Page 40 of The Alpha's Stolen Mate

***

When I walked into my dad's hospital room, my stomach dropped.

He was lying in bed, dressed in a white hospital gown, a white blanket draped over him, and his eyes were closed as if he was in the deepest sleep of his life. There was a clear tube in his mouth that was connected to a noisy machine. With a sickening jolt, I realized that the machine was breathing for my dad because he couldn't on his own. There were different colored wires taped onto his forehead, and part of his graying black hair had been shaved off.

From what I could see of his body, it was covered in angry red bruises shaped like the bite of a wolf's teeth.

My hands clenched into tight fists as I imagined two Rogues attacking my father. If I ever found out who hurt him, I’d rip their throats out.

For the first time, I understood why my parents had started the rumor that I was sick and moved me to Aunt Mia's farm. They did it to protect me from ending up…like this. If I had been exiled, I could have been attacked like my dad. Now that I had a child, I could see why they had started that rumor six years ago. I'd do anything to protect my son.

My stomach plummeted as I remembered Gabriel’s words last night.

I don’t believe Axel will stop there. I think that once he joins the Rogues, he is going to share all of WaterLock’s secrets to help them take over our pack.

Was he right? Was there an army coming for WaterLock?

I shook my head to clear it.

I couldn’t worry about that right now. One problem at a time.

My mother was sitting next to my dad, gripping one of his hands in both of hers and murmuring words that were too quiet for me to hear.

Grayson let out a gasp from beside me as he looked at all the wires attached to his grandpa, and his little hand tightened around mine.

“Can he hear me?” my son asked, walking forward slowly and staring at his grandpa with wide eyes.

My mom reached her hand out to Grayson and pulled him against her side.

“I'm not sure, sweetheart. But I like to talk to him anyway, just in case he can,” my mom said.

Immediately, Grayson launched into a story about the long car ride here and how he missed Goose, and he had trouble falling asleep last night because his dog always slept in his bed.

A small grin crossed my face as I listened to my son's chatter. Even in one of the toughest moments of my life, Grayson could bring me joy.

***

“How are you, Mom?”

We were eating lunch in the hospital's small cafeteria after spending the morning talking to my dad. Grayson had gone quiet and didn't want to eat his turkey sandwich, so Aunt Mia had offered to take him on a walk outside.

“Hm?” my mom asked, poking at her cup of chicken salad with a faraway look in her eyes.

“How are you holding up?” I asked and grasped her hand.

“I’m…numb,” she answered and crossed her arms. “This doesn’t feel real. I’m waiting for the moment when Healer Nia tells me that someone made a mistake, that isn’t my husband lying there fighting for his life.” Her voice was devoid of all emotion.

My stomach jolted, and I pushed away my unfinished sandwich.

I’d never seen my mother act like this. It was like her mind was dissociating to protect her from the pain she was feeling. This switch had happened right after Grayson had walked away, and I realized she had put on a brave face to protect him.

For ten minutes, I tried to talk to her, but she would just shake her head. Sensing she needed a minute by herself, I left the table to buy us coffee. The line was long, and there was only one young girl making all the drinks. I was thankful for a moment to collect myself.

Before I could even take a deep breath, my heart started beating frantically.

“Summer?”

When I spun around, Gabriel was standing closer than I'd expected, and his nearness made my breath catch. He was dressed in a fitted gray suit and black tie. His hair was tousled, and my hands itched to run my fingers through it. The swell of his arm muscles strained at the fabric, and I had to rip my eyes away to stop myself from staring.

---