"What are you doing on my territory?" he asked, the same coldness in his voice as there was when he rejected me.

"I came here by mistake."

He raised an eyebrow at me and snorted. "You came here by mistake?"

"Yes, now can I just leave? Nobody wants me here," I growled. Pain shot through my side and shoulder but I ignored it.

"What makes you say that?" he asked, his eyes roaming my body. They swirled black with lust and I tried to ignore the fact that we were both naked. I managed to keep my eyes on his face but he clearly had no such intentions.

"You don't remember me, do you?" I asked in realization.

"I think I would remember someone like you," he chuckled.

"Of course you don't remember, I was always beaten or bruised before," I muttered.

"Roxanne?" he asked in realization.

"Surprised? Well I ran away for a reason so if you'll excuse me, I'll be going now," I muttered before shifting quickly.

I swerved around him and leapt over another wolf's head. He snarled and I caught a glimpse of a grey wolf chasing after me.

I pushed myself and managed to cross the border just before his teeth snapped around my tail. He let out an angry howl but stopped at the border.

Relief washed over me as the border moved out of sight. I slowed my breathing and closed my eyes, calming myself down.

I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my back and collapsed onto the ground. I tried to breathe but no air would come. Agony pulsed through my body and everything turned blurry.

Xavier, just inside the eastern border, I gasped.

I'm coming, he replied before ending the mindlink. Black spots flooded my vision as another wave of agony rolled over me.

I spotted a familiar black wolf just before everything went dark.

***

I slowly peeled my eyes open and squinted at the bright light that flooded my vision. I realized I was in the infirmary, lying on a bed covered in paper.

I looked over to see Xavier sitting in a chair beside the bed. His elbows were resting on his knees and his face was buried in his hands.

I went to speak but pain shot through my chest. I clenched my jaw, squeezing my eyes shut tightly.

When the pain subsided I opened my eyes again to see Xavier looking at me worriedly. He stood up, resting a hand on my arm.

"Rox, are you okay?" he asked softly.

I nodded a little. It hurts to talk—and to breathe, I told him through the mindlink.

"You were shot with two arrows, one of them punctured your lung. You also have a few broken ribs and severe internal bleeding," he said and I pursed my lips.

Of course I do, I muttered in annoyance.

"What were you doing? You smelled like Black River pack," he said, giving me a look that dared me to lie to him.

I looked away from him shamefully and sighed. The small movement made my chest hurt and I winced.

I lost control of Aetrix, I admitted.

Xavier roughly ran a hand through his hair. "I thought we discussed this. You told me you had everything under control, that he wouldn't be able to take over anymore. That's why I let you become the beta female," he growled and tears ran down my cheeks.

I know and I did have it under control! I just made a mistake, I'm sorry!

"Forget it. What happened after he took control?" He sighed.

I went for a run and when I got close to the border they shot me. When I got up, I was on the wrong side of the border and was surrounded by men and wolves. My brother was there and I tried to kill him, but I was thrown off by Derek's wolf. He commanded me to shift and I did. He didn't recognize me at first, but then once he realized who I was, I ran. I managed to get away but I was shot with another arrow right after I crossed the border. Derek chased me all the way to the boundary line, I told him.

I watched as Xavier's face grew more infuriated with every word. "You were right then, he does want you back," he finally said.

Okay why does this hurt so bad? I asked when pain shot through my chest again.

"They were silver arrows, you're healing like a human right now."

My eyes widened and panic struck me like a wave. How long am I going to be stuck like this?

"That's not really important right now," he said quickly and I stared at him.

How long? I repeated with more force.

"Don't worry about it Rox," he insisted.

"How fucking long?" I growled, my anger masking the pain in my chest.

"6 weeks," he sighed.

My jaw fell open and I gaped. "You've got to be kidding me, there's no way I'm going to lay here doing nothing for that long," I muttered furiously.

"You're not supposed to be talking, your lung has a major tear in it. It was stitched closed but you can't reopen it," he urged. He placed a hand on my arm and looked at me evenly.

"I'm not going to lay here for six fucking weeks!" I growled in frustration and tried to sit up. I quickly realized my mistake.

I collapsed back onto the bed with a small cry as a scalding pain seared through my chest. Xavier threw open the door and shouted down the hall.

I tried to breathe but no air would come. My mouth opened and closed rapidly as I tried to suck in oxygen.

Sara rushed in a moment later. "Her lung collapsed again," she growled.

I lifted my head to see what she was doing but Xavier pushed my head back down. He stroked my hair and whispered softly into my ear.

I felt a sharp prick and the pressure in my chest suddenly released. I gasped, sucking in a massive breath that sent pain shooting through my ribcage.

Sara placed a mask over my face that covered my nose and mouth. It was connected to an oxygen tank next to the bed.

My breathing slowly returned to normal; I started to relax with a tiny sigh.

"Now Roxanne, this is for the pain but you need to take it easy, try not to talk and don't move anymore," she told me, injecting something into my neck.

I smiled gratefully when the pain started to subside. Sara disappeared from view and Xavier sat down again, moving his chair closer.

"I told you not to talk," he muttered.

"It was fine until I tried to sit up," I said quietly.

"Are you sure it wasn't from talking?"

"This isn't my first collapsed lung."

He frowned. "Right, I almost forgot about your previous life of injuries. Well the punctured lung should be healed in a few days, a week maybe. Unfortunately, the wounds where the two arrows went in are pretty severe. The one on your side is the worst, it moved around and caused a lot of damage."

"Yeah, I shifted twice with that arrow in my side. I guess I didn't feel it with my adrenaline and my wolf in control," I sighed.

"The one in your back is the one that punctured your lung, you're lucky though, it almost hit your spine. You had to have two surgeries to fix the internal damage, so you're going to have quite a few new scars."

"Fantastic," I grumbled. I lifted my head a little to look down at myself. I was wearing only a pair of shorts, but my breasts were covered by the bandages that were wrapped around my entire chest.

There was an IV in my arm and I was also hooked up to a vitals machine that beeped every few seconds. "I feel so helpless," I whispered.

Xavier stood and leaned down close to me. "You are not helpless. But if you really feel that way, I won't let anyone in here and no one will see you like this," he offered.

I smiled. "Thank you," I whispered.

He returned my smile and pressed a light kiss onto my forehead, brushing back my hair. "You should get some rest, I'll come back to check on you in a few hours."

"Okay, see you tomorrow then."

"Love you Roxie," he murmured, giving my hand a small squeeze.

I watched him leave the room and let out a small sigh. Exhaustion poured over me as I closed my eyes. I fell almost instantly into a fitful sleep.

***

My paws thrummed against the ground, making a noise like drums in the silent forest. My breath came out in strangled gasps as my chest heaved.

I glanced behind me and saw a grey wolf slowly gaining on me. Panic set in, forcing my legs to move even faster.

Suddenly claws curled into my shoulders and I collapsed with a heavy weight on my back. I saw grey fur in the corners of my eyes making me growl angrily.

I snapped at him but he had me firmly pinned to the ground. He gave me a wolfish grin and suddenly I realized his fur wasn't grey, but black.

I squirmed under him, panic and fear flooding my mind. His teeth latched around my neck and I let out a howl as everything went blank.

***

My eyes snapped open and I woke with a jerk. It took me a moment to realize where I was.

I heard a knock at the door and Xavier walked in. My eyes widened in fear when I remembered my dream and he paused.

"Are you alright Roxie?" he asked carefully.

"I had a dream, I thought it was Derek was chasing me, he had me pinned to the ground, but it was really you," I muttered.

He frowned. "It was just a dream, why would I ever want to hurt you?"

"I don't know."

"Exactly, I would never hurt you, okay? So please calm down and stop looking at me like I am about to kill you," he growled lightly.

"Sorry, I'm still a little jumpy I guess," I reasoned.

"Don't worry about it. Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, a lot. Thanks for checking up on me," I smiled.

"Of course, now I have to go deal with some very concerned pack members, but is there anything you need before I go?"

"Where are the arrows?"

"They are over here, but the arrowhead is silver so be careful," he warned. He retrieved them from a cabinet across the room and handed them to me.

I picked them up, twirling them between my fingers.

"Thank you Xavier," I said and he gave me a kiss on the cheek before leaving.

I looked carefully over the arrows, frowning when I realized they were different, one was red and the other light brown. My eyes were drawn to the red one.

I dropped the brown one on the floor and spun the other in my hands, noting the barbed tip and black feathered tail. I spotted a small mark near the end and peered closely at it.

I made out a small engraved RM and my eyes widened in shock. "They shot me with a marked arrow."