MIA

"So, when are you going to put me out of my misery and say yes and go on a date with me?" The Jamaican, who I learned was named James asked me. I was at the market attempting to mind my own business but James was turning out to be very determined. He was a nice guy. I often say and chatted with him after purchasing my groceries. 

I sighed, "James...."

"What are you scared of?" He asked looking at my with a curious look on his face. 

"I don't want to cheat on my fiancé." I said quietly. 

He stepped from around the counter, "Your fiancé passed away over a year ago. You don't think he would want you to move on?"

My eyes went wide. No one around had given the slightest hint of knowing who I was. "Don't worry, Mia. We know how to keep a secret in this town. Celebrities come here all the time for rest and relaxation and we give it to them."

He walked closer to me and brushed my hair away from my shoulder, "We're good at keeping secrets.  I lost my mate two years ago so I know how you feel about thinking you would be cheating. I didn't know him but I know he would want you happy eventually. Whether it's a date with me or something else with another man don't keep your heart shut down forever." He said as his fingers gently brushed against my scar. 

"You're a..." I let my sentence drift off. 

He nodded.

I took of running back to my beach house. I know it was probably useless because I'm sure he was going to follow me but I did it any way. Damn werewolves!  It wasn't long after I got back to the house that I heard a knock on the door. I knew it was James. 

I took a deep breath and opened the door for him. He held his hands up in a surrender position. "I don't want to hurt you Mia. I can tell someone has already done that." He motioned to my neck. I just want to be a friendly ear or shoulder. Whatever you need."

"Why do you care?"

"I was human once about 20 years ago. I know how hard it is to make the change. And I won't lie to you. I'm extremely attracted to you and it's rare that me and my wolf are sexually attracted to anyone. Considering you aren't my mate."

"Can I come in so we can talk?"

I moved out of the way so he could enter and noticed he has a bag in his hands. "What's that?" 

"A piece offering in the form of food."

I led him over to the dinning room table and we unloaded the food and sat down to eat. I must admit I enjoyed James' company. I was able to open up and talk to him about everything and he listened without trying to tell me what I should do or how I should feel. It was nice. In turn he told me about his life and his mate. The only other man I have ever been this comfortable with was Theo. And Shawn but only to a point since his view was slightly skewed because he had a strong loyalty to his pack. 

After dinner we moved over to the couch after I poured us a couple glasses of wine. I have to admit that I don't know if it was the wine or the heat or the good conversation but I wanted James and I wanted him bad. 

"Your mate is a fool." James said after a lull in the conversation. 

"I agree." I laughed and took another sip of wine. 

He moved closer to me on the couch, "After listening to your story...you have to be one of the strongest people I have ever met."

"I'm no more special than anyone else. You do what you have to do to survive and that's all I'm doing." I shrugged. 

Silence settles over us for a few moments and it was not a comfortable silence. The sexual tension in the room was so thick I think we could have cut it with a knife. 

"I really want to kiss you right now." Maybe it was my imagination but I swear his voice got about four octaves deeper. 

"What's stopping you?" I asked. Never mind his voice. What the hell was up with mine?since when did I sound...sexy? Was I really about to do this? It had been over a year since I had sex with anyone was I really ready for this? 

Before I could have any more thoughts about the situation James, in one swift motion, had relieved me of my wine glass and had me laying down on the sofa. 

He trailed hot kisses along my jaw, down to my neck. Avoiding the side with my scar. He was so gentle and so sweet and it just felt good to be close to a man in that way again. His soft lips pressed against mine, he was definitely a good kisser. I could spend the rest of the night like this and be happy. 

"Maybe we should move to the bedroom and get more comfortable." He suggested. 

"I agree." 

He picked me up and carried me to the bedroom and I knew this would be a night to remember. 

**********

ETHAN

I woke up in the middle of the night to intense pain in my chest. Once I surveyed the room and determined I was here alone I flipped on the light. I looked down at my chest to find myself injury free. Despite that the pain continued and I was having a hard time catching my breath. I stumbled out onto my balcony hoping the fresh night air would make me feel better. 

The pain continued and I was beginning to panic slightly.  I leaned against the rail and took a deep breath. I was just about to reach out to Dr. Anderson when it hit me. Mia was having sex with someone and that was the pain I was feeling.

"FUCK!" My scream turned into a howl as I shifted and jumped over the balcony. I didn't know where I was going but I needed to let off some stream. 

"Alpha, what's wrong?" Shawn linked me sounding worried. 

"She's fucking somebody else."

I didn't wait for his response before I shut down the link and continued on my run. I flew across the forest floor with speed I didn't even know I possessed. My wolf was mad at Mia but most of all he was furious with me for letting her get away. For pushing her away.  

No sooner than I finished my run and returned to my room the pain started up again. AGAIN! Wasn't once enough? The rage I felt was evident was I tossed furniture and punched several holes on the walls.

The pain I felt literally felt like someone was attempting to rip my heart out. I hate the bond. Hated it because right at this moment I wasn't sure if I cared that she was cheating or if all of my emotions could be blamed on the bond. She was supposed to be here helping me rule until we could figure out a solution. It was in the best interest of the pack but instead she was out screwing some fuck boy. 

Shawn bursted into my room disrupting my thoughts. He silently took in the scene before him. 

"Are you sure that's what you were feeling?" He asked as he entered the room. He surveyed the damage around him, "Nice handiwork for someone who really doesn't care."

I responded with a growl. 

"Ok ok." He said holding up his hands in surrender. 

"She's out there fucking some other guy and there is nothing that I can do about it."

"Karma is a bitch."

"Fuck you, Shawn."

"You did this to yourself. You weren't there for her change. What you are going through now is nothing compared to what she had to endure." He walked out of the room and left me to my thoughts. 

A few minutes later he returned with a DVD in his hand. 

"What's this?" I asked catching it as he tossed it to me. 

"Security footage of Mia's change. We kept her in the hospital room usually used for injured rouges so we just so happen to have video of her night."

"Why would you keep her there?"

 "Because it is sound proof and padded. We didn't want the pack to hear their Luna like that and we didn't want her to hurt herself. You should watch it before you decide to continue to cry over some damn heartburn." 

**********

After a couple of hours the pain I felt finally subsided. I could only assume that with Mia experiencing her first heat she sought out relieve. And I couldn't wait to find out who from so I could beat them to a pulp. 

I attempted to fall asleep but the DVD of Mia's change kept calling to me. I needed to know what was on it. I grabbed my laptop and popped the disk inside. 

The first images that came up were of Shawn and Mia drinking and they were discussing the change and how painful it may or may not be for her. Their conversation ended with a hug just as Beth and Ian walked in with food and sodas. I watched as the foursome played board games and had a few drinks until Mia excused herself to lay down in the bed and told Shawn that she wasn't feeling good. 

I clicked on the video to check the length and my mouth dripped it was 10 hours long! A change normally didn't last that long, the last one I had heard about it took 3 hours max, though in fairness the human was bitten the proper way by their mate and the mate was with them through the whole process.  Inducing a change the way that Mia's was induced was really rare, most wolves have no interest in claiming and connecting them selves to someone who is unwilling.

I focused my attention back on the video, it was clear that Mia was extremely uncomfortable and she started yanking at her clothing as if it was irritating her. The next think I knew she had completely stripped naked. She was sweating profusely and asked for water which Shawn, of course, brought over to her. As time progressed she started crying and moaning due to the pain, all the while Shawn was fussing around her like a mother hen. All of his efforts to soothe her and comfort her with a cool cloth were not working. 

Suddenly a loud crack, followed by a scream was heard in the room and I noticed everyone focus on Mia's foot. It was twisted at an unnatural angle. It was hard to watch. To actually see the change in slow motion was something I had never experienced and honestly didn't want to experience again. 

As the events continued to unfold, I heard something that completely broke me AND my wolf. Mia was begging for death. She repeatedly asked Shawn to kill her. The agony on his face let me know how hard this whole situation was for him. He was attempting to be encouraging but I could see in his face that he was emotionally and physically exhausted. My sister and Ian had left the room a while ago because my sister wasn't able to keep it together and in a situation like this you cant have someone breaking down. 

Night turned into morning as I continued to watch the DVD, Shawn didn't contact me and neither did anyone else so I assumed that he knew I was going to watch the DVD so he's been taking care of pack duties and asked everyone to leave me be. I had to admit I was grateful. My pack has never seen me weak and I didn't want any one to come in and actually see their Alpha crying, whether it was over my mate or not a show of weakness was unacceptable.

Finally, after hours, the change was complete and the pain must have been subsiding because Mia's screams and cries died down. Her wolf was a gorgeous dark grey color, and the tip of one of her ears had a white patch. I watched as she attempted to stand and after a couple of attempts she managed it but I could tell she was disoriented and confused. She must not have realized she was in wolf form. 

"It's ok Mia. You just need to rest now and get use to everything. You're fine." Shawn said quietly attempting to soothe her.

Mia whined a couple of times which I assume may have been her attempts at speaking. 

"Shh...Mia I promise you you're ok." He shifted to eye level with her. "Calm down. Don't try to move or speak right now. Its been a long day and an even longer night just lay here and rest. Please. I promise the hard part is over." He gently coaxed her into lying down and pulled her head into his lap as he leaned his back up against the wall. I watched as he ran his fingers through my mates fur, rubbing her head to reassure her. "I'll stay here with you while you sleep and we'll figure everything out in the morning." They stayed there like that for a while, him rubbing his fingers through her fur while she drifted off to sleep.

At some point Beth and Ian walked back in, "Shawn, let me help you put her in the bed so you can rest." Ian said. "You should go back to your room and get some sleep and a shower."

Shawn shook his head, "I cant. I promised I would sit here with her so that is what I am going to do. I'll be fine."

"Shawn don't be stubborn." Beth said. 

"You skipped out on most of the night so you don't understand how disoriented she was once everything was over. I am not going to leave her so she can wake up alone in wolf form. If she shifts back to her human form in her sleep then I'll put her in the bed. If not I'm staying like this." Shawn said his tone leaving no further room for argument. 

Beth and Ian decided to leave the room and Shawn rested his head back against the wall and closed his eyes still comforting my mate. I slammed my laptop shut and placed it on my night stand. I was so furious I was shaking but who was I really mad at? Shawn didn't do anything but take care of my mate while I was out fucking Jenny. He was by her side comforting her the whole time. After watching everything she went through, I had to admit I had a new appreciation for her especially as a human. Humans had a lower tolerance for pain then wolves did.

"I am going on a run." I mind linked to Shawn, "I don't know where I am going to or how long I will be gone but I need time to think about some things. I'm putting a block on the link so I can have some privacy. I'll contact you when I am on the way back."

*********