Survivor

A Worthy Fight

"I told you not to pull it out," Gabriel growled as he cleaned the blood that was running from the spot where the IV line in her arm used to be. He didn't enjoy being woken up from his slumber with the scent of his mate's blood flooding his senses and sending him into a panicked state. He moved away from her and threw the towel onto the back of one of the chairs before turning to Riley, who could tell how frustrated her Alpha was getting while dealing with his mate. "I have work that needs to be done, watch over her." He instructed, his temper rising.

 "Of course." She replies and watched as he left, wincing when he slammed the door shut causing Harper to whimper lightly at the startling sound.

She quickly moved to Harper's side to began fixing another IV line for her as she hung her head, her dirty blonde lock hiding her eyes. "I know you don't like the needle, but you can't keep ripping this thing out of your arm." She scolded as she looked at Harper, but the woman didn't meet her gaze. "You've done it now though, he's probably gonna break something," Riley muttered and glanced up at Harper before setting down what she was working on, and moving to sit on the edge of the bed.

Even though Harper didn't look at her, Riley watched her carefully before sighing. "I'll make a deal with you, Harper." The woman's head cocked to the side slightly and Riley could see a brown eye focused solely on her. Riley smiled, she had piqued the woman's interest. "I won't put another one of these in if you eat something."

Harper lifted her head and searched the brunette's eyes as she debated her choices. Slowly, Harper reached for the notepad and used the pen to scribble her answer on the page.

Riley smiled when Harper showed her the notepad pad where a "Yes" sat in the center of a drawn circle. "Alright then. That worked better than I thought it would."

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Harper used the plastic fork on her tray to shift the food around it before gently stabbing into a small piece of chicken that was cut up for her and bringing it into her mouth, slowly chewing while Riley watched from the chair beside her.

It was different from the limited meals that had been offered to her by her captors and she savored the familiar taste. After swallowing, she looked over at Riley, who with a smile on her face encouraged Harper to eat more. Harper moved away from the chicken and used her fingers to grasp the piece of bread at the top of the tray.

It was similar to the type they would give her once a week and she gently pulled at the soft, inner part of the bread, bringing it to her mouth. She remembered how they would slide the tray beneath the door, the plate only containing the single slice of bread. She would ration it so that it would last until the next delivery of food came bearing another slice.

Riley stayed silent as she watched Harper slowly eat, not wanting to rush her. She was happy that she had finally gotten the woman to get some food into her system and hoped that it would help her heal a little faster.

When Harper had eaten a little bit of everything off the tray and was done, she lightly pushed the table away from her lap. Riley smiled at her and then left, taking the tray with her and leaving Harper alone.

She laid back and stared up at the ceiling, trying to fall asleep. However, sleep didn't come to her and she just gently rolled onto her side.

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Gabriel sat before his desk that was littered with large amounts of paperwork and he drug his hand down over his face as he opened another folder that contained another problem.

"She finally ate." His head perked up and landed on Riley, who he didn't even hear come in. 

"That's good, it means she's getting better." His response mumbled as he flipped through the folder.

 "Well, she will, if I don't put the IV back in," Riley said and he looked back up from the folder. 

"You didn't put the IV back in?" He questioned, his eyes darkening. 

"I struck a deal with her," Riley explained as she stepped closer to the desk. "I wouldn't replace it if she eats and surprisingly it worked." Gabriel narrowed his eyes at her before returning back to his work.

"It worked, didn't it?" She pressed, not liking Gabriel's response. He just muttered his response and she sighed, moving to sit in the chair positioned to face the desk and her Alpha.

"So since she's getting better, have you decided what your answer is gonna be when she asks to leave." Gabriel frowned as he looked up at Riley, who had made herself quite comfortable in the chair she was seated in.

 "No." He grumbled, not in the mood to deal with the idea that his mate may decide to leave his territory. 

"Gabriel," Riley said, her voice low. She watched as the Alpha quickly stood from his desk, hands gripping the edge of it in a tight hold.

 "I don't know!" He bellowed, his eyes darkening. Riley sat still, unfazed by his outburst.

Gabriel turned away, his back facing her as he ran a calloused hand through his shoulder-length hair. "If she wants to leave, I won't stop her." He said reluctantly. He didn't want to force Harper to stay in Eclipse if she really wanted to have the freedom that she risked her life for.

"You would let her walk away?" Riley questioned, making sure she had heard her Alpha right.

"If it would make her happy." He answered, tilting his head slightly to peer over his shoulder at Riley. 

"One of you would have to reject the other, could you really let her go so easily?" Riley's temper flared as she thought of the man before her, someone she had known since childhood and the woman that survived all odds, someone she had come to care for rejecting each other and taking away their chances for a family.

Gabriel turned to the side and saw his friend's dark eyes, her canines revealing themselves. "What would you have me do, Riley? She was held captive for god knows how long and I'm not gonna force her to stay here against what she really wants."

"If you let her go, she will never come back." She reasoned, stepping around the desk and walking over to join her Alpha. 

"You don't think I know that." He said, softly. 

"Talk to her." Riley encouraged softly, she knew the two wolves belonged together and she wouldn't let them walk away from each other so easily.