Healing Hearts

C H A P T E R | 3

Layla went to shove the door opened, ready to spend the entire night next to her mate's side, but the command of her Alpha had her frozen in place.

"Layla," he sighed, rubbing his face as he started to stress out. The last thing he needed was a war with rogues and another pack, but as an Alpha, he could clearly see the signs of abuse, and he knew he couldn't turn his back on the eighteen year old girl in the hospital. "I can't let you go in there, not yet," he spoke, motioning her to come and sit down.

Layla grumbled, but she stayed silent as she moved to sit in a chair closet to the door and furthest away from the Alpha. Her dislike for him grew inside of her.

Joey sighed, taking a deep breath. Out of all his pack members, he felt like his wolf never really connected with Layla as much as everyone else's. Due to the heartbreak of Layla's wolf, a strong bond with her pack was broken to keep herself alive. Usually, a wolf would lean for the support of their family and pack, but since Layla felt like she had no one to turn to, she turned away from them and focused on her inner self.

Wolves were social creatures, and when they weren't friendly, they were protective and defensive.

"I promise, you will see your mate soon, Doctor Layla. The nurses and the other doctors don't need an overbearing mate over their shoulders," he joked, chuckling softly.

Layla didn't laugh.

Instead, she stared blankly at the door. On the edge of her seat as she waited for her friend Gabby to walk through the doors and allow her to see her mate. Her wolf was whining loudly in her head, making her wince after a couple of seconds. The need and desperation to be by her mate's side grew and grew the longer she was sitting down.

Joey decided this was his chance to speak up, taking one of his pack member's minds away from the task at hand. "Doctor Layla, how is the training program coming along?" He asked, remembering how Layla and a large number of workers wanted to help teenagers develop a strong resume and gain experience to become future Pack Doctors and Nurses.

Layla glanced over at him, her eyes squinting at his form. The silence around them seemed to make everyone else disappear before Layla huffed, turning away.

The Alpha growled from the lack of respect, "Doctor Layla."

Layla gritted her teeth together. She hissed, "Yes, Alpha Joey?"

"I'm only trying to help."

Layla shook her head, crossing her arms over her shoulders, "Keeping me from my mate isn't helping." She swallowed, trying to listen to any noises that could help her figure out what was happening. "She looked so fragile," she whimpered, hugging herself more.

The Aloha nodded his head, "She'll be ok. I put Gabby as her nurse."

"I'm not with her," Layla mumbled, taking a deep breath. "What if she needs me, and I'm not there?"

Joey shook his head, "You are with her, Layla. True mates are stronger than chosen ones, even when you seem world's apart."

The Doctor snorted, but she didn't comment anything back as she waited for news of her mate. The Alpha leaned back in his chair, waiting patiently for his Luna to return with something to help calm down Layla as her feet tapped the ground repeatedly.

"Can I ask you something?" He questioned the Head Doctor, and Layla nodded her head slowly, her interest in whatever Joey was going to bring up increasing. "Since you found your mate, is your relationship with Denice going to be ok?"

Layla shrugged her shoulders, "Maybe one day."

The Alpha sighed, "I guess I can take what I can get."