Thunder

Oliver

Someone knocked on my office door. I looked over at the clock on the wall, surprised to see it was already a little after noon. I closed the book, careful to only touch the cloth surrounding it, and shoved it to the side of my desk.

“Come in,” I called. The door swung open. Dr. Whitledge bowed his head as he walked in and stood in front of my desk. “Go ahead and sit, Dr. Whitledge.” He sat, still not saying anything. I leaned back in my chair and looked at him.

“So,” I said, breaking the silence.

“So…” his voice trailed off.

“Would you be able to do me a favor?” I asked.

He nodded.

“Could we do a DNA test on Lya?” I asked. “I have questions about her parentage.” I motioned to the book beside me.

“As do I,” he said. “I really thought she must be a part bred that didn’t inherit a wolf, but signs point to otherwise, yes?”

I nodded slowly. “She does have a wolf.”

“Then why isn’t she healing appropriately?” he asked.

“That’s a long story.” I leaned forward, placing my elbows on the desk and lacing my hands together. “And not a happy one.”

Dr. Whitledge laughed dryly. “I’m a doctor, I am well accustomed to unhappy stories.”

“Well,” I started, “She was clearly raised by people that had no knowledge that werewolves were anything other than a myth. According to Trevor, he said it was… not received well when they saw her shift.”

“So she began to suppress her wolf,” he supplied.

“With silver. She’s so far removed from her wolf it’s like she doesn’t even have one.”

We sat in silence for a moment, the information rolling around in our heads. A day after hearing it for my first time, and I still couldn’t wrap my head around the situation she had been in.

“What would you like me to run the DNA against?” Dr. Whitledge asked. “Do you just want me to see how much wolf she has in her?”

“No.” I pushed the book over toward him. “If possible, I want you to see if she has any ties to this pack.”

He brushed the cloth back off the book. “This is a tall order,” he mumbled.

“It may be more of a research project at first. And then there’s no telling if there will even be DNA available to test against. I will not be surprised if this is a failed attempt.”

“May I borrow the book?” he asked, glancing up.

“You’ll need it. There are some names in there that may prove useful.” I placed the cloth back over the silver embossing. “Just be careful with it - it’s my grandmother’s book.”

“Make sure to tell Marjorie thank you for the loan.”

“Thank you for everything you’re doing for Lya,” I said sincerely.

The doctor chuckled. “Is it overstepping to tell you you will have your hands full with her?” he suggested.

I leaned back in my chair and smiled. “I think I am just woefully unprepared for how accurate you are.”

“Alpha, I-”

I raised my hand, cutting him off. “Doc, you’ve known me since I was a kid. It’s Oliver to you.”

“Oliver,” he corrected, “what are you hoping for her once she’s out of the hospital?”

I scoffed. “I’m hoping she has an alarming change of heart and she decides life with her wolf here, with me, is exactly what she always wanted. What am I expecting?” I paused. “A very long, uphill battle.”

“Would you like us to line up a therapist and psychiatric help?” he asked.

I pursed my lips. “Yes.” I paused again. “But she won’t be forced to utilize it.”

“Of course, yes.” He nodded.

“I don’t know if this is the right course of action, but right now I’m trying to keep any overwhelming information away from her.”

“So I take it she doesn’t know you’re her mate?”

“I haven’t even gotten a chance to speak to her yet,” I said dryly. In that respect, the mate bond was weird. Some thought mate bonds were purely sexual attraction, to ensure descendants. But mates were too perfectly and seamlessly matched for that to be the case. Fated mates were a gift from the goddess. Your mate was your destiny.

My brother, four years my senior and the intended successor of the alpha roll, met his fated mate shortly before the battle our father lost his life in eight years ago. She fell, too. They had not marked each other yet, their bond was not sealed and accepted, so the pain and suffering of losing his mate was not so extreme he lost his life in one way or another, but it still wreaked emotional havoc. He refused to accept his role of alpha after the loss of both our father and his mate, and he went rogue. He had now settled down with a lovely human woman, and he had chosen her as his mate. They had a beautiful wedding, and he now had a pup on the way. He refused to come back to the pack - I imagine it dredges up too much pain - but he didn’t question helping out whenever asked. If any of his pups carry on his wolf, they will be raised correctly. Unlike Lya.

Lya would never be forced to stay at the pack, even though she is this pack’s Luna. But I truly didn’t know what would happen to me if she chose to leave.

Dr. Whitledge looked at me, studying my expression. “Time will tell if we make the right choices, Oliver. All we can do is what makes sense in the moment.” He stood up. “Well I have a particular critical patient I need to check on, so I need to head on my way.” He picked up the book, careful to not let the cloth slip. He turned back to look at me from the doorway. “Enjoy your day, Oliver.”

Rose slipped in the office before the door fell closed. “Alpha, do you have a moment?” she asked.

I nodded, motioning to a chair.

“You said you would have an update for my assignment today?” she reminded me.

I sighed. I hadn’t even had time to think about that. “Yes, I did.”

She flashed a coy smile. “You forgot, didn’t you?”

I nodded sheepishly.

“It’s no matter,” she waved the problem away with her hand. “I figured the best use of my services may be to stay here. That way the Luna could maybe have someone around without having to debrief more people on what has happened.”

I gave her a quizzical look. “Whatever happened to wanting to prove your worth?”

“This is still important. Just…” she paused, “not what I expected. I’m sure other opportunities will come up.”

“You don’t have to do this for my mate,” I told her.

“It’s not for your mate, it’s for my Luna.”

'She’s awake,' Trevor said through the mind link.

I looked up to Rose. “Well shall we go see Lya while she’s conscious?” I suggested. I stood up, gesturing for her to come with me.

I was sure I’d be making this drive quite frequently over the next few days, which made me thankful to whichever alpha’s great idea it was to build the hospital so close to the packhouse. Granted, once upon a time, we didn’t have towns. We would have a packhouse for meetings and housing of the pack leadership, a hospital to care for our injured, and a training grounds all within close proximity, but that was it. This particular pack used to live within the communities. The evolution to building up our own towns was actually relatively recent, and accidental, starting with a Beta whose family was too large to live in the packhouse without taking up the majority of it.

It had taken everything in my power to keep Adair from camping out in her room. Just the idea of seeing her awake had him prancing around and wagging his tail. I followed the scent of lilac and pine, trying desperately not to sprint all the way there.

I stopped before the door to her room. I gulped.

Rose stopped, waiting for me.

“You go ahead,” I told her.

“Nervous or something?” she giggled.

Yes, actually. Very nervous.

'If you can’t do it, I will.' Adair pushed forward, propelling me through the door closely behind Rose.

I stopped as her dark amber eyes fell on me. Her long hair was tousled and knotted, dark circles under her eyes. Now that she was awake, she had a sling to hold her right arm close and stabilize her collarbone. Unisex sized hospital gowns were much too large for her, and it hung off her shoulders, drowning her tiny frame.

And she was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen.

Adair and I smiled. He howled in my head.

“Hi,” I breathed.

“Hey!” Trevor chimed in. “So Lya, the Viking princess is Rose. She’s a newly graduated scout, but an absolute genius. Top of her class, completed a year early. And the mountain man over there is our alpha, Oliver. He does own a razor, just forgets to use it.”

Trevor was perched on the side of her bed. I’d give anything to be close enough to touch her, but both Adair and I recognized that’s not acceptable with humans.

“Hi, Lya!” Rose chirped. “I’m so glad to see you’re okay! We were all so scared for you last night.”

“Uh… thanks,” she stuttered. Her voice was soft, and she sounded very guarded. “I uh, I appreciate you guys jumping in to help.”

“No, thank you,” she said. “That was the first official thing I’ve done for the pack. I’m no longer a rookie!”

Lya smiled at her. Soft, delicate, slightly forced, and didn’t quite reach the eyes.

I stepped up, taking the chair beside her bed, eyeing Trevor, but careful not to say anything. He slipped off his perch and went to stand at the foot of the bed. “How are you feeling, Lya?” I asked.

“Like I’ve been shot three times and then someone went digging around in my organs,” she quipped.

I gave her a wan smile. “I suppose that wasn’t a very good question.” I laced my fingers together and looked down.

This wasn’t exactly going the way I thought meeting my mate would go. I’ve seen so many first sights, and this one had none of the usual stuff - no sweet nothings, no acts of affection, and while she was certainly the only person in the room for me, that wasn’t how she felt.

“Oh Alpha, did I forget to warn you that she can put your sarcastic, snarky ass to shame?” Trevor laughed. I gave him a sideways glare.

Lya looked down. “S-sorry, Alpha,” she stuttered.

I shook my head. “Please just call me Oliver. Calling me Alpha is a little too formal for people who tried to bleed out in my car.”

“Oh, I’m um- I’m sorry, I can pay to get it clean-”

“Not necessary,” I cut her off. “It wasn’t the first time, and it certainly won’t be the last. Just try not to be the person bleeding in it again.”

“No promises,” she muttered.

If a couple sarcastic comments was the best I was going to get out of her today, I would take it. Rose took over her attention, suggesting places around the pack for them to see once she was healed up.

'Can you sense her wolf?' I asked Adair.

'She isn’t pack,' he pointed out.

'But she is our mate,' I reminded him. 'Maybe we get some privileges with that.'

Adair pulled back and vanished, clearly on a mission.

I looked up to see Lya peering over at me. “You don’t have to stay and babysit me if you’re bored,” she said.

I was a little taken aback by that. This was the only place I wanted to be. If only she had known how hard it had been to not be here the entire time.

“What?” I asked.

“You just looked all zoned out and like you weren’t really here.”

“Oh, um, no,” I said. “I was talking to my wolf. You kind of get a glazed over expression when you talk to your wolf.”

“Oh.” She turned back to continue talking to Rose.

Adair’s presence came back. 'She’s here!' he howled. 'We can’t communicate, but I can sense she’s here.'

I smiled. No silver meant no restraints for her poor wolf.

I thought of the torture and suffering her wolf had been going through for the past ten years. It was impossible for me to be angry at Lya for it, but I did still feel bad. I hoped, even if she did choose to leave, we could at least right that wrong.

Rose stood up from off the foot of the bed. Trevor had vanished a few minutes previously, on the hunt for food. “Well I need to go let my parents know I am back for a while, so I’ll leave you two to it,” she said. She smirked at us as she left the room.

Keeping this mate thing a secret until she was ready would be a lot more difficult than I thought.