Healing His Mate

Chapter 9

Aaron POV

I feel my angel fall back asleep as I hold her close to my chest. She has slept for nearly twenty hours straight since I brought her home, yet she is out like a light the second her eyes close.

Gazing down at her, I feel a tug of pain deep in my gut. She's gone through so much pain, so much trauma.

Will she accept being my mate?

We will make our mate fall in love with us, Kiba growls at my thoughts, She is ours.

Has her animal spirit reached out to you? I ask him.

He whimpers softly, Not yet.

The silence concerns me as I continue staring at her beauty. An animal spirit is like a shifter's soul. Without it, they become shells of their previous selves.

My angel had been held by the hunters for three years. I had talked to Phoenix while she slept about what the hunters were doing. To think she had endured that amount of pain for so long fills me with rage and guilt.

The rage I can fix by finding and killing every hunter who thought they could harm my mate.

I'm not sure I will ever overcome the guilt. I should have found her sooner. I should have stopped the hunters. I should have scoured the world to find her instead of waiting for fate to bring my mate to me.

I should have saved her, but I failed.

What if we are too late? What if she has lost her spirit? The thoughts alone cause a deep pain to slice through my heart.

I know she's still here, Kiba tells me, his tone is dripping with the hope that I am struggling to hold on to, We just need time. She's here. I just have to find her. We won't give up on mate.

Never, I say, We will never give up on her.

I brush my lips against her forehead and she lets out a sigh at the contact. I might not know her name yet and she might not be able to talk, but we will find a way to bring her spirit out.

The first step is to get her to trust me. I know that instinctually she does. She never would have allowed herself to sleep with me beside her unless she trusted me.

But I want more than her instinct. She needs to choose to trust me herself, or she won't trust in the bond.

To do that though, I need time.

Time I won't have if I take Alpha. The one thing I have been training for my entire life could harm my bond with my mate.

Knowing that I need to talk to my father, I open up the mind link to him, Do you have time to talk?

Is everything alright? His response is immediate, Is your mate okay?

Not really, but she will be. Meet you in your office?

Give me five minutes, I feel the connection break as we both put our walls back up.

Kissing my angel's forehead one last time, I move her gently off my chest and slide away from her on the bed. Standing up, I cover her sleeping form with the blankets.

She moves her hand to where I was before as if she is looking for me. The small gesture makes me want to delay the conversation with my father and crawl back into bed.

Leaning down, I brush a stray hair out of her face, "I'll be back before you wake, angel."

I move away before I talk myself into staying with her and leave the room. Closing the door softly behind me, I head down the stairs and to my father's office.

I walk into the room to find him at his desk as usual. Glancing up, he smiles softly, questions swirling in his eyes.

"How is your mate?" he starts.

"She's sleeping," I tell him, "She's what I need to talk to you about."

"What is it?" he asks.

"First, I need you to have this conversation as my Alpha, not as my father," I keep my voice level as my tone commands the seriousness behind my words, "This is about the good of the pack."

"Very well," he concedes. He sits up straighter and moves into his more official stance as my mother would call it. He pushes his alpha strength into the room as he focuses on me.

"My mate is not ready to become Luna," I say, getting straight to the point, "She had been in that facility for three years. I need to help her heal and she needs the time to do so. She is just starting to trust me, but I will not be able to help her if my focus is split between her and the pack."

"What is it you are asking me to do?" my father asks.

"I am asking for a postponement of my taking the position of Alpha," His eyes widen as I finish my statement, "I am aware that it is tradition to take the role once I had found my mate, but I can not lead the pack until my mate is whole."

"This could be viewed as a sign of weakness," he tells me, folding his hands together as he takes me in. He knows that I will not change my mind, but wants me to be aware of all sides.

"An Alpha can not lead without his Luna. She needs time to heal, and I can't give that to her if we are trying to lead the pack at the same time. It will only harm her and the pack. I will not allow either to happen."

He sits back for a few moments as he soaks up my words. As Alpha, he knows I am right to postpone. He taught me the importance of a strong mate bond between Alpha and Luna.

"As Alpha, I accept your request. We will postpone your alpha ceremony until both you and your mate are ready."

I let out a sigh of relief at his acceptance of my request, "Thank you, Alpha."

He nods in response to the respect I show him by using his title.

"Now as your father, I must ask. Is this what you truly want?" he asks, his concern clear as day.

"Yes. My mate is in pain. She's traumatized," I tell him, remembering what happened in the woods, "She broke out of the hospital and tried to kill herself when she thought we were going to take her back. I was barely able to stop her."

He nods, "Yes, Dr. Hale told me. How is she now?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure. I just know that I need to be with her."

"Well, when you think she's ready, your mother and I would love to meet her."

"It will probably be soon. She still has some injuries, but she's terrified of the doctors. I was hoping mom could check her over."

"I'm sure she can. Are you planning on moving into the house you built?" he asks.

I smile at that, "Yeah, I'm hoping to take her over there in a few days. It will give us time to be alone and hopefully strengthen our bond."

"Good."

Pushing his chair back, he stands and moves around his desk. He walks in front of me until he can lay one hand against my shoulder.

"I am proud of you," he squeezes my shoulder, "Coming here and requesting to wait to become Alpha was not an easy decision for you to make. But I think it was the right one. You are putting the needs of your mate and the pack before your own wants, and it shows the signs of a true leader."

"Thank you, dad."

He smiles brightly, "You have been ready for this role since you turned eighteen and I have never doubted that you would be a great Alpha. After today, I have proof you already are."