Page 67 of Rejected and Pregnant By the Alpha
My ears begin to ring as the seriousness of the situation sets in. Hannah, my Hannah, is dying, and only I can save her by marking her. I stand still, frozen in place. Everyone is talking at once, their voices mixed with concern and grief, but I hear nothing. Jiya is standing in front of me, her lips moving, but no sound reaches my ears. Hannah will die if I don’t mark her, but how can I do it without her permission?
“Do it.” Small, warm hands slap my cheek, breaking the ringing in my ears. I look down, finding determined green eyes staring up at me.
“Mark Mama and save her, Papa,” his little voice calls out, shocking me.
Tears spill from my eyes once again, and I nod, hugging Saben closer to me. “I’ll save her,” I whisper into his ear. “I’ll save your mama,” I promise him.
Pulling back, I carefully hand Saben to Jiya before wiping my tears with my sleeve. Turning to Dr. Grace, I harden my resolve to mark Hannah and save her life by making her mine for the rest of our lives. I know she will be mad at first, but she will accept the marking, knowing it kept her alive for Saben to grow up with his mama.
“Take me to Hannah,” I demand, watching Dr. Grace’s eyes light up.
“This way,” she says before rushing out the door.
I chase after her, following her through the double doors that had blocked Hannah from me the first time she passed through them. This time, I walk through with ease, running after Dr. Grace down winding halls. It doesn’t take long for us to arrive at a closed door, Hannah’s scent invading my nose as soon as I open it.
There, on a hospital bed, Hannah lies with an IV in her arm and a heart monitor beeping along to the rhythm of her heartbeat. She is so pale, her skin almost as white as her hair. I swallow past the lump that has formed in my throat and make my way to her side, caressing her face.
“Hannah,” I call out to her softly, gently moving her hair away from the left side of her neck, where I have longed to sink my canines into and claim her as mine.
“I need to do something you won’t want right now to save you. I know you’ll be mad at me, and I am sorry, but it is the only option if you want to watch Saben grow up.” The heartbeat monitor quickens after my explanation, and I look to Dr. Grace, who nods, reassuring me that this is a good sign. I reach out tothe mate bond, finding Hannah’s presence more alert, and I sigh with relief.
“You can be mad at me all you want, Hannah, but I am going to mark you to save your life and make sure you know you will always be mine,” I whisper, kissing the crook of her neck. The monitor beeps irregularly for a moment, and the bond stirs. I smile, knowing that this is Hannah fighting for her life. She wouldn’t have given up so easily if it meant leaving Saben.
Flicking my tongue along her skin, I taste her sweet vanilla custard scent and growl possessively. Without another moment to spare, I close my eyes and sink my teeth into her skin, feeling the mate bond buckle and bend, slowly becoming whole as I stake my claim to Hannah as her soulmate. It isn’t long before I feel the bond click into place, and the ache in my gums soon fades. I gently pull my canines from her skin, licking it to help speed up the healing process, and sit on the edge of the bed to wait.
The clock in the room ticks by as Dr. Grace and I watch for any signs that Hannah’s werewolf healing has kicked in, and then it happens. Her cheeks slowly regain color, and her shallow breathing becomes deeper, more relaxed.
“You did it,” Dr. Grace says, collapsing onto the floor. “You saved Hannah.”
64
Hannah
The steady beeping of a machine draws me from my sleep, and I groan, wanting to return to that warm darkness. Sadly, though, the beeping continues, nagging me to no end until I finally open my eyes, only to promptly close them with a hiss.
“Shit,” someone curses, and the sound of them tripping over a chair follows soon after, before I feel whatever I am lying on dip to the left.
“I dimmed the light. You can open your eyes now,” a deep, soothing voice calls out, their warm hand taking mine. Sparks crawl along my skin where his meets mine, and I moan, enjoying the little pleasurable tingles. Knowing who is by my side, I tentatively open my eyes to find Julian staring at me, looking a little haggard.
“What happened?” I ask, my voice croaking from dryness. Julian sighs, gently releasing my hand and turning to pick up something from beside the bed.
“Drink some water, and I will tell you what happened,” he says gently, holding a plastic straw to my lips.
I hesitate for a moment before taking the straw into my mouth and sipping the water. Soon enough, I am gulping it down and asking for another glass.
“You were shot by a hunter after we got the news that the operation was completed,” Julian says, placing the now-empty glass onto what I learn is a bedside table beside me.
I close my eyes, taking a deep breath, and wince as pain shoots through me from what I realize is a still-healing wound in my chest. “Was I shot with silver?” I ask, opening my eyes to find Julian watching me.
The mate bond hums, its strength surprising me. Last I checked, the bond was still repairing itself. Now, it is healed and growing stronger the longer Julian is beside me.
“It was a hollow silver bullet filled with drugs that could incapacitate us, or worse, kill us,” Julian answers, his voice wavering as he fights back emotion. “It almost killed you,” he adds, closing his eyes and taking a shaky breath.
“What do you mean by ‘almost,’ Julian?” I ask, slowly registering a slight tingle of pain coming from my neck.
“I… I had to do something to save you,” Julian says, taking my hand in his and avoiding my question.
“Julian!” I call his name in a harsher tone, watching him flinch. “What do you mean by the fact that I almost died?” I ask slowly.
