When The Pieces Fall

Chapter 6

Will Pov (two months ago)

School was particularly aggravating today. I'm sick of everyone staring at me. Being popular is nice and all but, being under constant scrutiny? Not so much. The new batch of rumors about my "sleeping around" have gone around now too. What if those get back to my mate? I don't want to risk rejection.

I enter the pack house and look around carefully for something to be upset over. In the corner of the room, I notice that one of the shelves on the bookcase was not cleaned today. I feel a smile overtake my face at the sight of this mistake.

"Get down here you stupid bitch!" I shout loud enough for the whole house to hear me roar. This could be quite the special for everyone and maybe I can even use this reaffirm to whomever my future mate may be that I love her. Behind me, I can hear her scramble down the stairs as graceless and pathetic as usual. I feel as her presence stands to shake behind me. A smirk comes to my lips at her delicious fear.

"Yes Alpha?" She mutters out weakly. I turn to her with my angriest face.

"What is this?" I ask pointing at the shelf. She stands on her tiptoes to see.

"Sir I apologize but, I don't understand what you mean" oh so now she wants to get sassy with me?

"Let me show you then" I grab her by the back of her neck and slam her into the wood of the shelf. Her small cry doesn't quite hide the sound of her nose cracking. I come up even closer to her.

"You forgot to clean it whore" I whisper feeling my words drip with malice. By now I've gathered a small crowd of onlookers who have almost hungry looks on their faces. I've always been one for showmanship. To make things a little more interesting for them I throw her almost across the room and near the feet of my audience.

"What if my mate saw this disgusting surface!?! Do you want her to think I'm unkempt!?!" I shout that at her mostly to show my love for my mate within the pack.

"I'm very sorry Alpha and you're right I will do better I swear" she hardly squeaks out that sentence.

"Oh sorry? You think you're sorry? You're a sorry excuse for a were is what you are! I'll show you sorry!" I grab onto her arm and begin dragging her along behind me, not ever giving enough time to stand up.
Once outside I shift into my wolf and clamp my teeth down on where my hand was. She screams in pain at her new lacerations. I pull her down our long driveway and all the way to the gravel road. The crowd followed us out to enjoy the show. I begin running down the road, dragging her on the harsh rocks as I go. She makes a sort of choking sound all the while. After I feel I have run long enough I look back at the now bloody road and then down at her. She lay limp on the ground on the verge of passing out. Her chest heaves up and down. Sweat covers her now even paler face. Her back is the bad part though, its torn to ribbons. If she were a human, she'd be dead now. She isn't human though, so I decide she's strong enough to walk herself back. I turn my back and leave her crumpled from behind.

As I walk back to the house, I feel some pain myself. My back aches terribly. I must have run weird and hurt the muscles or something. I'll have to have the pack doctor have a look at it.

Suddenly my legs give out from under me and I fall to the ground. I must have screwed up my back more than I had thought. I pull myself up and limp all the way back to the pack house. I find the doctor's office quickly enough.
...

"I'm sorry but as far as I can tell there's really nothing wrong with your back," she tells me gently, " I heard about what happened with the Omega and I'll be taking care of her next so is it possible you might be experiencing some empathy for her?". She must be crazy. That omega does not deserve empathy. I guess my face gives away my thoughts because she sighs almost disappointedly.

"You two were so close when you were children, I just don't understand what happened. I have a theory you'll learn though". I feel my face harden at the mention of my past relationship with her. I stand quickly and storm out of the office.

As I leave, I see her passed out on a nearby stretcher. I can't resist the urge to walk over to her side. Looking down at her I can now see the true extent of her injuries. I guess that while I was in with the doctor the nurses fixed her up a bit. Her skin is covered with new and old wounds. The bright red lacerations that now adorn her are just joining the collection.

On the back of her shoulder, I see the first one I ever gave her. That was the worst day of my life. We were six and eight that when it happened. We were going out to play as normal and then... I snap out of that thought. I don't want to think about that ever again. I trace a finger lightly over the now pale fade scar. She shivers at my touch. Even in her sleep, she seems to fear me. I don't stop yet though. I just keep running over the old mark she begins to moan lightly, and I realize that she must be coming to.

I step away from her so as not to be caught. I don't know what that was or why I just did that but, it was like something overtook me and it felt good. Feeling eyes on me I turn back to see the doctor looking at me with an odd expression of both happiness and pity.

I go to my room. Everything in me is mixed up now after the doctor's words to me. Surely, I couldn't be feeling sorry for my actions towards someone so worthless, could I? If I am feeling some kind of pity, then why now? I hate that omega for making me question myself now.
...

Omega Pov (still two months ago)

I feel someone poking and prodding at my back. As I wake up a bit more, I turn my head to the side. The pack doctor, Dr. Azur has a look of utmost concern on her face. She looks down at my face and smiles softly at me. The doctor was a lovely kind woman. She had a maternal softness about her. I don't deserve friends though. It doesn't really help that I know she's onto me about who my mate is. I had shown up here right after my first shift to get painkillers as I regularly do now to at least take off some off the ache. Then she asked about my mate with the most worried look I had ever seen on her face. I know she had thought that I'd been rejected. I told her I hadn't met him and while I knew she realized I was lying there was also never any rumor of my rejection. I know she's kind of pieced it all together on her own from my reactions.

"I want you coming in every day for treatment until these are all healed," she tells me. I start to argue as I have no time but, the stern look she gives me leaves no room for argument. I sigh my agreement and she sends me on my way.

I still have more chores to do and dinner to make or else things are going to get so much worse. Luckily my nose is healed for the most part but, my wolf is now to exhausted heal my back, so I'll have to be more careful not to rip my stitches. I finish up with cleaning after about an hour and a half and then I start on dinner. I'll have to finish this in about an hour or else I'm in trouble, so I decide on a pasta dinner for everyone.

After a while, I find myself listed in all the different spices going into the sauce. The basil, red pepper, and lemon zest all swirl. Together beautifully in the creamy Alfredo sauce. When I'm cooking is when I'm most myself. People usually leave me alone when I cook, and I flourish in the feeling of that temporary security.

All too soon it's ready and I move to set the table as people trickle in. I put the food on the table and leave the room. If I were in the room with the pack would lose their appetite for how ugly I am under constant scrutiny? Not so much.