46. Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Six
Bellarose
O ne moment I was looking at the faces of my loved ones for the last time, and then I was waking up again. I took in a sharp breath, consciousness rushing back to me, my heart hammering in my chest, and the light hurting my eyes.
I heard beeping to my left before it went silent. I began looking around the room. My limbs felt so heavy, and I couldn’t come up with the energy to move them. My vision felt blurry and I couldn’t make out the figures coming to standing around the bed. Coyo was stretching in the back of my head, looking rested and fine.
I was dead.
This had to be me dying and stepping into whatever afterlife exists. Right? A face I hadn’t seen in months, except in my dreams, hovered over me and came into focus. When I looked into the sharp blue eyes full of love of the man of my dreams, I felt the mate bond snap into place.
“Mate.”
My throat was dry and I was barely able to whisper the word. Tears stung and left my eyes.
I was dreaming.
I was dead and dreaming. It was the only reality in which this could happen. This was my consciousness’ last hurrah. Showing me its greatest desire before it misfired and stopped. Tears continued to flow, a sob broke out of my chest when the other people came into focus, and I saw my entire family gathered around the bed.
“Hey, hey. It’s okay, Princess. We’re here.” Cade put his hand on my face, and sparks stronger than I ever felt with Brandon spread from the point of contact.
Mate! Coyo howled happily.
“You’re okay. Our pups are okay,” Cade whispered, tears falling from his eyes and landing on my shoulder.
“I—” I stopped, swallowing what felt like sand.
I looked around again. Chris was holding Violet, and Dad was holding onto Mom. Cory’s hands were on my foot, rubbing it up and down, trying to comfort me. Lucien was standing behind him, holding onto Areli in a comforting hug. Everyone had tears in their eyes. They shouldn’t be crying if this was my imagination. I would see nothing but smiles, so I could go happily.
Cade brought a glass of water to my lips and helped me sip. The cool water covered and soothed my dry throat.
“I’m not dead?” I asked Violet when my throat felt better.
“No. It’s been four days since we put you in the coma, Bells. We figured out what was happening to you,” she answered, a tear falling down even as she smiled at me.
I placed a hand on my stomach, my energy slowly returning. The small bump didn’t feel any bigger. A hand closed over mine and the sparks burst from it, making my heart hammer against my chest again. I looked up at Cade again.
“How?” I could barely whisper the question.
“It’s a long story. Chris is the hero who figured it out,” Cade whispered back, the emotion in his voice bringing more tears to my eyes. “What matters is that you’re mine, Princess, and I’m never letting you push me away again. You’re going to be my queen, no matter how much time you need to wrap your head around that.”
“I don’t need time, I need you. I love you, Cade. I’m so sorry for everything,” I sobbed, my brain still struggling to understand how any of this was happening.
“Shh. No more crying. We’ll talk about it after you get better. How’s Coyo?”
How are you feeling? I asked my wolf while everyone held their breath for my answer.
Happy. I don’t know what happened to me. I had no energy, but I... I feel fine, now.
“She said she’s feeling better. What happened? How is this possible?”
Chris cleared his throat and tried to look stern, but I knew by now he was a big softie.
“I don’t want to tell you ‘I told you so,’ but I told you to wait instead of destroying that altar we found in Martha’s room.”
Dad snorted from the side, and I let Chris tell me everything they’d figured out was happening to me and to Cade, while I was asleep. How they figured out what some of the spells in the altar were, including the one that was meant to isolate me from my family, and the one that hijacked my bond to Cade. By the end of it, I was overwhelmed and exhausted, and only had one thought in my head.
“I should have made the bitch suffer more before I killed her,” I growled.
Everyone laughed, but I was dead serious. I looked over at Cade guiltily. Everything I suffered at Martha’s hand ended up costing him so much as well.
“None of that. I’m here, and we’re going to be okay.”
Cade saw right through me. I scooted over on the bed, which was now set up in a sitting position and Cade climbed in, not caring that my family was still present. I sighed as my world felt right for the first time in so long, and lay my head against his chest when he put his arm around me.
Valeria walked in, an exasperated look on her face.
“Everyone outside is about to mutiny. Are you up for some visitors, Bells?”
“I’m good for a bit,” I mentioned, a yawn betraying me at the end.
It was all a bit overwhelming, but Coyo was fine and Cade was at my side. I could muster some energy for a few more minutes.
Valeria went to the door and opened it, and I snorted when I saw it crowded with people.
“Ten minutes, and then she needs to rest.”
I thought they were going to trample my brother’s mother-in-law as they stampeded into the room.
Cade held onto me fiercely as people tried to pull me into hug after hug, though people still managed to maneuver around his embrace. We answered questions as best as we could, until Valeria put her foot down.
“I said ten and gave you twenty. Alpha Cade and Bells have been through a lot, so let them get some rest.” With a bit of a trembling lip as she looked at me, she added, “We’ve got time now. She’s not going anywhere.”
It took another ten minutes before everyone finally left.
“We’ll come see you in the morning, Princess,” Dad whispered, before he kissed my forehead and left with Mom.
Chris and Violet left after that, but not without me thanking them both profusely, for not only being my voice while I couldn’t, but for figuring everything out, and saving Cade and me.
Finally, only Valeria was left.
“I want to check on you and the pups in the morning. As long as everything looks good, I’ll discharge you afterward,” she told us.
“Thanks, Doc.”
“I’m just glad everything worked out,” she smiled and left.
Cade pushed an empty bed next to mine and added some bindings to keep them together. He climbed in beside me and put the bed back in the sleeping position. We laid on our sides without talking, just staring at each other for a while.
“I thought I’d lost you,” I broke the silence. “When you never called me back...”
“I never got your voicemail, Bells. I swear to you, Princess. I would have turned around, and been back in your arms so fast. Chris told me about it this morning. I broke my phone before I left Redmon and got a new number when I got a replacement.”
My lip trembled, and I repeated the words I said to him in the voicemail.
“I’m so sorry for everything I put you through. I was so scared of being a luna again. I-I was so scared to love you. I wouldn’t have survived what I went through with Brandon from you. I—Even though I thought he was my mate, I never fell in love with him. I wanted to. I tried. I tried so hard, Cade. To the point where I thought something was wrong with me. But, I fell in love with you so quickly that it terrified me.”
Tears fell from Cade, and he leaned forward and kissed me with so much love and passion that I thought if I died now, I would be okay with it.
“I love you, Bells. I’ve known for a long time you’re the only woman who could ever occupy my heart.”
“Do you forgive me?”
“I forgive nothing,” Cade answered, making my heart sink. “We’re both victims of that woman. How could I possibly blame you for trying to survive any way you could, after the hell you went through at their hands? This is what we’re going to do,” Cade continued, taking my hands and giving each of them a kiss. “We’re both going to go to therapy. We’re going to get better and be better. For our pups, and for each other.”
“I already started,” I admitted. “Because of you. Because of what you said to me.”
“Good. We’re going to get out of here tomorrow. We’re going to get your things, and you’re going to move in with me. I’m going to mark you right here,” he told me, his voice dropping to a husky whisper, his finger moving on my shoulder lightly, making me shiver. “And then, when and only if you’re ready, I’m going to make you my Luna and you’re going to rule alongside me. Not behind me. You’re a brilliant woman, Bells. I need your input, and I need you by my side, always. We’re going to be partners, and we’re going to make decisions together...” he trailed off for a moment before he corrected, “after these executive decisions I’m making for both of us, right now.” I laughed, or I cried. I didn’t know. All I knew was that I was happy for the first time in a long time. “We’re going to have these pups, and then we’re going to have some more, and we’re going to live happily ever after, because we fucking earned it.”
“I like that. I want all of that,” I answered, my lips wobbling. Fucking hormones. A sudden sadness came over me. “I wish Adam could be here.”
“Me too, Princess,” Cade said, pulling me into his chest and letting me cry a little bit. “We’ll do some research on this plane thing. There has to be a way to find him and get him back. We’ll work on it, okay? Together.”
“Okay,” I sniffled pathetically. I wasn’t used to being taken care of this way, but I could get used to it. I looked up at him from where I was resting my head on his chest. “Cade?”
“Yes, Princess?”
“Do we have to do all of what you said in that order?”
“Which part did you want to change?” he asked, pulling back a little so he could read my face.
I drew circles on his chest as I took a deep breath, and answered his question.
“Do we have to wait until I’ve moved in with you, before you mark me?”
“But, that’s tomorrow?” Cade asked, confused.
“I know. It’s too far away.” I gave him my best pout. “Can we do it tonight?”
“I—Goddess,” he breathed out, his chest heaving, his hand wrapping around my hip and gripping it tightly. “I want to, Bells, but I think you need some rest, baby, and the door doesn’t lock.”
“I know. I do. But, I thought... Can you mark me now? Without sex? I-I’m scared something else will try to come between us. We were robbed of eight years already. I don’t want to wait another minute.” I looked away, suddenly feeling silly. “Never mind. I’m ju—” I stopped talking when Cade pulled my chin back up to look at him.
He searched my eyes for a moment before he crashed his lips to mine.
I moaned, and wrapped my arms around him to bring him closer, parting my lips for his probing tongue. The intensity of the sparks made it feel like the first kiss, and yet it was familiar at the same time. I didn’t know if this was what I was supposed to feel with the bond, or if this was because the bond was suppressed, or hijacked as Chris explained, for eight years and it would eventually fade, but I never felt any of this with Brandon.
Eventually, Cade pulled back and let me breathe as he started kissing down my chin and neck. I could feel his erection growing against my thigh, and I whimpered with need. If I wasn’t so fucking exhausted and overwhelmed, I’d be riding his cock right now.
Cade found my marking spot, the mark Brandon had left disappeared the day he died, leaving not even a scratch. That should have been my clue that it wasn’t real. So many things should have told me he wasn’t my mate. I lost so much time.
All of those thoughts left my brain the moment I felt Cade’s lips suck on the spot, preparing it for his mark. I moaned and arched up against him.
“Cade,” I whimpered. “I need you.”
This wasn’t going to work. I needed his clothes to be off and his cock inside me. Fuck sleep, I was going to combust if he didn’t touch me.
Cade moaned and cursed under his breath as he pulled back. He looked around the room, thinking for a moment, and then he stood up and picked me up. He walked quickly to the bathroom and locked the door before sitting me down on the sink, and turning on the shower. I tried to hop off, but my legs gave under me when I tried to make them hold my weight.
“Stay there,” Cade caught me and put me back on the sink. I shimmied out of my gown as I watched him remove his clothes with hungry eyes. “Legs around me, Princess,” Cade ordered.
I did as asked. Then, I wrapped my arms around his neck and let him carry me into the shower. His hungry lips were on mine as he pushed me against the shower wall.
“Oh, Goddess, that feels good,” I gasped as the water fell on my heated skin and his fingers found their way to my center, while he devoured my neck.
“The shower or me?” he asked between placing nips on my shoulder and sucking on my marking spot.
“Both?” I replied, before I felt his finger spear my core. “Definitely both,” I moaned.
“Thank the Goddess. You’re so ready for me, Princess. I need to be in you so badly.”
“Fuck me, Cade. Mark me. I’ll combust if you’re not doing both in the next twenty seconds,” I warned him as I tried to impale myself on his cock as he lined it up to my entrance.
“Wouldn’t want that,” Cade grunted, thrusting up into me as he sucked on my neck with renewed vigor.
He pulled back and slammed back into me at the same time that I felt his teeth piercing my neck. I let out a sob of happiness as I felt his emotions crashing into me, sending me into an instant orgasm as our souls connected to each other; finally. A rightful peace settled in my soul. This was what how this was supposed to feel like.
“Mine,” Cade growled, pulling back and looking down at me with so much emotion in his eyes. “My mate.”
“Yours. Always yours,” I promised him.
Cade withdrew and slid back into me, picking up the pace. He buried his face in my neck, exposing his to me.
“Claim me, Princess,” he begged, unnecessarily because my canines were already descending.
I licked the water falling on his neck, making Cade buck beneath, his rhythm faltering for a moment before he slammed back into me. I sunk my teeth into his neck, feeling the bond between us strengthen and snap tight, merging our souls into one. Cade pulled back and kissed me hard, slamming me down on his cock over and over until I cried out as another orgasm crashed over me.
“Fuck. You take my cock so well, My Queen,” Cade grunted, slamming me back down on his cock one last time, feeling his cum fill my channel. I rested my head on his shoulder as our breathing settled.
“I’m going to be in so much trouble with your doctor for making you do strenuous activities,” Cade chuckled into my neck. “And, your dad is probably going to kill me for marking you so soon.”
“Worth it,” I whispered, making him laugh.
“Damn right, it was.”
Cade helped me shower and change into a clean hospital gown he’d found under the sink. We lay down on the beds after, and I quickly fell asleep wrapped up in his arms.
I felt someone hovering above me as I woke, and tensed. I opened my eyes and was relieved to see it was only Valeria.
“Morning,” I mumbled.
“Good morning, Bells. How are you and Coyo feeling?”
“Considering she’s currently making goo-goo eyes at our mate and wagging her tail, I think she’s fine,” I chuckled, brushing Cade’s hair away from his face as it rested on my shoulder, his legs wrapped around mine so he could fit on the bed.
“I see you guys had a good night.” She wagged her eyebrows, motioning over to where Cade’s mark was visible. I blushed, making her laugh. “Don’t let anyone see that blush. You know they’ll tease you for it. You guys waited eight years to be together. You strut that mark with pride.”
“Thank you,” I replied, knowing she could guess I didn’t just mean for the advice.
We discussed going into this, that it might cause her some problems with my family for standing by my choice. She nodded and finished writing down some notes.
“All of your readings are looking good. I’ve got breakfast coming for you two, and then we can do an ultrasound to check on your pups properly, then we’ll schedule a few more prenatal appointments,” she told me.
I nodded, and then Cade stirred and stretched, looking up at me with a sweet smile on his face.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“We’re getting breakfast, having an ultrasound and then we’re free to go.”
“Ultrasound? Can we tell what the genders are?” Cade asked, suddenly wide awake.
“I’ll try, but be prepared that it’s harder to see in twins. Evie and Cory tried to see, but when the twins didn’t prove cooperative, they ended up deciding to be surprised.”
“That’d be okay, too,” Cade replied, his eyes as big as saucers as Valeria started pushing the monitor over.
Mom walked in a few minutes later, Dad trailing behind her with two giant Tupperware of food.
“What’s the verdict, Doc?” Mom asked, smiling widely already while Dad handed the food to Cade.
“She’s good to go, as soon as she eats and gets an ultrasound.”
“Oh! We get to see my grandpups?” Dad’s face lit up.
“If they let you stay,” Valeria teased, making Dad’s face crumble for a moment.
He looked over at me, giving me the biggest eyes he could muster.
“They can stay,” Cade was the one who answered for me.
‘I need the brownie points,’ he explained via mind-link.
It startled me a little, until I remembered that I was marked. Since he was alpha, that automatically made me a member of his pack.
‘You okay?’ Cade asked when he sensed my conflicting emotions.
‘I’m fine,’ I replied, not wanting him to think I was regretting anything.
‘Talk to me, My Queen.’
‘I was just thinking about how I was a member of Crescent Moon again for only a week, before I have to leave.’
‘Did you want to stay? It wouldn’t be forever, but until the pack house is complete, we could come and go from the pack grounds, so you can stay with your family until the pups come.’
‘You would do that for me?’
‘There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to make you happy,’ he assured me.
‘I—Can I think about it? I was looking forward to doing this alongside Violet, but I want to start a life with you.’
‘You’ve got a life with me, Bells. That mark on your neck and my pups in your womb are a testament to that.’
There was a clearing of a throat and we stopped mind-linking.
“Is everything alright? Do you not want us here, sweetie?” Mom asked.
“No. I’d love you guys to be here. We were talking about something else.”
“I see you marked each other,” Dad grumbled from her side, only to get poked in the rib by mom’s finger. “Ow, Tuli! You’ve been getting a little aggressive, and not in the sexy way I usually like.”
“Gross,” I groaned, shuddering.
“Stop trying to bully our children’s mates,” Mom argued.
“He could have asked first!”
“You didn’t make Evie or Cecilia ask. Don’t be sexist darling. They’re grown adults who were robbed of eight years together. I was surprised they waited until we left to do it.”
“Alright, I get your point,” Dad mumbled, making me grin.
I loved Mom. She was the best.
“We’re okay to stay, then?” Dad asked and I nodded.
Cory, Evie, Violet and Chris showed up while we ate. Violet was carrying the paperwork removing the legal power of attorney we put in place before my coma. Once I was done signing them, she put them in an envelope, and sighed with relief, like the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders.
Cade and I were almost done with our food, when Violet finally noticed the mate mark on my neck.
“Hey! How come Chris and I have to wait, and Bells didn’t, Dad?” she asked, pointing at my neck while she glared at Dad.
“They didn’t ask!” Dad defended.
“We didn’t ask, either. You just decided!” Violet crossed her arms.
The look on Dad’s face was priceless, and even Violet couldn’t keep her glare for long before she burst out laughing.
“Why did you give me daughters, Tuli? My boys aren’t this mean.”
“When they were gone, you kept complaining about why your little girls weren’t home to bug you,” Mom challenged, bringing a little smile to Dad’s face.
“Alright, do we want to do the ultrasound, then?” Valeria asked when she walked back inside.
“Yes, please,” I answered.
I pushed away my tray and went into the bathroom to change into my own clothes, so it would be easier to do the ultrasound without flashing my entire family. Lucien, Areli, Cecilia and David were also in the room by the time I came back out.
“I thought you were going back to Blue Moon?” I asked Areli.
“And miss this part? No, thank you. I’m not missing the important bits again. We’re leaving after you’re discharged, but we’re back Saturday morning,” she answered.
“What’s Saturday morning?” I asked.
“I want us all to have breakfast together on Saturdays. Now that all my children are going to be near enough and I’m getting grandkids left and right, I want to make this a tradition. All grandparents are welcome and already invited,” Mom explained, looking at Chris, Cade, David and Evie. Cecilia’s parents unfortunately lived in Mexico and only came out a few times a year, with her and Lucien going to visit a few times as well.
Valeria placed the gel on my stomach and I felt Cade’s excitement mounting through the bond, and that alone was pushing me close to tears. The week before I went into the coma, I had given up the hope of ever seeing my pups again. I never thought I would not only get to see them grow in my stomach and my arms, but that I would get to share this with Cade by my side as my mate.
I blinked back the tears as the monitor came on, and held onto Cade’s hand, as the images of my pups appeared on the screen. I took a shuddering breath when I heard the heartbeats on the monitors, and looked up to watch the wonder and emotion cross Cade’s face. Tears fell from his eyes and mine followed behind his as he took in a sharp breath, and sat on the edge of the bed next to me.
“They’re looking great, Alpha Cade. Big and Healthy.” Valeria assured him.
Cade could only nod and swallow hard, his hand squeezing mine as if he was holding on for dear life.
“Let’s see if they’re feeling like sharing with the class,” Valeria told us, and I heard Mom’s tiny squeal to our left.
Cade chuckled and I peeked up at him, again. Love and excitement was reflected in the smile he was giving me. He brought up my hand and kissed it, mouthing “I love you,” when he brought it back down to his lap.
“Sorry, Alpha Cade, Luna. It looks like both of your pups are shy today. We can try again another time.”
“That’s okay,” Cade answered. “If they want to surprise us, we’ll let them.”
‘Is that okay?’ he asked.
‘Perfect,’ I answered.
“Already letting them get away with shit. They’re going to eat you alive, dude,” Cory joked.
“Don’t make me tell stories, Studmuffin,” Evie warned, making everyone laugh at my twin.
“This is your influence, Mother,” Cory grumbled, but brought his mate closer to him.
“At least, you’ll all know my pain, now,” Dad replied smugly. “Everyone thinks I’m a sucker for my kids, and now you get to find yourselves in my shoes. I’ll be waiting for the day you try to put your foot down, and all it takes is a kiss on the cheek for you to cave.”
“Emi already does that to me and she can’t even speak yet,” Lucien admitted.
His little girl was almost one and a half now, and she looked so much like Cecilia’s mini-me, that I doubted that was ever going to change.
“Well, that’s the show folks,” Valeria told us, removing the probe from my stomach. “Unless Violet wants a go.”
“No. This is Bells’ moment. I d—”
“Get over here, Violet. We said we were doing everything together,” I told her, making Cade stand and go around the bed, so I could scoot over and make room for her on the combined hospital beds.
Violet bit her lip but then nodded when I pointed to the spot.
“Wait!” Mom said before Valeria could put the gel on Violet’s stomach. Dad was mind-linking someone, and when his eyes cleared, he spoke to Valeria.
“Chris’ parents will be here in a few minutes. Can we hold off for a moment? They should be here.”
“Of course. Bells needs to sign her discharge papers, so we can do that while we wait.”
She stood and grabbed a folder she had on the side of the monitor. I was signing the last document when Gabriel and Brenda ran in, skidding to a halt at the entrance, both huffing and puffing.
“Where did you run from?” Dad asked.
“We were on our way to the training grounds in Guardian Moon,” Gabriel answered.
“Guys, you could have just said so. We would have waited.” Dad shook his head.
“Not necessary, Alpha. We’re here,” Brenda said. She looked at the blank monitor, and disappointment crossed her face. “Did we miss it?”
“No. We were signing my discharge papers. We wouldn’t do it without you,” I assured her.
“Thank you, Be-Luna.”
“Nope. That doesn’t work. It’s Bells,” I warned her.
She blushed and nodded, making Chris chuckle lightly at Violet’s side. Gabriel and Brenda walked up next to Mom and Dad, where they had a good view of the monitor.
I handed Valeria the stack of documents, and when she was sure she got everything she needed, she resumed her spot in front of the monitor.
I snuggled against Cade, excited for Violet and Chris. There was so much to be excited for now. I could finally plan for a future. I needed to get furniture and clothes and everything the pups would need.
I got pulled out of my thoughts when I heard the rapid beating little heart of Violet’s pup. I smiled at the couple as they watched on. This was their reward for everything they pushed through as individuals, and as a couple. I was an insanely proud older sister right now.
“Do you want to see if we can check for gender?” Valeria asked.
“No. We discussed it, and we want it to be a surprise,” Violet answered, winking at me. “It’ll make finding out more special when they’re born.”
“I’ll send these videos over to you both, then. Do you have any concerns so far, Violet?”
“Just that I don’t have any,” Violet giggled. “I haven’t had morning sickness. I don’t have any symptoms other than cravings and being more hungry than usual.”
“Well, aren’t you one of the lucky ones,” Valeria laughed. “I had the worst morning sickness with that one,” she said, pointing at Evie.
“‘That one’? Really, Mom?” Evie asked indignantly.
“What? You already told me I’m down to a middle name with your daughter. What did you expect?”
“Wait, you’re having a girl?” I asked.
“Yeah. We were her first appointment of the morning. And now I’m reconsidering middle name!” she glared at her mother.
“Just remember, you could have been Evergreen Jr.” Valeria countered, making everyone laugh as Violet cleaned up, and pulled her shirt down.
“Alright, how about we let these two figure their stuff out and we’ll see you all at dinner?” Mom asked. “I’ll be cooking for the pack house.”
“Make sure you send those to the lawyer,” Violet pointed at the documents releasing her from having power of attorney.
“I’ll make sure she does. Thanks, Vi,” Cade replied.
“Just keep your promise,” Violet answered before she left.
“What promise?” I asked.
“That’s between me and her, My Queen,” he answered, making me huff.
“What happened to Princess?” I asked, making him grin.
He pulled me forward until I was pressed against him.
“You will always be my princess, but you are also my queen now. You rule my body, my heart and my soul.”
“I could get used to that,” I muttered, pulling up on my tip toes so I could kiss him.
“Let’s go. I want to show you the pack grounds. John’s waiting for us outside.”
He took my hand and guided me out of the room. The nurses were smiling at us as we passed, a few letting me know how happy they were that I was better.