It felt like forever before they stopped. Victoria hadn’t stopped crying until the person holding her kicked in a door and threw her onto a white bed. Her body slammed into the bed, and she grabbed her shoulder with her free hand. The sticky red liquid pooled in her fingers. Blurry eyes blinked away her remaining tears and watched the cherry hair bounce in the doorway shouting. He seemed to be impatiently calling for someone, and once he got their attention her ran back towards her.

Pulling her hand away, he rolled up the sleeve of her shirt. “I think it was silver,” he turned and looked to the doctor that walked into the room, snapping gloves over her hands. “Where’s Yixing?”

“He has a family too, you know,” the woman smirked at him. Baekhyun stepped out of her way as the doctor got to the bed. She smiled down at Victoria. “What’s it feel like, honey?”

“I-it,” her voice cracked, and she swallowed slowly. “He shot me.”

The doctor grabbed a wet cloth and began cleaning away the blood. “It only nicked her,” she told Baekhyun. “It’ll be slow to heal, but the bullets not in her. If we keep it clean, we can avoid infection.” The doctor continued her cleaning, but stopped and sniffed the air. “What is that smell?”

Baekhyun pointed down to his ankles. Just about his shoes were burn marks, some still sizzling. “They put something in their grass,” he explained. “Smells like wolf’s bane.”

The doctor nodded and looked at Victoria’s palms. She too had burns on them, as well as the small marks around her ankles. “Did she fall?”

“In the grass, yeah,” Baekhyun sat at the foot of the bed watching the doctor clean his mates wounds. “She didn’t think they would hurt her.”

“They were her parents,” the doctor nodded. “Do you think your parents would try to kill you?” Baekhyun shook his head, and the doctor nodded. She grabbed a handful of gauze and began packing and taping her shoulder. “Remember when Doctor Yixing told you she needed rest? Do not let her leave the house.” Baekhyun nodded, and the doctor turned to face him. “And for both of your sake, stay with her. You need to heal too.”

A soft sniffle came from the bed, and they both looked down at Victoria. The normally argumentative girl now laid on the bed, not a word leaving her lips. Her eyes stared blankly away from the two, and her body lay limp. The doctor turned back to him. “She needs you right now, Baekhyun. If there is any part of you that cares, do not leave her.”

The hospital door swung open and the rest of Baekhyun’s family stormed in. The doctor stood from where she had been crouched next to the bed, and Amber took her spot, grabbing Victoria’s hand and looking her over. Victoria flinched when the girl took her hand, and she instantly let go. “What happened?” she demanded from her brother.

Baekhyun frowned as he looked at the members of her family. “She wanted to go home.”

“And you let her?” his father scolded him.

Chanyeol was quick to jump to his brothers defense. “We tried to stop her,” he explained. “She wasn’t having it.”

Amber began brushing the hair from Victoria’s face and looking at her sadly. “Her parents did this? To their own daughter?”

“Mostly her father,” Baekhyun tore his eyes from his family to look at his depressed mate. “He was aiming at her with a sniper rifle from the roof. I didn’t think he would shot her. He gave her a warning shot and all, so I thought he was bluffing. I was too late.”

“The bullet only grazed her,” the doctor explained. “But there was some sort of wolf’s bane mixture sprayed on the grass. She’s got a few burns I’d be more worried about. She should be fine after a while, but for now I’d recommend bed rest.”

“Thank you, doctor,” Julia nodded, walking over to her son and pulling him into a hug.

He hugged her back, but didn’t take his eyes off his mate. He knew something like this would happen, but it was still too much to be true. The Accords were the only thing keeping her family and his pack from an all out war. He worried they wouldn’t be enough. “I think we should tell the King about this.”

Tanner nodded. “Alpha James has been discussing this with him for weeks now. I’m sure we would have heard something by now if their was news.”

Rolling his eyes, Baekhyun took a seat at the foot of the bed again. He turned to the doctor. “Can she come home?”

The doctor nodded. “Let me get you some gause so you can change that bandaid and some burn cream. I’ll be right back.”

As the doctor left the room, Andrew let out a stiff laugh. “I don’t know what’s worse. Hunters or rogues?”

His dry laugh was cut off when Victoria responded. “Hunters.”

The doctor gave Baekhyun a bag with things Victoria would need and gave them the clear to go. Victoria slowly sat up from the bed, tear trails still on her cheeks and blood staining her shirt and skin. The burns on her skin were barely a sting compared to the throbbing of her arm. Baekhyun tried to pick her up again, but she squirmed away from him. As much as she appreciated him saving her, again, Victoria was still angry with all he’s kept from her. Information that could have greatly influenced her choice until now. But it was too late now. She was a wolf; she was like them. Her parents would never be her parents again. Victoria was a monster now, and her parents killed monsters.

Even though she refused to be carried, Baekhyun stayed closed to her and wouldn’t let anyone else help her. Her wolf stirred in her chest at this, but she ignored her. With an arm around her waist, Baekhyun led her slowly to the house. He was sure to stand on the opposite side as her injury and was uncomfortably gentle with her.

When they reached the house, Baekhyun led her up the stairs towards his room, but she broke away from the bathroom. “You need rest,” he argued, following her into the bathroom.

“I feel gross,” she whispered, turning on the shower. “Go away, I’ll rest after.” Turning away from him, she stuck her hand into the shower and waited for the water to heat up. She heard the door close and mumbled, “Finally.”

Victoria began pulling the filthy shirt over her head when the door opened again. She shrieked and yanked the shirt back down which sent a shooting pain through her arm. Holding her shoulder and turning around, she saw Baekhyun setting out towels and clothes on the counter. She glared at him. “What part of ‘go away’ don’t you get?”

“I’ve just started ignoring it at this point,” he stated. He hopped up and sat on the counter, leaning back against the mirror. “You when I leave, you when I’m around. I’ll just do what I feel like.”

At this point, she wanted to rip her hair out. Angrily stomping over to him, she pulled him off the counter and tried to pull him towards the door with one hand. “I don’t want you in here while I shower!”

“Then who is going to help you out of the sports bra?” he planted his feet into the ground and pulled his arm away. Marching over to the shower, he turned it off and began running a bath. “You can’t get your bandage wet, first of all. It’s not time to change it yet. Second-”

“I was planning to clean around it,” Victoria frown and marched over to him. “I can handle a bath, just go away.”

Baekhyun grabbed the hem of her shirt and began pulling it up, and she used her good arm to stop him. “You are making a bigger deal out of this than it is. Let me help you, dammit.”

Victoria struggled against him a minute longer before he stopped and sighed, “At least close your eyes!” she argued.

Rolling his eyes, Baekhyun closed them before beginning to pull her shirt up again. Keeping a close eye on his eyes, she let him help her out of the shirt, hissing when she had to lift her arm. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

His eyes still closed, Baekhyun reached around her and began trying to find the clasp for the bra. “What are you doing?” she felt a laugh forming in at his confused expression.

“Where’s the thing?” he asked. Frustrated, he tried to stop himself from opening his eyes and looking. When Victoria noticed his eyes twitch, she brought her good hand up and covered them. He sighed again. “Isn’t there a clasp?”

“Not on a sports bra,” she shook her head. “I just pull it over.”

Baekhyun pulled her hand away from his eyes and looked down at her. “That’s stupid. You can’t get it over your shoulder.”

Victoria shook her head. “I can, just close your eyes.” He closed his eyes and felt her grab his hand. “Just grab here and pull up,” she explained. He felt the elastic beneath his fingers and grabbed it. Her soft skin sent a shiver down his spine and his wolf howled in his chest. Baekhyun ignored him and pulled up like she said too. She hissed in pain, and he was tempted to open his eyes, but felt the material give away from her. “Keep them closed, and go over there,” she turned him around and gave him a little push away.

Dropping the bra on the floor along the away, Baekhyun took a few steps forward before his hips hit the sink. With his eyes still closed, he turned around and hopped up onto the counter again. He sat quietly as he waited for her to let him open his eyes again. His wolf continued to yip in his chest, and he tried to shush him. He heard the water cut off and her clear .

Peeking open his eyes, he saw Victoria sank into the tub with only her hurt arm hanging out. She was staring at him. “What?” he asked.

Her head slowly slid out of the water, but she was clearly trying to hide herself with her other arm. “You can leave now,” she nodded to the door.

A smirk slowly slid across his lips as he looked at her. “You can’t make me.” The glare took over her face again and Baekhyun slid off the counter. “I’m trying to help you,” he said as he walked over to the tub. Victoria squirmed and curled into a ball with her legs to her chest. Baekhyun sat next to the tub on the floor. “Quick acting like I’m some creep. I’m your mate, I’m allowed to see you .”

“No you really aren’t,” she argued, refusing to unravel from her ball.

Ignoring her statement, Baekhyun began unwrapping the bandage. “Just wash this arm quickly so I can put this back on.” He pulled the bloody wrapping away, and she hissed in pain. It hadn’t stopped bleeding yet, and blood began to run down her arm. Victoria quickly pulled it over into the tub and whimpered as she dunked it into the warm water.

Baekhyun turned and walked back to the counter, tossing the old wrap into the trash and grabbing the bag with new one and a towel. He walked back over to her, sitting next to the tub and avoiding peeking over the edge. His wolf demanded a good look at his mate, but Baekhyun knew she would just get angry at him.

After getting the blood off of her arm, Victoria pulled it from her water that now had a pink hue. Baekhyun pulled her arm towards him and wrapped it in a towel. He wondered why the hell the doctor didn’t stitch it up, but assumed she figured it wouldn’t be needed. Victoria watched as he held the towel over her arm with one hand and pulled gauze from the bag with the other. In a quick motion, the towel was replaced with a wad of gauze that he began wrapping medical tape around.

“Have you done this before?” she found herself asking.

Her sudden question had him looking up at her. He nodded and went back to his work. “I work with the doctors,” he explained. “I’m not going to be Beta, so I found somewhere else to help out. The man who was helping you is Yixing. He’s like my mentor of sorts. The lady today was his mate Angeline. They are both pack doctors that studied at the castle.”

She nodded slowly, watching him finish up his work. Victoria never realized he wanted to be a doctor. “What’s this castle everyone talks about?”

Baekhyun began putting the materials back in the little bag as he answered. “It’s the King’s. King Matthias and Luna Oliviana they are like the super Alpha, rule over all wolves.” Victoria nodded and waited for him to continue. He eyed her a moment before he explained more. “There are packs all over the world each run by an Alpha and his mate, the Luna. Most of them have Betas and a few have Gammas too, depending on if their Alpha is in the King’s council. The council helps the King make fair rules and decisions about our species. Alpha James is in the council, so Dad handles a lot of the Alpha responsibilities and helps teach Kris how to be an alpha. But he also has to teach Andrew to be a Beta, so Kris does his own thing most of the time.”

Leaning against the wall of the tub with her arm hanging over, Victoria slowly rubbed the blood off of her as she listened. She couldn’t bathe as much as she wanted with a hurt arm and while trying to cover herself from his eyes, but she did her best.

“Are you and Kris close?” she asked, looking at him through her lashes.

He was giving her a look like she was trying to pry information out of him, which she was but would not admit too. “Yeah, we are. He, Chanyeol, and I all grew up together. Andrew is thirty years older than us, so he mostly hung out with Kris’s sisters along with Susan and Amber.”

“Andrew is in his fifties?” Victoria looked at him confused, but he just nodded like it was normal. “How old are Susan and Amber?”

“Andrew is fifty-seven. Susan is thirty-nine, and Amber is thirty-one. Chanyeol and I are nineteen,” he got to his feet and brought the bag back to the counter. He tossed to bloody towel into a laundry bin by the door and began picking up the clothes Victoria had taken off. “What’s the sudden interest in my pack and family?”

Victoria shrugged and sunk lower into the pink water. “I don’t know,” she mumbled. “I don’t have anywhere else to go so…” Her voice trailed off towards the end, and Baekhyun looked back to see her sunk into the water again.

Frowning, he grabbed a clean towel from the counter and headed towards her. “Come on,” he held the towel open to her and gave it a little shake. “You’re starting to prune.”

Scoffing at him, Victoria tried to over herself with her arm. “Close your eyes,” she said. Baekhyun sighed, but closed them. Slowly pushed herself up, Victoria stepped out of the tub and let him wrap her in the towel. Once she was wrapped up, she walked past him to the counter. Baekhyun followed her.

“Dry off real quick,” he told her, turning his back. Victoria nodded and dried off as best she could with one arm. Baekhyun stared at the door, ignoring his wolf begging him to look at the mirror.

“Close your eyes,” she told him again when she straighten up and saw him staring at the door. She wrapped herself in the towel again and glared at his reflection. Baekhyun peeked at her in the mirror, and, noticing she was covered, turned around and grabbed a shirt from the pile of clothes.

She opened to scold him again, but he cut her off by pulling the shirt over her head. “You know how difficult it is not to look?” he told her. Grabbing her hurt arm gently, he pulled it through the sleeve of the oversized shirt. “How much I’ve been taking from my wolf for not peeking? It’s annoying.”

Victoria held on to the towel while he pulled her arm through the shirt. The smell of salty hit her as it brush against her face. “Is this yours?” she asked. She switched arms holding up the towel as he pulled her other arm through.

“I’m tired of you smelling like my sister. It makes me uncomfortable when my wolf wants to mate with you, and you smell like her.” he stated. Baekhyun pulled the shirt down over the towel until it hung at the top of her thighs. Standing up straight her turned to grab the pair of gym shorts he brought her. “We’ll have to get you some clothes.”

Turning around with the shorts, he crouched down, and she stepped back. “I can put on my pants thanks,” she laughed. Crouching down she took the shorts from him and stepped into them, holding up the towel with her hurt arm and pulling on the shorts with the other. Once she had the shorts on most of the way, she dropped the towel and adjusted them.

She brought the towel over to the bin, and turned to see Baekhyun by the shower. “What are you doing?”

“Taking a shower?” he said back. Once the water was on, he turned back to her. “I can do it by myself though.” He grinned at her, and she thought her heart would stop. Her wolf yipped in her chest as heat rose to Victoria’s cheek’s. He tilted her head to the side. “What?”

Victoria shook her head and bit her bottom lip. A small smile stretched across her lips. “Nothing,” she smiled. Walking over to the counter, she grabbed the bag from the hospital and headed towards the door. “I’m going to lay down.”