"Go." I growled through my teeth. He looked between both of us before huffing and storming off. "I'm sorry." I pulled Noah towards me as he sobbed into my chest.

It's been a week. One long week, where the only thing I did was stay by Ryder's bed and watch him rest, hoping that one day I would be able to see those piercing hazel eyes again. I hadn't eaten much lately. Mostly because I couldn't bring myself to eat. I felt disgusted by myself that I caused Ryder to feel depressed.

A knock was heard and then the sound of Riley's voice followed. "Noah, are you hungry?" he asked, worry strong in his voice. I answered with a simple shake of my head. The thought of food disgusted me. He let out a sigh before continuing to pressure me into eating. "You haven't eaten in four days and licking the salt off of pretzels doesn't count."

"I'm not hungry." I said, clearly uninterested in the topic.

"Can you atleast drink this smoothie?" he asked. I glanced over my shoulder at him and noticed the light pink smoothie in his hand. For the first time since I have been here, my stomach growled. Apparently he heard it because a smirk found its way onto his lips. He handed me the smoothie and waited for me to take a sip.

Letting out a sigh, I hestitantly placed my lips on the bendy straw and took a small sip. That was all it took before I devoured the whole thing, the sweet substance traveling down to my stomach, leaving a cold feeling behind. When I finished, I handed the glass back to Riley and resumed my position to watching Ryder.

"Your mother called again." he annouced. When I didn't respond, he continued. "She wanted to see how you and Ryder were doing." Again, I didn't respond. "Noah, you've missed a whole week of school. Don't you think you should-"

"No, Riley. Can't you see I just want to be left alone." I snapped, looking him straight in the eye before looking back at Ryder.

"I was just trying to help. It's not my fault you caused your mate to be like this." he snapped back before slamming the door on his way out. I covered my mouth as a tear streamed down my eye. So, I wasn't the only one who thought I was a monster.

I slammed the door harder than nessecary but I couldn't help it. I was beyond frustrated. Noah hadn't eaten in days. He hadn't showered. He won't even leave Ryder's side and I was just worried. I've known Noah since we were in fifth grade and I'm one of his closest friends.

I guess it was just hard for me to understand since I don't have a mate of my own yet. Anytime I saw Ryder and Noah together, it broke my heart. Ryder knew how bad I felt but I tried to cover it up. It just sucked to see my two best friends sucking faces when I was right there. I wanted a relationship like that. I wanted something to protect and love.

I was walking down the hall, towards the waiting room, when I bumped into Hunter. "How is he?" he asked. I was surprised at first. Ryder told me what happened and I was still angry with Hunter for the way he treated his son.

"Why do you care?" I asked.

"Because he's my son and if I ask a question, you answer it." he replied as he poked my chest with his finger. "Now, how is my son?"

"You didn't seem to care when your son was telling you he was gay and last time I checked, you weren't Alpha anymore. So, I don't have to take orders from you. I take orders from my new Alphas."

"That boy is not your Alpha-"

"That boy has a name." I said harshly. "He is your Alpha, whether you like it or not."

"Riley?" I heard a soft voice say. We both turned towards Noah, who was now standing inside Ryder's doorway. "Is everything ok?"

His eyes held so much sadness, that I found myself sinking into his huge ocean of grief and pain.

"You-" I watched as Hunter stormed towards Noah, jutting out his index finger. I reacted quickly and stood in between Hunter and Noah. "You caused my son to be this way!" I tried to push Hunter back but he resisted. I could barely recognize him. His angry complexion seemed similiar to that of a crazed wolf and I knew that Noah had to be frightened.

As I glanced over my shoulder, I noticed Noah's eyes were becoming glassy and I knew he would cry soon. I hated Hunter for making Noah cry and that gave me the motivation to try harder. I pushed Hunter back with all the strength I had and growled dangerously.

"Go." I growled through my teeth. He looked between both of us before huffing and storming off. "I'm sorry." I pulled Noah towards me as he sobbed into my chest.

Two weeks later..

I looked in the mirror and almost didn't recognize myself. I had dark bags under my eyes from lack of sleep and my hair looked like it hadn't been combed in days, which it hadn't . It had been two and a half weeks and still no progress had been made. I still did the same thing and Riley was still bugging me about "getting some sunlight" and "eating food".

"I don't hear the shower running." Riley yelled from the other side of the door. I sighed before I went to turn the shower on. He has been hovering over me like a hawk ever since the Hunter incident. I'll admit what he said hurt but I'm some what over it - for now.

I took a good thirty minute shower before finally, getting out. I opened the door and Riley stumbled backwards, probably because he was leaning against it. "See, now that wasn't so hard, was it?" he retorted before he left the room to let me change.

I put on the clothes he had brought me and grabbed my phone for the first time since I had been in the hospital. I had quite a few calls, messages, and notifications. I scrolled through my messages and laughed when I saw all of them were from Sage. She had messaged me everyday, trying to get a response.

I smiled and was about to type a message when I heard someone groan. I looked up from my samsung and my heart literally stopped. The phone slipped from fingers, crashing to the ground with a loud thud. Sitting up in bed with his eyes wide open, Ryder smiled at me the most refreshing smile ever.