Page 6 of Alpha Queen
She knew he wanted her; she'd seen it in his eyes, but there was something else there as well, something she couldn't put her finger on. An expectation of something, though she had no clue what.
River got up more easily from the bed since her body had some sugar in it. She looked down at the clothes she'd woken up in a week prior. Her shredded mating dress lay in a crumpled heap in the corner; she could only assume Titan had ripped it up. But more than that, it bothered her to think he had seen her naked and had redressed her.
She looked over at the destroyed dress, and a pang of sadness flowed through her. It had been their mother's dress. She could only imagine what Ares and Apollo were going through.
She swallowed hard- if they were even still alive.
Apollo. Her beloved Apollo. The last time she'd seen him, he was only semi-conscious. So many injuries and bullets. And Ares. He'd been shot at least twice with the poison-laced bullets.
A tear leaked from her eye, and she breathed deep. No. She wasn't going there again. They were alive. Apollo was alive. She knew it. Mainly because if he weren't, she would know that so much more… wouldn't she? Wouldn't her wolf?
Apollo's gentle smile and warm eyes flooded her mind, and she whined. She couldn't lose him. She couldn't. Not her gentle protector.
The ribbons connecting her wolf to theirs were still intact. Would they be if her mates were dead? Or would they snap like the one that she'd broken with Titan? Or thought she'd broken with him…
The red ribbon from Titan wove tighter than ever.
She swiped the tears from her eyes. Why couldn't she have an extraordinary power like in books? Telepathy or something to tell them where she was?
She shook her head. She had to be strong. She couldn't let herself fall apart. Not for them. Not for her. Not for their child.
She brushed her fingers through her hair and caught a whiff of herself. Blech!
She hated to admit it, but Titan was right; she needed to shower and burn her clothes.
And then… she needed a plan.
CHAPTER THREE
APOLLO
"Where's my daughter?"
Shouting woke Apollo, and he blinked several times, trying to orient himself. A beeping sound sounded next to him, and he recognized the hospital equipment.
He sighed. Still in the safe house. How many days had it been?
His wolf whined as he sniffed the air.
Still no River.
He sat up and groaned as pain shot through him. The wolfsbane mixed with silver bullets had done more damage than he'd thought they would.
He remembered very little after being shot and Titan taking River. He vaguely remembered Silas and Thomas picking him up. Ares had been shot as well as Cherry. And someone else… someone- Bennett.
His wolf whined. Titan had killed Bennett.
His best friend had sacrificed his life to protect Apollo and River. He hadn't expected that to ever happen. Yes, Bennett had put his life on the line every day for Apollo, but Apollo had never felt like he was in danger until that night. That moment. And now, Bennett was gone.
It was like losing his parents all over again. His gut squeezed tight, causing more pain than it should.
"I don't care! I'm leaving. If you assholes can't find her, then I'm gonna have to do it myself!"
He rubbed his face. Sounded like Cherry was finally awake. Good. He did not want to have to tell River her mother had died. Somehow, he thought that would be worse than telling Cherry River died.
He threw his legs over the side of the bed and stood. His legs wobbled and his head spun, but he forced himself to stay on his feet.
The monitors went crazy, and Apollo pulled the wires off his torso and fingers.
