Alex

I fall asleep with Leah wrapped securely in my arms. She looks so content and peaceful, so beautiful I peck a few kisses on her head just because I can't help it.

After a few hours, I notice her forehead become hot and clammy, glistening with a layer of sweat. It started to concern me.

I kept an eye on her, but her temperature seemed to rise steadily until she was both shaking like she was cold and sweating profusely.

Then she started to cough, a hacking sound that seemed incredibly painful, but she hadn't woken up so I wasn't sure if it was really bothering her. I had heard about humans getting sick before, something like 'catching a cold' so maybe that's what happened when she got cold in the forest today. I held her tight, trying to get her to stop shaking. I couldn't tell if she was hot or cold and realized quickly I was completely unprepared to handle this situation. I mind linked the pack doctor immediately and asked him to come to her room.

It was morning at this point and I hadn't gotten an ounce of sleep. My wolf was pacing irritably in my mind, sensing something was off with Leah.

"I know she has a fever, Alpha, and by the way her lungs sound I think she has some kind of infection, but I don't really know about human ailments. You'd be better off getting a human doctor here." He says gravely and I sigh, looking over at Leah thrashing around in the bed.

"Alex!" She screams before she begins to sob. I run over to the bed and lean over her, but her eyes are still closed and her face is pinched with fear.

"It's ok, little one. I'm right here." I coo, trying to soothe her.

"No! He can't be dead. Alex I'm so sorry." She begins to sob and I look over at the doctor confused.

"What the hell is happening?" I ask him and he shrugs.

"I have no idea, Alpha. Michael's mate was a human doctor before he found her. She's on her way." He says and I nod, clinging to Leah's hand as she continues to sob, repeating over and over that I'm dead. The tortured look on her face has my wolf whining in pain as he watches her through my eyes. My heart feels like it's constricting in my chest, worry and fear gripping me. I have no idea if what is happening to her is serious, or if this is considered normal. After what feels like an eternity, a woman with a small black bag comes in the room. I'm still clutching to Leah as she cries and I look at the woman desperately.

"Please tell me what's wrong with her." I beg and the woman comes up to the bed.

"What happened before this?" She asks.

"We were out in the forest with my wolf and she got cold. I brought her straight home and warmed her up but then she started shaking and sweating." I explain and the woman nods, taking something out of her bag.

"This is the woman that was held hostage for months, right?" She asks and I nod. She listens to Leah's chest and swipes something across her forehead before it beeps.

"I'm guessing her immune system already took a hit from the poor conditions she was in. Based on her lung sounds I would say she has some kind of respiratory infection, maybe pneumonia." She looks at the thing and curses.

"Her temperature is a hundred and five. We need to get it down." She says and Leah begins to cough violently to the point of vomiting.

"Go start a bath for her. Make the water warm, not too cold. Her shivering will raise her body temperature even more." I head towards the bathroom but stall.

"Maybe you should do that. The water always feels colder to us." I tell her and she nods.

"OK. Undress her and bring her in." She says and that makes me pause as well. The lady sighs and looks at me annoyed and I suddenly feel like a child.

"There is nothing sexual about this, Alpha. We need to get her temperature down and get her started on antibiotics and fluids. I asked some pack members to come clean up her bed, so we should probably move her to your room until we can sanitize it. Now please, undress her so we can fix her." She says sternly and I have no doubt this woman was an excellent physician and decide to staff her at the hospital, if only for Leah.

I go to pull Leah's shirt over her head, but she thrashes against me and screams a terrible blood curdling sound I didn't think something so small was capable of. I hear her murmur something like "you can't touch me like Silas will feel." Which horrifies me but it gets worse when she begs me to kill her. The doctor hears the last bit and I look at her confused.

"Is this normal?" I ask and she shakes her head somberly.

"When a humans temperature is that high, they can hallucinate but I've only seen it a few times. Put her in the bath and stay with her. I'm going to get some medicine from the hospital." She says before bounding out of the room.

I manage to get the rest of Leah's clothes off and the doctor is right, there is nothing sexual about this. My eyes don't stray from her face as terror grips me. I lift her and she feels so small in my arms. So fragile. But I remind myself she's not weak. She didn't survive months of abuse just to die from this.

I lower her carefully into the water and she let's out a startled cry before she starts sobbing again, repeating my name over and over. The sound of her despair pulls at me and my wolf howls in sadness. She keeps saying I can't be dead and I wonder what she's seeing right now.

"I'm right here, Leah. I'm not leaving you." I tell her as I cover her with a towel, it becoming soaked as it clings to her body. She tries to wrap it around herself and I touch her forehead before wiping her down with a washcloth. She feels a little cooler and she has stopped shivering.

I keep her in there until the doctor comes back with a wide eyed and concerned Penny. I carry Leah to my room and they dry and dress her while I help a few other women clean up Leah's room. Penny calls me back in when Leah is situated. She has a needle in her arm with a tube hooked up to a couple of bags with clear fluid. Leah coughs aggressively again and groans a little as if she's in pain. I look at the doctor with tortured, tired eyes and beg her to give me good news. She takes a deep breath and I sit on the bed next to Leah, reaching out to hold her hand.

"She will be ok." She says and I breathe out a sigh of relief.

"Her fever has come down and I gave her some medication to help as well as antibiotics and fluids. I will come back in a few hours to hang more medicine. I also gave her a sedative to help her sleep, rather than hallucinate, but those should be gone since her fever is coming down. Someone should stay with her if possible and if she gets worse, link me and let me know." She says and I nod before shaking her hand.

"Thank you so much." I tell her and she smiles.

"Of course. It's nice having another human girl around." She says and I chuckle a little. I imagine it must be awfully lonely being a human among a bunch of werewolves.

She leaves quietly so it's only Penny and I left with Leah.

"She's your choice mate, isn't she?" She asks gently. I look at her surprised, before I nod slightly.

"We haven't really discussed it yet but my wolf and I are... attached." I admit and Penny smiles before hugging me tightly.

"Good. I'm happy for you. You deserve the best and Leah is special. We all know that." She says warmly and I kiss her temple.

"Thank you, Penny. I appreciate it." I say, looking over at Leah tiredly.

"Why don't you lay down with her? Try to get some sleep. We'll take turns checking her temperature every half an hour and the kitchen staff already Googled what to feed humans when they're sick so we're about to have a shit ton of chicken noodle soup, home made bread and random herbal tees for the foreseeable future." She says smiling and I feel my chest warm with affection for my pack, banding around our little human to help her get better.

Leah coughs again, gaining my attention, but the fit is over much quicker than the others and she doesn't seem to be in so much pain.

"Thank you, Penny. I think I'll take your advice this once." I tease her and snuggle under the covers with Leah, resting my head against hers as I hold her hand. I hear Penny shut the door quietly behind her and close my eyes, trying to find Leah's natural scent under the medication being pumped into her. I am just about comfortable when I hear her groan.

"Alex. I want to go home." I sigh and kiss her cheek before whispering in her ear.

"Come back to me, little one."