The Designated Mate novel Chapter 37

"Then what's this?" the doctor asked matter-of-factly before lifting my curtain of hair away from my body to expose my neck while simultaneously pinching the material of my t-shirt. Corbin's face grew a deep shade of red. If he were a cartoon, I was certain he'd have steam coming from his ears right now.

"What the fuck is this?" he roared at me while reaching for my neck and digging his fingers into the area he was intensely staring at. I yipped from pain before trying to pry his fingers off of me.

"Corbin! Let her go before I call for your father!" the doctor's voice boomed. Tears of fear gathered in my eyes as he let go but continued to stare at me with a menacing gaze. I could feel the bruise around my neck already beginning to form.

"I hope you know what you've just done. Those marks will not fade for at least a few hours. If I were you, I would hide," he ordered before shoving Corbin out of the room and turning to me.

"Are you alright, dear?" he asked quietly while gently grasping my hands in his own.

"I don't know," I answered honestly while starting to cry softly. It was the truth. I really didn't know. First Knox disappears, then my leg gets injured again, Knox deliberately ignores my call for help, and then Corbin basically tells the doctor and I, in a very unsubtle way, that he was my mate. There was so much going on that I wasn't sure how to process that my brain was in overload mode.

I need a good movie and a pile of junk food, I thought to myself. The doctor kindly bandaged me up before giving me some pills for the pain if I needed them and sent me on my way with a kind smile. I limped down the hall with a pair of crutches to keep from irritating my would, now donning a pair of sweatpant shorts and a hoodie that I'd been lent as to not startle anyone in the pack house.

I raided the pack kitchen before deciding I'd just wait until lunch and sulked off to the nearest entertainment room I could find. It was smaller than most of the other rooms in the house and it made me feel more comfortable - not so alone. I turned the massive T.V. on before flipping through the channels and stopping on some random movie that'd just started and settling in. I was about finished with the film when the door burst open and a hoard of teenage boys flooded in. I jerked up from my lying position, caught off guard by the burst of noise. They all halted in their tracks while giving me a wide-eyed look.

"Hello," I murmured politely, shaking away my jumpiness. I waited a few awkward seconds for a reply, but none came.

"Um, where did you all come from?" I tried again.

"Training..." One of the taller ones mumbled quietly.

When will you be off work? I mind-linked Grace. She worked in the pack daycare and goes in every morning at nine, but she said that the time her shifts end always varied.

There were a couple kids that stayed home today, so they said they could let me off early. Where are you? She asked back almost instantly.

At the pack house roaming around. I have lots to tell you I answered back vaguely. I felt her curiousness through the bond before laughing and taking a seat on the random couch I'd found. I didn't have to wait long for her to find me.

"Girl, what the fuck did you do to yourself?!" She demanded while eyeing my leg with worry.

"I fell through my porch steps," I explained with a wince as I pushed myself up from the couch to stand.