Seren felt like she was deep underwater, racing upwards toward the surface of consciousness, the pressure falling away, however slightly, from her face and body. She became aware of her heart, something that had been absent in the darkness and silence of before, and welcomed the company it provided with its steady beat and the warmth it provided when she had been so cold. She then felt the sour heat of anxiety in her blood, making her slightly panicked. Was she upset? Why? What was wrong?

Then, the ringing in her ears slowly subsided as she came closer to awakeness, and another sound filtered in, a beat, but not the same pattern or softness her heart made. It had almost a hollow aftertone- footsteps on wood, passing in front of her and then turning to pass again. Someone was pacing. 

Seren tried to open her eyes, but felt nothing. Afraid, her hand lifted to her face, surprising her with the weakness of the small action, and felt soft bandages wrapped over it. The footsteps had stopped.

She suddenly realized that the anxiety she felt had not been her own, but the person before her. She focused on the presence in the room, hoping to determine who it was before she had to ask. 

"Seren?" His deep voice penetrated her effortlessly, making her shiver as its effect rolled through her body. He had spoken as soon as she had recognized that familiar and yet irresistable scent. He moved over to her side and she heard the groan of a chair under his weight. "Are you cold?"

She only nodded, a blush creeping into her cheeks. Images suddenly flashed into her mind of teeth and the red of blood. She saw  the madness in the brown wolf's eyes and remembered the fight and the roar of an alpha as he attacked the trespasser. The sharp snaps and ripping noises made her feel ill. "Am I...my eyes....he..."

"He is dead," Liam bit out through clenched teeth. The harshness of his words contrasted with the gentle way he pulled a blanket up over her.

Seren gasped softly. He had really killed him for attacking her? Then again, he would have killed Gillie and tried to kidnap other females had he the opportunity. 

"I shouldn't have let you go out there alone, not when we have had problems at our borders. It is my fault," he groaned.

"You can't keep me by you at all times," she said.

There was a silence, colored with his intention to do exactly that, even if he would not tell her out loud.

"Will I ever be able to....am I blind?" Her voice wavered.

"Gloria doesn't know. She said she did what she could and the rest would rely on your ability to heal. I'm sure my blood helped-"

She snapped her head towards him even though she couldn't see. "What?"

"You had lost a lot of blood, it would hamper your healing. As alpha, my blood is potent and has heightened properties that would help you. We didn't have a lot of options, you were in bad shape. I would have done anything to make sure you were okay," he said deeply.

Seren swallowed uncomfortably. Giving blood was very intimate, done only during the Initiation rituals, marking and extreme circumstances. As her mate, his blood would have been most compatable with hers. She couldn't be mad at him for it, but imaging him giving it to her made her stomach twist strangely. It explained how she had felt his anxiety while he paced and the strange sense of pride he was feeling currently that she didn't want to ask about. It meant their bond had been strengthened even though she had not even accepted him, and the thought made her nervous. "Thank you," she managed.

"Do you feel better? Are you still in pain?" Liam's voice had gone back to his alpha tone, all business. No doubt feeling her flightiness.

"It hurts to talk, but not like...not like yesterday."

"It's been three days, Seren," he replied.

She licked her lips. "Oh....Okay...I...I just  want to take these off and...I want to see it!"

"The only way to see it would be for me to give you the images. You would have to be Initiated. That will come soon enough, but don't worry about that now. I would like to move you out of the ward and into a more comfortable bed. These chairs are uncomfortable," he chuckled.

She hadn't realized she was in a part of the house she hadn't been in before, but the scents of medical supplies and sterility told her the truth. As she adjusted herself and the bed seemed to squelch under its plastic cover, she knew she wanted to be somewhere else. That somewhere else just happened to be hard to admit. 

"Do I have a choice?" She sighed.

He chuckled deeply. "If moving you will help you recover because I can watch over you, then no."

"So bossy." Seren pushed back the covers and winced at how much she ached, sliding her legs over the side of the bed and feeling her skin where it stung. The raised lines from the claw marks may have healed sinced the attack, but it still shocked her to touch them. She heard the low rumble of Liam's growl of hatred and stood carefully. He might be in a testy mood.

She felt along the bed until she got to the end and didn't know where to go. Fingers brushed the skin of her bare back, making her skin tingle as she gasped, realizing that she was in a hospital gown and naked underneath, which meant he could also see her backside. He gasped a fistful of the fabric and held it closed, not without rumbling appreciatively, before pressing his chest against her back and steering her forward. Her face was scarlet, but she wouldn't let him see, keeping her head straight as she felt ahead. 

He reached around her and opened a door, pushing her gently through, and she felt the temperature change slightly. The ward had windows, she had felt the sun shining in, but this room may have only had one. It smelled of lavender and soap, Gloria's office, which made sense because she was the pack doctor. They moved on, slowly so she could feel her way, and then into a hall. By the combined scent of Liam, the twins and Derrick, she knew it to be the hall with all of their doors. Liam turned her to the left, toward his office.

"Wait," she said, placing a hand on his chest once they were past his double doors. "You want to move me to...your room?"

"Of course. I will leave my bedroom door open so you can call if you need anything-"

"I'm not sure that is such a good idea," she mumbled. 

Seren felt him tug her against his warm body as he leaned his mouth in close to her ear. "Because you wouldn't be able to resist me?" He then let go of her gown and she felt cold air on her bottom. 

Would her face ever get to be normal color again? She quickly grabbed the back of her gown and held it tightly together, praying he couldn't see anything through the thin material. "No!" she declared. As she stood there in the room, no longer supported by his strong hand, she felt very vulnerable and empty. "I'm supposed to get better, right? How am I supposed to do that if I am stressed out!?"

"I stress you out?" he chuckled from a few feet away in another direction. 

She turned her head toward the sound. "Well, yeah!" Seren felt around with her free hand.

"It's because you are resisting me when you shouldn't be. Had we been mated, you would be well on your way to being healed. And you wouldn't be so stressing about having to hide that lovely ass of yours."

"You!"

"Me," he grinned.

"Did you...did you see me naked!!?"

"Yes," he replied, his voice huskier than he had intended it to be.

Seren groaned, utterly mortified and put her head down on the desk under her hand, but the pressure hurt too much and she turned to where she thought the door to the bedroom was and shuffled through it, trying to keep her butt out of sight as she walked. But then she realized she wasn't wearing a bra and flushed again, because she was cold and knew exactly what he was probably staring at. She retreated into the bathroom, but he was hot on her heels.

"I didn't change you, if that's what you were asking. The females did that to get to your wounds. I saw you after the attack, when you shifted back. But I wrapped you in my shirt so no one else would see you!" He sounded possessive and angry at the same time. "What are you doing?"

Seren was groping the wall around the shower, looking for the handles. "I want to take a shower, I feel disgusting. Can't you SEE that?" 

"You will not take a shower unless you want to take one with me. You can't get your bandages wet and I'm not going to take the chance of you losing your balance in there and falling," he said stonily. 

"Fine, I'll take a bath then," she growled right back, marching over to the giant jacuzzi. She slowed as she approached its approximate area so she wouldn't stub her toes. Her hand fluttered over the stone and she sat facing him so she could let go of the gown, feeling for the handles and adjusting the stream to the right temperature.

"I'll pull up a chair."

"NO!"

"I'm not letting you out of my sight again. Besides, I'm going to have to check your back at some point."

She remembered then how the male had picked her up by it and thrown her, how much it had hurt then. Now it ached as the rest of her body did. The hand holding her gown moved over the hot raised scabs there. "It's fine. I don't need your help."

He did not reply and the only sound was the pounding of water in the tub. She wondered if he had left. When the tub was full, she turned it off and listened to see if she could hear him in the room, but was not confident the silence was honest.

"Alpha?"

"You know, you never said my name until you really needed me," he said softly. "You should not call me Alpha."

"Okay, Liam," she replied, his name felt heavenly on her tongue. "Please turn around."

He shuffled his feet.

"I can tell you didn't turn around. I'm blind, not stupid."

He snickered. "Okay, okay. I'm actually doing it."

Seren listened to his voice change as it pointed a different direction and quickly pulled off the gown and slipped in to the water, moaning in delight as the chill began to leave her body. 

She heard him pivot back around and felt his gaze on her hands as she put her hair up in a messy bun and sunk down into the water, praying he couldn't see anything.

"Stressing. Me. Out."

Liam chuckled, the sound making her more aroused than it should have. "I'll just be in the office. Call when you are ready to get out and I will come help."

"Hmph," she muttered. When she was finally sure he had left and did not feel his presence after the door clicked, she exhaled completely and relaxed into the water, letting it draw the pain from her bones and the stinging from her skin. She lathered herself with a nice smelling soap and moved the back part of the bandages off like a blindfold so she could wash her hair, happy to be finally getting the dirt and blood out of it. She didn't dare remove the ointments and gauze over her eyelids. Once her hair was rinsed, she put them back and stood up, wrapping a towel around herself. Seren moved to step to the edge of the tub and nearly tripped right out, freezing so she wouldn't slip.

Suddenly, she wasn't so confident anymore. Without being able to see, there was no way to center herself and the natural balancing act her body did on its own was much more difficult. She felt extremely frustrated because she had to put her hand on the side of the tub to steady herself as she stuck a leg out, whacking her ankle on the stone. 

The door opened and she stopped, curses still flying through her head. A few long strides brought Liam right to her side and he wordlessly took her arm in his hand, sending sparks shooting down her her stomach and slipped his other arm behind her back to grab her waist through the towel and easily hoisted her out and onto the floor at his side. She mumbled a thank you as he released her, clearing his throat, though she kept a handful of his shirt. He moved silently into the bedroom, keeping a slow pace so she could feel along, but pretending he didn't notice the the small tugging as she used his solid form to steady herself. 

As soon as she felt the bed, she let go of him, moving to the chest and bumping into it. She fumbled around in the drawers for undergarmets, frustrated that she couldn't match them and gripped the wood tightly. "Can you...not watch?" she whispered. Liam obediantly turned to the office door and walked out as she struggled to put the bra and panties on without losing her balance. Finding the closet and something to wear seemed like an impossible task with how badly her head and face were pulsating with pain. She needed to lie down, the medications were making her dizzy and upset, but how on earth could she just crawl into the alpha's bed wearing practically nothing!?

Why did this all have to happen? What am I going to do if I'm permanently blind? I'll never see Dad's face again, or...Liam's. No more running, no more woods, no freedom. I won't even be able to leave this house! I should have never let him bring me here and I should never have stayed. Nothing but trouble and grief ever come from packs. 

Clutching the towel to her chest, she sunk down onto her knees on the carpet, a broken sob escaping her. She couldn't keep herself from shaking as her grief and exhaustion surfaced. 

Two strong hands gripped her shoulders as Liam kneeled behind her, pulling her back against his hot chest, his arms caging her in a warm embrace that instantly began to unwind her sore muscles in a way that the bath could not have. 

"Shh, shh, shh," he hushed in her ear, his cheek pressed against the side of her head. "Do not cry. Shh, shh, shh, no tears. We will have to change your bandages."

Even through his shirt, Seren could feel the connection that was between them. He leaned her forward for a moment as she sniffled and quickly examined her back, running his fingers along her spine and making her shiver under the electric shocks he made. Liam's presence disappeared, making the feeling of lonesomeness return. Of course he would leave her. He was basically emotionless. Changing her bandages would be a chore and why would any man want to deal with a blind crying female?

Seren heard his footsteps returning and then the rustle of clothing.

"Here," he said. "Put your hands up."

"What?" she asked hoarsely, not willing to let the towel drop in front of him.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he murmured in that deep and alluring voice. 

She couldn't help but to believe him and slowly let the towel sink onto her lap, her hands lifting. He slid the shirt over them and fit her head easily through the giant neck hole, letting the rest fall down her body like a huge toga. As his scent mixed with clean laundry wrapped around her, she realized it was his shirt. 

His forearm slid beneath her knees and the other snaked around her back, before he lifted her effortlessly. Seren squeaked in surprise, but secretly loved the feel of his muscles surrounding her, protecting her from everything that had upset her. The trip was fleeting and then she was on the bed, being covered with a fluffy comforter. 

"Try to get some sleep," he said. "I'll be out here if you need anything. I'll come get you for dinner."

"Wait," she said as she heard him turn away, her hand going out, though not finding him. He paused, waiting to hear what she needed. The truth was, she didn't want him to leave; he was the tiniest bit of comfort in all of the terror of the past few days, but there was no way she could tell him that. After all, if not for him, she would have never had to endure any of it and would still be safe on McGreggor's land. "Thank you...for helping me."

Seren didn't know that she had wanted a response until none came and he left. She settled down beneath the covers and closed her eyes, wishing with all her might that it was all just a  dream and she would wake up back at home.

"Seren," Liam called. "It's time for dinner. Wake up." His chillingly deep voice rolled through her and she sat up quickly, briefly panicking when she couldn't open her eyes, couldn't escape the darkness. He pulled her hands away from her face and waited patiently until she stopped hyperventilating.

"I'm sorry," she said, embarrassed. "I forgot that..." She gestured to her eyes. 

"It's alright. Let's go eat, I'm sure you are hungry. You can't take your pain medications on an empty stomach."

Though the last thing she wanted to do was eat, she obediantly slid from the bed and put her hands on his shirt. She couldn't see his expression, whether it was smug or annoyed or something else, but needed his guidance.

"Besides," he muttered. "Wouldn't want you to faint if I kissed you again."

Her heart leapt in her chest and picked up a quick rhythm and then nearly exploded when she felt him bend and swiftly press his lips to hers. A waterfall of tingles raced down to her toes, making her start shaking as she struggled to grip his shirt. A hand at her back steadied her. Seren just hoped he couldn't see how red her face was under the bandages.

"You didn't need to test it out," she grumbled. 

"But I wanted to," he chuckled. "Now, do you want to wear something other than my t-shirt to dinner? I don't necessarily like the thought of everyone being able to see those legs of yours, but I can unders-"

"No," she interrupted, unamused. "I would like to wear a pair of jeans and one of my own shirts."

He left her for a moment and she sat down so she wouldn't fall. She could hear him over in the closet, rustling around. "How about the ones with the silver swirls on the pockets?"

"That is fine." In all honesty, Seren didn't know what clothes she had in the closet, because none of them were hers. They had all been put in there when she had been kidnapped.

Liam shuffled out and brought the jeans and a shirt over to her. "The shirt is light blue, does that match?"

Seren couldn't help but laugh. "Sure."

"Okay, I'm turning around now," he said.

Seren pulled his shirt over her head and felt around until she had her shirt facing the right direction and pulled it on, satisfied that it fit comfortably. She had worn jeans all her life and the action of putting them on was easy, almost second nature. "I'm done," she said.

Liam stepped closer, his big body right in front of her and she was afraid he would kiss her again, her body going crazy. She held her breath. His hand came up and moved into her hair and she leaned into it. If she moved, she would certainly lose her balance, but at least he wasn't spearing her through with those striking eyes. She felt his lips on her neck, below her ear and trembled under his touch. 

"I'm sorry, you just smell so...good," he whispered deeply. 

Seren's desire was increasing rapidly and the only explanation for it had to be that the bond had strengthened when he gave her his blood. She tried to pull away then, but it was like resisting the force of a six and a half foot magnet. 

"I should do it now," he said, seemingly talking to himself. "I should have done it before, then this would never have happened. You are going to be mad at me anyway." His teeth brushed her skin and she felt her hips pressing into his. 

"What are you talking about? Why am I going to be mad at you?"

Liam was crushing her against him and suddenly she felt trapped and began pushing against him. 

"Please, you...you're hurting me," she said. 

He cleared his throat and straightened, releasing her. Before she