My Lycan Mate of Suicide Forest

Zoe was all stitched up and sleeping when Graeme arrived at the room to check on her.

The stitches were done crudely, tracing her wounds in black with ragged ends sticking up in various directions. Graeme grimaced. It made her look like a version of Frankenstein's monster. He didn't want to perpetuate that experimental status for her here. They needed to figure out a way to help her—help her heal or whatever it was she really needed.

Given that she was not only born as alyko but turned into some kind of vampire, he could only imagine how she must have been treated by Andreas and the others. That, and other than her team which had now departed, the elders were her only real opportunity for social interaction. No wonder the way she behaved was so bizarre and seemingly removed from natural emotions.

She would need a lot of guidance in learning what was appropriate behavior and in considering the feelings and well-being of others over her curiosity and desire for knowledge. Maybe if she were welcomed into a family, she would re-learn what it meant to reciprocate care. They could help show her that. Hopefully it wasn't too late.

Lucas was reclined in a chair against the wall deep in thought. It took him a moment to realize that Graeme was standing in the doorway, but once he did, he sat up straight to give the male his full attention.

"How is she?" Graeme gestured toward the bed, his voice betraying the exhaustion he felt.

"I have never seen her sleep," Lucas answered, bewildered at what he was witnessing. He couldn't put any of it together.

"What do you mean you have never seen her sleep? Not at all since you've been with her?"

Lucas shook his head slowly. He couldn't explain it. "Not once has she slept in two days. Her mind is going all the time. It never stops. I fall asleep watching her pace, talking excitedly to herself about theories and whatnot."

Everything about this situation was strange. The only thing they could do was come up with theories as to why, but that was hardly helpful at this point.

"I can't believe Andreas did that. I have never seen that male out of control until tonight. He just… launched at her," Lucas said, watching it happen again in his mind.

"You don't need to stay here," Graeme told him, offering the male a reprieve from his guard duty. "She won't be running away like this, and the elders are locked up now."

"You have guards down there?"

"Yeah, Sam is taking care of that now."

"It's just that… when she wakes up…" Lucas started before trailing off in thought.

"She will be alone," Graeme finished for him. "The choice is yours." He stood waiting for Lucas' decision so he could make other arrangements if Lucas left.

"I will stay," he croaked.

He didn't want to, but he couldn't in good conscience leave her. She didn't have anyone. No one here even knew who she was even though she had been staying in this very house for years.

The beginnings of a smile pulled on Graeme's lips, trying to break free but he contained it. Lucas really surprised him.

"I learned something from Pearce," he told him. If Lucas cared about the girl, then it would help if he knew her situation. Zoe needed all the patience and compassion she could get.

"About Zoe?"

"Yes. She was alyko before this happened to her. She has no memory of it."

"You're shitting me," Lucas' lips parted in surprise. That was not what he was expecting. He imagined Zoe as being entirely foreign to their kind, because she was just so strange.

"Pearce called her an experiment, but the only one who likely knows the full details of it is Andreas," Graeme sighed.

"She was one of us," Lucas whispered. And she was frozen at this age, which meant whatever experiment she underwent happened when she was so young.

Graeme let out a heavy breath. "I have some other things to do. Let me know if she needs something."

"Will do," Lucas answered.

Down the hall, Finn was still standing outside Violet's room. What a weird fucking night this was.

Graeme stopped to evaluate the young male who was so clearly exhausted.

"Finn," Graeme rested a hand on his shoulder. "You need rest. She is safe here."

Finn's wary eyes slid to Graeme's. "If I hadn't allowed her to distract me, she wouldn't have had to leave."

"There is no part of this that is your fault, son. You did well bringing her back. Let the pack care for her. We are all meant to work together, don't you agree?"

A frown wrinkled Finn's forehead, but he slowly nodded. "If you want to continue keeping an eye on her, I understand. But you need rest. You can't do anything well without it."

"I understand, Alpha. I will go home."

"Good," Graeme watched him as he finally left the post he had been keeping.

Once he disappeared from the corridor, Graeme sought out Beth. She had also likely treated Zoe. This was unlikely to be a night the healer would soon forget.

"She is of fragile mind right now, which is natural given what she has been through," the female told Graeme. "It was good you came to talk with me first before visiting her. I just wouldn't recommend it at this time. I gave her some sedatives to help her sleep, so we will see how she is doing in the morning."

"Will she need further treatment for her injuries?"

"I think she will be okay with the treatment we can provide her here, but it will just require keeping an eye."

Graeme hummed, running a hand through his beard as he thought over the last time someone who wasn't lycan and therefore didn't have advanced healing needed treatment here. Other than August, he couldn't recall one.

"There is something you should know," Beth said cautiously. "Violet has been talking to herself—even in her sleep. She keeps apologizing over and over for plotting against your mate. She seems to think what happened to her was some kind of retribution."

"She feels guilty," Graeme stated.

"Well…" Beth paused, grimacing as she did, "the way she is saying it, it almost sounds as if she is implicating your mate in the attack."

"It probably just sounds that way. She has a guilty conscience. I'm sure once she comes to her senses, it will cease."

"Yes, I am sure you are right."

"Has anyone in her family been contacted yet?" Graeme was surprised to see that her mother wasn't here. He hadn't scented her in the area either.

"She doesn't want them to know. She feels she is no longer lycan," the female healer frowned.

"Perhaps she just needs some time to heal," Graeme thought. But it would help her to heal if she had family members here who were comforting her.. Maybe he could talk some sense into her tomorrow.