Healing Hearts

3

The eyes of the woman opened, and she panic as she looked around the room. Everything was white, and for some reason, that color freaked her out.

It made her feel empty inside. She felt she was dead, dying all over again. She huffed, looking around. She was all by herself. She wondered if she really did escape; or maybe this was a game they were playing on her.

Her eyes caught the brace on her ankle. She leaned over, inspecting why it was there. Her cold fingers reached for the hard plastic, undoing it. She grunted when she slid it off, and her eyes widen at the sight.

"You shouldn't had taken that off." The girl sitting on the hospital bed glanced up, baring her teeth at the stranger. The stranger was the doctor who operated on her. "That's going to help your ankle heal. Plus, your mate will kill me if she finds out that I let you take that off."

"Mate?" She asked, her teeth still bared. Her last Alpha called her 'his mate' and 'mine.' She didn't have a lot of knowledge in the topic, but her wolf never said those words back.

The doctor nodded her head. "Yes, mate. She smelt you and heard you scream when..." she trailed off, realizing she shouldn't actually bring up that when this woman finally woke up.

Then a warm scent hit her nose. The girl on the bed sat up, memorizing the smell. It reminded her of everything before finding her 'first mate.'  She could picture her mother cooking in the kitchen, making something tasty to eat. Her father would be in the study working on whatever she worked it. When she asked, he would just kissed her head, telling her that he would tell her when she was older.

The doctor turned around, shaking her head softly. "Layla," she laughed, "slow down. You're going to scare her."

Layla went through the door, ignoring what her co-worker had said. Her eyes fell onto her mate, and she swore that her heart stopped. She smelt like cinnamon rolls she loved to eat in the mornings.

"Hey," she whispered, smiling. She watched as her mate just stared at her from the bed.

The silence was nerve wracking, and the other doctor just chuckled, patting her friend on the back and leaving the room.

"How are you feeling?"

She shrugged her shoulder, making Layla frown. "If anything is bothering you, you can tell me. I'm the Head Pack Doctor."

"Who was that other woman then?"

Layla glanced back at the door. "She was... um... your doctor for your injuries because I wasn't deemed fit to take care of you- just for this time, though." She rushed out, sneakily taking small steps to be closer. She paused, smiling, "What's your name?"

"Marley." The Doctor's mate answered, her fingers playing with the cast she almost took off. "The other woman said I couldn't take this off because someone was going to get mad. Is that someone you?"

Layla laughed, nodding her head. "Yeah, that's me."

"Is it because you're the Head Doctor?" Marley asked, not knowing the answer she wanted to her. Apart of her wanted Layla to say 'Yes' because of her past with mates. Her wolf wasn't strong enough to tell her if wolves were her mate now- because of her last Alpha- but she wanted to hear 'No. I'm your mate' or something along those lines.

"That's part of it, Marley. Naturally, I want to check you- my human side I guess- but this is much more about me being a doctor and you being a patient."

Marley frowned at the lack of answer she wanted. She knew that Layla at least thinks that they're mates, and maybe they are, but she wouldn't know till she gets back to being a healthy werewolf.

"How's your head?" Layla asked, making her way towards her mate. Without pausing, she gently touched her mate's checks and making her look down. Both of them shivering from the shocks. For Layla, she felt them at full force, but Marley barley felt them due to her condition. Layla moved some of Marley's hair, allowing her a better view. "Good, it's basically healed. Your wolf," she stared to explain, "will always heal the most life threatening injuries in sickness or in health. Although, your wolf needed a little boost to start going."

"Can I take the brace off?" Marley pouted, and Layla almost responded positive without thinking. Her wolf was torn: give mate what she wants or keeping her safe. She went with the her latter.

"Not until your ankle is all healed." Layla bushed her mate's hair back to where it was before and lifted her head. She took a moment to take her mate in- without either of them being covered in blood. "Promise me," she whispered, "that you won't take the brace off your ankle until it's fully healed."

"Why?"

Layla sighed, rubbing her face. "Because I'm not allowing my mate to walk around on an ankle that was broken in three different places and has a large bite mark on it," she growled out, trying to get her point across. "I wouldn't be able to sleep at night of you got hurt again because I let you."

"You shouldn't not sleep because of me," Marley cried out, her eyes getting watery. She remembered when her old pack mates couldn't fall asleep at night, and the thought terrified her.

Layla's eyes widen at the sudden mood change, and she quickly went to help her mate through the pain- even if she didn't know what it exactly was. "Hey, it's okay. Marley, nobody is mad."

"But you can't sleep at night, and then... then," she hiccuped, leaning her head down to stare at her hands, but because the Doctor was so close to her, her head went into her chest. The heartbeat sound she heard from the Doctor calmed her as she realized that this woman really was panic and worried.

She didn't know, but she smiled at the thought.

COMPLETED GOALS:

• Added to two reading lists
• Fifty overall reads

GOALS NEEDED (ONLY TWO):

• One hundred overall reads
• Five votes
• Added to four reading list
• Two comment made by two different people