Finding Shadow BOOK ONE -
Pack clinic
Most girls her age lived for school, and teenage crushes, but not Raeann, after school always filled her with excitement, especially today when the Shadow Moon pack hosted the Annual Howling; she wasn't yet old enough to shift and was a few years off finding her mate, but Raeann didn't mind.
She promised herself from a very early age that she would never rely on a mate to make her life feel worthy; Isabella, Raeann's older sister, was all the proof she needed to convince her that forming a strong attachment to another being made you vulnerable, and that was something Raeann wasn't willingly signing up for.
The clinic doors flew open, and in strode a gorgeous young woman, closely followed by a giant of a man carrying a still figure in his arms. Alerted by the commotion, Dr. Williams poked his head out of his office, quickly assessed the situation, and instructed Raeann to prepare triage for their patient.
Raeann set to work immediately, her petite hands gathering gauze bandages, antiseptic, oxygen, and all the required monitors, placing them into position as the patient was wheeled into the cubicle on a stretcher.
She was efficient in her prep, taking the man's blood pressure, checking his heart rate, and recording any external injuries she could see while Dr. Williams spoke to his companions.
It wasn't until she looked at his face that she realized she knew him. He was the sport's center janitor, a quiet man who kept to himself mostly...Ethan, his name was, Raeanne remembered. Her sensitive hearing allowed Raeann to listen to the three older were's conversation just outside the door, and from what she could understand, the Alpha Shewolf found him in the process of getting badly assaulted and had come to his rescue.
She also identified Ethan as her fated mate, but that was strange.
Raeann heard the rumors circulating amongst the pack; Ethan liked other men, not that it bothered her at all. Still, for some reason, her brother and his group of dull-witted friends had taken it upon themselves to make Ethan's life a living hell; Raeann had no doubts that they were responsible for his current beating.
After a brief examination, Dr. Williams concluded that Ethan was suffering from a nasty concussion, likely the result of being hit with or falling on a blunt object such as a large rock; Raeann tended to his scrapes and bruises, as well as documenting the old injuries on his body, making a note in his records that his wolf appeared to be leaving his human side to heal itself, and resolved to talk to the pack elders about why this was happening later.
When she was done since the clinic was otherwise quiet, she decided it wouldn't hurt to sit with him for a while; if Raeann was in his place, she knew she wouldn't want to wake up alone, and sometimes the sound of a voice, even a stranger's made all the difference, so with this in mind she began to tell him about herself.
ETHAN'S POV
From the murky depths of his addled brain, a gentle voice pulled at his consciousness, urging him to rise and locate the source, but he was tired, so tired and emotionally bruised from all the beatings, and Ethan felt safer locked away in his mind.
The voice persisted, though, and despite his best efforts, Ethan felt himself slowly begin to rise towards it, compelled to discover who was calling to him...
"....I've always wanted to help people you know, I have this knack of touching someone, and knowing what they need, take yourself, for instance, I had to wipe the blood off your head, so my hands came into contact with your skin, and I knew...beyond the beatings, despite your station, you like to help people too, and all you really want is a friend you can trust.
I saw my sister in your thoughts, how she befriended you, and let me just say Ethan, Isabella doesn't welcome anyone in, so she must have seen something special in you, I think you're special too, and I would very much like to be your friend..."
From beneath his lashes, Ethan could make out the slim figure sitting by his bedside; she was a young woman, little more than a child really with dark hair and lavender-colored eyes, dressed in a nurse's uniform.
He recognized her as the pack's student doctor in training, Raeann Romano, Mikhail's youngest sister.
His giant mitt was firmly clasped in her dainty grip, and as his heart sped up at the close proximity to a higher ranking wolf, the door to his hospital room flung open, banging against the wall, almost coming off its hinges.
In marched a woman of breathtaking beauty, followed closely by a mountain of a man. The woman was clearly Alpha blood, her power radiating outwards, dominating the small room.
Although her voice was quiet, the rage in it as she spoke made Ethan's heart speed faster, making him wonder if he was about to have a cardiac arrest.
"GET.YOUR.HANDS.OFF.MY.MATE."
Her strange grey eyes flickered dangerously as a breeze enveloped the tiny room, making the woman's silver waist-length tresses billow out like medusa's snakes. Before he could fully process what she was saying, Raeann was lifted out of her chair with a shriek, and hoisted into the air by an invisible hand, where she stayed floating in midair.
Before he could process what the woman was doing, she launched herself at him, growling deeply. Her wolf stared back through slate-grey eyes, letting Ethan know who was in charge of the room.
With a snarl, she challenged him and the she-wolf that had dared to touch what was hers.
"MINE!"
And then he felt his head being jerked to one side before a sharp pain invaded his shocked brain.
Elongated canines pierced Ethan's flesh between his neck and his collarbone, and with it, the strength of an Alpha flowed through Ethan's veins, washing away the binding of his blood and strengthening him to equal his new mate.
The she-wolf had marked him!
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