Silenced: Book 1 of the Bound Trilogy

~Devin’s POV~

I sat there looking at my mate as Sue questioned her. The more she answered ‘no’ the angrier I became for all that she has suffered. I couldn’t believe that someone could go their entire life without learning how to read, write, or even use a pen and paper. What happened to make her this way?

Sue kept trying to ask questions but my mate wasn’t paying attention. Her eyes were closed and it looked like she was listening to something neither Sue nor I could hear. Just then, I felt something try to push against the walls around my mind. I put them up so I could block the pack from asking questions about their future Luna. I tried to reinforce those walls so I could just concentrate on my mate when one word filtered in.

‘Devin.’

I looked to Sue, but she was staring at my mate with a frustrated look. I guess she was getting tired of being ignored. I looked to my mate and saw she was looking at me expectantly. It was then I realized that it was my mate talking to me through a mind link.

I looked at her wide-eyed. She should not have been able to do that as she was not officially part of the pack, and I had not marked her so she can’t be using the mate link.

Deciding that I needed answers, I asked her, ‘How are you able to talk to me?’

She looked at me for a second then her voice whispered in my mind. ‘My wolf told me.’

To say I was shocked was an understatement. ‘So you know you are a werewolf?’ I asked with lifted brows in her direction.

‘I know that I have a wolf. I’m not familiar with the term werewolf. What is it? Also, why can’t I remember anything? What’s wrong with me?’ Her questions became more frantic and I could feel her getting more panicked. I squeezed her hand and looked to Sue who was just looking between the two of us, wondering what was going on.

“Sue,” I said bringing her attention back to me. “She’s able to communicate through the link. Before you ask, I have no idea how but she can. Can you give us a few minutes to talk? I’ll call you when we are done so you can check her bandages. Ok?”

“Sure,” she said, looking back and forth between us again before leaving the room.

I turned back towards my mate. She was looking curiously around the room as if she had never seen anything in here before.

I cleared my throat to bring her attention back to me. I just stared into her beautiful pale brown eyes. I forgot what I was going to say as I sat mesmerized by her. Even with the bandages covering her head and half her face she was breathtaking. I never wanted to look away. She is my everything. My reason for breathing now. My reason to be the best mate I could be for her. I guess I had been staring too long as she started to wave her bandaged hand in front of my face to get my attention.

Feeling my cheeks heat up, I brought one hand up to rub the back of my neck while the other played with the fingers of her hand I was holding.

Taking a deep breath, I decided to ask, “Do you remember what happened to you?”

She looked and me with sad eyes and said through the link, ‘No. I don’t even know who I am. Do you know who I am?’

Oh man. How can I answer that? If she didn’t know what a werewolf was then she probably did not know what mates were. Everything just got that much more complicated. Not only did I have to figure out what happened in her past, I had to figure out how to help her get her memory, and to top it all off I had to teach her to be a werewolf and about mates. I just hope that when she finds out that we’re mates she doesn’t reject me for accidentally hitting her with my Rang Rover.

I realized I had been silent too long as she was watching me expectantly. I didn’t know how to answer her so I just shook my head ‘no.’

Her eyes filled with confusion and she looked down to our joined hands. ‘Then why are you here with me?’ she glanced back into my eyes looking for answers.

Panicking, I tried to say that it was because it was my duty, or because as Alpha I had a responsibility to take care of her. Instead I said, “We’re mates, and I hit you with my car by accident. I’m really, really sorry! I just hope you can forgive me, and…” I never got to finish as my mate held up her hand. I closed my eyes waiting for her to yell at me or tell me to get out, as I was the reason she was here.

Instead, she said, ‘What’s a car?’

I was speechless. I sat there with my jaw on the floor for a good two minutes before something dawned on me. She didn’t reject me! She didn’t yell, or scream or throw a fit for me to leave. Once I realized this, I was so relieved I started laughing.

~Girl’s POV~

I was looking at our hands when Devin mentioned we were mates. I was going to ask him what mates were when something else caught my attention. He said he hit me with his car. I didn’t know what a car was so I decided to ask him. He got this funny look on his face as if he couldn’t believe that I asked that. Well I really wanted to know. I also wanted to know why he hit me with it, but I’ll save that for another day.

Then he did something extraordinary. He laughed. It sent tingles down my spine to hear him laugh. I felt like I could listen to it all the time and never tire of hearing it. When he laughed his face lit up and he got these lines around his eyes that made him look adorable. I mentally shook my head at these thoughts. I didn’t know him and he admitted that he didn’t know me, but for some reason he said we were mates (whatever that is), and my wolf told me to trust him. Argh, everything is so confusing!

I noticed Devin still had not stopped laughing. As enjoyable, as it was to hear I was getting annoyed. I did not think that what I said was that funny. He must have noticed the look on my face as he quickly sobered up. But I could see the corners of his lips twitching with a suppressed smile.

“Sorry,” he said. “I thought you were going to ask something else and your question caught me by surprise. I didn’t mean to seem like I was laughing at you. Can you forgive me?”

He looked at me with the cutest face. He was looking at me from under his lashes with his lips turned down and his lower lip sticking out. I couldn’t say no to that face. It melted something inside of me and I found myself nodding ‘yes’. His whole face changed and he looked so happy with this huge smile on his lips. I was glad I could make him happy and smiled with him.

He never answered my question so I decided to ask again.

‘So, what is a car?’

We spent the next while with me asking questions about things in the room and him explaining them to me. He had tried to explain what a car was but I don’t think I quite got the idea of it. I guess he will have to show me so I can understand what he is talking about. As for my room, I found out that I was lying in what is called a bed. I have a monitor next to me along with an IV drip. Also, he had been sitting in a chair in front of a window with blinds. When I had asked him what a window was, something flashed in his eyes so fast that I couldn’t understand what it was. But he answered my question. Saying it was so we could look outside if we wanted to. When I asked him, how if there are blinds he went over and pulled something. The blinds went up and something bright flashed in my eyes.

I had hissed in pain and asked him to lower the blinds again. When he did, and I could see again, I asked him what that was. Again, something flashed in his eyes and he told me it was sunlight. That at this time of day the sun would be high in the sky. I interrupted him to ask what the sky was and he told me he would have to show me, as he could not think of a way to explain it. I just nodded thinking he knew best.

I was about to ask more questions when Sue came back in. I was proud that I could remember her name. It made me feel like I wasn’t completely damaged.

When Sue entered, she flipped something on the wall and that bright flash invaded my eyes again. I cringed away from the light and was crying silent tears. I could hear Devin yelling at Sue to turn off the lights and the brightness went away.

Sue was by my side in a flash, uttering apologies about not remembering that I would be sensitive to light for a while until I became used to it. I did not know what she meant by this but I was just thankful that the pain was going away.

“Ok,” Sue said, “Since I can’t turn the light on I’ll just have to do my examination in the dark. Lucky for all of us we are werewolves.” She chuckled as if she made a joke. I didn’t get it.

Clearing her throat, Sue stated, “Let’s start with the bandages on your head shall we? I need to check your stitches to make sure you are healing properly.”

I was hanging on to Devin’s hand for dear life. I was afraid that he was going to leave me here alone with Sue. I did not know her and did not feel completely comfortable with her unless Devin was by me. I know he said I could trust her, but for some reason the idea of being left alone with someone I didn’t know when in pain made me want to panic.

Devin looked at me and said, “Don’t worry, I won’t leave you here alone. She just needs to check to see if you are healing right. I’ll stay here the whole time.” I just nodded and waited for Sue to do what she needed to do.

She put her foot under the bed and it started to rise up. I was not expecting this and my heart rate picked up. Devin squeezed my fingers and said it was ok, to just relax. So, I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm myself down.

Sue then reached behind my head and started to unravel the bandages. When they were all off, she felt along the back of my head and said that the cut was sealed nicely and should be healed in the next hour or so. She seemed surprised by this but I decided not to question why. She then took the bandages off my eye to examine that side of my face. When it was removed, I slowly blinked both eyes. When my eyes were open, I was relieved that I could see out of both of them. I had been secretly afraid that the bandages were over my eye because it was no longer there. A shiver ran down my spine just thinking about that.

“Well, everything looks fine here. Let’s take a look at the rest of you shall we?”

Sue’s words brought me out of my reverie, and back to what was going on in the room with me. All the while, she was examining me, I would ask Devin about the things Sue was using to look me over. Like the thing around her neck she used on my chest and back. He said it was a stethoscope and Sue was using it to listen to my lungs and heart. I thought it was neat and asked if I could listen. When he told Sue this she smiled and put the little round things in my ears and put the big piece on her chest so I could hear her heart beat. It sounded very steady and calming. I felt better about being around her just from listening to her heart. It was a nice feeling.

When Sue was done with the examination, she said that she would have to set up a time later today to have ex-rays done on my arm, collarbone and hips to make sure they were healing right. I didn’t know what she was talking about. Devin saw my confusion and said he would come with me to explain anything if I had questions. I nodded again thankful that he was going to stay with me like he promised.

Three weeks have passed. Three weeks since, I woke up to find my memories gone, and my body broken. Three weeks since, I met Devin.

During this time, I endured physical therapy to get my body moving again. I gained some weight, since everyone kept insisting that I was too thin for my own good. I learned about the things and people around me. I also became used to light. Now they don’t have to turn off the lights when I would leave my room for therapy. But most of all, I learned that I could trust Devin to keep his word.

He stayed with me the entire time I was in the hospital. He would explain things for me, talk to the nurses and doctors for me, and, basically, just be there for me. He, also, gave me a name. He said that he couldn’t keep calling me mate all the time and asked me what I would like to be called. I shrugged and told him that I didn’t really care what name he used, as I did not know if I would ever remember my own name again. He had sat there for a while thinking when he sits up straight and looks me in the eyes with a big grin and says, “We’ll call you Leah.”

When I asked, ‘Why Leah?’ his reply was.

“Because Leah means beauty and grace.” His smile only got bigger after saying that, and my cheeks started to feel very warm. Devin chuckled and said that I looked cute when I blushed. I didn’t know what blushing was but I figured it had something to do with my cheeks feeling warm. I shrugged and felt them get warmer.

Remembering that day still brought warmth to my face and I couldn’t help but smile.

“Leah?”

Devin was standing next to my bed holding out his hand for mine. I was leaving the hospital today. I was nervous, as I did not know what I was going to do after I left. Devin assured me that I could stay with him at his house and that he would help me with anything I needed. He had packed everything that his friend Jack had brought for us and everything was already down in his car. I finally get to see what his car looks like. I had seen pictures in the magazines in the waiting rooms of what a car is. I also learned that there are all kinds of different cars and I was excited to see what his looked like.

Devin was still standing in front of me waiting for me to take his hand. I blushed realizing he had caught me daydreaming. Giving a slight smile I placed my hand in his and let him put me in the wheelchair. I was upset that I couldn’t race this one down the hallway like I did with the others when I first found out about them, but it was ok. This one was going to take me to the outside. I was finally going to get my first breath of fresh air since being in here. I couldn’t wait!