Sold To The Alpha
The Cursed Luna Chapter 20

Days turned into weeks, Justin was gradually improving, and upon insistence from the Doctor had started to eat again, helping his body to heal. His back, a mariad of cuts had been carefully stitched and though they would never heal properly, they had begun to

scar protecting him from infections.

The young nurse entered his room smiling, when first assigned to him, the young girl had been terrified of the strong stranger, but over the weeks had grown comfortable around him and a light friendship had developed between the two. 'Good morning Justin' she chirped happily 'How are you feeling today?' she asked as she started to undo the back of his gown so that she could check his wounds as she talked. 'Hey Maria, i'm ok, how is the Luna today?' replied Justin just as he did every morning.

'Still the same i'm afraid, but she's made of stern stuff I can tell, she hasn't given up fighting' replied Maria giving him a supportive smile before sticking a thermometer in his mouth with a stern 'now shh, it's time for your obs' Rolling his eyes at her he tried to speak around the glass stick protruding from his mouth 'it'll be the same as yesterday, fine' he growled annoyed.

Maria laughed as she took it out of his mouth, making a note on her chart and placing it back in her dress pocket 'It is, but it might not have been, now stop doing me out of a job and behave' she tutted, before giving him a small wave and leaving the room again. Waiting a few minutes, Justin quietly hopped off the bed, pulling the IV frame round the bed, he padded over to the door, which he softly opened before slipping out and making his way down the hall on the balls of his feet, trying to keep the noise of his footsteps to a minimum.

'Where do you think you are going Justin?' came a growl behind him, turning slowly he gave a sheepish look to the annoyed werewolf behind him.

'Sorry Doctor Nat, I just wanted to check my Luna, its killing me sitting in there not knowing' he replied, his eyes pleading with the doctor to cut him a little slack.

Doctor Nathaniel shook his head sighing 'You have five minutes boy but if you are not back in your room in exactly six minutes time I will have you handcuffed to the bed with solid silver chains, understand me?' he threatened, though his eyes remained soft and caring.

'Crystal clear Doc' replied Justin making a cross over his heart, grinning as he hobbled his way over to Charity's room and slowly opened the door. Stepping inside he was faced with the lifeless form of his Luna, walking over to her bed side, he slowly sank into the chair next to her, reaching out to grasp her hand in his. 'Char, can you hear me?' he asked hopefully, 'You got to wake up mate, Bella is waiting for us to come back to her, come on Char, open your eyes' he whispered 'if you die, Aaron is seriously going to kick my a*s, and I mean really kick my a*s, like won't be able to sit down for the rest of my life kick my a*s'. Justin gave a small chuckle to himself which turned into a sob as he held his friends hand tightly. 'I'm sorry Luna, i'm so sorry'

'It wasn't your fault' came a small voice behind him making him start, dropping Charity's hand he turned to see Hazel standing in the doorway, her head swinging back and forth as she repeatedly checked the corridor for anyone approaching before slipping inside and carefully shutting the door behind her.

'Hazel?' gasped Justin, unable to believe she was here.

Giving a small smile she replied 'Hey, I just came to check the Luna, I come by periodically just to see if there is any change' she confessed sadly

'I was only next door' Justin said sadly not able to hide the slice of pain in his voice.

'I know' Hazel said quietly 'I wanted to see you too, but my father told me that the only way to keep you safe is to stay away from you' she said, tears filling her eyes as she cast her gaze to the floor.

His heart breaking at her sadness, Justin pushed the chair back, and in two strides was in front of her. Encircling her waist with his arms, he pulled her toward him, crushing his lips against hers as he growled in longing. Hazel hesitated for a moment before shyly sliding her arms around his neck, moving her lips in time with his as she breathed in his scent.

Pulling away finally, Justin rest his forehead against hers, breathing heavily as he whispered 'I love you Hazel'

She smiled shyly up at him 'I know' she said quietly 'If I hadn't have been sure before I certainly knew the moment you broke that chain around your wrist as they marked me, to try and protect me, just how much you love me, and that you would never reject me!' She sighed gently, breathing her warm breath against his neck causing him to shiver as his body reacted to her. Holding her tightly, he breathed her in, trying to imprint her body upon his own, Hazel placed her hands on his chest, slowly pushing him away as his face crumbled from the broken contact. Quietly opening the door behind her, she checked the corridor before slipping back outside, As she pulled the door closed behind her, she whispered so only he could hear, 'I love you Justin' before she turned and walked away, leaving the warmth of the clinic, stepping out into the bitter winter air, careful not to be seen by anyone.

A few minutes later Doctor Nat stuck his head round the door, growling at Justin as he tapped his watch, taking his cue, Justin rose from the seat beside his Luna, carefully brushing her hair from her face as he lay a soft kiss on her temple, 'Come back to us Charity, my best friend needs his wife and our pack needs our Luna' He whispered before shuffling out the room and back to his own, Doctor Nat following close behind.

Stepping into the bright white room that had been his home for the last few weeks, Justin sat himself down with a wince onto the bed, looking over at the stern doctor with a guilt smile. 'Sorry Doc' he rushed 'I know you said five minutes, but its hard to see her laying there, I kinda lost track of the time'

Doctor Nat shook his head 'hmm' he muttered 'I have a feeling that your tardiness has less to do with our sleeping Luna and more to do with my daughter who just happened to drop by whilst I was having my tea break?' he raised his eyebrow at Justin who paled slightly.

'Please Doc, don't tell anyone she was here, they'll hurt her again' he begged 'I'll do anything you say, i'll sit here in this room for eternity, i'll go back to the cells, not make a murmer, just don't tell the Committee she was here'

Doctor Nat smiled 'Son, there is no way I would put my daughter into harms way, they will not know of her,,, indiscretion? shall we call it? but she will be having a father/daughter chat this evening when I finish my shift' he said sternly.

Justin hung his head 'Don't be too hard on her Doc, I don't think she's experienced the mate bond, your pack doesn't seem to covet it like ours does' he replied slight confusion in his voice.

Doctor Nat took a seat next to Justin sighing, 'We are not allowed 'mates' so to speak, our women are property of the pack, as you call us, when they are 25 they are sold by the committee to the men, highest bidder takes possession. Sometimes a couple will find their mate before this, they try to keep their bond a secret and the male will try to win their female at the auction. If the Committee find out that a couple is mated, they will force the price up on the woman to make sure their mate has to almost sell his lifetime to them to keep her.' he said with defeat in his eyes.

'You had to buy Hazel's mother?' asked Justin aghast

Doctor Nat laughed humourlessly 'Yes, we are one of the fortunate few, Hazel's mother is my mate, and I had to pay dearly for her'

'How much did she cost you, if that's not to rude to ask' inquired Justin, not sure he wanted to know the answer.

'40 years of servitude' replied Doctor Nat with a wave of his hand.

'Servitude?' Justin was shocked

The Doctor met Justin's gaze 'We don't have money here Justin, everything we have is provided by the Committee, they have full control of all the packs finances, so we bid with time, how much of our life will we give to the Committee for someone to call our own, for me it was forty years to keep my Elizabeth' Seeing Justin's look of horror and pity he patted the young wolfs arm 'don't feel sorry for me Justin, I get to spend forty years caring for others, something I was born to do anyway, others are forced into much worse and more dangerous jobs for the Committee. Plus I got to keep my mate instead of watching her be handed to another, I was one of the lucky ones as was my wife, she married someone who loved her, others are not so lucky!

As he slowly stood and made his way to the door, the doctor turned to Justin 'You really love my daughter don't you son?'

Justin swallowed and nodded 'more than anything in this world sir' he whispered.

'I wish you had the right to bid for her young man, I would have been happy to hand her to you knowing she would be loved and cared for as a she wolf should be, you are a worthy husband' he replied, before he walked from the room, leaving Justin to his own thoughts.