The wolf’s DNA

I felt a presence in front of me and I growled in warning, not wanting anyone near my injured mate but when I realised it was Henry I quietened down. He had one of my t-shirts and a pair of jean shorts secured in his mouth that I had hidden around the territory. I nodded at him in thanks before growling at the surrounding people to turn around, making sure none of them could see my mate. Thank goodness he had given me some of my own clothes to put on her, I don’t think myself or my wolf could deal with having another man’s scent on her.

Once I was sure no one was looking I got up off my mate and shifted, quickly putting my t-shirt on her before pulling the ripped jean shorts on myself. I tried not to look at her as I carefully pulled the t-shirt over her body, but I couldn’t help it when my eyes caught the amount of cuts and bruises that scattered across her body. I growled again in rage as I quickly pulled the fabric back down and over her legs, trying to cover as much of her skin as I possibly could. Whoever did this to my mate was going to pay... greatly.

I carefully turned around with her bridal style in my arms, and rounded on Xavier again who had turned around at my growls. “What the hell happened to her” I demanded, if he had harmed her in anyway he was going to wish he was never even born, best friend or not.

He shrugged with a bewildered look on his face, obviously recognising the look of pure anger on mine. “I don’t know man; we were all patrolling when suddenly we heard a girl screaming on our boarder line. We came over to see what the situation was, fearing that maybe it was one of our pack members in trouble, but instead find her panting on the floor all cut up and bloody” he explained as he gestured to my mates sleeping form in my arms.

“Did you see who did this to her?” I growled, some of the anger leaving me when I realised my pack was not to blame.

He shook his head “no sorry, there was no other scent around either...my guess is that she’s just a rogue that got into a bit of trouble and this is where her body finally gave up” he shrugged.

I growled again before looking down at the sleeping angel in my arms, who could hurt such a perfect and innocent person.

“Why do you care anyway man?” Xavier asked, confused and not understanding why I was so protective of the strange girl in my arms.

“Because she’s his mate” Henry piped up from beside me and I looked over to see he had already shifted and had already put on his own pair of shorts.

I looked back at Xavier and ignored his shocked expression as I turned and run back to my house. “Call the pack doctor and tell her to meet us there” I yelled as I felt everyone run in formation behind me, I don’t think I was in any state to mind link someone right now.

Thankfully I didn’t live too far away from where we had found her but all I could chant in my head was for my mate to be okay, for my mate who I had been waiting years for, to survive.

When my house came into view and I saw our pack doctor’s car parked in my drive I sighed in relief, thank god she got here quick. It did pay to be the Alpha sometimes. I ran through the front door after Xavier, who had managed to open the door for me, being careful not to jar the sleeping angel in my arms and went straight for my room. I laid her as gently as I could under the covers of my bed, not caring that the sheets would probably be stained with mud and blood because of it, I can always buy new ones if I couldn’t get the stains out.

“What seems to be the issue Alpha?” The doctor asked as she walked into the room after me, carrying her medical bag in her hand and a pair of latex gloves in the other, ready to snap them on.

“My mate is hurt, I’m not sure what’s wrong with her but we found her like this on the edge of the territory, please help her” I explained, gesturing to her sleeping form. If the doctor was at all surprised that I had found my mate she didn’t show it as she quickly walked over to her sleeping form and got to work.

I sat quietly in the corner of my room on the sofa, not wanting to invade my mate’s privacy as the doctor pulled the sheets down and started to lift the shirt up so she could get a better look at her. I don’t think my mate would be to impressed with me knowing I had watched her whilst the doctor was doing her exam.

It took everything in me no to go other there and hold her in my arms. It was practically in a wolfs DNA to want to constantly be physically attached to their mates, especially after first finding them. If the mate was injured in anyway the desire was much stronger, the wolf needing to be with their mate to help soothe their pain.

After five minutes of the doctor observing and tending to her wounds, she gently pulled the covers back over her and walked over to me. My arms were shaking with the effort to not move and when the doctor turned to face me I released a sigh of relief, I could finally go to her.

“Well she has quite the list of injuries” the doctor stated “not all of them I can treat with the basic kit that I have brought with me. She did have a dislocated elbow through, recently. It was put back into place when she shifted but as it appears to be one of her first shifts the body didn’t quite know where to put it. I would recommend bringing her in as soon as you possibly can so that I can scan it and make sure it is where it’s supposed to be. That way it won’t cause her any further issues” the doctor explained.

I growled after hearing about her dislocation and held my head in my hands, feeling completely useless and out of control. “What else doc?” I whispered, not really wanting the answer but needing to know, needing to know as much as I can so that I could help her.

“Well from what I can tell she has a few fractured ribs, a concussion and a lot of cuts and bruises, both new and old. She also seems to have a twisted ankle so if it is okay with you when she wakes up I would like to get her to the pack hospital just to make sure there aren’t any other injuries I’ve missed. If I can get her through at least an X-ray machine then we would know exactly what we are dealing with regarding the extent of her injuries.”

I nodded in a daze, not knowing how to react to the knowledge that my mate had come from such a broken home. “Sure doc no worries, I’ll come over as soon as she’s awake” I muttered.

“Alpha if I may...” Dr Tessler started to speak but stopped, probably not wanting to go a step to far after the mood I had been in all day.

“Yes doctor?” She needed to speak freely with me, the more information I knew about her the better I would be able to help her.

“Your mate has obviously gone through something very traumatic and I can’t begin to understand what it is that she has gone through...” the doctor began to explain as she looked back at my sleeping angel. “I think that it is important that you understand that she may not be completely open with you straight away. Yes, you are her mate but you have to take into consideration the state that she is currently in. Someone has purposefully done this to her, repeatedly if the scars are anything to go by. I just want you to be aware that she will probably have some trust issues to begin with, just please don’t take it to heart” she explained as she shifted from one foot to the other.

I thought about what she said and I couldn’t help but grow both sad and angry at her words, if what the doctor is saying is true then my mate may be more damaged than what I could physically see.

I nodded as I watched the doctor leave, not bothering to see her out as I went straight for my mate, hoping my presence will calm her in some way. Who could do this to such a sweet looking angel?

I brushed her matted dirty blond hair out of her eyes and tucked it behind her ear, hoping the action wouldn’t stir her awake in any way. She was so beautiful I couldn’t hold myself back from touching her, even the smallest actions like brushing her hair back helped calm me and my wolf. Her face was swollen, one side looking raw and painful as I took in the multiple hand print shaped bruises that littered her skin.

My hands shook at the effort I was putting into not shifting, I couldn’t lose control now, not when my mate needed me as much as she did. I reached out and stroked her less injured cheek, the action causing the telling signs of our mate bond strengthening as my fingers tingled with her warmth. My wolf and I calmed down at the action, loving the feeling of fire that was licking at our fingertips.

We had waited so long to find her, at twenty-one I was beginning to lose hope that my mate was even alive. Most Alphas found their mate young, not long after we first shifted at the age of sixteen. It was believed that the Moon Goddess, our creator and the one in charge of carefully selecting each and every mated pair, did this to help strengthen the pack and give hope and reassurance to the packs people. That when the new Alpha took over, he would already have his Luna by his side. The Alpha’s mate was usually in a neighbouring pack, making it easier to find each other, but when I had shifted and travelled each of the packs within a day’s run from me and couldn’t find her I got confused. Had the Moon Goddess not selected a mate for me yet or had my destined mate died in some horrible accident, resulting in me being forever mate less.

When I hit twenty and my father handed the pack down to me it was a bittersweet moment. On the one hand I was overjoyed at the fact that my father thought I was capable of running the pack for him, meaning he could retire, but on the other hand I was heartbroken. Heartbroken because the space on my left-hand side, the space that was usually occupied by my mate during the coronation ceremony, was empty.

“Where have you been hiding all these years?” I whispered into the dark room as I continued to stroke her cheek with my fingertips. I sighed before looking up at my ceiling, praying to the Moon Goddess to give me strength so that I could find the monsters that did this to my mate and give them the punishment they deserved.

I looked back down at her sleeping form again, intent on looking at her beautiful face all night, but when I looked back at her the smile slipped from my face as I stared into a pair of bright blue eyes, filled with fear.