Chapter 68
I sat by her beside listening to the slow rhythmic beep of the monitor next to her. I held her small hand in mine. I should not have let her do it. Felix was going to be fine. He would have healed in two days. He hasn’t come in here with her, but he also hasn’t left his post outside her room since.
We slaughtered the 4 wolves that held the girls hostage. I had been right and the one with the gift had been camouflaged. He was the one who had attacked Felix. They had managed to remove the girls a few hours northeast of the pack’s territory towards White Moon but had made the mistake of stopping.
Luckily, the wolfsbane that they had given to Felix, Lily and Azalea was not a strong dose. When we returned, Lily was immediately checked by my uncle and both she and the pup were okay. I could not properly congratulate my best friend though because my mate has been unconscious now for over 36 hours.
When we told my uncle about our suspicions, he of course could only speculate. He suspected that her ability to heal others drained her own energy. He thought that it was extraordinary that she was able to heal 3 people before she lost consciousness. I did not need to be told she was extraordinary.
“Alpha, your father is here and asking to speak to you,” Felix linked me.
Rage surged through me immediately. He was not here this time to get rid of her. I stood up, taking a deep breath. I opened the door and Felix stepped aside to reveal my father.
“Yes?” I asked in a deadpan voice.
“We need to talk,” he said.
“About what?”
“You know about what. Step outside with me, now.” He gave me a measured look.
“No.” I said.
“What do you mean no?”Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.
“No, we will not have this conversation. My mate is lying there unconscious because she chose to help members of her pack. You will not come here and lecture me about how she is not good for this pack or me!”
“That’s not-”
“I do not care what her parents did or what happened 15 years ago between you and your brother. I do not care about your opinion of me or her. I do care that another pack abducted my mate from right under my nose. I do care that this pack will not give her a chance because you vilified a child.”
“Liam, I-”
“You aren’t Alpha. I am!” I was shouting now, and Felix had inched his way down the hall. “This is my pack! This is my mate! This is my responsibility and I failed. I failed and I do not need you to come here to tell me how much of a failure I am-”
“Stop!” he finally shouted. I was breathing heavy now. “That is not why I am here.” He paused gauging my reaction. I simply waited for him to continue. “I was wrong. You are right. I blamed your mate for the actions of her parents. When her mother came to Declan, I should have protected them both. Azalea should not have grown up treated the way she was. Your mother and I should have treated her like family. We failed her as a member of this pack.” He sighed. “I am here to apologize.”
I was utterly dumbfounded. My father just apologized, to me no less. The man in front of me had never apologized for anything in his life.
“You have defended this pack with your life. Your mate has risked her own life to save 3 other members of this pack, no matter how unbelievable. You have not failed. Being Alpha is not easy, son.” With that he turned around and walked down the hall and out of the clinic.
Azalea
I could hear Liam yelling. I could feel his guilt and despair deep in my chest.
“This is my responsibility and I failed. I failed and I do not need you to come here to tell me how much of a failure I am-”
“Stop!” came the undeniable voice of Alpha Robert. My heart began to race and the beeping on the monitor picked up its speed. “That is not why I am here.” His voice was calmer. I could hear Liam breathing heavily. “I was wrong. You are right. I blamed your mate for the actions of her parents. When her mother came to Declan, I should have protected them both. Azalea should not have grown up treated the way she was. Your mother and I should have treated her like family. We failed her as a member of this pack. I am here to apologize.” He paused for a moment. I opened my eyes and looked at the doorway. Liam stood there just as large as his father. I could just barely make out Alpha Robert’s form in front of him. Neither of them had noticed that I was awake.
“You have defended this pack with your life. Your mate has risked her own life to save 3 other members of this pack, no matter how unbelievable. You have not failed. Being Alpha is not easy, son.” Liam stood there for a moment before his shoulders sagged. He turned around and rubbed his hands over his face.
“Hey,” I said quietly. His face shot up, his eyes locking with mine.
“Azalea?” he said in a strained voice. I smiled and held my arms up. He rushed to my side, crushing me in a tight hug. “You’re awake,” he breathed. I nodded. He let go of me cupping my face in his hands. I could see the tears in his eyes. He pressed his forehead to mine.
“I am okay, Liam,” I said, trying to reassure him. I rubbed my hands through his hair. “I am here.”
“Baby, I am so sorry I failed you…” he whispered. I pulled his face away to look into his eyes.
“No, Liam. You didn’t. You saved me, again. You always do,” I told him.
“No, you are the hero in this story. Baby, you saved Lily and the pup. We were only able to find you because Damien could feel Lily again. I let you get taken and I almost didn’t find you…:”
“Liam, how were you supposed to know? Plus, Felix was right there. They even got the best of him…”
“I should have known White Moon would come after you as soon as they knew who you were. I should have known they would not just peacefully merge with us!” I could sense his frustration, but I didn’t think it was with me. I reached up and rubbed my thumb across his cheek.
“Everyone is okay. I am okay. It will all be okay…” I cooed.
“I don’t deserve you, Azalea,” he said quietly.
I gave him a sad look. “Liam, you don’t even know how wrong you are…” I said before I kissed him. It was a careful and tender k**s. I wanted him to know how much I treasure him. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me closer to him. He moved his lips over mine gently. There was a knock on the door breaking our moment.
“Well, I came to check on my nephew after being notified my brother was here. Glad to see you’re awake, Luna,” said Doctor Ron. I blushed. “How are you feeling?” he asked.
Liam rested his head on my shoulder and held me close still. I gave Doctor Ron a small smile. “I feel fine. Maybe a little tired still but otherwise fine,” I told him. I was a little embarrassed with Liam holding me, but I could tell he needed it.
“How about I come back, and we talk in the morning. If you are looking good, you can go home,” Doctor Ron said with a knowing smile. “You should both get some rest.” He gave me a wink before backing out of the room.
I wrapped my arms around Liam’s shoulders, holding him in my arms. I snuggled my face into his neck and breathed in his scent. “I love you so much Liam,” I linked him.
We sat like that for a while before he sat up. “How about we get some sleep, my love?” he said. I could see how tired he was. I nodded at him. I let him scoop me up and position us on the bed. He laid down and placed me over top of him. I rested my head comfortably on his chest. Liam’s arms were wrapped securely around me. I listened to his breathing for some time noting that he was not falling asleep.
“Liam, can I talk to Gavin?” I asked quietly. I peeked up at him. He was looking down at me worried.
“Sure, baby,” he said. He stroked the hair from my face before closing his eyes. When he opened them, his features got hard and his eyes were dark.
“Little Mate,” he said in a gravelly voice.
“Gavin,” I said. His eyes held curiosity at my summon. “Thank you,” I said to him with a smile.
“For what?”
“For getting me back. And I am sorry for worrying you,” I told him. His features relaxed a bit.
“Little Mate, we will always find you. But you must stop leaving us,” he said nuzzling my face with his nose.
“Okay,” I agreed. “Please don’t be worried anymore. You and Liam need some rest. I won’t be able to sleep if you both cannot.”
He sighed and tightened his grip on me. “It is not that simple,” he said finally.
“Did you capture the one who took us?” I asked. He hesitated before nodding. “Then for tonight, there is nothing to worry about. Just us, here together. Tomorrow we can worry about everything else, okay?”
“Little Mate, you are far wiser than we,” he said, giving my nose a peck. “Okay. We can worry about White Moon tomorrow.” In the blink of an eye, Liam was back with me.
“You are going to be the best Luna this pack has ever had,” Liam said, kissing the top of my head. I simply cuddled myself into him, letting his touch and scent comfort me into a restful sleep.
–
Just like he promised, Doctor Ron released me the next morning and Liam was treating me like glass. Felix now accompanied me even when I was with Liam and was much more uptight. Lily had come to see me first thing in the morning and cried when she thanked me. I could even see Damien tear up a little bit.
We were currently sitting in Liam’s office. He and Damien were having silent conversations. I assumed they had to be about White Moon. Liam had reluctantly told me about the Delta coming to distract him and Damien while someone with a gift was sent to abduct me and Lily happened to be collateral damage. If Felix had not been with us and Jacob had not come to drop off the seating cards, they may have been successful.
Lily and I were sitting on the couch messing with the seating chart. Felix stood some 3ft away from the couch. I knew she was just trying to distract me from everything going on, but it was not working. I was worried about what Liam and Damien were planning for White Moon. Lily moved around the labeled magnets on the board while I stared blankly at it.
“What’s wrong, baby? Do you feel okay?” I heard Liam’s voice. I looked up to see him giving me a worried look.
“I am fine, Liam. I’ve told you a thousand times, I feel better now,” I linked back. Lily looked up at me eyeing Liam.
“Damien let’s go get some lunch. Your pup is hungry since it made me vomit all my breakfast up,” she said nonchalantly. He turned. He was immediately in front of her to help her stand up. I rolled my eyes and smiled at her. She winked at me as he pulled her up and held her hand to escort her from the room. He was such a doting mate.
Liam smiled and shook his head. “She’s got him wrapped around her finger,” he said.
I stood and turned to Felix. “Felix, could you please give me and Liam a few minutes?” I asked sweetly. He looked from me to Liam, waiting for my mate to give the okay. Liam must have given him the okay because he gave me a curt nod and exited the office. I suspected he was right outside the door.
I sighed and turned to my mate. “Liam, this can’t continue,” I said, coming around the desk.
“What do you mean?”
I stood in front of him with my hands on my h**s. “I do not need 24/7 protection from both you and Felix and you don’t need to treat me like I am going to break! We know that I can heal people, and we know that it takes away my energy. But I am fine! We both know if I wouldn’t have helped Lily, they would have lost the pup!”
“That’s not the point!” he almost shouted back. My eyes widened in surprise. Liam had never yelled at me. I looked into his eyes and saw so much stress in his features.
“Liam what is this really about?”
“You keep getting hurt! I am supposed to protect you, and I keep letting you get hurt!” It felt like he was yelling at himself more than me at this point. “How can I lead this pack when I can’t even protect my own mate?” There it was. All his insecurity was coming out.
I climbed into his lap, straddling him. His face softened with surprise. I brushed his unkempt hair from his face and placed a soft k**s on his cheek. “Liam, you can’t protect me from everything. You are doing more than enough. You have assigned me a guard that will not leave my side. You must accept that I am always going to be vulnerable to some degree. You are a strong Alpha. Even if they do not like me yet, your pack loves you. You need to give yourself a break; You need to stop taking all the blame,” I chided. His eyes stared into mine.
His hands came up to cup my face. “You are right, and I am sorry. It’s just… every time you get hurt… I am so afraid I am going to lose you. Azalea, I just got you and I almost messed it up completely. I can’t lose you; I wouldn’t survive.”
“Liam, you aren’t going to lose me. I promise. I want to be your Luna. I want to grow old with you. I want to see what our life brings.”
His lips came to mine in a needy k**s. When he pulled away, I gave him a soft smile. “Maybe we should take the rest of the day away from the pack. Forget about White Moon and wedding plans,” I suggested. He nodded his head.
“That sounds perfect,” he said. I could tell he was a little calmer now.
“Can I make one request?” I said.
“Anything,” he said.
“Give Felix the day off. No more you and him both not leaving my side…”
“Azalea…” he g*****d. I gave him a look. “But…”
“No. It’s too much. I won’t complain about keeping him around when you aren’t with me but both of you are too much, okay?” He hung his head for a moment.
“Okay. As long as he or I are always with you and you won’t fight me on that, I will send him away when you are with me,” he agreed. I smiled brightly at him.
“One more thing, what are you planning on doing to White Moon?”