Paranoia

I was busy clearing tables in the small bar where I worked when I saw the other waitress, Rachel trying to get my attention; she's frantically shaking her head towards the small booth at the back where there is an attractive young guy about maybe 19 sitting studying the menu. I rolled my eyes at Rachel and continued clearing tables. I have worked here for three months now, and in all that time, Rachel has fallen in love with just about every young guy that has walked through the door and unluckily for me, she usually ends up taking them back to the tiny apartment we share above the bar at the end of the night.

“Excuse me, is it ok if I move tables?”

I turned to find the guy Rachel had her eye on right behind me. I could see why she was attracted to him with his dark brown messy hair and chocolate coloured eyes, I opened my mouth to tell him yes when the door opened behind us, and his scent hit me, and I knew he was a werewolf. I nodded and quickly moved to walk past him when he stepped in front of me.

“I wasn’t expecting to meet anyone quite so like me out here in the sticks,” he said, glancing at my name badge. “Sophie is that your name?.

Yes, please take a seat, and I'll get someone to take your order.

I walked away from him and around behind the bar and asked Rachel to go and take his order which she was more than happy to do. Maybe he was being nice and trying to make conversation, or perhaps he knew who I was. I started to feel panicky; I thought I should phone Liam and tell him what happened but then again, maybe I was paranoid. I mean, just because a werewolf came in doesn't mean that he's from Red Rock or that he knows me. He's probably just travelling, and of course, he would want a chat. I'm the only werewolf in this small town. That is why I chose this town so that I would know if any others came to town. I looked over and saw he was staring at me, even with Rachel flirting with him. I decided to phone Liam better to be safe than sorry.

Me: Hey Liam, it's... Sophie

Liam: Is everything ok

Me: I'm not sure this guy came in today, and he's like us, and I'm not sure if I'm paranoid or not.

Liam: Shit, has he said anything to you.

Me: He just asked if Sophie was my name, but he keeps watching me.

Liam: listen to me, it could be nothing, but I'm going to send a couple of guys to you in case.

Me: Liam, what aren't you telling me. I know something is up.

Liam: it's probably nothing, but I've just heard that there are rumours in Red Rock that Alpha Xavier knows where you are. Don't worry; he probably started that rumour to see if I go to you. Don't worry; I have guys close by. It'll be ok. I love you, and it's just one more week.

Me: I love you too, Liam ill see you in a week.

I hung up the phone, took a deep breath and walked back into the bar. Rachel was waiting for me to start gushing.

So his name is Asher he's 20 and from a small town called Broken Hill; he's passing through on his way home after helping his friend move house. So what do you think?.

"I think he's passing through, and you shouldn't waste your time," I told her.

But he's so hot, she gushed.

I rolled my eyes at her playfully and went back to work.

My phone started ringing. I looked at the screen and saw it was Liam, and considering I had only just spoken to him, I knew it wouldn't be good news. I caught Rachel's eye and held up my phone, and nodded outside to let her know I was nipping out. I walked across the car park to the treeline.

Me: “Hey Liam, what's happened?”

Liam: “Listen to me, don't leave the bar. My guys are on their way to you. They will take you somewhere safe. Xavier knows where you are.”

My blood ran cold, and I looked back at the bar and caught Asher's eye through the window and froze. He was staring at me again, but that wasn't what made me freeze. It was the look on his face as he looked over my shoulder that made me freeze.

Just then, I felt something jab me in the neck as a pair of arms encircled my waist and lifted me off the ground. My phone dropped from my hand as I was thrown over someone's shoulder. I immediately knew they had stung me with wolfsbane. They clearly didn't want to hurt me as they only jabbed me with enough to stop me from shifting. They didn't know that I'm a Darach werewolf which means I have a unique ability to be able to heal others and also heal myself ten times faster than a normal werewolf which meant the small amount of wolfsbane they had given me had already worked its way out of my system. There was three of them and one of me. The odds weren't good, but there was no way I was getting taken to Alpha Xavier without a fight.  I'm a Darach with Alpha blood and have been trained by an Alpha. I used the element of surprise and kicked the man holding me as hard as I could between his legs, causing his arms to loosen, and I flung myself backwards. The three of them surrounded me in a fighting stance.

“Don't be stupid, Quinn. Just come with us, and we won't hurt you.”

“Please don't do this,” I pleaded.

“Quinn Alpha Xavier is your mate. He would never hurt you. All he wants is for you to give him a chance to prove that to you”, the blonde man said, smiling at me.

“He's lying to you”, I practically screamed at them. “I'm only seventeen. I won't find out who my mate is until after my birthday next week, and if he really is my mate, he would wait until after my birthday instead of sending people to kidnap me.”

“We don't have a choice. We were given an order, and one way or another, you are coming to Red Rock with us,” the taller of the two brown haired men snapped at me, suddenly lunging towards me.

I quickly turned to the side and punched his face as he flew past me. As the other two men shifted, I called my wolf Kara forward and shifted as well. Just as the two wolves lunged for me, I heard a mighty roar, my first thought was it was one of Liam's men, but as the considerably larger sandy coloured wolf ran through the forest, I didn't recognise him by look or scent. As the sandy wolf grabbed the wolf closest to him by its leg and swung it towards a huge tree trunk, I knew this wolf was on my side, and I turned towards the wolf slowly stalking towards me, not making any attempt to actually attack me. I realised he was trying to distract me when I felt a sharp pain in my right flank and staggered back and saw the third man that never shifted a dagger in his hand. The wound wouldn't kill me, but I knew from the pain that it had both silver and wolfsbane in it so that it would heal slower, at least for a typical werewolf. I had no choice but to change back. I looked towards the wolf that came to help and saw that he had killed one of them and was now fighting the other werewolf whilst the man with the dagger was creeping up on him. The man stabbed the sandy wolf before I could even open my mouth to warn him. Just as he dropped to the ground, four wolves towards us and I could tell their scent they were from my pack. Two of the wolves jumped on the wolf before he could run away, whilst the other two ripped apart the man with the dagger. After they finished and my

attackers were dead, they shifted back.

I recognised them all as warriors from my pack; one of them, Alex, I think ran off back towards the bar I'm assuming to get clothes.

“Are you ok?” Lucas asked, walking towards me.

I nodded and looked past him and saw the other two warriors Ken and Mike, leaning over helping the man who ran to help me. Alex ran back and threw shorts at the boys and a dress at me. Once I was dressed, I ran over to the others and looked down at my unconscious saviour.

“Asher,” I whispered.

“You know him,” Ken asked.

“I spoke to him in the bar, that's why I phoned Liam. I thought Alpha Xavier sent him, but he came to help me when Alpha Xaviers men attacked me” I sat down next to him and placed my hands on his stomach next to his wound, and nothing happened. I took a deep breath and tried again, and still, I couldn't heal him.

“Why isn't it working?” I asked aloud to no one in particular.

Alex knelt down next to me and placed his hand on my wound. “You haven't healed yet.”

“It must be the mixture of wolfsbane and being stabbed by a silver dagger, but I should have healed by now,” I said, looking from Alex to Asher, who looked like he was starting to regain consciousness.

I watched as Asher opened his eyes and tried to sit up.

“Take it easy,” I told him gently. “There was silver and wolfsbane in the dagger. It may take a while to heal”.

“Come on, let's get you two back to Black Moon and have the doctors take a look at you”. Alex and Mike helped Asher up, and we all walked through the forest and back to the car park. Once we reached the car park, Alex took charge, sending Mike up to my apartment to pack my things and drive my car to Black Moon because no matter what happened, I wouldn't be heading back here now that Alpha Xavier knows where I was working and living. Next, he got Asher's keys from him and told Ken to drive Asher's car as he would need it once he got out of the pack hospital. As I was waiting next to the car, I felt a mindlink coming through.

-Quinn, what's your name here- Alex's voice sounded in my head.

-Sophie- I told him.

“Ok, guys, it's time to go,” Lucas said, walking up to us. “Asher, why don't you sit in the front? You will be more comfortable, and Sophie can sit in the back with Alex”.

We all got into the car and started for Black Moon territory, about three hours away.

-tell me everything about this Asher kid- Alex mind linked me.

-I don't know anything. He just came in for lunch and asked my name, then Liam phoned, and I went outside and grabbed, then he ran to help me, then you showed up. He kept watching me in the bar, and I wasn't sure if I was paranoid or not- I told him, settling back in my seat.

“So, Asher, where are you from,” Lucas asked.

“I'm from Cold Moon”.

I was helping a friend move when my brother phoned and asked me to meet him at Black Moon, so that's where I was heading when I stopped at the bar for something to eat.

Alex and I exchanged a look when Asher mentioned our pack.

“Black Moon is our pack. That's quite the coincidence why are you meeting your brother there”. Lucas asked, shooting a clear look in the mirror at Alex and myself.

“My brother is Alpha Nathan from Cold Moon, and he had a meeting with Alpha Liam. I'm not sure what it was about, but he asked me to meet him at Black Moon”.

“I will let Alpha Liam know that you are with us, and he can pass that on to your brother,” Alex said, pulling out his phone.

I sat back, listening as the boys chatted about football and pack politics. All I could think about, though, was what was going to happen now. I was being taken back to Black Moon, where there was no place I could go undetected it would be so much easier for Alpha Xavier to find me. It was then that I realised my wound hadn't healed, and even if I wasn't a Darach, I should have healed by now.

“I still haven't healed,” I exclaimed loudly.

“Yeah, I haven't either,” Asher said. “There must have been something else apart from Silver and Wolfsbane in the dagger”

Lucas snorted, “It's hardly surprising I wouldn't try and kidnap a Darach wolf without a few tricks up my sleeves”.

“You're a Darach, is that why they tried to kidnap you,” Asher asked, turning to face me.

“We think so”, Alex spoke before anyone else could say anything, glaring at Lucas for telling Asher that I was a Darach.

-We still don't know if this is a coincidence or planned. Don't tell him anything until we know for sure- Alex mind linked me.

I nodded to him then looked out the window as the boys went back to chatting amongst themselves.

“Come on, wake up, Sophie. We're in Black Moon territory and will be home soon.”

I opened my eyes to Alex, gently shaking me awake.

“Sorry, I must have fallen asleep I said, yawning”.

We pulled up outside the pack hospital, and Lucas and Asher got out of the car whilst Alex stopped me from getting out. I saw Mike run into his house across the street then run over to us. He opened the car door and flung leggings and a hoodie at me.

“Put them on. The trousers are Mya’s, and the hoodie is mine. It will help mix your scent.”

I put on the hoodie and leggings, then stepped out of the car and followed the boys into the hospital.

As soon as we stepped in the door, Doctor Cohen ushered me into one of the hospital rooms; I saw Asher lying on the bed with two warriors outside the door and three inside the room.

“I’ll take some blood and find out what was in that dagger and take things from there”.

“Thanks, Doctor Cohen”, Alex said, motioning for me to sit on the spare bed. “Please do not let anyone in this room without my authorisation. That includes your hospital staff. We want to keep, um, Sophie's identity a secret. Both Alpha Liam and Alpha Nathan are on their way”.

"Wait, Alex, what about Summer? Can she come to see me please I haven't seen her in months" I practically begged.

I'll need to ask Liam, but I will see what I can do. I know she's desperate to see you and has been bugging Liam for months to give her your address”. Alex laughed, and I smiled at him, both of us knowing that my best friend would not have been giving Liam an easy time.

Doctor Cohen took blood from both of us and cleaned our wounds, and wrapped them up. Then he left with the rest of the warriors who went to wait outside the door.

“So I kinda get the impression that there is more to this story than I'm being told, Sophie,” Asher said, smirking at me.

“I um well, I can't tell you, I think it's best to wait for Alpha Liam”, I stuttered out.

We sat in silence for the next 45 minutes until Doctor Cohen arrived back in.

“I have your test results back. There was also a herb called Evergrout in your wounds.”

“Is that dangerous?” Asher asked.

“No, it's mainly used by doctors to slow the healing process so that bones don't heal incorrectly before we have a chance to set them properly. I've got to give you both a shot of the antidote, and it should be out of your system within a few hours, Asher and even quicker for you,” Doctor Cohen said, pointing at me, obviously forgetting my fake name. “I am shocked, however, that your would isn't worse, Asher. Did you try to heal him?”

“Yes, I tried to heal him straight away, but I couldn't”, I said, looking at Asher's wound.

“Well, it looks like it did help even if it didn't heal him; otherwise, he would be in worse condition. Asher, your parents are outside waiting until I'm finished, and both the Alpha’s will be here in about 10 minutes”. The doctor then gave us both our shots and left saying he would let Asher's parents come in.

Asher's parents rushed in, and his mum wrapped him up in her arms, crying that she was so worried and that she may never let her baby out of her sight again, causing me to smile and Asher to cringe.

“So what happened?” his dad asked gruffly.

I sat quietly as Asher recounted the story to his parents.

The door suddenly opened, and Liam rushed in, and I jumped off my bed and ran into his arms. He hugged me to him so tightly that I thought he might break me. He walked over to my bed and sat me down, gently sitting down next to me and stroking my hair as he used to when I was a little girl and upset. I looked up and saw Asher and his parents staring at me with mouths open. I looked to the door, and the man that came in after Liam, which I'm assuming is Alpha Nathan. My jaw nearly hit the ground when I saw him; he was tall, like 6’3, with messy chocolate coloured hair, eyes the colour of caramel, a strong jawline, broad shoulders and the t-shirt he was wearing clung to every dip and curve of his chiselled chest. He was watching Liam and me, and he looked angry. No doubt waiting for an explanation about what happened today.

“The doctor told me about the results. How are you feeling?” Liam asked me, reluctantly dragging my gaze away from Alpha Nathan. “Have you healed yet?”

I lifted my top and saw my wound had disappeared, leaving a faint scratch. “Looks like it”, I told him, standing up and walking over to Asher. “Can I try and heal you now”

“You're a Darach”, Asher's dad exclaimed; both his parents sounded shocked.

“I am, but the root they gave us was to slow down healing so I couldn't heal either of us earlier” I pulled the cover off Asher's chest and put my hands over his wound, and this time, I could feel it working, and 30 seconds later his injury had gone. “That's it all done I said, smiling at him”.

“Thanks, Sophie, but I would have healed in a few hours. You didn't have to do that”.

“We both know I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. You helped me and got hurt in the process. It's the least I could do”.

The door opened again, and Beta Jake walked in with Alex and Lucas behind him. Beta Jake rushed over and scooped me into his arms. As scared as I was to be back here, I had to admit a part of me felt glad to be back with my people.

“Alpha Nathan, if you will excuse me, we have something to take care of. I will leave you with your family, and I will be back soon if you need anything in the meantime, please ask one of the guards at the door they will be happy to be of assistance.” Liam told him whilst Jake pulled my hoodie up and pushed me out the door between Alex and Lucas without another word, with Liam following closely behind.