Page 16 of Shattered Soulmates

Sometime later, I feel a tug. An anchor pulling me back to life. That persistent ringing in my ears is driving me crazy. I hear disjointed voices around me.

"Alpha Stone. Can you hear me?"

A single voice rises above the cacophony in my mind.

Slowly blinking, I open my eyes and make out silhouettes in the dim room.

"Ah, there you are, Alpha. Welcome back," greets a melodic voice.

I attempt to focus on the source of the voice and see a female in a white coat. A doctor. "I'm in the hospital?" I croak.

"Your deductive reasoning is working fine." She smiles. "You are." She lifts a cup of water to my mouth. I greedily drink the tepid water through the straw. "Slow down, Alpha. I don't want your progress to be halted due to vomiting. You have a nasty concussion and have been in a coma for three days."

As though in slow motion, I raise my hand to my forehead and feel the bandage wrapped there. "So that explains the buzzing."

"You have a buzzing in your head?" She grasps my eyelid and flashes a penlight in each eye. "Hmmm. I think you will be okay. Hopefully, your wolf healing will kick in soon and you'll be good as new."

She stands up and slips the light into her pocket. "We did an MRI, and there doesn't appear to be any residual damage. Give it a few days, and you should be released soon, if your wolf healing kicks in. So, give your wolf some encouragement."

I try to focus on the doc's face. Blinking, it comes into focus.

"Dr. Skye?"

She nods.

"How's Paisley?"

"She's great. All healed, except for a slight limp. Hopefully, that will get better with physical therapy. She was sent home this morning," she adds. "I think she said she had some cleanup and closure to take care of. She'll be fine; she’s a strong female. And, I’ve found that when someone goes through CMS, it makes them even more resilient."

"Good. Paisley is one of the best people I know." I realize I have overextended myself, and I settle back on the pillow. It’s only a few seconds before I drift back into the nothingness of sleep.

Paisley

Enforcer North and I just arrived back at the pack house. They gave me the choice to move out of the Beta Suite and either take another suite in the pack house or move to a cabin on my own. I chose the cabin. They assigned me one close to the school, so it’s still near the pack house, but it offers more privacy and lets me avoid Miles. All my belongings have already been moved to my cabin, so I don't have to go back to the pack house.

But before I settle in, there’s one thing I need to take care of: I need to reject Miles so I can get closure.

North and I exit the car. He comes to my side and supports me as I stumble weakly toward the pack house. The drive has worn me out, but I have to get this over with, so my wolf and I can finally rest.

As we walk inside, North stays close, holding me so my limp is less noticeable. I appreciate the help because even medicated with Amra, I can feel the pull of the mate bond, and I know Miles is here.

Then, as if on cue, Miles appears at the bottom of the stairway and storms toward us before we even clear the door. He glares at North, clearly angry that I’m in his arms, and has the nerve to growl at him.

North looks ready to pounce, but I hold up my hand in Miles’ face. "Stop!" I warn. The entire room goes still. "Take the aggression down a notch. You have no right!"

"Where have you been?" he growls, glaring at me and North. "No one would tell me where you were."

"We need to talk."

"Yes, we do," he agrees. "Let's go up to my office."

He reaches for my hand, but I dodge his touch. I glance at North. "Will you accompany us?"

"What?" Miles' eyes snap back to North, holding me.

"North is going with us," I snarl.

"Fine." He storms up to the third floor to the Beta office.

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