Watch The Dark
twelve

Thanks to her wolf, her vital organs remained intact. However, almost as some sort of punishment, her wolf retreated and kept Tana healing much slower than usual. It didn't make much sense seeing as they were connected, but Tana supposed she deserved it.

After the stitches were done, Declan had left her to rest and had told her that he was going to butcher Liam. It was obviously just talk, but he was pissed. Blake and Richard were going with him, which meant that they were probably only there to make sure Declan didn't do something he would regret.

"Damn, girl, he tore your stomach up real good," Reggie, who had just arrived with Emery, Kingsley, and Tuk, whistled as he made his way over to the side of her bed.

"Hey," Tana greeted them, smiling when Tuk walked over and sat right next to her. She had always been the one to protect him, but Tuk often took care of Tana when she was hurt.

"Somebody said they saw Liam attack you. Declan's down there now and it doesn't sound pretty that's for sure," Kingsley said, grimacing at the thought. Tana let out a sigh and nodded.

"Liam attacked me because he recognized me. He used to give Talon information because he had access to files form both his pack and this pack. I don't know why he did it, though," Tana said, earning a shocked look from both Reggie and Emery.

"I'm not surprised. The guy has always been kinda shady. And a dick," Emery offered, shrugging slightly.

"Well, anyway, thanks for coming to visit me. You really didn't have to," Tana said, gritting her teeth slightly. The cream was wearing off and a sharp ache had begun to blossom in her stomach.

"No problem. Emery and I were assigned to guard you anyway," Reggie said, elbowing Emery, who had just turned away to look at his phone again.

"That's nice. I'll be going back to Declan's room. This bed is seriously hurting my back," Tana groaned, moving herself so that her legs could swing over the edge of the bed, eliciting a low whine of pain when she moved.

"Oh, dear! You're in no state to move. Give yourself the night to heal and then we'll see. We don't need you tearing your stitches," the medic from earlier, who had heard Tana move, said as she quickly moved over to help Tana back into the bed.

"Now, you four, let her rest," the medic said, to which Reggie rolled his eyes.

"We'll be outside. Holler if you need anything," he said, grabbing a distracted Emery and dragging him out of the door. Kingsley gave Tana a small wave before following them.

"I'll come by without them later," Tuk said, patting her shoulder and then leaving the room.

The medic gave her a few painkillers and an extra pillow, and once she had left the room Tana fell into an uneasy sleep.

***

When she woke up she felt much better than before. Her stomach no longer felt like it was on fire and the pain was replaced with a dull, yet tolerable, ache.

She glanced at the window and noticed that the sky was black and that the medic was no where to be seen. However, Declan now sat uncomfortably in a chair next to her bed, his arms hanging on the arm rests and his legs kicked out in front of him as his head rested behind him. He was snoring softly as well.

Tana giggled slightly at the sight. If she didn't get him to go back to his room he would have a very sore back the next day, which would probably put him in an even worse mood.

She shifted so that she could reach out and prodded at his shoulder. When he didn't move, she got more aggressive until he suddenly startled awake and glanced around wildly.

"You're gonna have back problems if you keep sleeping like that," Tana said, rolling over and slumping back into her pillows.

He rubbed his eyes and stretched, cocking an eyebrow at her. "That's why you woke me up? Because I'll get back problems?" He snorted.

"Fine. Be an old man who walks with a hunch and scares kids away," Tana huffed back. From the corner of her eye, she saw him crack a slight smile.

"Are your hungry? You haven't eaten since breakfast," he offered. She grimaced at his offer. The mere thought of food made her want to throw up.

"Not really. I'm not comfortable with the strength of these stitches. What happened with Liam?" She asked. Declan immediately looked away, clearly uncomfortable by the way he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.

"He's a complete light weight. He caved the moment Richard threatened to tear his throat out. Told us everything. It explains why Talon isn't making any moves. He knows all of our moves already and he's planning to play on them. Apparently Talon is holding his mate captive and that's why he gives him info. I let Richard decide what to do with him. It...makes sense. I'd kill anyone, give information away, sacrifice myself if my mate was in danger. I can't, in my right mind, kill him for that," Declan said quietly. He refused to look at her as he spoke.

"Well, then I hope he gets one hell of a beating. Mate or not, he's a complete asshole," Tana replied tartly. Declan nodded slowly in agreement.

"You should go to your bed. You aren't gonna get proper sleep in one of these chairs," Tana said, to which he just shook his head with a sigh. He looked almost embarrassed.

"I...I can't sleep unless you're in the same room. My wolf gets restless and makes it impossible," he said. Tana sighed and sat up, slowly moving so that she could sit at the edge of the bed.

"What are you doing? You need to rest. You'll tear your stitches," Declan said, standing up just as her feet touched the floor.

"Well, you're an alpha and no one is going to benefit from you being in a shitty mood because you slept badly," Tana huffed, frowning when Declan grabbed her arm to keep her steady.

"God you're stubborn," he grumbled, helping her out of the room and down the hall. She rolled her eyes.

When Tana tried to go to the couch, Declan rerouted her and helped her settle into his bed.

"I can sleep on the couch. I'm not made of porcelain," Tana huffed as she moved under the covers. Declan roles his eyes and got in next to her but kept a distance between them. Her wolf presented herself and happily wagged her tail, settling closer to the front of her mind with contentment.

"I won't grope you in your sleep, don't worry," Declan muttered sarcastically, slumping into the pillows.

However, with Declan next to her, she slept better than she ever had before.

((Kind short filler chapter...but the next chapter is super exciting!!))

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