Title: Silver Hearted/Chapter Two

Author: Ice-Eagle Y'siri

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Patricia Briggs' characters, themes, or concepts. So far I own Marie.

Marie's POV--One week later

When I woke up, I had absolutely no idea as to where I was, or how I got there.

Or who the warm body curled up around me was.

Tensing, I inhaled his scent and recognized him as the man who picked me up down in that cellar. Then I got fur in my nose. With a snort, I picked up my head and looked around. The bedroom I was in was large, with a (thankfully) blue carpeted floor. I didn't relish falling on wood. A breeze ruffled my fur and I turned my head to see that it was daylight, around midday, and with all the windows and doors that led to the bathroom and out into the hallway open. The furniture in the room was of very dark cherrywood, with antique-looking handles from at least a century or two ago.

Pain flashed through my shoulders as I tried to move and--if I could have--I would have winced. But as a wolf, that wasn't exactly possible. Footsteps echoed on the stairway and an unfamiliar-but-familiar scent accompanied them. A growl sounded next to me and I looked to see that my fellow wolf was awake.

"Easy, Asil, I only brought lunch," Leah's mate bumped the door aside with his hip and set the tray on the floor, "While it might be nice to have lunch in bed, Marie, I think Asil wouldn't like it if you made a mess on his blankets. Can you get up?"

I very slowly--and very carefully--dragged myself into a sitting position, then looked mournfully down at the long distance to the ground. With the wolf equivalent of a sigh, I braced myself and jumped to the floor. The impact jarred my bones a little and a small whine crept out of my muzzle. I limped slowly over to the meat and settled in to eat. The raw beef and milk satisfied my wolf's craze for food/blood/both and I blinked at the Alpha.

"I'm Bran, the Marrok," Bran sat cross-legged on the ground, and I lowered my head automatically, "And you are Marie, of course. The wolf that helped you out of that place is Asil. You may have heard of him as the Moor."

With a snort of surprise, I turned back towards Asil and cocked my head. Eh. I thought Asil sounded familiar. His head hung a little over the edge of the bed and I deliberately nuzzled his face. He licked mine in return and I rotated myself so that I faced the Marrok once again. All he did was just raise an eyebrow.

"Well," he said finally, "Would you like to go see Leah?"

Just as I was about to bark my consent, Bran added warningly, "You'll have to Change first. Though my people here know of our kind, we do not display it publicly. You can borrow some of Asil's comfier clothes, if he doesn't mind."

With a sigh, I looked pointedly at Asil and at the Marrok, then toward the door. Catching my hint, Bran chuckled, "Of course. You're understandably not used to our ways just yet. Come, Asil. Let her change in peace. But before I go," He pointed to the dresser and the closed door, "Asil should have something for you to wear in either his closet or his dresser. Don't be too long. I'll be right outside if you need me."

Once the hallway door had safely shut behind the two of them, I began to focus on the Change.

Which was

in.

credibly.

painful.

Once I finished, I just rested my head in my hands for a few minutes, then felt well enough to stand up the whole way. Changing, thankfully--even though it hurts--helps the healing of previous wounds speed up. Searching through the Moor's drawers, I pulled out a pair of socks, a pair of black track pants, and a long sleeved crew neck gray shirt. I jumped and hid behind the door when it suddenly opened.

Bran's hand popped inside, "I almost forgot. Marie, Leah also sent some underwear for you to wear until we get you some new things. She figured you wouldn't be comfortable in Asil's boxers."

With a quiet "thank you" I took the items out of his hand and the Marrok shut the door again. Bracing myself, I slid into the very large bathroom and shut the door. I didn't recognize the face that looked back at me; or at least, not much. Or the body. Barely.

Fine silver lines traced my neck and the top of my collar bone before trailing off down my back. Yellowing and fading bruises were all along my rib cage, and I had several more contusions along my arms and around my legs. That was probably from when I kept being slammed into the bars. My fur had taken most of the hit, but the bruises would be painful for a while. The scars I guessed were from me being flayed with a silver whip. Or knife.

I'm tall (roughly 5 '9') and fairly angular. With curly brown hair and eyes, my face was unremarkable, and useful for when I wanted to slip away from people unnoticed. I grimaced at the state of my hair and face; I was very grimy. I pawed through Asil's bathroom drawers and came across a wide-toothed comb. I also saw a bottle of (presumably the Moor's) shampoo in the shower. Taking a peek at the atom clock on the wall, I figured I could scrub off as much as I could in ten minutes, then get dressed.

With that plan, I turned the shower on to hot, then jumped in as soon as steam began to rise above the shower curtain.

About ten minutes later, I leaped out of the shower and dried off with one of the fluffy blue towels hanging on a rack, then hurriedly got dressed. The underwear and bra were thankfully plain; there were no other "decorative" attachments and by some miracle of God actually fit me. The bra (I guessed was a B) I had to secure on the second-tightest hooks. I shimmied into the other clothes and combed my hair out. I was getting a little jittery at this point, but I and my wolf settled down when I inhaled the Moor's scent. I knew I would be safe with him.

Once I finished, I opened the bathroom door cautiously. There was no one in the bedroom except for me. Then I heard a knock from the door leading to the hallway.

"Marie, could you open the door? Bran said you got in the shower and you might be a while. I can hear you moving around, though. Let me in."

It was Leah.

Leah's POV--Two days earlier before Marie wakes up

Unlike Marie, I woke up almost completely healed. Though I was much more severely injured than her, I was able to heal more quickly because I was part of a pack and I was the Marrok's wife. Because of my mating with Bran, I was able to draw on strength from every pack in North America.

Pack magic. What a wonderful thing.

I was quite muzzy at first. All I registered was that I was warm, in Bran's room, and that I was alone.

I sat up slowly and carefully, not knowing how weak or sore I was. Feeling a little lightheaded, I rested for a minute before throwing back the covers. After making sure that no one else was in the house, save the wolf (I believe Anna, damn) downstairs, I grabbed some clothes from Bran's spare drawer in his dresser and jumped in the shower. I scrubbed off mercilessly and ignored the scabbed over scrapes and slices all over my back and stomach. They'd heal without scarring, hopefully.

I toweled off in the bathroom and changed, then really looked at myself in the mirror.

I almost wished I hadn't.

My face was gaunt and thin, and even with the sleep I had gotten I still looked like death warmed over. A large contusion was on my right cheekbone and a thin scar ran up the left side of my temple and tapered off along my hairline above my forehead. Untangling my hair was a royal pain in the butt, but I managed to unknot it and put it into two braids. With a few grunts, I managed to get my clothes on, which consisted of grey sweatpants, a dark blue UnderArmour long-sleeved shirt, and a white T-shirt that said, "The only that keeps me from becoming a serial killer is my distaste for manual labor"(for some odd reason, Bran had a cow when he saw this shirt. The man doesn't understand my type of humor). I then pulled on triple-knit grey socks and matching grey sneakers and trooped down the stairs.

"Leah? Want me to make you anything?" Anna, or Mr. Tall, Dark, and Depressing's wife, looked uncertain about her offer.

I raised an eyebrow, "You can cook?"

"Well, Charles brought over some things...I figured I could warm them up...You've got to be starving."

Now that she mentioned it, I was feeling slightly peckish.

Scratch that, I was ravenous.

"Go ahead," I said crankily as I sat down, "What, Bran couldn't even be bothered to stay and wait for me to wake up? He sent you instead?"

"Bran had been staying with you the first few days you were unconscious. He finally went to go hunt with his sons yesterday; he was too close to--" Anna broke off as the timer on the microwave rang. Fetching the sausage and bacon out of it, she served me at least two-thirds of the few and kept the remaining third for herself. The next thing she popped in the microwave were pancakes.

"What? Unleashing himself? I know what he is, Anna Cornick, even more than what you think you know. Please," I said with a snort, "Don't spare me. I've had enough of that to last at least your original lifetime and mine."

Anna frowned, "Then why don't you make things easier between the two of you?"

"Why do you have to ask such personal questions? It isn't for you to know unless you hear from Bran or his children, " I finished off the last bacon with a sigh of satisfaction and finished drinking the last of my milk, "Actually, don't even bother asking them. They don't know the whole story either. And I'm not going to tell you. Even my husband doesn't really know, though he might guess."

"You really shouldn't keep things inside--"

"--and I suppose you would know, wouldn't you, Anna?" I asked silkily, "Please, Doctor, do tell me more of your advice, I beg you. Please."

Anna got up to serve the pancakes and brought over the syrup as well. With a clunk, she set the syrup down on the table between us. I must've hit a nerve.

"Why do you act like this with us? Why were you so protective of Marie?" At my blank look, Anna said dryly, "Asil told me you nearly killed yourself protecting her. She's staying at his place, by the way."

"Marie...why do you want to know? This is all none of your business." I took another bite of my third pancake.

"It is my business because the Marrok's wife nearly died when she went shopping in Chicago. Though the pack--" here she faltered and I said dryly, "I know how the pack feels about me, Omega. In fact, I know how most of the wolves in America feel about me. Continue."

"The whole pack structure would've splintered. Bran might have lost it. You know as well as I do what would've happened. So why did you go to such lengths to protect her when you were such in a fragile position yourself?"

"Didn't I say I wasn't going to tell you?"

Anna frowned, "Yeah, but--"

I broke in sharply, "So I'm not going to tell you. Don't ask again. Please, "I added belatedly. Damn Omegas, "It isn't something for you to know. Don't pretend you care, anyway, and don't you dare pity me."

"Why would I pity you when you brought this all on yourself?"

I shook my head, "You don't understand, and you're meddling in dangerous places. If you did know, you'd pity me. That I cannot afford. Please go."

"But--"

"I promise I won't leave the house until Marie wakes up. Send someone to let me know, and I hope to every god it's not you. I've had enough of you for a while."

"Are--"

"Anna. Go."

That Omega went.

Sorry I took such a long time updating! I had writer's block. Please leave constructive criticism; I'll ignore you if you flame me.

Thanks and please review,

Ice