My eyes blinked open, but I could only see dark. It was cold-- deliciously cold-- and dark.

Am I dead? I thought to myself, and felt a shocking peace settle over my body. A foreign weight of exhaustion pulled on my eyelids, and sleep threatened to snatch me into darkness once more. I nuzzled deeper into my pillow, took a deep breath, and -- Why doesn't it smell like Nolan?

I immediately sprang upright in bed, and memories of the night before came rushing back all at once-- too fast for my mind to handle. Nolan's party. A slice of cake. Dominic. The worst pain I'd ever felt. And...

Panic held my throat in a death-grip, suffocating me while I fumbled around in the cotton sheets of a strange bed. I tried to lift my hands to my neck, terrified of what I might find, but wires had been taped to the backs of both hands. My eyes immediately flashed downward, and I realized that I no longer wore my maroon dress from the party. The memory of fabric tearing nearly sent me over the edge.

Tangled in these wires and wet sheets, I couldn't escape.

I felt helpless again, trapped in darkness without the ability to move. Flashes of similar panic and phantom tears appeared in my head. Flashes of Dominic fumbling with my rag-doll body, the oppressive weight of his body over mine...

No, no! I do not want this! I wanted to scream, but the blinding pain had been too much.

I kicked and punched in this foreign bed, desperate to flee from my own helplessness, but, before I could get far, too hands emerged from the dark and clenched down on my fists. These hands were strong-- far more powerful than the punches I threw at an unknown entity.

"Shh! Shh, Charlie!" A familiar voice whispered, and the scent of pine mingling with peppermint wafted toward me. Nolan.

Nolan was here. I instantly stilled, and he released his iron grip on my wrists. As soon as my hands were free, I drew my limbs in toward my body, curling myself into a protective ball. And I cried.

I heaved into my knees, desperate to hide my face from the man in the room. I felt ashamed-- disgusted with myself-- and I didn't even know what had happened. But I felt tainted, nonetheless.

"I've called the nurse, Charlotte," Nolan comforted from where he stood beside the bed, as if he wanted to be near but did not quite want to risk touching me. I understood. He must have been disgusted, too.

I still cried when another body shuffled into the room, a female based on the sound of her light footsteps. I dared a look up, and my eyes met Dr. Trudy, the pack physician who had treated my wounds after my car accident. She had bags beneath her eyes, but her fingers worked unbelievably fast as she did a quick scan over my body.

"Shhh... you're safe, dear." Trudy murmured while her tender fingers peeled back a bandage from my neck. "It's stopped bleeding, so that is a good thing."

I knew what she meant. The mark. The mark that Dominic had given me seconds before I lost all consciousness. A fresh wave of nausea hit, and I heaved forward. Trudy grabbed a bed pan and slid it in front of my lips, just in time for my self-loathing to splatter into the tray.

The physician's hand stroked my back until I finished, and I was faintly aware of Nolan's massive body pacing back and forth beside my bed. After emptying my stomach's contents, I slowly sat up in bed again, my abdominal muscles aching from the strain of such violent sickness.

I deserved to be in pain.

Trudy wiped liquid remnants from my lips and chin, murmuring sweet words of comfort. "Now, Luna... It's important that you continue to rest. Although the worst is over, the remnants of your Heat will continue to affect you for another day or so," she adjusted a pillow case behind my back.

"We've put you on an IV to keep you hydrated, and the ice will keep your body temperature down," Trudy explained further, sticking a thermometer beneath the sleeve of my hospital gown. She stuck the cool metal probe beneath my arm and waited for it to beep.

When she retrieved the thermometer, she seemed pleased by its reading. "Like I said, the worst is certainly over!" She spoke to Nolan and me. The thought should have reassured me-- should have relieved me.

But the physical pain did not worry me so much as the guilt and fear that shook me to the very core.

"I'll come back to check again in an hour, Luna." She reassured me, squeezing my IV clad hand, before turning toward Nolan. "Perhaps you should give the girl some space, Alpha?"

"N-no!" I interjected, a bit more forcibly than I'd intended. But I needed to make sure that I could still speak-- that I could be heard. "I want him to stay, p-please."

Trudy bowed her head in understanding, leaving Nolan and I in the small little room that was filled with medical supplies. As soon as Nolan and I were alone, I found myself unable to meet his gaze. He approached slowly, taking a seat on a chair by my bedside. I guessed that he'd been sitting there all night.

I focused on the small, blinking clock across the room. The green, digital numbers read 3:30 AM, clouded by the silent tears that continued to flow down my cheeks. In such a short amount of time, so much had changed. I hiccuped, an attempt to stifle the cries that still shook my body.

Nolan did not speak. He did not try to comfort me with touch nor words, but his quiet presence soothed the emotional pain that cut so deeply in my core. When I'd calmed down enough, I finally spoke, "What happened?"

I needed to know the truth, regardless of how much it hurt.

I kept my gaze frozen ahead as Nolan cleared his throat, making no effort to hide the sadness that cloaked his every word. "You went into Heat... And, when I arrived in the clearing, you were on the ground."

My teeth clamped down on my bottom lip to hold in a cry, as I nodded for him to continue. "Dominic was on top of you, between your legs... He'd only just bitten your neck when I ripped him off."

I nodded, swallowing a sob. I couldn't picture it in my mind, but I remembered Dominic's weight on my body-- my hips. For the first time that evening, I turned to meet Nolan's gaze, "A-and... my dress?"

Nolan knew what my question really asked. I wanted to know what else had happened... What else had Dominic been able to take from me?

The Alpha's throat bobbed up and down, and he put both of his hands on the side of the bed for me to take. A silent invitation, offering support if I wanted it. When I kept both of my hands in my lap, Nolan continued, "Your dress was in pieces, but Dominic was fully clothed when I arrived."

Momentary relief swept through my chest, and I let out a ragged breath that I hadn't even known I'd been holding in. I reached up to touch my neck for the first time, aware of the dull pain that ached just above my clavicle, and I mourned for several long moments. I found myself wanting to rip the bandages off so that I could rake my fingernails across the puncture wounds. I wanted to scrub until I no longer felt disgusted with my own body...

I wrapped my arms around my knees, hugging my body closer to my chest. For a moment, I thought I might need to throw up again, but my body had nothing else. Not even enough energy to cry.

An hour might have passed when I ripped my red, swollen eyes from the wall, and I reached out to take one of Nolan's strong, calloused hands in my own. "I-I'm so sorry, Nolan," I whispered, although my voice cracked.

"Oh, no." Nolan immediately interrupted, eyes widened in absolute heartache. "No, my love... You do not apologize to me." His fingers held on tightly to mine, offering strength where I had none left. "You have done nothing wrong."

"B-but I've been ruined for you," I cried, gesturing toward my bandaged neck. Dominic's signature.

Nolan shook his head, both hands stroking mine, the only contact he dared to try at the moment, "You could never be ruined for me. This does not lessen your worth, do you understand?"

I understood, and I believed him. He spoke with such a fierce conviction. And I realized that the relationship most damaged by this entire ordeal was my relationship with myself. And I didn't know how long it would take to mend...

Silence fell over us for several long moments before I let out another long breath, "Where is he?"

Another loaded question. I needed to know what happened after Nolan intervened. I had no way of knowing whether Nolan had killed his brother on the spot, or thrown him in a holding cell... Maybe he let Dominic go? Truthfully, I didn't know which one I feared more.

"Dominic realized what he was doing as soon as I arrived... He was horrified with himself, Charlie. He hardly knew what he was doing." Nolan admitted, and released my hand just long enough to rub the back of his neck. "I-I let him go..."

I swallowed, letting his words wash over me, unable to comprehend the vast array of emotions that swept through my body. "He couldn't control himself?" I whispered, unsure of whether I meant to say the words aloud.

Nolan shook his head, as if he couldn't explain it himself. I knew that a female in Heat was nearly irresistible to any unmated male within a ten mile radius, and yet... I frowned, "But you're able to control yourself?"

The Black Lupis Alpha stilled, and the corner of his mouth puckered downward. His fingers tightened on my own once more, as if he was afraid that, if he let go, I might disappear. Water pooled in Nolan's piercing blue eyes, "I was terrified... Terrified that I might lose you. It was the last thing on my mind."

Tears welled up in my own eyes once more, and I swallowed the lump in my throat as he continued, "I couldn't imagine taking that choice away from you."

"Thank you, Nolan," I whispered, scooting closer to the edge of the bed so that I might be closer to him.

He smiled, his eyes never once leaving my own, and I thought I detected unbridled affection in his gaze. Not lust or desire-- but something far purer. Before I could put my finger on the exact emotion, Nolan's phone buzzed within his pocket. I didn't need to see the Caller ID to know that it must have been Dominic, since Nolan did not spare the device a single glance.

Nolan reached out to brush a piece of chestnut hair away from my eyes, "Tell me what you need from me, and it is yours."

I knew what he meant: Tell me what you want me to do with Dominic, and I will hunt him to the end of the world for you. I let out an uneasy breath, "I-I don't want to see him... What he did to me-- I-I thought he would never..." I sputtered the words, anger clouding the corners of my eyes. "I hate him, Nolan."

"Shh, I know, I know..." Nolan stroked my hair, easing the anger that had threatened to send me over the edge again. He continued to stroke my hair for several more minutes, until my eyes became heavier and heavier, "You need sleep, love."

I nodded, my lip quivering. He was right. Exhaustion threatened every muscle in my body. But I was terrified of slipping into the dark once more. I didn't know what nightmares my mind might conjure...

"Will you stay with me?" I squeaked, scooting to the side to create enough space on the small hospital bed for him to join me.

"Of course," Nolan promised and kicked off his shoes before climbing on the side of the bed. The mattress sank under his weight, and gravity drew me closer to his side, but I did not flinch.

I laid my head on his strong shoulder, bathing in the scent of forest and mint. His heart drummed in his chest, creating the smallest vibration against my temple. It beat strong and steady, and offered the silent support I needed to close my eyes. When darkness descended over me, I clutched tighter at the fabric of his t-shirt, wrinkling the cotton in my fist.

My breathing slowed, and Nolan must have thought that I fell asleep, for he bent over and pressed the gentlest kiss against my forehead.

"I'll stay with you, Charlie. Forever," he whispered, and I felt the smallest fracture within me start to heal.