ALEX
A battle still raged throughout the pack territory.
We weren’t entirely sure what was happening out in the big, bad world, we just knew that it wasn’t
good.
After he collapsed, we’d taken Noah to the pack hospital. He had been screaming, truly screaming in
pain, crying about Ava, but not able to tell us what happened.
The awful thing is… how he was reacting reminded me of something horrible.
Fifteen years ago, I lost my wife. My fated mate. The mother of my boys.
The only reason I got through it was my boys.
There’s a reason a lot of wolves lose themselves, their minds and often their lives after their mate dies.
Our mates are the other half of us. If you lose them, well. It’s like you are being torn apart from the
inside out and your soul is being ripped out. It’s like your very being is being destroyed.
You had to find something to live for to be able to carry on living.
If Noah was in this much pain… something happened to Ava. Which meant my boys would also be in
this much pain.
Perhaps it was a blessing that Ava and Theo hadn’t marked each other yet and that he was
unconscious. Even so… he still would have felt it.
Once Noah was settled in the hospital, I sat by his bedside, my head in my hands. I couldn’t be by my
sons’ sides at that point in time, but Noah… Noah I could.
I tried and tried again to link either one of my sons, Ava, Jeremiah, anyone, to no avail. I didn’t know
where they were, or what was happening.
All I could trust in is that I’d know if Callum or Oscar died. There’s a link between immediate family
members; not as strong as a mate bond, but more than a regular pack bond.
“Beta,” the doctor suddenly appeared in the doorway, dipping his head.
“Doc, any news?”
He sighed. “I’m limited, Beta. There are no evident causes of his symptoms that we can identify, so
we agree with you that it is likely a result of a strained mate bond. But… that just means that all we
can do is keep him stable, make sure the symptoms don’t cause any complications.”
“Unless his mate recovers?”
“Indeed, Beta. Or, he needs to find something or someone to go on living for, even without his mate.”
Fuck. His parents are recovering from being kidnapped. His brother is unconscious. His mate is
potentially dying.
“So what are you doing?”
“He’s on drugs to keep his blood pressure stable. His blood sugar dropped too, so we’re working to
keep that level,” he sighed. “There’s a risk of his body starting to shut down. We’re watching for signs
of his kidneys and liver failing, and we’re tracking his blood oxygen levels, brain activity… the
works.” His voice was loaded with stress.
Before I could thank the doctor, alarms started blaring from another room a few doors down… the
direction of Theo’s room.
He sprinted out of the room, with me just behind. When I reached the door of Theo’s room… I broke
down. The Alpha was in his hospital room with him, standing in the corner watching the doctors work
to get his son’s heart started again.
I squeezed in around the doctors, pulling Jacob in against me with my arm around his shoulders. Him
sobbing with his hand over his mouth broke my heart.
We stood there for a long time before a sigh of relief spread through the room as the monitor showed
a stable rhythm.
“Well done, Theo, you’re a fighter,” the doctor smiled. “You can rest now. We’ve got you from here.”
Jacob’s knees collapsed from under him, sending him to the floor as he sobbed in relief. I knew Theo
wasn’t out of the woods yet… but the doctor was right, he’s a fighter.
I helped him up, sitting him in the chair by Theo’s bedside. Before I could sit with him, one of the
wolves I’d left in charge when Noah collapsed linked.
“Beta,” the wolf, Samuel, linked. “They’ve got witches, south west border.” I could hear the stress in
his voice, but he was really trying not to show it.
“How many, Samuel?”
“At least five, Beta.”
“Are any of the Lycan warriors with you?”
“One, Beta.”
“Ask him to link and find any others who aren’t currently needed where they are for support.”
“Of course, Beta.” He disconnected the link.
“Alpha, I’m needed at the border. Some of the rogues have brought an entourage of witches with
them. Please let me know if anything changes.”
He just nodded, tears in his eyes as they were still fixed on Theo.
I sprinted out of the hospital, shifting the second I left the building, not even caring about shredding
everything I was wearing.
By the time I got to the border point in question, the territory was a bloodbath. The Lycans had beaten
me there, and they had done a pretty good job of clearing out the rogues, and even a couple of the
witches.
Now… It was just the three witches and a load of rogue wolves. No biggie.
Normally, the rogue wolves really would have been no biggie. Sadly, when backed up by witches,
even the weakest wolves can become a major problem… and this was starting to look like one of
those times.
The rogues were fast, faster than they should be, and they were strong too. The Lycan warriors were
trying to sneak around behind the witches to take them out, but it was slow progress.
I sprinted straight for the witches, drawing their attention away from the Lycans, giving them the
space they needed to get closer. They attempted to use their magic against me… but luckily for my
ability to stay alive, they were so focused on keeping the rogues stronger and faster that they couldn’t
actually do much damage to me.
I’d probably be sore in the morning, sure, but I’d live.
Fortunately, my plan worked! For the most part.
The Lycans successfully took out two of the witches, and the effect was immediate. The rogue wolves
were slowing down, dropping faster and couldn’t take anywhere near as much damage as they had
been. We were finally making a dent in their forces.
Before we could get to her… the third witch fled.
By fled, I mean ‘disappeared into thin air, probably to cause trouble somewhere else’.
For now though? That was a problem for later. We lost five wolves and another seventeen were
injured. It was going to be a long night yet.