45. Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Five
Cade
D espite my worries over what was happening to my wolf and the pain in my leg, the moment Violet said Bells was dying, I felt the need to find her and protect her. But fuck, Chris wasn’t putting me down, and I didn’t have the energy to make him. This wasn’t how I imagined seeing Bells again, and boy had I dreamt of seeing her again, every night since I left her.
Every day for the last six weeks, I’d almost called her. I almost begged her to give me a chance. I only just managed to stop myself from becoming a crazy ex-boyfriend by the sheer amount of work I had on my plate. It made the days bleed into one another, until all I could do was fall asleep due to extreme exhaustion.
When I found out what happened to Adam, I was already halfway out of Arizona before John caught up with me, and talked sense into me. It wasn’t the time to show up at Bells door and push her. She would just push me away like she did last time.
I was planning on looking for her when she got here, but then Nyko took a nosedive. I couldn’t control my aura, and spooked the damn horse. I’ve been laid out for over a week. Nyko didn’t have the energy to heal me, and the pain of a broken femur was almost as bad as the pain of losing my princess. I’ve been in and out of consciousness over the last few days.
Being carried in like a new bride, feeling weak and with an almost dormant wolf, wasn’t the best way to see the woman who broke my heart and kept the pieces, again. But, every thought of my dignity left me when the doctor opened a set of doors, and I was hit with the delicious smell of apple blossoms and an underlying smell of alcohol and coconuts saturating the room. Was it this strong before? For the first time in a few days, Nyko lifted his head, and wagged his tail.
Mate, the word slipped out of his mouth as he tried to stand, but slipped and fell.
She didn’t want to be our chosen mate, I reminded him, pain stabbing me at my own words.
MATE, Niko continued to growl and try to stand.
“What’s wrong with her?” I asked when Chris stepped inside, and I finally got my first look at my princess. Wires galore were attached to her face, head, chest, and arms, and I could see many more coming out from under the blankets, and connecting to different machines. And, despite all of that, she still looked like the most beautiful woman in the world to me.
“She’s in a chemically induced coma,” Violet answered, and I was glad Chris was still holding me up, because my knees wouldn’t have held me upright.
“What happened?” I demanded to know as I struggled against Chris’ hold, while Nyko howled in my head.
I need to get to her. I needed to figure out how to fix it.
“I’d like to know what’s going on,” the doctor asked. Evie’s mom, if I remembered correctly.
“We’re hoping it’s you,” Chris answered me, finally putting me back in a standing position, and helping me limp toward the extra bed in the room.
As I got closer, though, I realized the smell of coconut was getting stronger, and my heart began to crack in half. I stopped moving, and tried to keep myself from falling apart. I was too late. I lost my last chance to convince Bells to love me.
“I didn’t do anything to her, whereas she broke my heart and by the smell, it looks like she didn’t have a problem taking another.” My voice cracked as I said the words, and Nyko snarled in my head. I was so sure she loved me, in her own way. How could I have been so wrong?
“How’s your wolf, right now?” Violet asked from behind me.
I couldn’t take my eyes off Bells. Despite the pain I was feeling at knowing she’d taken another so soon after our relationship, it hurt me to my core to see her hooked up to so many machines. Where was her mate? Why wasn’t he here with her? If she were mine, I wouldn’t leave her side for a single moment.
Ours. She’s ours, Nyko growled, now standing up in the back, even if he still looked weak.
“He’s... more alert, actually,” I answered.
I knew he was depressed because he missed her, but he shouldn’t be reacting this way. Bells booted us to the curb and now she was mated. We were going to have to get used to it.
“Touch her, Cade.”
“I’m not touching a woman without her consent, Violet. Especially, not a mated woman.”
“She’s not mated. Bells is pregnant.”
Her words brought my world to a halt, and Nyko’s snarls quieted. My eyes went to her shoulder. Despite the wires falling across her slender neck, I could see no visible mating mark on it. She was pregnant. It had only been less than two months since she ended our relationship. I didn’t want to think of the possibility Bells had been with another man so soon after our breakup, when all I could think about was her. Day and night, always her. My heart was trying to beat out of my chest, as I steeled myself to ask a question that could change my life.
“Is it—”
“You’re the father,” Violet confirmed, guessing my question. “Touch her, Cade. We need confirmation before I have the medication stopped.”
“Why?” I asked. “Why would touching her have anything to do with what’s going on?” I needed to know, though I let Chris help me get closer; the pull to her was too strong. My soul needed to touch her again. I needed to place my head to her stomach, and verify for myself what Violet was saying.
“Because we think you’re mates,” Violet answered quietly.
Yes! Mate. Ours, Nyko’s tail wagged, trying to push forward to get us closer to Bells.
“We already checked if we were second-chance mates, Violet. You know this.”
“But, you don’t know what happened since. Please trust us, Cade. Touch my sister and if nothing happens, I’ll apologize.”
My hand shook as I reached out to touch her. Despite knowing we weren’t mates, my stupid heart couldn’t help but hope Violet was right, and I was wrong. I wanted Bells to be mine more than I wanted to live.
Sparks so strong they made my whole body tremble, shot down my arm when my hand made contact with her soft cheek. It was like it was shocking energy into my system. I felt Nyko’s strength returning exponentially fast, and the pain in my leg all but disappeared, as he began healing it. Tears I didn’t know were so close to the surface fell, as I muttered the one word I’d always dreamt of being able to say to her.
“Mate,” I whispered, sitting down on the edge of her bed, unable to take my hand away from where it was connected to her, but my good leg was unable to hold me up any longer.
“Thank the Goddess,” Violet breathed out behind me.
I saw the lab coat of the doctor coming around to check the monitors.
“Her heart rate is increasing and the rest of her vitals are rising to normal levels. How di—”
“Zi found the cipher to the spell book. One of them, we think was a bond hijacking spell,” Violet explained.
“What? What does that mean?” I asked, tearing my eyes from my princess to look at Violet, but keeping my hand on her cheek.
“After we killed Martha, we found a secret room behind her closet. It had an altar with all sorts of spells on it. Before we could stop her, Bells took a sledgehammer and destroyed it. I found a book underneath the debris and brought it back for Zi to translate. One of the spells inside was for transferring an existing mate bond from the rightful partner to an intended target.” Violet took a deep breath and looked at Chris, who nodded.
"This was almost two weeks ago. The day after, Bells started getting really tired. She napped all day, and was barely eating. We thought it was related to her pregnancy at first, but then her wolf became lethargic, before falling unconscious. Bells asked to be put in a chemically induced coma, so when her wolf died, they could keep her body on life support until her pups were born.”
My heart broke at the sacrifice my princess made, until I caught on to what she said.
“Pups? More than one?”
“She’s having twins,” Violet answered with a smile.
I turned back to Bells and finally moved my hand from her heart-stoppingly beautiful face, and placed it on her stomach. Another tear dropped, as I felt the small curve of her abdomen.
“Why didn’t she call me?”
Did she hate the thought of being with me so much, that she would rather raise our pups alone?
“She did,” Chris answered, and made me whip my head to him.
“She didn’t.”
“She did. The day you left, she called you and left you a voicemail, asking you to call her back if you thought you could forgive her,” he insisted.
“I-I never got a voicemail.”
“You broke your phone before you left, remember? She called you as we were driving down here,” John explained from behind me.
“You knew?” I asked my best friend and Beta.
I loved John like a brother, but I would kill him if he kept this from me. If he kept me from her.
“I found out yesterday. You’ve been asleep for days.”
I tried to digest everything, but I was too overwhelmed, so I chose to focus on the one thing that made me happy. “So, you think we’re second-chance mates, and this Martha person took it from us?”
“No. I think you were her mate all along. The spell needs a target to work. Bells didn’t find a fake second-chance mate since Brandon died, so Martha must not have found another person she could transfer the bond to. That means she did it eight years ago, when Bells met Brandon.”
Eight years.
I was there the night she met Brandon. I watched that smug son of a bitch claim the woman I wanted, and all this time, she was supposed to be mine. She was mine and he stole her from me. Took the life I’d dreamt about, and didn’t even treat her like she deserved.
Nyko and I started shaking and losing control, as we grappled with the knowledge that eight years had been stolen from my life with my mate. My aura flew out of me, unable to control it, and I heard everyone around me whimper. I tried to rein it in, but the longer I looked at my mate, unconscious on the bed, the more out of control I felt. Then, I felt something under my hand move, and Nyko and I stopped. Wonder replaced the storm raging inside me, as I looked at where my hand was lying on top of her stomach.
“I-I think I just felt the pups move.” My voice was so quiet, I wasn’t sure anyone heard me, but Evie’s mom must have.
“I think they reacted to your stress,” she replied.
“Stop her meds so she comes to, please,” Violet instructed.
“I’ll need you to sign some forms on her behalf.”
“Whatever it takes. Cade, you need to get in bed.”
“I’m not leaving her.”
“I’m not asking you to. Get in bed, and we’ll lock them together. What Bells and you both need right now, is contact. Once she’s awake, you both need to have a conversation that’s long overdue.”
I obeyed, though the minute it took for them to push the beds together caused my body to shake and ache.
“Why is this happening to me?” I asked, seeing Bells’ monitors begin to beep in alarm.
“Bond sickness. Eight years’ worth,” Chris explained.
The moment the beds were secured together, I scooched over until I could wrap an arm over her stomach and lay my head on her shoulder. The sparks felt incredible wherever my skin made contact with hers, and against my will, my eyes fluttered closed and I fell asleep with my mate in my arms. The way I always wanted to.
“ C ory. Calm down before I have you removed from the room.” Violet’s raised voice woke me.
“Then, explain to me what the hell is going on, Bug. Why is Cade wrapped around my sister like she’s his comfort blanket.”
“I’ve been trying to, but you can’t just try to beat up Bells’ mate.”
“Mate? What the hell, Violet! Since when? Is he the pups’ father?”
“Yes. Will you lower your voice? Those two have been through the wringer, and Bells might wake up any moment now.”
I kept my eyes closed, trying to keep my breathing even. I wasn’t scared of Cory. I just didn’t care what he thought at the moment. I had my mate, My Princess, and I didn’t want to rejoin the real world for a good long while. I listened to Violet explain everything to Cory, including the relationship I formed with Bells while I was there, and how it ended. Hearing it told out loud, hurt all over again, but the sparks I could feel where our bodies touched, and her scent mixed with our pups surrounding me, made the pain lessen.
Whatever happened from here on, I wouldn’t give up on my mate and my pups. Bells would have to kill me to get me to let her go this time. I wouldn’t even accept a rejection. I would fight for her, until she could push through whatever trauma that asshole put my mate through, and she could trust me.
I kissed the shoulder I was sleeping on and felt her stir. I sat up, trying to see if she was awake, but her eyes were still closed. I sighed with disappointment, but now I had the attention of the room.
“Her arm twitched,” I explained. “I thought, anyway,”
“How are you feeling?” Violet asked.
I moved my legs a little, feeling no discomfort anymore. I wondered how long I’d been asleep. Nyko was awake and alert in the back of my head, already.
“Back to normal.”
“That’s great. I’ll have someone bring you food, and Valeria can explain what to expect when Bells wakes up.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s a process. We essentially shut down her brain. She’s not just sleeping.”
My heart sank at her words as she exited, and then I looked at Cory. He was looking at me, as if he was measuring me to see if I was good enough for his sister. It made me wonder if I was going to have to cut ties with Crescent Moon in order to keep my mate.
“You love my sister?” Cory asked.
“More than life itself,” I answered without hesitation.
“Good.” That was all Cory said before he stood up. “I’m going to go explain things to my family. I suspect it’s going to get crowded in here soon, so make sure you take a moment to use the facilities, because if you leave Bells’ side while they’re here, you won’t find it empty when you come back.”
I nodded, looking down at where I was still holding Bells hand, and then over to the bathroom. I could really take a piss right now, but I didn’t want to leave her. What if she woke up alone? Cory seemed to read my face, because he finally smiled, as if I’d passed some sort of test, and walked over to us.
“Go use the restroom. I’ll be right here with her until you come back.”
“Thank you,” I managed.
I kissed the hand I was holding and then walked into the bathroom. I eyed the showerhead with a bit of longing. I’d been so out of it the last few days, I couldn’t remember when the last time I showered was. I was trying to scrub my armpits under the sink as best as I could, when there was a knock on the door.
“You have ten minutes,” Cory shoved fresh clothes into my hands when I opened the door.
“Thanks, man,” I answered.
The door barely clicked closed before I was peeling my clothes off and standing under the hot shower. I scrubbed as fast as I could, barely bothering to dry myself before I pulled on my clothes. I needed to be back with my mate.
Fuck. My mate. I stopped with my hand on the handle of the bathroom door as the realization of everything happening threatened to buckle knees.
My princess was mine.
Mine to love, mine to cherish and mine to spoil the fuck out of.
When I walked out, Evie’s mom was in the room checking on monitors.
“I’ll be back once you’ve eaten to explain everything,” she told me before exiting the room.
Cory stood from where he was sitting next to Bells, and nodded toward a tray of burgers sitting on a table beside the bed.
“I’ll try to stall them so you can eat, but we’ve been slowly falling apart with Bells in here.”
I nodded, understanding.
I sat down and grabbed Bells’ hand in mine again, eating with one hand. I had already finished one burger when Violet and Chris walked in moments later.
“Where’s John?” I asked.
“He went to grab your parents and tell them what’s going on. He said he’d be back in about an hour.”
“I—” I swallowed hard. “How can I ever thank you for everything you’ve done?”
“Treat my sister the same way you’ve always treated her, except don’t let her push you away again, and we can call it even.”
“She’s my shoe and I’m her gum. She’ll have to pry me off by force to get me away from her,” I assured her.
“You’re so eloquent,” Violet teased.
“How’s your pup doing?” I asked between bites.
“Good. He hasn’t been any trouble at all.”
“It’s a boy?”
“We don’t know, yet. We should know before the end of the month, but it’s just a hunch.”
“You guys still waiting for the full moon to mark each other?” I asked.
“Yeah, I promised Dad. Well, he did. I’m okay with letting the old man down.” She pointed at Chris, who blushed and buried his head in her hair.
“You wouldn’t if his mom asked you?” I raised an eyebrow, making Violet blush and Chris smile smugly. They were too adorable for words. “It’s only a week away now, anyway. I’m sure brownie points with father-in-law never hurt.”
E specially since you knocked up his daughter , I thought, then realized I was in the same boat.
I looked down at the hand I was holding, a question coming to my mind.
“Why didn’t you guys tell me about Bells’ pregnancy?” I asked. I’d spoken and texted them several times since I left, and no one said a peep.
“Remember how I never let you guys talk to Chris when we were going through it?” she asked with a sympathetic look on her face.
I nodded and sighed. I figured as much. My princess was a stubborn woman.
“When you were going through what?” Alpha Markus’ voice caught everyone by surprise, as did the stern tone and look on his face.
Chris sat up straight, paling. He knew he wouldn’t gain any brownie points with overprotective Dad, if Violet told him about how he broke up with her.
I tried not to let my nerves show. I would fight for Bells to my last breath, even her father, but I wasn’t so sure I’d win against the old man. Especially, if I wasn’t trying to hurt him for the sake of his daughter.
“Noneya, Dad,” Violet answered.
Alpha Markus’ face darkened, and I thought he was going to go off on a lecture about respect to one of his youngest daughters. Instead, he turned to his mate and pouted.
“See what you did, Tuli? I told you I wanted nothing but boys that I could raise with an iron fist. Instead, you gave me three princesses who think it’s okay to leave their poor father in the dark.”
“Markus, don’t lie. You begged every kid after the twins to be a girl. Lucien is the only one who didn’t listen, and it’s not like you didn’t cave to his every demand, the same way you did the girls.”
I snorted at her words, and drew his line of sight. I sat up a little straighter, and watched his eyes drawn to where my hand was wrapped around Bells’.
“I heard you’re my daughter’s real mate.”
"I am,” I answered, unsure where he was going with it.
“Are we going to have a problem? Are you going to hurt her and break her heart, too?”
“I would rather chew off my arm than hurt her,” I growled, angry that he would think that about me.
“Are you going to mark her and make her your Luna and raise those pups right?”
“I tried to do that before I felt the mate bond, Alpha Markus. As soon as I can convince her to let me this time, I’m never letting any of them away from my side,” I answered, feeling a bit calmer, and remembering he was just a father wanting to protect his daughter after she’d been through so much.
“Good. I don’t want to have beat up my princess’ mate while she’s pregnant.”
Chris coughed to cover a laugh, but Alpha Markus heard it.
“What’s so funny?”
“Cade calls Bells ‘Princess,’ Dad,” Violet giggled, making me glare at her.
“After all we’ve been through. You throw me under the bus, just like that, Vi?” I asked.
Violet giggled more, and I turned my attention to Alpha Markus, who was now looking a bit more upset than when he came in.
I swallowed, and before I could stop myself, I blurted, “It’s okay, Alpha Markus. She can continue to be your princess, because I plan to make her my queen.”
I braced for his response, but it caught me off guard to see the relief on his face, while Luna Celeste did a little happy jig beside him.
“I’m glad to hear that. Bells deserves a man like you.” Alpha Markus nodded, pulling his mate to his side to lay a kiss on her temple.
“That’s how it should have been from the start. I’m so happy. Cade is going to make a great mate,” Luna Celeste sighed, making me slump back with some relief.
“Of course he will, Celeste. We raised him right.” Dad’s voice came from outside moments before he, Mom and John pushed through the doors. “Except for when it comes to telling us what’s going on as it happens,” he added with a raised brow.
I felt the heat coming to my face before Alpha Markus laughed.
“That’s just kids these days. I don’t know half the shit going on with mine anymore. They think they’re know-it-alls who don’t need advice from the older generation.”
“You’re one to talk, son,” Grandpa Alexander walked in with his mate. “You were exactly the same when you were their age.”
“Can’t anyone ever let me keep my pride intact in front of the new family members for at least one day?” Alpha Markus complained, crossing his arms to show his displeasure.
“No,” came a chorus of rejections from the room and the doors, as they pushed open again and Luna Natalia, Alpha Helios, Beta Gonzalo and Kassie, Gamma Theo and Sebastian walked through, the previous Gamma and Beta from Crescent Moon hot on their heels.
“I hate you guys,” Alpha Markus mumbled under his breath before he pointed at me and Chris. “If I hear you guys call me Alpha Markus ever again, we’re going to have issues. It’s just Markus. Family doesn’t use titles.”
The room filled up quickly after that, and we were all talking and waiting for Bells to wake up, when Dr. Roswell walked in and blinked.
“I know Dr. Castle and Dr. West let you guys get away with this sort of thing, but Bells needs peace and quiet when she wakes up, not to mention a serious talk with her mate, so, OUT!” she scolded. “Everyone, but immediate family, OUT! We have waiting rooms for this purpose. And you, Evergreen! You should know better.”
Her mate had been trying to slip by unnoticed behind Beta Gillian, but blushed when he was caught, making the males in the family laugh.
I turned my attention to the hand that was placed on my shoulder. I hugged Mom and then Dad, as they prepared to leave.
“We’re so happy for you, son,” my old man whispered before he took Mom by the hand. “We’ll be right outside.”
Evie’s Mom looked at her daughter expectantly when everyone else had left.
“Oh, come on, Mom! Cory’s immediate family and he’s my mate. That makes me immediate family,” she argued.
“If I let you stay, then I have to let Cecilia stay and Alpha David when Areli gets here. It’s too many, Evie.”
“What about Chris? Why can he stay?” she pointed accusingly at Chris, who had been trying to make himself smaller behind Violet, so he wouldn’t be kicked out. When all eyes turned to him, he straightened and blushed.
“Bells specifically asked that he be allowed anywhere Violet was. Be a good girl, listen to your mother and go wait outside.”
With a huff and a pout, Evie lifted to her tippy toes and gave Cory a kiss before she glared at her mother. “I was going to name this kid after you if it was a girl. Now, I’m going to reconsider.”
“Yeah, well then, I hope the next set is triplets!” Evie’s mom called out after her daughter.
“Oh, come on, I didn’t do anything to deserve that,” Cory complained.
“You’re mated to her,” she challenged, a smile twitching on her face as she tried to remain stern.
“Cory, sit down before you get us kicked out, too,” Markus scolded his son. Areli ran inside a few minutes later, having had David drive her down as soon as Cory called her.
Once the room quieted down, the doctor explained what was going to happen once Bells woke up. It was going to be gradual. She would wake but might not be able to speak or react much right away, she might be agitated and confused, or she could be completely fine. It varied from person to person, and I could only hope my stubborn mate was fine.
We didn’t have to wait long to find out. About twenty minutes later, I felt the hand in mine twitch. I turned to face my sleeping mate and watched her eyes flutter open. She inhaled sharply, and then she started looking around in panic as everyone gathered around the bed. The heart rate monitor was going crazy until Dr. Roswell turned the sound off.
I waited with bated breath for Bells to look at me, and when she did, I felt the bond snapping into place despite the lack of full moon, and the sparks I’d felt in my hands intensified.
“Mate.” Her voice was barely above a whisper, and tears gathered in her pretty eyes and fell.