Chapter Thirteen

Blythe was startled awake when she felt something jerk in her grasp. Her eyes flew open and landed on Killian’s form. He was shaking back and forth and his breathing was labored. She jerked to her feet and started shaking him.

“Killian, wake up!” she called. “It’s a nightmare. Come back to me.”

Killian didn’t wake up, but he did stop moving. She was frantic until she saw the rise and fall of his chest. He was still breathing. She bit her lip, feeling responsible for what had happened to him.

Shayne had warned her to stay away from Ben. Killian had only been trying to protect her. He’d also asked her to stay away from males because it infuriated his tiger. She should have listened. She’d been acting selfishly, even though she’d tried to make sure that Ben didn’t touch her. It was probably both of their faults and they were probably both blaming themselves. Now Killian was barely alive and struggling to heal fast enough. She wished that she could get her hands on the man responsible for hurting him like this.

Just then the door to the infirmary burst open. Blythe was on her feet and turned around to face the person in seconds. She was ready to defend Killian, no matter who it was. Her eyes widened when she saw another woman with an intimidating male behind her.

The man shoved the woman and Blythe saw her wince. She moved forward. “Can I help you?”

“Where’s Seth?” the man growled. Blythe did not like his attitude.

“He went to get something to eat. Can I help you?”

“No,” the man snapped. He shoved the woman over to a bed and made her lay down. She was two beds down from Killian. She had her head turned away from them. “Don’t move.”

The man glared at Blythe and then noticed Killian lying there. He relaxed a bit and then disappeared back out the door. Blythe waited until he was quite a distance away and then moved over to the bed with the woman.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” the woman lied. Blythe could tell by her face that she was in pain.

“Don’t lie to me. What’s wrong?” Blythe pressed.

“Please, just drop it.” The woman’s eyes darted over to the door worriedly. Blythe took in her face and the worry written on it and knew what was going on. She’d seen the signs before.

“He did something to you. What did he do?” Blythe asked. The woman’s eyes widened in fear and she shook her head.

“Please, don’t say anything. He’ll kill me,” she begged.

“What is your name?”

“Shannon. What’s yours?”

“My name is Blythe. The man lying on the bed over there is Killian. He’s my mate.”

“My mate’s name is Leo.”

“And he’s the one that beats you?”

Shannon looked anywhere but at Blythe.

“Why don’t you tell someone?”

“They won’t believe me. Shifters stick together. You can’t say anything either. I don’t want him to hurt you,” Shannon admonished.

“He wouldn’t dare. Killian would kill him,” Blythe replied, confident in her mate’s protection. “Let me talk to my mate. I’ll see if there’s something we can do. I’m sure no one would let a woman be abused. Mates are supposed to protect and care for you.”

“I think Leo and Killian are friends. He didn’t react like he normally does. And I’ve heard that name mentioned before. He won’t believe you. If Leo finds out, he won’t care who your mate is. He’ll try to shut you up. Please don’t get involved, Blythe. I can take care of myself.”

“What if he goes too far? We’re not as durable as shifters. What if he hits you hard enough to kill you? I couldn’t live with myself if I did nothing,” Blythe argued.

Seth’s voice stopped both of the girls from continuing to talk. “What happened this time? I’ve seen Shannon three times in the past month. How can one person be that clumsy?”

“I don’t know, Doc. She tripped over the towels lying on the floor of the bathroom and fell. She tried to catch herself and it ended up breaking her arm. They don’t heal like we do and aren’t as tough,” Leo’s voice replied.

Both men pushed through the door and Leo’s eyes immediately landed on Blythe. His face wrinkled in dislike, but he didn’t say anything. Shannon pasted on a fake smile and waved at Leo.

“You’re back. That was quick.”

“Seth was finished eating. How do you feel?” Leo asked.

Blythe watched in shock as he completely morphed into a different person. He looked like he genuinely cared about Shannon and her welfare. But based on what Shannon had said and what Blythe had witnessed, this man was a monster for real.

“I’m fine. Really, I don’t even think it’s broken.”

“Honey, I want Seth to look at it anyway.”

“Okay,” Shannon smiled. Again, Blythe recognized it as the fake emotion it was. How could she act like this when Leo treated her so awfully? It infuriated Blythe. She wanted to say something so much, but knew that Shannon could get hurt. If she said something, Leo would assume Shannon told her. Then he’d beat Shannon and possibly kill her.

“Blythe,” a weak voice called. Blythe gasped and spun around. Killian was facing her with his head and reaching toward her. She maneuvered around Leo and Seth and ran toward her mate. She gripped his hand in hers and brought it to her lips.

“You’re okay! I thought I’d lost you,” Blythe told him. Tears came to her eyes and she laid his hand on her cheek. “I’m so sorry.”

‘Why?” he asked, coughing.

“Maybe you should rest. We can discuss this later.”

“I’m fine,” Killian argued.

“Killian, you rest. I’ll be with you in a moment,” Seth called, glaring at his brother.

“Shut up, Seth. I’m fucking fine.”

“You move one inch and I’ll put you to sleep,” Seth threatened. Killian glared at him, but didn’t speak anymore. He closed his eyes, but Blythe could tell he wasn’t really asleep.

Blythe let his hand go and laid it on the bed. Just as she was about to move to find out how Shannon was, Killian grabbed her hand.

“Don’t leave me,” Killian growled. His eyes looked wild and he didn’t seem to realize where he was. Blythe gulped and nodded.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“Good.”

Blythe sat back down, his hand still gripping hers. She tuned her ears to listen to the conversation behind her. Apparently, it was just a sprain and she’d have to wear a makeshift cast for a while. Leo was still acting like the caring husband and Blythe wanted to roll her eyes.

“Thank you for the help, Seth,” Shannon called as Leo carried her toward the door.

“No problem, dear,” Seth replied.

“See you around, Blythe,” Shannon looked at her. Her eyes held fear, but she had that fake smile pasted on her face.  

“I hope you feel better!”

“Thanks.”

After Shannon and Leo were gone and Seth had filled out her chart, Blythe found that Killian had indeed fallen back asleep. Looking over his wounds, she noticed that some of them seemed to be getting better. He was healing a lot slower than last time and she was worried.

Blythe’s belly growled, but she ignored it. She’d told Killian she wouldn’t leave and she wasn’t going to. Seth came up behind her, startling her.

“Hey,” he said softly.

“How is he doing?” Blythe asked.

“He seems to be doing better, but it was a close call. They don’t call this place Lazarus for nothing. He was close to death but he seems to be in the clear. He’ll live, but some of the scars may be permanent.” Seth rubbed her back soothingly. Blythe jerked away. Seth’s eyes widened.

“Don’t touch me. It will upset Killian if he finds your scent on me. I should have listened to him. He warned me to stay away from other guys and look what happened when I didn’t. This is my fault,” Blythe sobbed.

“Don’t think like that! You didn’t realize the true effect it would have on Killian. You only assumed he was joking. Let me tell you why he’s like this.” Seth pulled up a chair and leaned it back on two legs, folding his hands behind his head and sticking his elbows out.

“I still think this is my fault, but do tell,” Blythe answered.

“Killian saw his mom cheat on her mate with my dad. That’s how we became brothers. He believes that no one can truly be faithful. He fears that if you’re around other guys, you’ll end up cheating on him with some other guy. It’s what he grew up around. I’m sure his mom probably slept with some of the other men, but they never admitted it. She was what you humans call a slut. Was one before she came here, too. But because of his scarred childhood, Killian is pretty messed up about things.”

“That’s terrible. She shouldn’t have done that when she had a family to take care of. Sleeping with someone that isn’t my husband isn’t something I want to do. If I’m married, or mated in this sense, then it’s forever. I do not cheat,” Blythe promised.

“You don’t know that,” Killian’s weak voice startled them both.

“You have got to quit doing that to us. You always sneak up on us when we’re talking about you,” Seth growled.

“Cause I definitely snuck up on you this time,” Killian rolled his eyes at his brother. “Anyway, Blythe, you can’t say that because you’ve never been in a situation to test it. You say that now, but what if we mate and then you get mad at me for something and run off to my brother. What if he came on to you? You can’t say that you wouldn’t do it because your anger could make you want to hurt me and therefore push you into sleeping with my brother.”

“Dude, I know she’s yours. I would never sleep with her if you guys mated,” Seth replied.

“Like I said, you can’t say that for sure.”

“You never have any hope or trust. You demand that I do something for you, yet you lend nothing of yourself to me. You won’t even give me your trust. Killian, you can’t even trust what I say. How can this relationship work if you won’t even trust me?”

“What are you ranting about?”

“You won’t trust my word that I won’t cheat. You believe that because your mother did it, every girl is like her. That’s wrong and shows that you don’t trust me or have any belief that people can be different. You can’t judge a whole group by one person’s deeds. What is wrong with you?” Blythe was growing angry. How dare he say that she was lying and would indeed cheat on him? Marriage to her was sacred. Even before, when Seth had kissed her, she hadn’t kissed him back. She was honoring her relationship with Killian. If he didn’t believe her, then he was a coward.

“I didn’t say I didn’t believe you!”

“You did,” Blythe argued.

“I said you can’t say that as a fact because you’ve never been in a situation to prove it.”

“But you don’t even trust that I would be the better person and not do it. Can you not trust me that I wouldn’t do it?”

“I don’t know, Blythe. I don’t trust easily,” Killian sighed.

“That’s a given,” Blythe rolled her eyes.

“You said you wanted to try a relationship, then you turn around and start messing around with a guard!” Killian’s eyes flashed. “You ask for trust yet you’ve already started down the path of cheating on me!”

“How dare you!”

“No! How dare you, Blythe. You spout one thing and end up doing the exact opposite. You wanted me to try and I was ready to. Then you go and ruin it. I’m lying in this bed, barely alive, because of you breaking my trust.”

“You demanded that I stay away from other men and not let them touch me. I was completely on the other side of the table. He wasn’t touching me. And I had a good reason for talking to him. It wasn’t like you walked in on us kissing! You overreacted,” Blythe spat. Her heart was aching because she believed what he said. But she didn’t want him to be right. This couldn’t be her fault. She would never let this happen to someone she cared about. He was beaten for his sins alone, not hers. She felt tears prick at her eyes.

“Killian, maybe you should ask Blythe why she was talking to the guard. Let her explain,” Seth interrupted.

“I’m tired. I’m done talking. Both of you leave me,” Killian spat, not looking at them. He closed his eyes and lay as if dead. Blythe felt a sob leave her lips and got up. She turned away from him and quieted her tears. She was done crying. If Killian wanted to see a real bitch, she would show him one.

“Seth, can I talk to you?” Blythe motioned for him to follow.

“Sure,” Seth sighed, getting to his feet. He followed after Blythe, wondering what she wanted. His brother was a fool if he let this one get by him. Blythe was a good girl and seemed to want Killian to be happy.

When they were back in the hallway and far enough that Killian couldn’t hear, Blythe stopped and turned to face him. “Is this far enough?”

“For him not to hear?” Seth nodded.

“Yea. Okay, good. I need away from Killian. I’m tired of everything I do being criticized. I’m trying and he doesn’t see that. He yells at me, won’t trust me, and tells me that he’ll never love me. Where is this relationship even going? If he won’t be my mate and won’t love me, I want someone who will. Seth, I need to find a mate that will love me and care for me. I can’t ask that of you because that’s your brother in there. But will you help me find someone that will love me and cherish me? Carrie talked about one of the bears being a good mate for me. Will you take me to them? Please?”

“Blythe! Do you realize what you’re asking?” Seth cried. “My brother will kill anyone that tries to take you away from him. Even if you don’t want to be his mate, he sees you as his.”

“Then find me someone who can protect me from him because I’m tired of having to watch every little thing I do. I’m tired of going to bed and waking up to nightmares about the man sleeping next to me. I can’t even find peace in sleep, Seth. I’m drowning here. I don’t know what else to do. Killian won’t even talk to me about it. He’s too controlling and won’t give me time to prove that I am any different than his mom,” Blythe replied. “Your brother is ruthless. I need someone that is on a different floor. Someone that can protect me and has some pull. I’m tired of everyone fearing Killian. He’s just another guy. If you won’t help me, Carrie will.”

“What about Tristan?” Seth asked, that being the first name that popped into his head. “He’s strong and can obviously protect you. He also has some pull with Walker being on the Council.”

Before Blythe could answer, a guard started their way. He shot them a raised eyebrow look and then motioned for them to get moving. “Can we not stand in the hallway?” Blythe spat.

“Watch that attitude, miss,” the man replied, his hand on his weapon. His eyes were mainly on Seth.

“We are doing nothing wrong. We’re standing here talking. What’s the big deal?” she asked, wanting an answer.

“You could be conspiring to attack us.”

“I’m a human, so I wouldn’t do much good. Seth is the doctor on this floor. He doesn’t attack people, he saves them. Show some respect.”

“In case you’ve forgotten, these are animals,” the guard spat.

“In case you’re stupid, they’re still people. They deserve to be treated better.”

“Get moving,” the guard commanded. “Before I lock both of you up.”

“We’re moving,” Seth grabbed Blythe’s arm.

As they were walking away, the guard slapped Blythe on the butt. She gasped and was about to say something when Seth increased his speed. “Ignore them.”

“They are so rude to you guys. Has it always been like this?”

“It was worse before, but they’ve gotten better. When guards start dying, people get wary of us. I think they’re on guard right now because of the incidence with Killian earlier.”

They walked the rest of the way to Seth’s room in silence. He opened the door and allowed Blythe to enter first. One of the guards closest to him shot them a look of disgust and Seth bared his teeth at the man. The guard stumbled backward and Seth nodded in satisfaction before entering his room. He shut and locked the door.

“I also want you to think of all the consequences of this action,” Seth told her.

“I have.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to do this out of anger. Killian was angry earlier, and weak. He took that out on you. No shifter likes to be weak and he was looking for an outlet. He took it out on you and shouldn’t have. If you do this to Killian, he’ll see it as you betraying him. You’ll prove him right.”

“I got it, Seth. I’m not changing my mind. I’m not cheating on Killian. He’ll be better off without me. I’m not mated to Killian; he’s only marked me. Another can replace it.”

“He will come after the man that decides to claim you as his mate. This could get him killed,” Seth reminded her. Blythe closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Opening her eyes, she said, “He doesn’t want me. He’s made that very clear.”

“In fact, I think he’s made it clear he wants you.”

“What are you talking about? He pushes me away every second! We can’t get along and he’s always fighting with me or belittling me.”

“But you’re getting a reaction out of him. Before you came along, Killian was this quiet somber person that hardly ever spoke. His only friends were Leo, me, and some of the cubs he worked with. He held all of his aggression and anger in. People feared him because he didn’t vent or let his anger out. He kept it inside of him. They thought that one day he was going to explode and attack them. He wouldn’t be able to hold back. He never argued with anyone, and just took their anger in stride. You wouldn’t believe the comments going around about him right now. They think you’re good for him.”

“That doesn’t sound like the Killian I know. He never attacked anyone?”

“Well, he did attack a few guards, but he had reasons. He never purposefully hurt or killed anyone. Then. the first day you were here, or maybe it was the second, he killed Diego. That shocked everyone.”

“I’m sorry I turned him into a terrible person,” Blythe snapped. “Apparently. I’m just as bad for him as he is for me.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“It’s what it sounded like.” Blythe crossed her arms and sat down on the bed.

“He will believe that you’re like his mother,” Seth pressed, trying to change her mind.

“But I’m not cheating on him. We’ve gone over this. Technically, in human terms, we are dating. And I’m breaking up with him. This allows me to be free to see other people.”

“He won’t see it like that,” Seth shook his head.

“But you get my point. We aren’t mated or married. That means I can break up with him and be with someone else.”

“I understand that, but like I said, he won’t see it like that.”

“How long will he be in the infirmary?”
“At least another day if I can keep him there. I want to watch him and make sure he’s completely healed.”

“So I have a day to get someone else to mark me and want to be my mate?”

“Blythe, you’re making a mistake.”

“No, Seth. Killian made the mistake of letting me go.”

“He did indeed make a mistake. You’re a good girl, Blythe. I just hope you truly know what you’re doing.”

“Find me a mate, Seth.”

“Fine,” he sighed. “Come with me.”

“Right now?” Blythe asked. Her stomach growled again and Seth rolled his eyes.

“First, we’ll get you something to eat. Then we’ll go see the bears.”

“You won’t get in trouble for being down there?”

“Honey, I’m a bear remember.”

“Oh yeah,” her cheeks flushed. Seth ushered her out the door and down to the cafeteria. Luckily, it was mostly empty inside with half the lunch crowd gone by then.

“Where is everyone?”

“Most people have already eaten or aren’t hungry.”

“What do you guys do around here for jobs?”

“Some people keep the order, besides the guards. Others make things or trade things with the other floors. A lot of the men get together and fight, letting off some steam. I am always in the infirmary taking notes and documenting different things that I’ve seen or read about.”

“That doesn’t sound very interesting. Don’t you guys get bored?”

“Hell yes, we do. But we find ways to entertain ourselves.”

“Like how?”

“Well we pick fights with the guards or each other. We sleep or have sex,” Seth shrugged. “There are ways.”

“Okay,” Blythe said. “I’m starving.”

“Let’s get you some food.”

A few moments later, Seth came back from the kitchen carrying a plate of food. Blythe immediately dug in, trying to eat as quickly as she could.

Truth be told, Blythe was nervous and sick to her stomach. She cared about Killian, but she knew she deserved better since he wasn’t even making an effort. He wasn’t going to change for her and didn’t treat her how she deserved to be treated. But she wasn’t truly ready to be with someone else. She had been thrust into this strange world and all she wanted was to go home, be a normal girl and fall in love after dating someone a long time. Now she was rushed and had to find someone fast.

“I’m ready,” Blythe breathed. Seth nodded and they headed toward the stairs.