Dying For You

Chapter 13

Theo's POV

A few days later…

I repeatedly read every page of Laila's file over the last few days. I didn't realize how extensive the search was. How come I don't remember any of this? If Laila is 19 right now and I'm 25, I would have been nine years old when she was 3. I feel like I should have remembered something like a state-wide manhunt with our pack at the center of it. I should talk to Mom and Dad about it. But that's a later problem. I want to see Laila.

Well, I always want to see Laila. If I go 5 minutes without seeing her, my wolf begs me to go to her. But after reading her file and having nightmares all night imagining the terrible things the hunters did to her. I NEED to see her. I need to know she is ok and here and safe. Laila's slept non-stop since I put her in bed, and it's starting to worry me. I know her parents are getting worried too.

As soon as I got ready, I went to Laila's, letting myself in since her parents said it was ok, then taking a seat on the floor outside her bedroom where I could see her sleeping on her bed on the other side. I told her we wouldn't go in her room if she slept on her bed, and I planned on keeping my promise. I hope she wakes up today. I want to hear her voice and know she isn't having a nightmare about what those people did to her or is feeling sick because of the medication.

I've known her briefly, but she's already changed my whole world. My day starts with her; I think of her every second; she's all I care about anymore. She's all I can focus on. It's very odd for me to be so unfocused.

After sitting in the hallway for a few hours, Rebecca walks to me. "Alpha Theo, please come into the living room for a moment. We need to talk," she says quietly while folding her arms in front of her.

I nod and stand up, stretching my legs. Then I follow her into the living room. Laila's Dad is already sitting on the couch as her Mom sits beside him. I sit down in the chair across from them.

"What did you need to talk to me about?" I ask.

Her parents look at each other with a sigh and then at me. "As you know, it's been three days since she's woken up. Even when we've tried to get her to wake up, she doesn't, so we think it's time we take her to the hospital- to make sure she is ok," Ron says.

What? "No, she's fine. She's just tired. She's still healing." I deny.

"We just want to be sure." her Mom says. "I know you care about her and don't want to even think about anything being wrong, but as much as we can imagine what the hunters did to her- we have no idea what they did to her. Normally, I can get her to at least partially wake up to take medicine, but she's been dead to the world for three days. She's not moved a muscle. We want to make sure." Rebecca explains.

"She's my mate. I would know if something was wrong… well, more wrong than things have been."

"Alpha, please. She's our little girl. We want her to be ok. Her medicine runs out tomorrow anyway, so we have to get her checked on again soon anyway. We are telling you more as a courtesy since she is your mate. Even if you hate and try to stop us, we will take her to the hospital so the doctor can look at her." Ron says.

"What if I got the doctor to come here to look at her to prove she doesn't need to go to the hospital? You said it yourself: the medicine makes her tired." I negotiate.

"The doctor is busy. He doesn't have to"

"I can get him to. It's not a big deal. And I don't have to move her if I-" A slight movement out of the corner of my eye catches my attention, and I turn to see my mate, Laila, slowly walk into the room. Her parents turn to look at her, too, both looking shocked.

"M-mom?" she questions, looking nervous.

Rebecca stands up and slowly moves towards Laila while nodding. "I'm hungry," Laila whispers when she thinks her Mom is close enough. I look around for anything to write on. We left her whiteboard near her room. I look back at Laila. Her Mom is waving her towards the kitchen, trying to get Laila food. Laila follows her slowly while turning around to look at her Dad and me to see if we've moved.

As soon as Laila is in the kitchen and distracted by the food, I get up and go to her room to get the whiteboard to talk to her. She's awake!!

When I return to the living room, her Mom leads her to the table using a plate of food as bait. Laila's solely focused on the food and doesn't seem as scared as before.

Her Mom sits her down at the table with her back to us. Laila starts eating immediately, shoving as much food as she can in her mouth. I slowly walk into her field of vision and sit across the table from her as I write. Laila stops eating and glares at me.

'Good morning. How did you sleep?' I show her the whiteboard.

She reads it and nods her head. "It was dark. I liked it." she nods. That's good. It was dark enough for her to get better sleep. "I liked the bed too. It's so soft," she adds, taking another bite of food. I smile and start writing again.

'How are you feeling?'

"Hungry," she answers.

'What are you eating?'

"I made her a turkey sandwich. I'm working on cutting some fruit here to eat right now." Rebecca chimes in as she leaves a glass of water before Laila.

"Mom made me food. It's perfect. I'm so hungry." Laila says.

Ron walks over to us, standing a few feet from Laila as she eats. She still gets paranoid when she eats and tries to devour a full meal, but it's much slower than it used to be. She's starting to trust us a bit more. She doesn't trust us entirely but is on the right path.

Her Mom sets down a plate of sliced apples in front of her. Laila looks at them and then at her Mom. "What's this?" she asks. I start writing. Once I'm done, I wave my hand to get Laila's attention.

'It's apples. They're good to eat. Take a bite to see if you like it.'

Laila reads the whiteboard and then looks to her Mom and then to her Dad as they both nod in encouragement. We all watch as Laila hesitantly takes a bite of the apple and chews; her face lights up. "I like it." she smiles.

I love that smile.

Laila finished eating the apple and the rest of her lunch and then sat back, rubbing her stomach as she looked at the empty plate. "That was good. Thank you, Mom," Laila said.

Rebecca looks at me. "Give me the whiteboard, please." I give her the whiteboard as Rebecca sits beside Laila. Laila focuses entirely on her Mom. I try to read what Rebecca is writing.

'How are you feeling? You slept for a long time. Are you feeling ok?'

Laila reads this and nods. "I'm ok. Why? Am I supposed to be feeling something?" she asks, looking between all of us. Laila's Mom quickly starts writing and shaking her head again.

'No, no. We want to ensure you're ok since you slept so long.'

"Oh, ok." Laila nods. "If that's all, can I return to my room now?" she asks. We all nod. Laila stands up and walks back to her bedroom.

"So she's awake now." Ron sighs.

"She's ok. I guess we don't have to call a doctor." Rebecca nods.

"I'm going to check on her." I stand up and grab the whiteboard. This short interaction wasn't enough after not hanging out with my mate for three days. Even if she goes back to sleep, the quick exchange of telling her good night or watching her fall asleep will help. I need more time.

I stand in the doorway of her room, writing as she watches me from her bed.

'Mind if I come in your room?'

Laila looks at it questioningly and then slowly nods. I slowly step inside, careful not to make any sudden movements. I can't spook the nervous chicken. I stand about 10 feet from the foot of her bed and write.

'What are you doing? Are you tired already?'

Laila reads, then shakes her head. "I'm waiting," she answers with a shrug. Waiting?

'What are you waiting for?'

Laila grabs a pillow from behind her and puts it in front of her as she crosses her legs, sitting on the bed. "Whatever's next." she shrugs. "I'm waiting until the next time I get tired and can sleep or the next time someone gives me food or wants to do something to me." she elaborates. That still doesn't make sense to me.

'Why are you waiting?'

Laila reads the whiteboard and tilts her head looking confused. "I- I don't understand. What do you mean why am I waiting?" she asks hesitantly. I start writing, trying to explain.

'You don't have to sit here doing anything. If you aren't tired, we can give you a tour of the pack house, go outside, or watch tv. I've just started learning sign language, so I can talk to you without you having to read anything. We could learn that together if you wanted.'

Laila reads, then starts shaking her head and stuttering, looking for words. "I- You- No- I don't understand those things. Are they tests? Are they going to hurt?" she stammers.

I start shaking my head and writing in big letters.

'No! I would never want to hurt you.'

I show her the clipboard, and she reads it with a sniffle, seeming to relax slightly. I erase it and start writing again.

'Do you want to go on a little walk with me and your mom and your dad?'

Laila sits still, reading the whiteboard over and over again without giving me an answer. Finally, she takes a deep breath and nods. "Let's go for a walk."