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~ Chapter Three ~

He looked worse now than he had when he was brought into my office on a stretcher.

There was blood smeared on his face from small cuts inside of huge bruises, which appeared to be slowly healing themselves. He was dirtier than before and hunched over where he sat chained to the wall, silver burning through the flesh of his wrists. He let his head hang low at first, not caring who'd come through the door. I knew it was just the mate bond but I felt an incredible need to help him or to just give him a big hug - it looked like he needed it, after all.

When I took a careful step forward, he adjusted his position to lay his head against the wall, but then his eyes met mine and he suddenly lunged at me. I startled, stumbling backward for a moment as the sound of chains clanging together rattled the walls. I didn't want to be scared of him, it'd just been so sudden and felt aggressive.

The stranger saw he'd scared me and stopped tugging, staring at me with vulnerable, begging eyes. I let my body - mostly my wolf - guide me across the room until I could kneel down in front of him, where I hesitantly reached out a hand. He shuffled on his knees so I could touch his shoulder, and I heard him exhale heavily at the contact. Before I could stop him, he pressed his forehead against mine.

Since his scent was so close to my nose now, my wolf was getting a full dose of our mate and she was swooning in my head. I couldn't help but move even closer to this complete stranger looking for comfort in his embrace. He couldn't move his arms from behind his back, he could only rub his nose against mine for a second. It felt so innocent and almost cute.

After a short while, I pulled back, though, and the alpha let out a low grumble from his chest. It wasn't a threat but a plea. I smiled sadly at him, caressing his cheek with my thumb. "I'm sorry," I said. "I'm the pack doctor, I need to check you out. It looks like the warriors gave you a tough time."

He didn't say anything, so I reached into my pocket for the mini FirstAid kit I'd brought with me. I opened it up and found a gauze, which I dabbed with rubbing alcohol. Presuming he already knew what this was like, I didn't warn him before pressing it lightly to the cuts on his face. He cringed, trying to get away from me.

"Hey," I muttered, "it's just a little sting. You'll survive." I put the gauze down when I saw his cuts closing up on their own. The bruising was fading, though it was still very clear. "Will you speak to me?" I asked hopefully.

He searched my eyes then nodded. I smiled at him. "What's your name?"

"Dimitri," he answered softly. His voice was about as deep as I'd expected it to be and it bounced off of the walls around us. "I'm known as Alpha Stone."

"I wish I could say I've heard of you," I admitted, brushing his long strands out of his eyes for him, "but my alpha doesn't let us know much about other packs. Your name is kind of familiar, though."

"I've never heard of your pack," he grumbled.

"Not many people have. As I said, we keep to ourselves. At least, that's what I think we do. Roger doesn't tell us much."

Dimitri scrunched his face up in disgust when I said my alpha's name. He looked like he wanted to implode into himself but couldn't, and that reminded me of the other more serious injury he'd had when lying on my Hospital bed.

"Your rib," I hurried out. "It was bruised. Are you... How is it now?"

He shrugged. "I feel fine."

"It isn't hurting at all? No aches?"

"No."

I frowned. "But that shouldn't be possible. How did it heal so fast?" I was more asking myself than I was asking him, staring down at his abdomen where said ribs were.

"You," Dimitri said, and my eyes snapped up to meet his. He flickered his gaze between mine. "You... roused my wolf into healing me."

"I-I guess that makes sense," I muttered as I scratched the side of my head. "You know, I'm going to try to get you out without any more damage dealt," I told him. "I really am. It's just... I may be a doctor but I'm not respected here. No one is."

"It's okay," he assured me. "You don't have to explain yourself - or try to get me out. I don't expect that from you."

"But you should. I'm your mate, I'm meant to look after you."

"You're doing a fine job right now," he pointed out, nodding between us. I stared at his face for a moment, which was still covered in dirt but had healed completely now. He looked just as handsome as I'd thought the first time I really looked, and I found myself drowning in his friendly eyes the longer I dared to gaze into them. Dimitri never broke our gaze, even if he was tired like he looked. I wished I could just break through his chains and let him out, but they were double-duty and would burn me.

"Your wrists!" I suddenly realised aloud, reaching around him for his arm. I examined the burns that were now forming on his forearm and swiftly let go, but kept close enough to watch the sizzling settle down. "I-I'm so sorry. That looks so painful."

Dimitri nudged me away from him with his shoulder so we were face-to-face again. He brought his forehead down to mine once more and, enjoying the feeling of his proximity, I didn't fight it. "It doesn't hurt that much," he lied. "Just a little sting. Like the alcohol."

"I know you're full of shit," I replied but didn't pull back.

"I don't know your name yet."

I didn't even hesitate to say, "Erica Keller."

"Beautiful." This time when I pulled back, I was caught up in his gaze again. We just stared at each other from so close, lost in our own little world down there in the basement. It felt like nothing could disturb us and that we were protected somehow, even though I knew for certain that Roger could come at any moment announcing my mate's execution. I didn't know if I'd be able to handle that happening.

I let us enjoy the moment for a short while, but in the back of my mind, I was thinking about how Roger would be keeping a close eye on me, and too long down here would definitely be flagged. As much as I wanted to remain as close to Dimitri as possible, I had to be realistic in what I could do while he was imprisoned. Extended periods of time together were a no.

"I have to go," I told him regretfully, "but I know the cook of the house, so I'll tell her to make you something nice and get Connor to bring it down. They listen to me, they respect me more than Alpha Roger or Beta James." I grabbed the sides of Dimitri's face, running my thumbs over his cheekbones. "I'll also tell Connor to come and get me every time you need it. If they beat you up, I have an excuse to be down here."

"So I should get beaten up?" Dimitri asked.

"No! I just mean... It doesn't matter, just know that I'll come if you ask for me, okay?" He nodded, so I gave him one last once over before turning to pack up my things. "I'm sorry we had to meet his way, I wish it was different."

"It will be one day," he replied simply. I didn't look at him in fear of getting hopeful. Faith barely got me anywhere in this world.

"Remember, call for me if you want me. Roger's going to be keeping an eye on us so it can't be too often."

"I understand."

"Then I'll... see you again soon." I gave Dimitri a sad smile, which he returned as I started for the stairs. My heart was aching at the thought of leaving my mate down here, especially since he seemed like such a nice, normal guy, but I had to. For the future of us, I had to.

We had more of a chance if I played along with Roger now, so that's what I'd do.

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