what it was that woke her maybe it was the slight buzzing noise or the endless plain of white penetrating through her closed eyes. All she knew was that something wasn't right. Slowly raising her body, the fire in her back she previously felt, returned tenfold causing her to shout out. Sweat gathered around her lower lip as her face crumpled into the pillow, tears streaking from her eyes as her body shook and her back throbbed.

A cool wetness ebbed from her back and dripped over her waist, small droplets of blood gathering around her belly and into the sheets as she quietly sobbed out her pain.

Her head spun as she became light headed. Breath struggled to escape her lips as she chocked on the air that was stuck in her throat. Her heart began to slow down and her head became fussy as consciousness faded from her body.

The heavy clunk of shoes on the linoleum floor made Neema aware of an approaching body along the corridor.

Coughing as quietly as she could and wincing as her back begun to burn again, Neema forced air back down her lungs in greedy gulps. Her heart steadying to a calm resting pace, giving the allusion that she was sleeping.

A female nurse came flying into the room heading straight to where Neema lay. She was not sure what made her come sprinting into the room to check on her but instantly her defences were high. A blonde streak of her loose hair bobbed in front of Neema's bleary eyes as she watched the nurse through squinted half lidded eyes. Watching the nurse with suspicion she took in the white clinical walls that signalled she was in a hospital. She found some humour that no matter where you went the walls for hospitals were always white. Though in the underground village they were more cream than white, the concept was the same.

In her peripheral view she noticed that the nurse was emptying a vile into the empty fluids bag that hung from the drip. The long injection was filled with red liquid that looked as if it could be blood. She wasn't sure what the nurse was giving her but her instincts reared up. She did not want any wolves blood inside her body and she didn't want whatever the nurse was trying to give her. She was sure that the wolves had moved away from such archaic forms of healing by now. Not even underground villages used these types of facilities or medical procedures. They had been made redundant at least 100 years ago.

Slowly, so as not to make a sound Neema pulled out the tube that was inserted into her arm. She kept her body limp in attempt to appear as if she was still unconscious, while her eyes stayed focused on the movements of the nurse.

Walking around the bed the blonde haired nurse carried what appeared to be another needle in her hand, and reached over Neema's body. Before the nurse could reach her back, Neema stretched out and grasped her hand. Twisting her body into an upright position fire spread throughout her spine causing her to clench her teeth. Panting through her pain and the need to vomit all over herself, she counted to 10 in her mind and by the time she stopped the pain had lessened to a dull throb.

Sweat gathered along her upper lip and her eyes became blurry for a short while before they refocused. Neema analysed the blonde haired nurse, she had big blue eyes that seemed much too large for her heart shaped face and a nose that seemed to long for the small lips that lay beneath it. Glaring into the nurses eyes she could see that whatever was in the needle the nurse was going to place in her back, was of a clear colour. Though it didn't seem harmful, Neema was untrusting of these wolves. The nurse was a wolf in sheep's clothing, her uniform was no disguise.

With her free arm she yanked out all the wires that were embedded into her skin before she focussed her full wrath onto the dumfounded nurse.

"Where's the little girl and boy that was with me" she croaked, the act of talking much harder to perform with her dry throat than she thought it would be. The nurses face remained stoic while she tried to pull her wrist free from Neema's clasp.

"I asked you a question" she grumbled out through her clenched teeth whilst tightening her clasp on the nurse to painful proportions. Neema admired the nurse's determination to not divulge in her request but she would not be ignored or dismissed. Clasping the nurse's wrist in a tighter grip, she began twisting the nurse's arm causing a sharp snap to echo throughout the room.

A perverse feeling of achievement flowed through Neema's body as she watched the nurses face turn deathly white while sounds of her screech echoed around the hospital walls. She knew it was unhealthy to feel so proud of her actions but for her siblings she would do anything. Grinning a perverse smile at the sweating nurse Neema continued her questioning.

"Now I'm going to ask you one more time, and you might want to answer this time before I break your other wrist. Where are my siblings?" Neema bellowed. The anger of not knowing her siblings whereabouts fuelling the strength behind her words. The last time she had seen them she was imploring them to close their eyes. Their faces red with exertion and tears and snot dripping from their skin. She wondered if they were still with the young girl who had taken them under her protection. She hoped that none of them had been hurt or separated. They needed her.

The nurse probably did not even know where they were, she likely hadn't even seen them but Neema felt vindicated in her brutal treatment of the woman. They had caused pain to her and her family so it was only fair that Neema cause these wolves a modicum of the same pain.

When the only sign that the nurse had heard her words was a twitch of her bottom lip and the gathering of perspiration across her brow, Neema reached out with lightning speed and grabbed the nurse's other wrist. Staring into her eyes Neema decide if she was really going to go ahead with breaking her other wrist. Making a decision she clenched her arms around the nurse's arm and began to pull.

"That will be enough" came a bellow from the door. Startled by the sudden shout Neema released the nurse's wrist and twisted her body to face the door. Her back protesting at the sudden movement. Snarling at the retreating nurse who clutched her broken wrist in her arm.

Turning her glare towards the intruder Neema was floundered by the sight before her.

Leaning against the doorway with a scowl on his face stood a rather tall man, his black expression matched the colour of his dark skin. He had broad shoulders that nearly expanded the width of the door, his presence alone held a sense of authority that called to Neema and riled her at the same time. He had thick lips that were formed into a depreciative glower, though they were mostly shrouded by his unkempt facial hair. Making her way up, she took in his thick nose that flared with irritation and lastly his eyes.

Piercing hazel eyes.

//---//

Khan leaned against the door as he watched the tiny female on the bed snarling at him. The corner of his lip slightly raised in an awkward smile when he acknowledged the irony of her behaviour. For a woman who so much despised his species, her current behaviour was very animalistic. Taking his thoughts from the contradictory female, khan leaned towards the nurse who was making her escape from the room. Whispering comforting words, he forced her out of the room.

Stroking his beard in thought he decided that time wasting was only going to anger the little female more. Though he found her behaviour somewhat amusing, all her movement would surely tear the stitches on her back. The doctor would surely rip in to him then if he had to get any closer to the erratic female.

Trying to sew her back together had been a tedious chore when she was asleep, khan could only imagine what it would be like when she was awake. The woman was a riot.

First she challenged him by staring at him when she was lining up for punishment. Riling him and making it hard to stay in his human form. He was more wolf than man and so the smallest things were seen as a challenge, especially as he was at the cusp of becoming the official Regional Alpha. Khan was on edge and the stare he received from his deathly looking female had only provoked him further. He was so close to switching but then she had plucked at his heartstrings and everyone present who witnessed the scene between her and the two children. He had felt an uncomfortable swell of pity which had swiftly changed to anger, he was angry that she had placed herself in the position to be punished when she had two siblings to look after. Especially as they all looked as if they were swaying at the steps of deaths door, if they had been found any later he was sure he would have found corpses, though they did not look too far from it now.

His female looked weak but she was not, what a shock that had been when she had attacked those two sentinels. She was barely the size of a pup and she had managed to get the one up on a full grown sentinel wolf, though sentinels were not the bulkiest or biggest of his kind they were still strong, all wolves in this compound were. These wolves were trained to be agile and fast, but somehow this his little human had managed to get a few swipes at them. Khan would feel pride if her act of stupidity and bravery had not resulted in more lashes then her body could actually endure. Six lashes were a lot for a woman of her stature to receive, receiving twelve was almost impossible and Khan was surprised she was not dead, but he should have known better.

His mate was a rebel. She fought tooth and nail with anyone who had dared to approach her, even in unconsciousness the woman was instable. She had screeched whenever someone tried to get near and attempted to attack the healer, even in sleep she was dangerous. He knew he would have his hands full with his mate, but once he tamed her anger she would submit to him, they all did.

Releasing a heavy sigh Khan walked further into the room and stopped near the bed.

"You would not suspect those two children were related to you by the way you behave. They seem like angels compared to your devilish ways" Khan drawled.

After Neema had fainted mid whipping, khan had escorted the three children to the infirmary alongside their sister. The eldest girl had, under his encouragement and thanks, been taken to the female rooms where all the young girls who were approaching adolescence were placed. When she had been reluctantly escorted, khan had tried to engage with the two young children, the young boy had clutched his little sister towards his body as he stared despondently at Khan. His eyes were unnerving, such a pale colour but so cold, too cold for a young child, the little girl had been more welcoming. When the tears had stopped dripping from her chocolate brown eyes, she had gurgled some unintelligible words at him and then clasped his face in her hands. Disentangling herself from her brother she had plonked herself in his lap and placed her head on his chest. Her reaction to him was unnerving but it had got her brother moving. The young boy had cautiously shuffled towards Khans body and then promptly placed his head in Khan's lap. His sooty lashes wet as he closed them in slumber. The children were so sweet and trusting, unlike their hellion older sister.

He noticed that his words elicited anger and a small spark of hope in her eyes.

"And where have you placed my siblings?" She questioned in a demure voice. Her body language had instantly changed at the mention of her siblings but Khan was not fooled. She had gone from antagonistic and confrontational to sedate. The female was clearly a she-devil who was trying to placate him into revealing their whereabouts.

Such manipulative behaviour was beneath him andhe would show her that.