Female Novel
Chapter 30
Imagine being hit by a semi-truck then having said truck back over your broken body, only to run over it
again. That's me right now. My whole body ached and my mouth dry. I thought when you died all that
stuff didn't happen anymore. Unless I wasn't dead, but that was impossible. I fell off a freaking cliff. I
opened my eyes slowly, looking at the room around me.
No angels or heavenly trumpets and it was too cold and stank too much of disinfectant to be hell. So
alive - right now, I might have preferred dying. It hurt less. The door opened, and Emily walked in,
smiling as if she'd just won a million dollars. "Hello, Brook. It's good to see you awake. How are you
feeling?"
"Confused," I said honestly. "I am pretty sure I should be dead right now."
Emily laughed, pulling one of those stools on wheels all doctors have. "It was touch and go there for a
while."
A while? How long was I out? I started to ask her when she spoke again.
"What do you remember after the fall."
"I remember dying. There was a burning sensation, and I blacked out I guess."
"Burning?" Emily repeated, curiosity filling her voice.
Okay, now I was even more confused. "Yeah like fire ants under my skin, but it didn't last long."
"Interesting," she said but the before she could say more Ryder walked in the room. He stopped
halfway, staring at me. It was kind of creepy.
"Hey," I said, self-conscious as he kept staring at me. I glanced down at my lap, noticing my arm no
longer had the cast. In fact, it looked good as new.
Suddenly, Ryder was next to me, my hand in his. "You're awake! How do are you? Did you know yet?
Mom, did you tell her?"
I blinked at him, confused. His mom laughed, giving me an apologetic grimace. "No, I didn't tell her, I've
been busy with my checkup."
I swallowed as I looked between the two. "Tell me what?"
"It doesn't matter right now. For now, I want to examine you. Besides the confusion, how are you?"
I didn't like the vibe I was getting from her, but I answered her question. "Like I've been hit been ran
over a few dozen times. My body aches everywhere, and I'm really thirsty."
Ryder leaped off the bed, running, and shouted he'll get me some water. I blinked again. He was acting
kind of odd. "Was I that bad or is he just being weird as usual?"
His mom grinned at me with a laugh as she checked me over. "You were that bad. I wasn't too sure if I
could keep you with us, despite all the measures we took. What kind of aches are these? Is it like
general soreness or to a specific area? Also, how is the ache burning, stabbing, stinging, throbbing?"
"It's a general ache, and more throbbing than anything."
Ryder's mom continued to question me for a while, helped me sit up when Ryder returned with my
water. It was room temperature, but to me, it was pure heaven. "So what exactly happened to me?" I
asked when I finished.
"You were right, Brook. When you fell, you were dying and would've been dead in a matter of minutes.
Brent did the only thing he could to save your life. He bit you," she explained.
"He bit me," I repeated, and she nodded. Did that mean what I think it meant?
"Yes, starting the change in you from human to werewolf."
My mouth dropped open with a gasp, and my eyes shot wide. Ryder took my hand, lacing his fingers
with mine, and gave it a soft squeeze. As much as I wanted to return some gesture back. I couldn't. I
was too in shock. His mom gave me a small smile and began to explain things about the ability to heal.
Also, some other things I didn't understand.
"So let me get this straight," I said, rubbing my forehead. "I've been in a coma for half a month, andnovelbin
when the moon is full I'm going to turn into a wolf?"
"Actually, you've already shifted once," Ryder said, grinning.
"What? That's impossible. I would remember if I turned into a wolf," I said, coming close to hysterics.
"The full moon passed two nights ago Brook and while in a coma you did go through your first shift.
Complete wolf form," his mom said, her tone cautious now.
Whoa, this was...I didn't even know what to think.
"You must be overwhelmed right now. I get it," Ryder's mom said. Overwhelmed didn't even cover it.
"But you need to rest, you're still healing from the fall and the shift. Take it easy, no more heroics. Got
it."
I grinned despite everything. "I don't plan to," I said adamantly. Next time Ryder's pack can go save
itself.
"Good girl. Now I'm going to make my rounds. The others will want to see her too. I'll also get someone
to bring you something to eat."
When she left Ryder suddenly hugged me to him. "I'm so glad you're okay, Brook. I thought I lost you.
Why did you even do that?" His voice taking on so many emotions it was a little difficult for me to keep
up.
That's when it, whatever it was, hit me. This smell coming off of Ryder. It wasn't bad, just the opposite.
Everywhere he touched made my skin tingle, and it rippled through me like some electric wave. "Mike
told me how his dad was going to use to me to break you then break the rest of your family and my
family. I couldn't let him do it, and it was the only option open," I replied, breathless.
"And you didn't stop to think we had a plan for it?"
"How was I supposed to know?" I said, a little angry. These feelings were weird. I was warm and tingly
like I was wrapped in blanket straight out the dryer. "Ryder, can I ask you something and you promise
not to laugh at me?"
"Sure."
"Why do you...smell so good and why is it when you touch me, it weird?" I narrowed my eyes at him
when he grinned. "No laughing remember."
Still grinning, he held up a hand in mock surrender. "I'm not laughing and I won't. It's nice the bond isn't
so one-sided now."
Could I get any more confused? One would assume I'd somehow understood them now, but nope, still
clueless. "What is one-sided?" He grinned some more, and I let out a little growl, surprising the hell out
of myself. I slapped my hand over my mouth, and now he laughed. "You're laughing," I said behind my
hand.
"Yeah, at the question. That has to be the most adorable growl ever," Ryder said, pinching my cheek,
granny style.
"Ryder," I whined pitifully. "I nearly died, and all you're going to do is make fun of me now?" I said,
giving him my best sad face and man did it work like a charm.
A guilty expression spread over his face as he looked at me in horror. "I'm sorry I didn't mean-"
"Exactly! So start answering my questions," I demanded, tossing away my sad face and crossing my
arms over my chest.
He grinned and hugged me to him, sending all those weird sensations into overdrive. "What you're
feeling is the mate bond. It's how we are able to recognize each other. Though I've never heard it
described as weird,"
"You're a werewolf, everything about you is weird."
"Yeah, well you're weird too now," Ryder replied.
"Which is even weirder. I can't believe it, I'm not like a human anymore." It was as if I'd suddenly lost
something very precious.
Ryder cupped my face in his hands and forced me to look in his eyes. "Hey, you're still human. You're
just a little more than human now."
I like the way he said it, made everything seem less estranged. I wanted to tell him to thank you, but my
mouth didn't want to work as I stared into his eyes. It was like they were pulling me in and I had no
choice but to fall into them. As our lips touched, it was as if I'd grabbed onto a live wire but not in a
painful way. It was like a sort of energy ran through me, charging all my cells and bringing them fully
alive.
My eyes slid closed as the sensation wrap around me like a warm blanket on a cold day. We deepened
the kiss, and I love all sensation that wasn't him, me, and our kiss. Never in my life had I experienced
anything like it in my whole life. Good thing I didn't die or I would've missed. It.
"Oh God, no! My eyes, my poor virgin eyes," Dean practically screamed.
Someone snorted. "Glad to hear you're finally admitting you're a virgin," they said, and it sounded a lot
like…
I pulled away from Ryder, breaking our kiss and Ryder groaned in a complaint. "Andy! You're alive! But
how? I saw him kill you?"
Andy scoffed waving at me. "Please, him? Kill me? I'd be offended if I didn't know you better." He gave
Ryder an apologetic grimace. "Sorry for the cockblock."
Ryder grumbled a sour reply and helped me sit up when he noticed me struggling. All my muscles had
the shaky feeling one gets after a hard workout.
"So why are you in a wheelchair?" I asked, my curiosity ignoring any kind of filter. "Well when you get
your neck broken isn't good on the spinal nerves," Dean said with a smirk. "He's our little cripple now,"
he added then yelped as Andy ran over his foot with one of his wheels. "Hey, what was that for!"
"Really, Dean, really," I said, shaking my head at him, then smiled when I noticed Kara. "You're okay
too!"
"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"
I grinned more and shrugged. "So what exactly is going on now?" I asked, taking Ryder's hand in mine.
God help me, but I liked touching him or him touching me...yeah so not creepy at all.
"The war is over," Kara replied, pleased.
"Alpha Ryan didn't survive the fall like you did little beastie," Dean said with a snicker.
I gave him an unamused glare then asked, "So this means Mike is the alpha now, right?"
"Actually, he's our prisoner," Ryder said, putting his free arm around my shoulders. "One of my uncle's
men took over and agreed to give Mike to us as a prisoner."
"Wow," I breathed, overwhelmed again.
"You take one little nap, and the world moves on without you," Dean said with a snort. He then
suddenly climbed on the bed and hugged me, well Ryder and me since he was so close. "Welcome
back, Brookie," he said in an imitation of a fangirl voice which made my ears ring.
"Hey get off. She's mine," Ryder growled at him, pushing him off the bed, making Dean make a high
pitch squeal and glare at Ryder from the floor with a ridiculous pout.
"Don't be a dick," Dean replied, standing and rubbing his backside.
"Watch it, or I'll ask Mom to teach you how to be alpha again," Ryder threatened.
Dean's eyes widened. "N-no, no, no, no. No thank you." He waved his hands above his head as in
surrender.
I shook my head leaning back into the bed, tired. "Thanks for coming to visit, guys." I rested my head
against Ryder's chest.
"Hey you guys, I think it's time to call it quits for now. Mom said she's still healing from the fall," Ryder
said, and the others nodded. Dean groaned, but Andy threatened to roll him over again. I smiled
watching them leave and then snuggled against Ryder.