I was dying.

My throat was killing me, like there was some type of fire burning around it. My back hurt, and I wondered where I was. What happened...

The distant memories flooded me, and I opened my eyes, gasping for breath, not able to move because everything just hurt.

Confused as to why I was back in my dorm room, when I saw him, I instantly tensed up as much as my broken body would let me.

The same eyes I had stared back at me. He even gave me a relieved smile.

"Hey you're finally awake."

That's when I tried to get up, everything came back to me. I demanded, "Where's Edith?!" I needed to see her. It hurt more than the collar if anything happened to her, I'd never forgive myself. "Is she alright?! Where is she? Wyatt-"

"She's fine, she's fine," he cut me off, assuring me, but I needed to see her.

"Where is she, Wyatt?" I persisted, annoyed. In a second I'll get to why he's here, but the last time I saw Edith...

"She's currently at work," Wyatt replied to me slowly, coming to sit next on the beanbag chair that he placed next to my bed. I exhaled, finally relaxing except for the pain that was just numb at this point.

Wyatt kept looking at me in a way I felt like he was pitying me.

"I put a salve on your back and neck. Hopefully it'll heal on it's own time. I was wondering if you could shift into Salvatore to make the healing go faster."

Salvatore was dormant which meant that it hurt him too much to even shift. That killed me a lot more.

"I don't know if I can shift," I told him after a few moments, trying to feel my magic coursing through my blood, but I didn't have any energy. The ability. The willpower. I couldn't feel anything.

Both of us wanted to talk. I don't know how we got out of from the rogues, but we did. I suspected it might have to do something with Wyatt's sudden appearance in all of this. If I wasn't so weak...

Wyatt interrupted my self loathing party.

"West I'm sorry. For everything. For shutting you out like that. It was for your own good." I didn't say anything. I didn't want Wyatt to see me like this. It was nothing but humiliating that I could barely move, and Wyatt has to help me with almost everything because I can barely get up. "I really was just trying to protect you. And look, it failed. I did this to you. You're always the one saving me. It was time that I did the saving, but it still happened to you."

It. The collar and the whipping. This whole entire mess. Wyatt's own guilt ate away at me too. I felt his emotions like a tornado. For whatever strange reason, I could sense through the mate bond Edith's emotions which were a web I couldn't discern. Mentally, I couldn't handle it.

"Wyatt," I took a deep breath as he got up, obviously winded up about it. As much as I was pissed off at him for the months of not talking to me, I loved him and I felt his genuine regret. "None of this is your fault."

"If I caught-"

"Nothing you could say will change it, so drop it." I closed my eyes, trying to make the pain go away both mentally and physically.

My only solace was that Edith wasn't hurt. That Wyatt wasn't hurt either. Because I don't know how I'd handle if either one of them were hurt like I was.

"No, this has gone too far." He was pacing in my small dorm room. Coming to a pause, he turned to me. "I'm calling Mom and Dad."

"Like heck you are. You're not."

Wyatt's eyes so like my own glowered at me in fury. "Look at yourself West! Oh wait- you can't because you can't even move. You could have been killed! Principal Greer can just stop this whole thing because what was this all for? For my brother to almost die for it?" He emphasized once more throwing up both his arms. "I'm calling Mom and Dad."

"Don't worry them."

"How are you going to hide your very apparent silver burnt neck, West?"

"I'll just..." I trailed off. He had a point. I hated it. Immensely. But he had a point. "It'll heal."

"The scars will be there, and Mom and Dad will see them. Eventually. You can try to pull it off, but they'll see. Others will notice. Questions will be asked. No one gets scars like that unless it is the collar."

I didn't want to think about the future right now. It looked too bleak. "I'm tired."

"Sleep then. I'm not leaving you." Wyatt plopped on the bean bag again, looking at me evenly.

"Worrying about it now will do nothing, but do not tell Mom and Dad." I didn't know what their reaction would be. Actually, I didn't want to know what their reaction would be.

Wyatt yawned. "Well big bro, funny thing you can't do anything right now but to heal. So shut up and rest."

"Wow I missed you."

A violent knocking woke Wyatt and I up.

The voice on the other side of the door.

Theo.

Wyatt gave me a look, and I just closed my eyes, giving my okay for him to come. I knew one way or another, Theo would have to realize what happened. He wouldn't like it, but it is what it is.

The door knocked even louder when we didn't move to open it.

"I know you're in there, West!" Theo shouted. "And I know Wyatt's in there with you! So if you don't open the door right this -"

Wyatt opened the door.

Theo stormed in my room like a hurricane. Theo's eyes flared up in anger. "What the hell, Wyatt? West? No one can give me a text anymore? What's going on? I haven't heard from you in days!"

"If you stop yelling for three seconds maybe I can tell you," Wyatt said, closing my dorm door, looking over me. Theo looked in his direction.

One look at me and he stumbled backwards, in shock.

"West?" his voice was hesitant, and I've never heard Theo's voice crack like that. He turned to Wyatt. "What happened to him?!" Wyatt's jaw clenched, and he couldn't get a word out without Theo continuing on. "I said- what- the hell-"

Before he started yelling again, I cut him off, "I got collared now could you calm down, you're giving me a headache."

Theo stood rooted to his spot, and I could make a million emotions I've never seen on Theo before.

"Hell no I won't calm down, you utter prick!" Theo's voice however did lower. "Who did this to you? I'm going to break their bones and feed it to the vampires. Just give me a name. I'll murder them."

"That makes both of us," Wyatt mumbled. "It can't be done yet."

Theo stillness unnerved me. "What do you mean?"

"The rogues who did this to him- we need to find them and bring them up to the Alpha Council before anything else happens."

"Something already did happen. The Alpha Council- which have our parents in it-"

"Wonder how your Dad didn't get kicked out-"

Theo glowered at Wyatt. "The Alpha Council needs to know about this. They'll handle the rogues."

"So your parents just aren't going to know?" he demanded. Wyatt and I said nothing. Theo scoffed at us, shaking his head in utter disbelief. "Yeah, like they're not going to notice the collar mark on his neck!"

"Our parents are out of the country for now," Wyatt said. Which bought us time. If either one of them wanted to see us, I'd have to be really careful not to show anything around my neck.

"What about your Uncles which include my Dad? And your grandfather who are still here?" Theo pressed.

"We'll worry about that when we get to it," Wyatt replied. "If the Alpha Council do know then what?"

"Then they could help fix the problem and my best friend wouldn't have gotten collared like he deserved such a screwed up horrible thing!" With each word, Theo's voice got louder, and I really thought he wasn't going to shift. His eyes turned black, and claws came out.

Wyatt noticed this too, and calmly told him, "Go for a run and come back when you're ready to listen. Really listen. I know this is a lot to handle right now-"

"You think?" Theo hissed.

"Theo," I spoke up, it hurt to talk so I tried not to. Theo's attention finally shifted to me, he looked hurt. Angry. In denial. Heck, even I was in denial this happened to me. The only thing reminding me is the hurt.

"Hey, Theo," I said gently, "shift and cool off and come back. I'm okay." I'm not okay. Not in the slightest. Everything hurt so much and all I want to do is shift into Salvatore so my healing could be less painful and I wouldn't have to feel anything.

"Okay Sleeping Beauty," Theo relented. "But I'm not happy about this. "

Wyatt snorted, "Are you ever?"

Theo didn't say a word when he walked out the room. We heard a crash and the walls shook.

"Well, that went rather well," Wyatt quipped.

I tossed him a glare.

Two days with both Wyatt and Theo on my side, helping me move, getting salve from the school nurse and Theo going to his own house to get his Dad's, Wyatt was sleeping on the bean bag.

It's been too long since I've seen him this peaceful. This little runt couldn't have told me?

"You're awake?" Wyatt's sleepy voice came from my side.

"Can't sleep," I told him honestly. I couldn't. Everything was hurting too much for me to be comfortable.

"Salvatore?" Wyatt hesitated.

"No," I croaked.

In a split second, I felt him trying to shift.

"Your eyes just turned red-" Wyatt jumped up, alert, and I realized why Salvatore was now trying to get out. He was on full protective mate mode.

The door knocked, and I sensed Edith there by the door. My heart dropped. Salvatore was trying to protect her because the last time I laid eyes on her, I only saw blood because they hurt my mate.

Wyatt glanced at me for a second before opening the door, and I swallowed, unprepared to hear her achingly beautiful voice as she tells Wyatt a gentle and familiar, "Hi."

I frowned at that, wondering if-

Wyatt cut off my thoughts, "I'll give you guys some time alone."