The Alpha's Guardian

I place her gently on a ledge of the tub and grab her a towel to cover herself with. It's less for her modesty and more for me to keep my breathing regular. I turn the water on warm and walk out to grab her herbal remedies and the salve for her wounds. When I back to the door, I hear a clatter, and, trying to push it open; I find it locked.

"Ali?" I call out to her.

"I can bathe myself, Alpha Wade."

"I'm sure you are capable of a normal bath all on your own. This is a medical wound cleaning." I say, trying to convince her of the innocence of the act. I may be achingly hard, but that doesn't mean I can't control myself. Maybe. "I will be fine."

"Ali, I promise not to do anything." There is silence, and I hear her groan in pain. I place my hand on the door, trying to listen for her. The lock pops open and she slowly peeks out around the door. "Give me a minute to hop in the tub? I need to hear what you are thinking so I can trust you won't try anything, so barriers are down."

I get

"I can't promise clean thoughts, only clean actions," I say, leveling my eyes on her and she bashfully nods. The door shuts and I can hear the faint sound of water splashing and after counting to 60, I open the door and enter. She sits with her back to the door in the tub, her knees hugged to her chest securely. I watch her for a moment. Taking all of her in. She turns slightly and looks over her shoulder. This is a picture I want to hold on to forever. She looks so vulnerable in this state, so broken and yet strong enough to accept the help I know she doesn't want. She is breathtaking.

"Your barrier is still up." She says, looking me over quizzically. I walk over and remove my shoes and my shirt, stepping in behind her. She panics and spins to look at me in shock.

"What are you doing! Don't hop in!" I attempt to look directly into her eyes and I can't stop the laugh from coming out.

"Concern yourself with covering your exposed breasts, Guardian. Unless you are hinting at something?" I quirk a brow in jest as her eyes bulge with my understanding.

"Just. Hurry." she sighs heavily, resigning herself to the next couple minutes of me basically bathing her.

The warm water seeps through my jeans as I slide in behind her gently. My long legs overtake her on both sides as she tries to make herself smaller so I can fit. Her squirming is doing nothing to help. I close my eyes as I steady my thoughts of all the things I'd rathe be doing in a tub with her. Once I'm confident, I'm mostly in control. I drop my mental guard and let her into my mind as I flood into hers. Her hesitancy floats around in my mind. Her inner conflict of needing my help and feeling she is crossing a line. She is worried about her professionalism in this field and I can't help but feel guilty for putting her in this predicament.

"No need to feel bad, Alpha," she says into her crossed arms on her knees. “This is my job."

"Look, I'm not keen on you getting injured for my sake," I answer honestly. I hate when others put themselves before me. It is my job as Alpha to protect them, even if that means offering myself up for them.

"It's not your choice to make. And if you dislike it that much, then you need to take better care of yourself when you are fighting." I can feel her frustration through our bond, and I know she can feel mine.

Rather than respond, I reach over into the bag that Francis brought and grab out a clean rag, soak it in the water and gently wring it out over her back. She releases a slight hiss of pain from her lips as the water trickles down her back. It dances around her cuts and trails over her dried blood, turning pink as it drips into the water below. I do this a few more times, trying my best to moisten the crusted parts and then, as gently as I can, I use my rough hand to rub circles on her back, acting as a sponge, careful to avoid her wounds.

Her lashing marks are mostly healed now and I take that as a good sign that she is indeed a fast healer. I knead my hand around her back, trying to help her release the tension she is carrying from holding onto the pain. She moans slightly and I smirk. I'm finally doing something right. Next, I reach over and grab the Betadine to clean her wounds out. I carefully dredge each bite mark in it as it weaves its way down her back, dripping into the tub, the sound echoing in the silence of the marble encased room. "Why did you protect Isaac?" she asks. I take a minute to think about her question.

"Isaac is a pack member,"

"But he is a warrior, he should be able to protect himself." She says with conviction.

"I wasn't just protecting him. I was protecting Robin."

"Why? Most Alphas couldn't care less about their omegas."

"A pack member is a pack member. Wolf or no wolf. If you live in this pack, you are protected. I've never understood why the mistreatment of omegas is so widespread. Every single pack member plays a vital role in pack life, omegas admittedly get the crappy tasks though this is something I have been looking at adjusting more recently."

"Hmmm" is all she says.

I can feel her mind spinning as if trying to deduce something, but coming up short. Her emotions change by the minute and admittedly it gets taxing trying to understand, so I focus on my own emotions and mind.

I finish my task in silence and stand up to get out of the now cold tub of water. My jeans are soaked and my movement feels restricted in them. After stepping to the side, I reach down and pull them off. I toss them into the bathroom sink and stalk over to the towels, standing only in my wet boxer briefs. A small wave of embarrassment enters my mind, right before the barrier flies back up. I smirk, knowing she was checking me out as I wrap a towel around my waist. Grabbing two extras, I make my way back over to her and set them on the edge of the tub.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

"I'm going to change into dry pants. I still have to bandage you, but you should be able to get dressed. There is a low back tank top and a pair of shorts." I say, pointing next to the sink. She nods at me, still in the same position she has maintained the entire time. "Ali, do you need me to stay and help you?" I ask sincerely. I know all too well how her allowing me to help her in this manner has shaken her ego.

"I will be fine." She offers, looking up at me finally and making eye contact.

The color in her cheeks has returned and she no longer looks like she was knocking at death's door. I make my way hastily to my room, discarding my soaked boxers and grabbing fresh clothes. The moment I am dressed, I run out my door and enter her room just as she comes slowly out of the bathroom, looking green in the face. Her eyes meet mine and she tries to hide the pain with a genuine smile. I make my way to her side and help her onto her bed, belly down, shaking away all s****l thoughts from my head. I find the gauze and tape still in the bathroom and grab it with the salve that Francis brought and head back out to her. The bed dips beneath my weight as I move closer to her, a small pained groan escaping her lips.

"This will not feel great," I warn her. She just nods into her comforter. "Is there not any way you can share the pain back with me? Give me half the wound to heal you faster, like the healing hand, but kind of in reverse?" I ask, not wanting to cause her any more pain. She turns slightly to look at me, frowning.

"I am fine. I promise you, the pain is not too much. I'm just exhausted from blood loss, which is making it difficult to channel my pain. This is how I learn, how I get stronger."

"But this is my doing, it's my injury." I am dismayed. She is hurt because of me. And her being hurt feels worse than any pain I have ever known. She pushes herself up to her knees slowly and turns me face to face.

"Alpha. I know right now you are feeling things, things that seem overwhelming, and you want to protect me. You feel guilty. That is the bond. The bond mirrors the mate bond, so with it comes these feelings." She reaches out and touches my cheek and I feel small tingling. “This. This is the guardian bond. It seems unfair and mean, but it really is for me to protect you. My life is forfeited for you. And the bond makes that choice easier. I apologize if you feel it strongly. Each Alpha feels it to a different degree."

"Is it really just the Guardian bond?" I am not totally convinced. I know she claims this is the bond, and perhaps she is right. She is the expert in all of this, but those sparks were apparent to me before we performed the bond. This attraction to her was there from the moment I saw her in the woods, saving me.

"I am positive it is just the strength of the bond. I think we have the potential for a beautiful friendship which strengthens our bond,"

"Have you ever experienced this before? This strong I mean." She grows rigid slightly and looks away.

"Yes. once," she says barely above a whisper. Then, clearing her throat, she turns her back to me, hinting that the conversation has ended and I should finish my job.