Healing His Mate

Aaliyah POV

After Zea leaves, Aaron and I spend the day talking. Well as much talking as we can. He asks me questions and I reply with yes or no before pointing back at him for him to answer as well.

I have been strangely able to learn about him and his family, even with the limited questions.

Aaron is the oldest of four kids. He has two twin brothers currently in college and a younger sister who just started her senior year of high school. His father is the Alpha of the pack and Aaron is the next one.

We spend the day in bed as he tells me stories about his siblings and him growing up. Every story he tells makes me smile and laugh. As I learn each new thing about him, I can feel myself start to trust him a little bit more.

An hour before we were expected to show up to dinner, he asked me if I really wanted to go. He has been terrified of anything upsetting me and has tried to avoid all stressors as humanly possible. I think he is scared that I will crack.

In truth, I wanted to say no. I know that I might never be ready to fully go into the world. I know that I may not be ready to be around people.

But I can see in his eyes that he wants me to be. He wants to help me heal, to make me less broken, and I want to try to give that to him.

Walking into the kitchen now, I smell the cooking chicken. I first notice Zea standing in front of a steaming pan as she flips a piece of chicken over. Looking around the room, I only see one other person and he definitely isn't one of Aaron's siblings.

A man stands at the kitchen island near Zea. He has some greying hair and is made of solid muscle. Looking at him closely, he resembles Aaron greatly. The man is huge and sends out a strong feeling of dominance throughout the room.

I want to hide behind Aaron as the man stares back at me. Aaron gives my hand a squeeze as he walks us further into the space. He approaches his mother first at the stove.

"Thank you for making it just us," Aaron says as he kisses his mother on the cheek in greeting.

"I figured we didn't want to overwhelm your mate with the entire pack tonight," she says.

I give her a small smile of gratitude. Tonight would be just us four. I can do this.

"It's nice to see you again, sweetheart," his mother says as she turns her attention to me, "This is my mate, Jacob."

I smile back at her before turning to face her husband. I try to push down the fear I felt when I first saw him, but I can still feel the weight of it crushing my chest. My body's reaction is to fold into itself.

He's Aaron's father, I remind myself, trying hard to give myself a pep talk, He won't hurt me. Aaron wouldn't let him.

"I'm very happy to meet you, um..." he trails off as he looks between me and Aaron. An awkward silence hangs in the air as I realize he doesn't know what to call me.

None of them do because I can't tell them my name.

"I'm sorry, Dad. I should have warned you," Aaron says as he rubs my arms soothingly, "My angel can't talk and I haven't been very successful in guessing her name."

"Angel?" Jacob smiles at the nickname, "It is very fitting."

"I think so too," I can hear Aaron's smile in his voice as he moves his arms to wrap around my waist from behind me.

"Angel it is then," Zea says. Her eyes show happiness at the decision, "Do you mind if we call you Angel for now then?"

I nod my head in agreement. I love Aaron's nickname for me, so it doesn't bother me at all.

Zea asks for Jacob's help as Aaron moves his head to rest his chin on my shoulder. Shifting slightly, his lips graze my cheek in a soft kiss that sends heated electricity through my body.

"Are you alright?" he asks me, keeping his voice barely above a whisper.

Leaning further into him, I feel like we are in our own little world where the only thing that matters is the feel of his arms around me.

I nod to his question as I soak up the feeling of being protected. Of being safe.

Aaron stands up straighter as his father moves towards us, "Although I wish that Aaron and you would have met under better circumstances, I'm glad my son has finally found his mate. If you ever need anything, please do not hesitate to ask, angel. You are family now, and we will do anything for our family."

I nearly forgot what it felt like to be apart of a family. When I was in the lab, I gave up. I knew no one was going to come and save me. Every test the doctors ran, every surgery and recovery I went through, every torturous day I spent in that hell had been in solitary.

I was completely alone.

Standing in this room and having Aaron's father tell me I'm not alone anymore makes a weight lift off my heart I hadn't even known had been there.

I feel the water slide down my cheeks before I even realize I'm crying. I nod in thanks as Aaron holds me closer, shushing me gently in the hopes that the tears will stop.

Eventually my tears halt and we stay like that for a while. Aaron's parents nice enough to just continue the conversation and ignore my little freak out.

As Zea continues to cook, I stay close to Aaron while his father and he talk about the patrol schedules.

"We are going to need a few more warriors along the east border," Jacob says.

"Emerson and Tony just passed the physical qualification. They are a little young, but they could use the experience," Aaron informs him.

Jacob nods in agreement, "Good. A scout spotted a group of hunters moving closer to our territory."

I stop breathing the moment the word hunter left his lips. Aaron's arms wrapped tighter around my waist as if reassuring himself that I am still here with him.

"How many?"

"The report said three," his eyes glanced over me for a second before he continues, "I don't like them getting this close."

"If they come near our border, I won't hesitate to end them. I don't want them anywhere near here."

I can tell Aaron is trying to stay calm, but his eyes swirl a shade darker as his wolf pushes against his head. I place my hands over his on my stomach and instantly feel him calm against my back.

"Enough of that," Zea swats a towel at her husband to shush him and try to lighten the now sour mood of the room, "No more hunter talk. This is supposed to be a quiet dinner for our new family member. Angel has gone through enough with the hunters. We can talk about what is going to happen tomorrow."

"Of course. I'm sorry, angel. I didn't mean to bring up something you might not be ready to talk about," Jacob says sincerely. I give him a small smile and nod in appreciation before he goes back over to the stove to be closer to Zea, "Aaron, can you take all of the plates to the dining table?"

"Of course," he says as he lets me go. Leaning down, he presses another kiss to my cheek, "I'll be right back."

I nod unconsciously as he picks up the small stack of empty plates and moves through a door and into another room. My brain is moving a mile a minute as I try to force my heartbeat to slow.

The hunters are close. The patrols spotted a three-man team.

After being in the facility for so long, one of the things I noticed were the patterns of their hunts. When they used a team of three, it was for a collection. They were hunting prey they had tagged already and knew the location of.

They wouldn't be going after any new tags so the team must be looking for one they already have.

The fear in my mind floods my thoughts as my fingers go to the numbers along my left wrist. I feel the small incision under the ink.

The chip, I realize, They are tracking me.

Looking up, I see Jacob messing with the food and Zea scolding him. I want to scream to them what I know. I want to tell them that there is most likely a tracking device in my arm.

But how? All I can say is yes and no. How am I supposed to make them understand?

But I already know the answer. I can't.

I need to get it out myself.

I spot a large kitchen knife on the counter in front of me. Taking a step forward, I put my arm over it the same moment Aaron walks in to grab the silverware. I give him a smile which he returns.

I slide the knife carefully into the sleeve of my long shirt. Knowing I spotted a bathroom when we were making our way to the kitchen, I head back out the same door and down the hall.

When I reach the bathroom, I lock the door behind me and pull out the knife. I feel for the risen skin one last time before I place the knife against the line of the scar and the letters above it.

I take a deep breath to try to calm myself and remember that I can't cut too deep. I push down my nerves as I slide the knife into my arm. Biting down on my bottom lip, I try to hold in my scream.