Rejected and Pregnant by the Alpha King (Forbidden Alpha Kings #4)

64. Raine

64

Raine

I don’t know where we’re headed until we finally make it back to the edge of town and head for the healer without stopping. Aiden’s arm is draped over my shoulder, his unsteady faltering from all of the blood he’s lost reminding me too much of when I had to do it for Nyx not that long ago.

Fate has a cruel way of reminding me of things I’d rather forget—bringing things full circle into a picture I never wanted to lay my eyes on ever again.

I left my feelings for Aiden back in Andromeda. Resigning myself into moving on was the only way I could survive this long without him.

And with that, I found someone else who treated me well, had me feeling those same embers of desire that I once had for my fated mate.

Staring at Nyx’s back as he leads us through town to the healer’s clinic is torturous. His gait falters ever so slightly, barely detectable to anyone if you weren’t used to staring at him. He’s hurt just as much as Aiden is, but is refusing to show it.

When we finally get to the clinic, Eris is already waiting there for us with a worried frown etched into her wrinkled features.

She ushers me into laying Aiden down on one of her tables, both of us wincing when he lets out a pained groan.

“He’s lost a lot of blood,” I tell her, though the information is pretty useless considering that it’s obvious what’s wrong with him.

She gets to work quickly, propping him up enough to pack his wounds and stop the bleeding until his healing can kick in.

I step away from them both, giving Eris space to move around the room while she opens and closes doors to retrieve various medical items.

When I turn toward the door, Nyx is nowhere to be found. My heart hammers in my chest, leading me to duck into the hallway and follow after his scent. It leads me down another hall, far away from the room Aiden is in and into a small office.

He’s sitting on one of the medical chairs, a healing kit in front of him on the counter while he slowly peels off the remnants of his shirt in order to get to the wound underneath.

I dart toward him. “Here, let me.”

He freezes at the sound of my voice. His eyes don’t lift from where they are, even when I cut his shirt off of him and expose his entire chest. Aiden’s claws dug down deep into his tissue when they’d been fighting, which will most likely leave a nasty scar behind.

I wet one of the paper towels with disinfectant and carefully pat it over his chest. He hisses and grabs onto my wrist in a knee-jerk reaction. His grip around it is tight, but not bruising.

“Sorry,” I say and gently continue to pat at the wound.

He doesn’t say anything else, just occasionally winces when I get to a tender spot. His healing is slower than usual, which worries me. But the wounds are beginning to close up, thankfully.

There’s so much I want to say to him. But where do I even start?

How am I supposed to explain myself?

While I never lied, I also hid this from him, which is a big deal considering I’m carrying another alpha king’s child and am his fated mate. How is Nyx supposed to take that, other than to bow out in defeat?

My heart aches at the thought of him giving me up.

I don’t want him to. I want to stay with him even with Aiden here. But I also can’t deny the pull that my fated mate has on me, the way my heart yearns for him and my wolf demands that I go back.

Both parts of me are at war with each other and there’s nothing I can do about it.

Once I finally get Nyx as cleaned up as I can, I grab another towel and rinse my hands from the blood. There’s still some caked under my nails that I’ll deal with later.

Nyx shocks me when he leans forward and rests his forehead against my belly. I freeze for a moment, not quite believing that he’s not shoving me away the second that he can. Instead, he’s reaching out to me, wanting to bridge the gap between us instead of making it larger.

My fingers tangle into his hair, brushing through the tangled lengths with care.

“This doesn’t change anything,” I tell him, even though we both know that I’m lying.

He’s quiet for a while, simply letting me play with his hair and brush it back from his face in more of a ritualistic action that calms me down. When he finally speaks, his voice is quiet.

“Is it his?”

I already know what he’s referring to. What else would he be asking that for? “Yes.”

He pulls away from me in order to look me in the eyes. My hands cup his jaw while I stroke my thumbs over his cheeks. He is beautiful even when he terrified me earlier. I’ve never seen him like that—completely lost in his bloodlust.

Is that what he’s like on the battlefield? With no one to answer to aside from those that beg for him to show them mercy?

“You’ll go to him,” he tells me.

My head shakes. “No.”

“You did.”

My hands tighten around his jaw. “I don’t want to, Nyx.”

He stares at me for a long while, searching my eyes for something. I wish he’d tell me what he’s thinking so that I could answer whatever question he’s trying to find the answer for. I meant it when I said I had true feelings for him.

“And what do you want, Raine?” he finally asks.

“You.”

Something shifts in his eyes.

He grabs me by my hips, pushing me away just far enough to give him room to stand. I grab his arms to keep him steady when he pitches forward, catching himself at the last moment. Right as I’m about to tell him to sit back down, he grabs my face and kisses me hard.

I melt into it, letting him breach the seam of my lips to tangle his tongue with mine.

He doesn’t give me a chance to get into it before he pulls away again, fixing me with a hard look. “You are mine , Raine.”

A shiver races up my spine.

“He may be your fated mate, but you are mine.”

My fingers tangle in the hair at the base of his neck, pulling him down into another kiss—this time slow and sensual. I pour my feelings into it, letting him know just how I feel about such a bold claim.

Him wanting me, despite my mate showing up, is incredibly sexy. Nyx turns us slowly, backing me up into the counter where our hips meet. When we part again, he trails his lips across my cheek and down to my neck, sucking a fresh mark into my skin.

“I will send him away,” he tells me.

My head shakes. “He’s not going to leave. Not at least until the baby is born, which you both will have to fight to claim.”

When Nyx lifts his head again, there’s a small smirk playing on his lips. “Well then. I suppose he’ll be stuck in Soleus until that time comes.”

My eyes widen. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am deadly serious, Raine. He isn’t taking you out of my packlands. If he tries, I will kill him. No begging from you will stop me next time. Do you understand?”

A chill races up my spine at his eyes hardening with the declaration. I have no doubt that Nyx is serious. In fact, I wouldn’t expect anything less from him.

“I understand,” I tell him. “But for now, I’d like you two to at least stop trying to tear each other apart.”

“I can only control myself.”

That has me sighing. “I’ll talk to him, too.”

He frowns.

“I meant what I said, Nyx. I want you .”

Instantly, he’s softening again. He kisses me gently, burying his face in my neck. “Alright.”

I squeeze him tight against me. Aiden being forced to stay in Soleus until we can all sort this mess out is going to be…interesting.

My only hope is that he actually behaves himself. If not, I’m going to have to denounce him, much like he did with me back in Pollis.

Nyx presses another kiss to my neck. “Raine.”

I squeeze him tighter. “Everything will work out.”

It has to, or else we are all going to go up in flames.