Chapter 175
Chapter 175
Quirin
“She’s still asleep?” Luna Yara asks, coming into the room.
“Yeah, I think she’s starting to wake up. Her mind is feeling a bit more active,” I say, looking down at my mate who is still sleeping in my lap. I didn’t want to move her and I knew that she’d sleep better in my arms, and well, I just needed to hold her.
“I think she might be a bit too comfortable. She needs to wake up to cat,” Yara says, smiling as she comes over to check her daughter.
I look up at the woman who changed the path of my life so many years ago. “Thank you for saving her life.”
She smiles at me. “You never have to thank me for saving a life. It’s what I do, and it’s what Kennedy does. We’re both very good at it, but I think that when she’s finished with medical school, she’ll be better at it than I am.”
I ignore the part about not needing to thank her. Luna Yara has always been very humble about the significance of what she does. She saves lives and by saving one medically, she saves so many others by keeping mates healthy and strong and pups with their parents.
“I’m not sure I ever properly thanked you for saving my life all those years ago,” I say.
She stops and tilts her head, looking at me. “What’s this about, Quirin.”
“You changed the course of my life, Luna. You made all of this possible for me. It’s no secret that I’ve never liked your mate, well, until very recently,” I say, making her smile. “I hated him. I wanted to kill him. I was consumed with hurting him the way he hurt me. I was willing to destroy everyone that he loved so that he felt the pain I felt,” I say, looking down.
“I’m not proud of that. I realize now it would have meant losing everything that I have in my life. It would have meant losing my mate and the life that she’s giving me. I was an angry young man who was ready to die, but you wouldn’t let me go, even knowing the animosity that I felt for Alpha Warren, you wouldn’t let me die.”
She shrugs as if what she did is no big deal. “No one dies in my hospital.” I watch her, having learned that she thinks through a lot of what she says before she says it or at least mumbles it.
“You were a very angry young man. You had a lot to be angry about. You lost your father, you lost your pack, and then you lost your mother, all in those very formidable teenage years. That was a lot for anyone to come to terms with, but even harder for an Alpha heir. I’ve always believed that love heals more wounds than I ever could. I always believed that some day love would heal you too. I just didn’t realize that that love would come from my daughter. But I’m glad it did. Kennedy has always been drawn to you, Quirin. As Alphas, maybe you both felt the pull to each other long before the mate bond kicked in, who knows. What I do know is that my daughter loves with every ounce of her being. She loves like Warren loves, with no hesitation or restraint. It’s a heady thing being loved by someone like that, and very hard to resist.”.
“Impossible to resist,” I chuckle. She smiles again, looking at Kennedy.
“She will give you everything, but she will also expect the same from you. As someone who is loved by a man who gives me everything I could ever want in this world and so much more, I will tell you that you will feel like you get much more out of the relationship than she does. But that’s okay, as long as you continue to give her everything that you are. That’s all she wants. Just everything,” she says, making both of us chuckle. “And even if you don’t feel like your everything is enough for her, she will and that’s what matters.”
“Thank
you for giving me a second chance at life, a chance to become the man and mate that Kennedy deserves.”
“No one dies in Mom’s hospital,” Kennedy says sleepily.
“There she is,” Luna Yara says, as I press my lips to the side of my mate’s head.
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Chapter 175
“Did you sleep well?” I ask her.
“I’m warm, safe, and surrounded by my mate’s sandalwood scent. I slept great, but I really have to pee,” she says.
“Let me unhook you and then Quirin can take you to the bathroom, Luna Yara says.
I carry her to the bathroom, helping her stay steady while she goes to the bathroom then standing behind her to hold her steady while she washes her hands. I can feel her in my mind, her mind like little butterfly wings gently moving around.
“You’ve kept your mind open to me,” she says, her surprise obvious.
“I told you I was going to. I’m not going to close it off to you again, not ever.”
As weak as she is, she still smiles her brilliant fucking smile at me. Luna Yara was right. I’ll never feel like I’m good enough for her, but as long as I’m giving her what she wants, every–damn–thing, then I’ll accept that she thinks I’m good enough.
She turns, lifting her cool hand to my face. “You are perfect for me.”
“Thank the goddess for that. Because I’m not sure I could live without you. Now, you need to feed my mate and my pup,” I say, scooping her into my arms.
“…ridiculous mates who think they aren’t worthy. He’s the strongest, most powerful Alpha in the region, maybe the world and he doesn’t feel good enough for my daughter. Seriously, what does it take for a man to realize that he’s perfect just the way he is? If he were different, he wouldn’t be perfect for my daughter, would he?” Luna Yara is mumbling to herself when we walk out of the bathroom.
‘See, even Mom knows you’re perfect for me,” Kennedy says smugly in the mind link.
Luna Yara turns, obviously having no idea that she was talking out loud to herself about me. “Kennedy, how are you feeling? Any nausea?”
“Yeah, I feel pretty gross actually.”
“That’s not surprising. You haven’t eaten in days and you may have morning sickness on top of it. I had Deborah bring some crackers for you. You’ll want to make sure that you keep food on your stomach even when you feel nauseous. It will help. Once you feel a bit better, I’ve got some broth ready for you too. We’ll take it slow today, but I’d like you to try and eat every couple of hours, and nibble on the crackers as much as you can,” she tells her, handing her a packet of crackers.
I can feel my mate’s nausea through the bond and Raif begins purring at her, trying to help calm her stomach.
“Thanks, Raif,” Kennedy says as I sit, keeping her in my lap. “What about you? When did you last eat?”
My mate is so sweet, always thinking of others. “I didn’t want to make your stomach feel any worse and I didn’t want to leave you, so I’ll eat once you’re back in bed, or when Luna Yara says you can leave.”
“Any mental flickering from Echo yet?” Luna Yara asks her.
“Not yet,” she says, and Raif’s purring increases as we feel her sadness and fear of losing her wolf.
“I’m not surprised. You’re still very weak and with the pup, she’ll be working overtime to heal herself and protect the t You focus on getting stronger and that will help her get stronger too.
Luna Yara agrees that Kennedy will be more comfortable in her own room at the packhouse and after forcing me to go eat, and assuring me that she won’t leave until she feels that Kennedy is strong enough, she unhooks Kennedy from the IV and gives her clearance to leave.
I help her get showered and dressed in the hospital, and by the time we’re done, she’s too weak to walk. I scoop her back into my arms, ready to take her to see the pack.
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Chapter 175
“Can we stop and see Christy first?” she asks me
“Of course,” I tell her, walking her out of the room and into the room next to hers. I’m surprised when Leo is the one sitting with Christy.
“Hey, Christy.”
“Luna! Oh, I’m so glad that you’re better. Do you get to leave the hospital?” Christy asks her.
“Yes, but I’m on bedrest until Mom says I can come off. What about you? Mom says she’s keeping you overnight again. How are you healing?” Kennedy asks her.
She looks at Leo and then back at Kennedy.
“Do you want Leo to leave while we talk, Christy?” I ask her, not sure what that look meant. I frown, picking up a thought in Kennedy’s mind.
‘They’re mates? Christy turned eighteen months ago. They would have known before now, I tell Kennedy in the mind link.
I can feel my mate watching Leo, studying the interactions between him and Christy.
“That doesn’t mean he accepted her. He would have considered an omega a weak mate, she says.
“It’s okay with me if he stays. It’s not like I have a lot of secrets right now. Everyone knows what happened to me,” she says sadly.
“And it should never have happened in the first place, Christy. I’m sorry I let you down. It won’t happen again,” I tell her. There’s power behind my words, but I force my aura to stay gentle in front of her.
“I should have trusted you to help me, Alpha. I’m sorry I didn’t.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for. But in the future, if you have any concerns at all, with anyone, let me or your Luna know.”
She nods, then tells Kennedy about how she’s feeling better but that her wolf is still silent.
“Mine is too,” Kennedy tells her and somehow that seems to make Christy feel better that her own wolf is still silent. “Mom says we have to make ourselves strong so our wolves can get stronger. So you need to do whatever you can to get stronger. And if there’s any concern that someone is impeding that healing process, I will send Alpha Quirin to get them until I’m strong enough to do it myself,” she says, looking pointedly at Leo.
“I’ll make sure I don’t do anything to impede her healing, Luna. I just want to help.”
“Make sure that you do, Leo,” she says firmly. I have to fight my smile.
My mate may not be back to full strength, but she’s back.
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