"Miss Linette?" Mrs Gomez barked, for the third time. Cassie jerked up in her chair, her eyes snapping open.

"Hmm?"

"I believe the words you were looking for are 'Yes Mrs Gomez'" The maths teacher spoke sternly, but not angrily. Cassie could feel the entire classroom staring at her, some looking at her with eyes of pity and others with amusement.

"Yes M'Gomesh" She mumbled, blinking owlishly. Various members of the class snickered under their breath and Cassie rested her chin on her hands, leaning to the side slightly with the fight to stay awake. Mrs Gomez sighed and turned back to the whiteboard. Cassie hadn't been sleeping well the last few days... Over the weekend she had kept nodding off and jerking back awake, her body too nervous and jumpy to let her sleep for long. Now it was Monday morning, and she had slurped her way through three cups of coffee just to keep her awake long enough to reach the school. She was racked with trembles through her body when she was awake but found herself quickly falling into the abyss of sleep against her will every ten minutes. Stress. Worry. Anxiety. Gnawing away at her chest since Brandon left her under those stairs, humiliated and marked. Well, not marked as a mate would, but still patterned across her neck and shoulders with a considerable blossom of blue, purple and red contusions. She was hidden beneath another oversized hoodie, (Thank goodness for the random pile of hand-me-downs that get left in the laundry room for Sam...) the arms fell past her hands and the bottom reached past her own bottom. She rarely wore trousers or shorts usually but she couldn't help the desperate urge to cover herself, to hide her body away from prying eyes.

The rest of the lesson passed before her eyes, barely registering in her brain as she continued to go round for round with the force trying to drag her eyes closed. As the other students trailed out to their next class, her teacher called her to the front to give her a lecture on getting enough sleep and going to bed early. She nodded compliantly, although she knew her bedtime wasn't the problem. Thankfully, the older woman appeared to take pity on her and told her to use the rest of her second period to take a nap in the first-aid room, writing her a note with a sigh.

Cassie tottered down the hallway in a daze, bumbling into walls and lockers, unsure of where she was headed. She kept wandering until her body ran out of perky juice and she crashed beside a line of lockers. Crumpling to her knees on the hard floor, letting her body fold down into a ball with her head in her arms. She let out deep breaths, trying to gain control over her body again... Maybe even to help herself drop into darkness... She didn't know if she wanted to stay awake or to sleep forever... Everything was foggy...

~

A sick feeling, deep in her gut. Mate. Karliah's wolf growled inside of her. Mate help. Something was wrong... But Cassie wasn't marked, so she couldn't feel the link strongly enough to distinguish what it was... But she didn't care what it was - She needed to find her brunette baby. Now. The alpha raised her hand and requested permission to use the toilet. She stepped out of the classroom instantly began to sniff at the air, searching desperately for the bouquet of scents that would lead her on the trail to her mate. Her footsteps pounded down the tiled floor, checking every corridor she passed. Cassie had a beautiful smell, sweet but not clinging and sticky... Like the fragrance of flowers rather than fruit...

The scent became stronger and stronger as she followed it fervently, her movements nimble but forceful with deep harsh breaths, taking in as much of her mate's scent as she could to track her down. Once she reached the main corridor of B block she caught sight of her mate.

Her eyes laid upon the heap of a girl on the floor, blonde brows pulling together in worry as she bolted to the small, curvy girl's side and knelt beside her. Her rough hands ran through copper curls, revealing a small heart shaped face, eyes closed and bottom lip poking out in an adorable pout. Karliah gently pulled her mate's voluptuous body into her lap, the small limbs curling over the edges of her outstretched arms. Something was wrong, she felt Cassie's temperature and pulse with the backs of her long finger but both seemed fine.

Her sharp eyes raked over the short sub's body, checking for anything out of place. Running her fingertips over the other's body gently. When her gaze settled on Cassie's neck she stiffened, there were bruises. Mark? Her wolf growled angrily inside of her and try as she might, she couldn't fully hold back the rage washing through her. Someone has touched her. Her wolf grumbled. She pulled the ridiculously large sweatshirt loose around Cassie's shoulders, sliding the sleeves of her top down her shoulders to appraise the smaller girl's delicate shoulders. Dark discolourations spread in thick circular shapes up and down her neck and across her collar bone. Bites. Someone bit her neck. Were they trying to mark her?

Karliah pulled the girl tightly into her arms and nuzzled her nose amongst the marks, her anger still brewing beneath the surface - but now wasn't the time. Something was wrong with Cassie - Was she sick? The alpha decided it was better safe than sorry and pushed herself off the ground, carrying Cassie bridal-style and making her way to first-aid.

With the hallways deserted she arrived quickly, rapping on the half-open door with her knuckles.

"Come in" The nurse called, leaning back in her chair to look at the pair; her black and purple braids, twisted into a high bun on top of her head, wobbled as she twisted to see them. "What happened to her?" She asked.

"I don't know... I could feel something was wrong - I could feel it-" Karliah began to ramble. Her usually calm and strong mentality crumbling with worry over her mate. The nurse stood and walked to her, she had a peaceful aura and relaxed stance that made Karliah feel a little more at ease - But not enough.

"She's your mate?" The nurse clarified with the raise of an eyebrow.

"Yes" Karliah nodded, "I found her, but she was unconscious when I got there - She doesn't have a temperature and her breathing is fine but she had just passed out right next to the lockers and I don't know why!" She carried Cassie to one of the two clean cots on the far side of the room and carefully placed her down on the crisp white sheets.

"Okay, I'll check her over - You get back to class" The nurse picked up her bag of everyday kit and walked to the other side of the bed; Karliah didn't move, watching the woman with hard eyes. She wasn't going anywhere without her mate. The nurse sighed, "At least take a seat over there if you're going to stay - I don't want you hovering over me" And then muttering, "Kids these days are getting taller and taller... What on Earth are they feeding them?" Karliah obeyed this time and sat on one of the hard plastic chairs, waiting as patiently as she could while her wolf grumbled. The nurse pulled round the curtain and began her examination.

After about fifteen agonising minutes the nurse packed up her things and re-opened the blue plastic curtain,

"She'll be fine - She fainted from exhaustion so I want her to rest here for a bit. She also has some bruising across her neck and thighs but I'm guessing that's your handiwork?" She was trying to be lighthearted to raise the mood but the passing comment had quite the opposite effect. Karliah growled low in her throat and answered,

"No, I didn't cause those marks" But before the nurse could do more than raise her eyebrows and look surprised, the alpha had stalked to her mate's bedside and pulled the curtain closed. Effectively ending the awkward conversation. She took the single seat beside the sterile cot and slid her hand through the bars of the bed to hold Cassie's hand, rubbing small circles on her soft skin. The nurse had removed her hoodie and now she lay in just her white top, blue three-quarter-length jeans, white trainer socks and low converse. It was the first time she had seen her in anything but a skirt, it was cute.

~

Mate. Cassie's wolf purred in pleasure. Mate here. She felt so warm and cosy... Dozing in and out... She could smell the comforting scent of clean, fresh sheets mingled with... Something muskier... Something that made her stomach clench and her wolf writhe inside of her.

Her eyes slowly cracked open, blinking rapidly at the harsh lights above her. She let out a soft gasp, rolling onto her side to shield her face. As her vision cleared, she realised she was blinking into the silver eyes of Karliah.

"Hey sleepyhead" The alpha spoke in a low, gentle tone; Cassie let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and let a sincere smile spread across her face for the first time in days.

"H-Hi" She whispered. Karliah grinned at her, squeezing her right hand. She looked exhausted and ruffled - Her usually uniform dirty blonde double braids were unkempt and fraying with flyaway hairs.

"What happened?" Karliah asked, her eyes creasing with concern. How could her mate let herself get this exhausted?

"I... I was so tired..." The smaller girl mumbled. Thinking back to her morning classes... what time was it now?

"But why?" She pressed, Cassie just sighed and turned away. She didn't want to reveal what happened with Brandon... It was too embarrassing... She shrugged instead of giving a real answer. "You need to take better care of y-" Karliah began her own lecture - gratingly similar to Mrs Gomez's own seminar this morning on self-care.

"I wanna sleep some more" Cassie interrupted. Rolling onto her other side with her back to the alpha - but not letting go of her warm hand.

"Can I stay with you?" Karliah's voice was soft again, almost pleading.

"Yeah" Cassie whispered; She closed her eyes... Just a bit longer... I'll get up really soon... Her breathing slowed down to match Karliah's deep breaths... Drifting into a trance-like state... The fear and anxiety melting away with the strength of the alpha's hand in hers.