☆꧁༒DEDICATED TO༒꧂☆

ᴀꜱ ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴀꜱᴛ ᴏꜰꜰɪᴄɪᴀʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴏᴏᴋ, ɪ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴇᴅɪᴄᴀᴛᴇ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰᴏʟʟᴏᴡɪɴɢ ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ.

Along the way, each and every one of you played an immense part in my journey and towards the inspiration behind this book. I adore each of you and will always be thankful for your part in my life. This is not a tag fest, you are mentioned here because I am extremely grateful towards each and every one of you.

★  F3th3rA ★ Crownsangel67  ★ liasteashop  ★ hafsaatif22  ★ Twixachu9602  ★ awakened_dreams  ★ CandaceKarima  ★ wild_imaginatorII  ★420_feelings  ★JAyleriswriting  ★ itshamna  ★ FeelingBlue12  ★ jaszthewayyoulikeit  ★Favy345  ★ JustJayoo  ★ jaymadeliene  ★ angstyherondale612  ★ Ryz1234  ★ WorkingPen

☆꧁༒Chapter 48༒꧂☆

Ends are not bad things, they just mean that something else is about to begin.

Alexander POV 

I watched the heart monitor, the steady beating of the line held my soul in place. She's my soul, my everything. The beeping sound was the only reminder that life still existed within her.

Lily shifted beside her and clenched onto her arm, I couldn't separate her from Monica, no matter how hard we tried, she would not leave her side. I watched her chest move as she slowly breathed. Her tiny lips were parted slightly as a single tear fell from her cheek.

"Love you, mummy," she whispered softly.

The approaching footsteps echo sharply in the hall, coming to a stop by the door. Doctor Green stood in the frame of the door, he was just standing there, looking at me with sympathy.

Great.

"Alpha, if you have a moment, we need to talk," he announced. His white coat was covered in dirt, blood, and the smell of war. He has been at it all night, working with all the injured pack members. Luckily, we lost no one, thank the goddess for that.

I nodded my head in agreement and stood from my chair, Lily was sound asleep next to Monica, deciding not to wake them I quietly walked out of the room, closing the door behind me.

"King, Alexander." Marcus's croaked out behind me. He has been standing there all evening, waiting for news, his mate's arm clenched around him.

"Yes," I answered, I was not in the mood for chit-chat. I needed to hear what the Doctor had to say, to just get it over and done with.

"C-can I-I-" his raspy voice made me pity him, the powerful Alpha Marcus at his worst. I've never seen a fellow Alpha at their worst, we carried ourselves with pride and dominance. Well, not that I can say that at the moment, about myself.

"Yes, Marcus. You can go in, just don't wake Lily. She has been through enough the past week." I said, as politely as I could.

"T- thank you," Mia said, tears streaming down her face.

Fuck, I need to get out of here, I can't take this shit.

The emotional pain started scratching my heart, I was never one who would show any of my pain towards anyone, except to Monica, and even that was limited.

"Oh, if Lily wakes up, tell her I'll be back soon, and just give her the little wolf toy." I gave them another nod and walked towards the doctor's office.

****

Taking a seat at the large desk, I waited for him to open his mouth. The last time I sat in here ended in being one of the most shit days I have ever had. The lighting in the office was dark, the early hours of the morning almost over as the sun started to peek through the closed curtains.

He cleared his throat and took his glasses from his face, placing them on his desk. "So, we can do a scan once she wakes up. Only then will we be able to know. At the moment she is in a coma, she used too much of her energy, not to mention that she is dehydrated and has lost an immense amount of weight. There is no way to know if even one of the pups survived this. The cuts and bruises will fade once her body feels strong enough to function again. The whole fire stunt she did also didn't help her physically." His words struck my skin like a bucket of ice water.

Still, I felt like he was hiding something from me, something that his wolf is trying to tell me, but he is fighting him. I can feel his wolf's inner being, trying to reach Zane, and the darn scratching started to get on my last nerve.

"You better spill or I am not going to be held accountable for my actions." I spat out to him.

'Clear the hospital, immediately.' He said through the mind link, reaching every member of the pack.

Now why the fuck should he do that, and who the hell does he think he is?

"Sit," he instructed me.

"Who the hell do you think you are, ordering my pack and me around like I'm you darn lapdog?!"

"U- I, Alp-" He stuttered.

That's what I thought, pff.

"Now, spill," I instructed.

He stood there, motionless as the color drained his face, his mouth hanging open, he looked like a fish out of water. Fuck, I can't take this.

I stood from my chair, anger started to pump through my veins. "Speak!" I shouted, growling in anger.

Nothing.

"Fuck, dammit Emmand! Speak. Now!" I growled again, using my Alpha command, my fist slammed against the desk in anger. I've never used his name on him, never, I had too much respect for his position, but today he tested me. When it comes to her, I wouldn't mind cutting his balls off as well.

The silence was interrupted by the desk splitting in two. Ignoring the piece of furniture, I took a step towards him. My eyes fixed on him, waiting for him to open his mouth. I saw the fear in his eyes, oozing with submission.

Wimp.

"She was raped." The three words left his body as he stares at me, his mouth kept moving, but it was as if he spoke a language that I didn't understand. The moment I heard the word rape, my heart broke, leaving me at a loss for words. I felt like I was stuck underwater, frozen in place, but everything was moving around me.

Zane gave a soft whimper, then he did it again, he started to challenge my control, begging me to let go and give in to his demands.

But I can't, not now. Not while she is laying there, not knowing what would happen to her. All and all, this is my fault. I was the one who was too weak to find her, I was the useless Alpha King that can't even find his own mate, and keep her safe.

It's my fault that she was fucken raped, goddess how did she survive that, how did she even have the strength to walk after being through what she was.

And why didn't I feel anything? The mate bond should have told me what was happening.

"Unless they sedated and drugged her, which would have stilled the bond." Zane pronounced, trying to get through the surface.

What felt like an eternity was barely even a few seconds as I stormed out of his office. I stopped outside of her room, just staring at the doorknob. I had two choices, go and be with her, or spiral out of control. Seems like Doctor Green thought I would spiral, and to be honest, I really wanted to.

I clenched my fists together as I tried to slow my racing heart, I could feel the anger, it was literally firing out of me. I clenched my jaw, closing my eyes, and taking in her scent that was lingering inside of the closed-off room.

I just needed her, everything will be okay then. She has been through so much already, still, she had so much to give.

Would it be selfish to need her? To be able to hold onto her, to look into her hazel eyes, and know that it will be okay, would that be selfish after what she went through?

My hand found its way to the doorknob and I opened the door. Marcus was sitting on the chair beside her bed and Lily was still asleep.

My eyes landed on hers and it felt like a mountain was lifted from my shoulders, I felt like crying. Me, the Alpha King, crying.

My hands trembled as I closed the door behind me.

I turned to face her again, "I'm sorry," she just choked out her words, her pale face still holding so many scars and bruises.

"I'll leave you two, thank you, Alexander," Marcus said, leaving the room. I was so taken back from seeing her I just felt frozen in time.

When a tear fell from her face, I bolted towards her. I cupped her face and a shiver shot through my body. Oh, how I longed to touch her again.

Her tears started to flow as she leaned into my touch, my heart melted at that moment. Her hands reached for mine, and she pulled me closer. With one hand around my torso, she tried to lean forward. I could see the inner fight with herself to push through, but I didn't want her to tire herself.

Her sobbing became more rapid as the frustration overtook her emotions, making her hands fall to the bed and clench around the blanked.

Lily's eyes fluttered open and once she saw that Monica was awake, she also started crying. Monica reached for her face and wiped the tears from her face, my little girl was busy breaking into pieces. Her tiny body began to shake as she cried.

I reached for her, missing the warmth of Monica's touch. But I needed to be there for my girl, she needed me too.

I picked her up, she buried her face into my chest sobbing even more. My eyes slowly filled with tears, she has been such a brave girl. "I love you, princess. It's okay, your safe. Mommy is okay." I tried to comfort her the best way I could, keeping the tears at bay.

The entire time Monica just kept her eyes on us, the monitor peaked up, she was starting to become anxious. 

I sat on the bed next to her, Lily still in my arms.

Monica wrapped her arms around me as she pulled herself closer, burying her face into my chest next to Lily. The warmth of her touch calmed Zane down and he retreated back into his corner. He was happy that his mate was finally within his reach.

"I love you. Both of you," she said softly, tears streaming down her face. Words felt like they were missing like I don't know how to speak to her. The monitor picked up again and I soon realized why.

"I don't blame you, for anything," I said, maybe a little too coldly, but it was the only way I could get the words out. They were like gum twisted inside my mind, stuck within the cells of my body.

"Her name was Alea," she said again choking on her own tears, she struggled to breathe and started to tremble. I had no idea who she was talking about, but I knew I needed to calm her down.

My arm went around her body, pulling her closer, she relaxed to my touch. "She was our daughter." She choked out.

My heart clenched at her words, oh how I wish I dragged Mitch's death out. I should have made him beg for it, begging for death. His fucken death was too easy, it was too quick.

Her hand touched mine and then she took it, guiding it towards her stomach.

"We still have Xerxes," she said, and for the first time, I saw a flicker of hope in her eyes.

*****

Taking her hand in mine we slowly walked into the doctor's office. Her heart was pounding in her chest, I squeezed her hand, letting her know that I'm here for her. She gave me a faint smile as she sat down before the doctor.

"Alpha, Luna." He said, greeting us. He looked much more refreshed than a few days ago. His entire posture and presence were different today.

I nodded my head and Monica gave him a friendly smile. She has been so brave, my mate truly is the bravest woman I know.

Lily agreed to wait in the hall with Bella and Cole, we wanted to make sure of everything before telling her anything. She may be a young pup herself, but she was smart. She knew that something was up.

"Luna, I need you to lie down on this chair and then lift your shirt slightly. The sonographer will need to apply gel, and then place this-" he showed us the probe and smiled, "-over your stomach."

Monica tensed a bit like she was unsure, so I decided to just take her hands again, showing her that I won't leave her alone. This needs to be done, otherwise, I wouldn't put her through this.

"I-" She took a deep breath, "Okay, I can do that, thank you, Doctor Green," she said.

"Great, I will call her in to take care of you. If you don't mind, Alpha. I would like to sit in on this visit. I want to make sure the Luna is fine and discuss future visits and more with the sonographer, her name is Reeva."

"It's fine with us, Doctor Green," I answered him.

She laid down on the chair, pulling her black shirt up slightly, Reeva squeezed some of the gel onto her lower stomach and she flinched a bit. Guess it should be cold, the shiny gel enhanced her skin, making it seem shiny.

Reeva was a new member of the pack, she came highly recommended and because I wanted the best for my pack, I made her an offer and part of the pack. Her blond hair was pulled together in a neat bun, she was professional and dressed appropriately. 

The room was silent as the probe hit her skin, I watched her face closely as she scanned the screen. Our fingers entwined as we waited what felt like a lifetime for Reeva to say something.

The wheezing sound of the air-conditioning machine made me realize that something was missing, something that should be a clear indication of life.

His heartbeat.

As if she felt my realization her hands started to tremble in my hold, she was an absolute mess. But who could blame her?

"I - Is he okay?" She choked out, tears started to sting in her eyes as she nervously started to look at me, searching my eyes for answers.

Reeve looked at us with a confused face, her brown eyes struggled to understand at the question.

"Oh, shit. Right," she said, placing the probe in another position, making the tiny heartbeat blazed through the silent room, beating wildly like a little tympanic beat of victory. I felt my heart beating faster, I can't believe this. I took a closer look at the screen, keeping a close eye on the little pup, growing inside my beautiful mate.

I felt Zane purr within me, I squeezed Monica's hand and looked down to her. She was awfully quiet. She stared at the ultrasound machine, her eyes were as big as golf balls as she let out slow breaths that parted from her lips.

A single tear slip down her cheek and I watched her chest rise and fall, only to repeat the motion again and again. Her bottom lip quivered as she looked from me to Reeva.

Reeva decided to break the silence on our part as the sound of the heartbeat faded. The only indication that life was growing inside her, now gone.

"This is not like in the movies, Luna. The heartrate sound only plays when I would turn on the Doppler technology, drop the gate into position, and hit the update key. We also acquired a heartrate strip, that was at the bottom." Reeva said, putting the probe back in its place.

"Is, he okay? Healthy?" Monica asked. She looked at Reeva with a pleading look, a look that silently begged her to just say, yes.

"He is perfectly healthy, I will discuss everything with Dr. Green and then we can make a schedule for the pup and you. I would like to see you once a week. Given everything that happened," she said.

"Can I hear him again, please," Monica begged.

"Of course."

Reeva once again placed the probe in position, and the heartrate blazed through the room. I leaned closer to Monica, my face inches from hers as I looked into her eyes. Her green, hazel orbs locked with my blue ones and a slight smile spread across her face. She cupped my face unexpectedly and slammed her lips against mine.

I placed my hand under her chin, lifting her face towards me, I could feel her tears against my skin as I kissed her back with all that I am.

I heard the door closed and then I realized that the silence was surrounding us again. Pulling away she placed her hand on my chest, inhaling my scent. "I love you, Alexander Black. Thank you, for everything." She whispered.

My throat tightened at her words as I take a short intake of breath, my emotions started to rise within me, all the anger, the blame, the hurt, the loss, the worry, everything started to push me over the edge. Love does not come with a guidance book, it's unexpected and messy and sometimes it's too powerful to even understand. I tried to control the gut-wrenching feeling, to keep it in check; but still, it kept scratching at my soul begging me to unleash the contained hurricane of emotions within me.

I clenched my fists, trying to contain it, trying not to give in to my inner demons. I felt her warm hands cup my face as the emptiness of her body, against mine hit me in the gut, pushing me a little more over the edge.

And that's when it all went to shit, I couldn't hold them back anymore. I felt the warm, watery orb sliding off my cheek, leaving a trace of evidence on my face, then another and before I knew it, it was like a dam that exploded withing me as my body started to shake. Her eyes found mine, and quite honestly, I've never felt so weak in my life.

She looked at me with so much pride, so much love and care. She wiped the tears away with her thumb and placed a kiss on my cheek.

"You, are the bravest, strongest person I know. You are my King."

I can't believe this *crying* I finished this book. This is all thanks to my awesome readers. I love all of you. I won't keep you much here, there will be a chapter dedicated to all of you.

Pssst... Don't miss the bonus chapters and the Epilogue. There's a lot of new info to be announced soon.

I love you all so very much, I will forever be grateful towards all of you.

All my love

PS- Please vote and comment if you liked the chapter✼

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