and tugged her closer.

Thea was mine. Mine to cherish, love, and treasure. But now, most importantly to protect and bring her back to health. I needed to make her feel safe. I needed to make her feel secure. It would be tough, but she was more than worth it.

Hi Guys!

Thank you so much for reading and checking out 'Little One' Comment your thoughts so far!

Thanks,

-ej