Rikkart
Two things registered in my brain. One, I was in too much pain to be dead, and two, Viv was going to be pissed.
The look on her face when I was locked in the room, giving myself up to keep her safe, would give me nightmares for the rest of my life. Knowing that my mate—the woman who is the other half of my heart—was in danger, I couldn’t help but act.
Was it the right choice? There’s no way to know.
Decisions were made, and the consequences were steep, but I would never hesitate to keep her safe.
I knew she wouldn’t be alone with Koit and Tav with her.
Hell, even knowing Darius would look after her had helped in my choice.
Now that I’d survived my moment of self-sacrifice, I worried how much longer I would live once Viv let me have it.
I took a deep breath, but the pain that flooded my body and burned my lungs caused me to cut that idea short.
Letting out a groan, I decided shallower breaths would be better and less painful.
My body ached like I’d been run over by a steamroller and then reinflated.
Forcing my heavy lids to open, I found myself looking at the canopy of Viv’s bed, back at the castle.
Carefully, I shifted my head to the left, hearing someone moving around.
My eyes landed on a strange man, who seemed far more comfortable being in my mate’s room than he should be.
What the fuck was going on? How did this guy get past the security that Darius installed?
It was supposed to be the best out there.
Looked like we were going to need to have another talk…
but with more force behind it this time.
“Ah, and he finally decides to wake,” the stranger said, pulling my gaze back to him.
He walked over to me, pulled a stethoscope out of his back pocket, and moved to use it on me. I let out a low growl, feeling my lips pull back at the action. There was no fucking way I was going to let him do anything to me until I found out what the hell was going on.
Letting out a sigh, the man frowned at me. “Look, you may not know me, but I have been attending you for the past three days alongside your mate. If I wanted to harm you, I had ample time to do so when you were at death’s door.”
I shifted, trying to sit up so I could look this man in the face. I didn’t like that he was above me when I knew that I was the stronger out of the two of us. The doctor watched me with a bland look on his face, unimpressed. Someone shifted to my right, and the scent of jasmine told me it was Viv.
“Rik…” Viv said, sleep heavy in her voice. When I turned to look at her, though, she perked right up. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Lay the fuck back down before we have to shock you again.”
I paused at her words. “Shock me?”
“Yes, now do as you’re told before I shock you for the hell of it,” Viv ordered, sitting up on her knees to look at me, her eyes flashing with her wolf.
I settled back, letting her fuss with my pillows until I was propped up enough to see the room better. I grabbed her hand, causing her to stop and look at me.
“Sweetheart, please tell me what’s going on,” I begged, my wolf and I both feeling unsettled.
Viv sighed and grasped my hand in both of hers. She took a few deep breaths, and when she met my gaze, I could see tears welling up in her beautiful sea-blue eyes.
“I almost lost you, Rik,” she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. “Who the hell told you that sacrificing yourself was a good idea? Or even allowed?”
“It’s thanks to the quick thinking of your mate and brother that you’re still alive,” the doctor added.
I frowned at his words, not knowing what he was talking about, but I brushed it off. It wasn’t the first time someone had thought Koit was my brother, and it probably wouldn’t be the last.
“We had to do a blood transfusion to keep the poison from making your blood too thick for your heart to pump. Once we got you the antidote, there was a complication because the aerosolized wolfsbane soaked in your skin and your lungs. One of the effects of wolfsbane is messing with the way your heart responds to electrical impulses to keep it working correctly.” Viv paused, licking her lips before she continued.
“Your heart needed to be shocked back into rhythm over fifty times in the past three days.”
I felt my jaw fall open at her words. My mind raced, trying to grasp the full extent of what she was telling me. It was then I noticed the dark circles around her eyes from lack of sleep. She was in sweats, and from her scent, hadn’t taken the time to wash more than her body.
“I’m so sorry I put you through this, sweetheart,” I rasped, lifting my hand to her cheek and brushing my thumb across her skin.
“Don’t you dare fucking apologize for staying alive.” Viv sobbed and curled up against my chest, letting me hold her as she cried. “You’re never allowed to pull that kind of stunt ever again, or I’ll kill you myself.”
I chuckled, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. “I’ll do my best.”
“Dama, I hate to impose, but if I might be able to check him over now that he is awake?” the doctor pressed, standing next to the bed.
Try as I might, I couldn’t help but growl at him again… okay, I didn’t really try that hard. Something about this man just rubbed me the wrong way.
Viv, on the other hand, sat back, wiping her face with the sleeve of her sweatshirt, and nodded. “Of course, Bentley. Do whatever you need to.”
Bentley checked my heart, blood pressure, and temperature, then asked me a bunch of annoying questions.
“Dama, I think it would be safe to say that he is out of the woods and looking at a full recovery. All his vitals have come back to normal, so I believe all the toxins are out of his system. We’ll need to watch how you reintroduce food since he’s been fasting the past few days, but once that’s settled, he’ll be fine.
Sore, for sure, but fine to resume normal activities in a few days. ”
The relief that information gave Viv made me accept that I would be going to be checked out by a doctor whenever she asked, no matter how small the issue.
“Thank you, Bentley,” Viv said, giving him a soft smile. “Let me call and get someone to meet you at the stairs so they can take you to where the rest of the prospects are staying.”
Now I understood why this guy pissed me off. He was one of the mate prospects, the doctor from The Collective’s hospital. Arrogant bastard sure got fast-tracked—being able to save the Dama’s mate was a worthy skill.
“Thank you, Dama, but I can manage on my own. I’m sure you don’t want to be leaving your mate’s side just yet,” Doc Bentley said, giving a small bow. He paused at the door before leaving the room. “Should I let the others know that he’s awake?”
“Yes, thank you. That would save me a step,” Viv said as she curled up next to me.
I wrapped my arm around her and held her tightly, knowing that I had just put her through hell.
She scootched up so she could nuzzle her face into my neck, taking a deep, calming breath, her hand resting on my chest over my heart.
I let the silence remain, knowing that nothing I could say would help her feel better about what happened.
Then I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Koit was the first one through the door, but he stopped a few steps in, letting the other two reach me first. I frowned at him. Koit was anything but shy, especially when it came to being around these people.
“Way to give us all a scare. Glad you’re back with us,” Tav said as he clasped my forearm, giving me a bright smile.
Darius gave me a simple nod of the head, not one for emotions. “Good to see you’re recovering.” He glanced over his shoulder at Koit, who was still hovering close to the door, a crease appearing between his brows.
“Any reason you’re avoiding coming over here?” I asked, my wolf pressing forward, sensing that there was something wrong. Tension hung in the air.
“Yes, Koit, what could possibly be the reason you’re so reluctant to come greet your alpha and best friend after he’s come back from the dead?” Darius said with a biting tone to his voice.
Viv shot up, glaring at Darius, letting out a warning growl. “Enough. He just woke up. Let the man have a moment to recover.”
“What are you talking about, Viv? Did something happen while I was out? Did The Collective attack? Did something happen with Vadik?” I started to sit up again, my protective instincts pushing me into action.
“No, nothing that can’t wait a few days. It’s nothing that will threaten me or the pack,” Viv said, grabbing my arm, trying to stop me from getting up.
My wolf snarled at the scent of fear that was coming off Viv. This was a bigger issue than she was letting on.
“Someone better tell me what the hell is going on, or I’m going to get out of this bed to find out for myself.” I snapped.
Viv dropped her hold on me and let out a small gasp of surprise.
It took a lot for me to get upset, but once it happened, I tended to explode.
Fixing my gaze on Koit, I let him feel the weight of my alpha essence, trying to force him to look at me.
When he finally glanced up, I was shocked to feel him push back against me with his own alpha energy.
I felt my eyes widen as I realized what was happening.
“How?” It was the only question I could manage to get out.
Koit stepped up to the bed, never letting his gaze break from mine as he told me the one thing I never would have guessed would come out of his mouth. “We share the same father—I’m your half-brother.”
Anger swept through me at his words. There was no fucking way that my father would ever cheat on my mother. Wolves mated for life. They didn’t stray, they stayed loyal till death. He had to be mistaken. There had to be another explanation for all this.
“Rik—” Koit started.
“Get. The. Fuck. Out,” I bit out between clenched teeth.
He opened his mouth to say something more, but I couldn’t handle it.
I lunged at him, wrapped my hand around his throat, picked him up, and tossed him at the stone wall.
His body went flying, and the dull thud followed by a crack of stone was the only sound in the room.
I made to pursue, but Viv appeared before me, her eyes glowing with her wolf.
She bared her teeth and splayed open her arms, protecting Koit.
“I will not let you abuse my mate,” she snarled. “Go take a shower or whatever you need to do to calm the fuck down, because this is not happening.”
I took a step back, looking down at Koit’s limp body slumped against the wall. Shame at my actions overwhelmed me as I fled into the bathroom. I leaned over the sink, looking at myself in the mirror. What had I just done?