Chapter 19
nineteen
. . .
ALIL
It was like the worst of my nightmares were happening before my eyes.
Addy was bloody and weak. My own al-mother had done this to him and I would never be able to forgive her. From now on, she was gone from my life.
I felt like everyone I loved was slipping through my fingers. What if Addy died right here and now, taking me and our child with him...?
I couldn't bear the thought.
I shut my eyes, barely able to breathe, heart racing as I listened, until finally the shouting stopped.
One voice rang above the others, demanding an explanation.
Numbly, I stood, approaching the doorway to look at the scene outside.
There were countless nassa. My al-mother was being held by two alphas. My om-mother stood near me. She reached out to me at once, gripping my hand. I didn't pull away but I couldn't bring myself to look at her, either.
Alphas from the council were here and it was Kion, the leader, who shouted as though scolding young children.
“Someone explain!” he demanded.
“The missing omegas have returned, and my son has been mated!” my al-mother shouted furiously. She struggled against the alphas holding her and I had no doubt she would blindly kill Addy if she could. “That bastard took him against his will!”
All eyes turned toward me, and I almost wished my al-mother's rash attack had been successful. Dying seemed preferable to facing all these sympathetic eyes.
“He didn't force me,” I said.
My voice came out so quiet, yet everyone listened, and I had no doubt they could hear me. I looked at my al-mother.
“You know you would kill me too, right?” I asked, and for the first time, my al-mother seemed to get it. Her eyes widened and she sagged.
“Where were you?” someone asked, but before I could even think to answer, Naz spoke up, just like he'd promised to.
“We were hoping to speak to the council first,” he said, directing his attention to Head Alpha Kion. “Before too many rumours could spread.”
Kion looked around at the group and then turned to the other council members who stood nearby.
He whispered to them and after a moment, they all nodded and dispersed. Two of them went to my al-mother, two others went to Addy’s al-mother and they were taken by the arms and lead away.
“To all who were a part of this, I ask that you wait for news from your council before spreading any allegations.”
I admired the cool authority that the head alpha possessed. With one sentence, everyone began to leave, and a small sliver of hope returned to me.
The remaining members of the council approached me where I still stood. My om-mother hadn't gone anywhere and neither had Naz or Samar. They all looked as shaken as I felt.
“Come,” Alpha Kion said, let us talk inside.
Nodding, I turned back to the sight that would plague me for the rest of my life.
My poor, sweet Addy was spread out on the floor in his own blood. His skin was so pale, but his bright eyes were open, peering over at us.
At his side, his om-father sat, holding his hand and looking like his life was over.
At the sight, the alphas rushed inside to help.
“Where is the medic?” one of them demanded.
I was so distracted it had taken me until this moment to realize that it was Eisa. I knew him through Devin, but not particularly well. Even so, it was a relief to see someone familiar here to help us.
“He went to get the other medics,” Addy's om-father said weakly and then he looked up at me, hopelessly. “How did this happen?”
“It’s a long story,” I whispered, lowering myself at Addy's other side.
Addy reached out weakly for my hand, and I took it at once.
“Help me stand,” he said. “I think I'm okay.”
Before anyone could argue, he tried to sit and immediately cried out in pain and collapsed against the floor.
I gasped, shaking and pressed my hand on his shoulder in case he tried to do that again.
His om-father had a hand clapped over his mouth, his eyes wide with fear.
“Your al-mother did this?” Head Alpha Kion asked, his gaze dark.
I nodded.
“She will be dealt with accordingly,” Eisa said, ominously.
“But how could you blame her?” my om-mother demanded, voice trembling. “Our child was taken from us and returned bonded!”
“Om-mother...” I whispered, somehow drawing everyone's attention despite my quiet voice. “Please leave.”
She looked as though I had slapped her. I shut my eyes.
“I cannot deal with this right now.”
One of the alphas took her by the arm and led her outside. I could hear the alpha comforting her as they walked away and felt like I was going to collapse as the adrenaline faded.
The fight was over. Now we had to deal with the aftermath.
I looked down at Addy. His eyes were drooping, sleep taking him, but I felt completely normal. Did that mean that he was going to survive? Surely if he was dying I would know...
The fact that he hadn’t even defended himself burned me inside. Did he still think he deserved to be punished? Or was he really as gentle a soul as I’d always thought?
“Tell us what happened?” Kion asked gently.
I swallowed, and shut my eyes, trying to find reality again. This still felt like a bad dream.
“Addy asked me to come away with him to talk. I snuck off to meet him and he took me to his friends... They attacked me and took me and the other omegas away,” I said.
Addy's om-father drew a sharp breath but I met his gaze firmly.
“Addy didn't know,” I said. “He was misled. You know how impressionable he is. He tried to fight them, but it was too late.”
His om-father shut his eyes and nodded. I could see the relief in his features. He knew as well as I did that Addy was stubborn and easily misguided, but good-hearted.I would fight to my last breath to prove it... If only everyone had the chance to get to know him better, they would see it for themselves.
Suddenly, a group of three medics bustled in behind Ifra.
They were carrying supplies, including a stretcher to take Addy somewhere, but Ifra stopped in his tracks at the sight of his full office and shook his head.
“Everyone must leave,” he said, firmly. “There has been enough drama for one night and these two need to rest.”
“Will they be okay?” Addy's om-father asked shakily and Ifra seemed to take some pity on him because he bent down, examining Addy quickly.
“He probably will be,” Ifra said, “but how about you stay, to be sure.”
He nodded, looking relieved while Ifra turned to everyone else.
“The rest of you must go. Now.”
“I will fill you in on the rest,” Naz said to the alphas and led the way through the door with Samar trailing behind.
He paused at the doorway, looking back at us.
“Good luck.”
“Thank you,” I whispered even though I knew we needed more than luck.
I stood back, watching as Addy's limp form was lifted onto the fabric and then hoisted into the air. They carried him toward the door and me and his om-father followed without needing to be told.
In the hospital building, Addy was laid out onto a bed and then I watched in horror as they began to cut his robe off to see the damage.
I had seen superficial wounds heal in minutes before. The worst one I could remember was when the first human, Alex, had gone to auction. His mate Saar had received what looked like a nasty slice from a long sword and by the time the festivities were over it had been nothing but a thin scar.
The thin slice he had received across the cheek was already gone, but the wounds on his torso were numerous and deep.
And from my own blood.
Al-mother hadn't even waited to hear what we had to say and Om-mother had stood by her side... I had never felt so betrayed.
Watching Addy now, I felt as though my heart was breaking.
“You shouldn't be watching this,” his om-father whispered.
I shook my head.
“I'm not going anywhere.”
Instead, I took a seat next to him and together we watched as Addy was meticulously dabbed and doused with disinfectants and inevitably stitched in the spots that looked too gruesome.
“Internally, is he okay?” I finally found the strength to ask.
They had been talking amongst themselves, but too quietly for me to follow. I was far too distracted.
Ifra looked over at me as though just remembering that I was there.
“Oh dear,” he muttered. “I was distracted from my original patient.”
Addy's om-father looked at me sharply.
“Are you not well?” he asked.
I shrugged.
“I am fine.”
“You are dehydrated and need rest,” the medic argued. “You need to drink something for your stomach and get a good meal down.”
I shook my head.
“Please don't worry about me,” I argued.
“I will take care of him,” Addy's om-father interrupted. “I have everything he may need at home.”
“What? No, I cannot leave Addy.”
“Will you send for us as soon as you are done treating him?”
“Of course,” the medic reassured him. “You go get some food and water into that one.”
I hesitated for a long moment, unsure what to do. I hadn't been apart from Addy since before we had bonded. It felt like it had just been us for ages and I didn't want that to change. I didn't want to leave him.
“He will be safe here,” the medic promised. “We have people guarding the doors.”
I blinked and looked toward the door where I now saw that there were alphas flanking each side. The fact that it had come to this made me feel ill.
But I swallowed it down, stood and walked to Addy's side. I just needed to touch him.
I reached out and squeezed his hand and then followed his om-father.
The moment we were outside, he linked his arm with mine and gave me a long look.
“Welcome to the family, love,” he told me. “I always thought of you as my honorary child.”
I shut my eyes, emotions hitting me harder than I expected at the kind words and suddenly, we were hugging on the side of the street in the middle of the night, both shaking and crying.
“Come on,” he said, after a minute. “Let's get you home.”
I felt weaker than ever as we walked to Addy's house, but my stupid mouth would not stop.
“It was my fault,” I insisted. “The bond was my idea. I had to convince him.”
He listened to me ramble on about how I had asked him to think about it, and how when he had finally agreed I had never been happier. It wasn't until we were at his front door that he finally spoke.
“I appreciate that you two chose to do this together,” he told me. “But the fact remains that he took you away that night and...”
His voice shook and he took a moment to steady it before going on.
“I can't help but feel that we have failed as parents,” he admitted. “First, Latif making love to Blaine when they weren't bonded... and now this.”
I frowned.
“Or, you gave your children the chance to make their own mistakes,” I suggested, “because they knew they would still have your love afterwards. Honestly, I am not too sure about my own parents.”
“They will come around,” he promised me.
“But I may not,” I admitted.
He took a shaky breath and squeezed my arm.
“Come inside.”
The moment we entered their home, Addy's Al-mother leaped up. She had been sitting next to the fire and appeared to be shaken, but unhurt. Still, her mate rushed to her and they embraced tightly.
“What happened?” she asked. “Is Addy okay?”
“He will be, but is still being tended to now.”
She sighed.
“Perhaps I shouldn't have fought, but I saw your al-mother over Addy and there was so much blood...”
I shut my eyes.
“It's quite alright,” I lied.
“Enough,” his om-father said. “We can talk about this later. Come sit.”
I was led to one of the cushions by the fire and sat down while the two of them went into the kitchen.
I could hear their whispering but not what they were saying. I didn't care to. I was too exhausted for anything more than keeping my eyes open.
When Addy's om-father returned with a cup of tea—the very same tea that Addy had been making me, I felt so defeated I could barely take it.
“Thank you,” I mumbled.
He set a plate of fruits down next to me.
“Have you been ill?” he asked. “Is that why you were there to begin with?”
My eyes widened.
“Oh... did you not realize that I'm pregnant?” I asked, uneasily.
His eyes widened even more. It seemed that in the commotion we had skipped this part.
“Oh... oh dear.”
He stood and looked down at me with a fresh wave of worry on his face before offering me his hand.
“You need to rest,” he told me, leading me down the hallway. For a moment, based on years of being friends with Latif, I expected to be taken to his now deserted bedroom. Instead, I was taken to Addy's.
I froze at the door because I hadn't been in here since I'd been a small child.
At once, I smelled his pheromones, his soft yet masculine scent.
It was a basic room, but it screamed of him.
“I will go get your tea and fruits. Feel free to take a fresh robe and lie down.”
The idea of being in Addy's clothes, surrounded by him was immensely comforting, so I went to his closet and took one of his night robes, quickly kicking my dirty one off and pulling his on.
Then I climbed into his bed and peace washed over me.
His pillow smelled so lovely. I pressed my face into it and inhaled.
By the time Addy's om-father returned, I was fast asleep.