Page 116 of Awakening

“Babies,” I correct her. “Twins.”

“Oh, shit,” someone says behind us. Chloe and I both turn around to see Nick standing there with his mouth open. “You’re pregnant?”

“Shh,” Chloe hushes him, and waves him into the room with us.

I nod as the tears flood my face. “Oh, fuck. Come here, Liv,” Nick says, hugging me tight. “Listen to me. He’s going to pull through this. There’s no way he’s going out knowing you and his babies need him.”

“Please don’t tell anyone, you guys. I wasn’t supposed to say anything.”

“Don’t worry,” Chloe says. “Your secret is safe with us.”

“Nick, how did this happen?” I ask, sinking down into one of the chairs. “How did Austin get in? He shouldn’t have been able to get in.” My grief instantly turns to a burning rage in my chest. “I want to know how the fuck this happened!”

“I wish I had answers for you, Liv,” Nick says, sitting next to me. “Lance is on it as we speak. I think one thing that’s clear is that Austin had friends there tonight. What I don’t know is if malicious intent was involved when they let him in.”

“I don’t care what the intent was. I want them gone.” I surge to my feet and start pacing. “I want every fucking person involved in letting this happen out for good.”

Nick stands and places his hands on my shoulders, holding me still. “I know. Trust me, I do too. When Ethan wakes up—and he will wake up, Liv—he’s not going to let anyone get away with this.”

“Olivia, there you are,” Edwin says, rounding the corner. “Ethan is out of surgery. Max has information for us.”

“Okay,” I say, nodding and wiping tears away. “Do you mind if Chloe and Nick come?”

“Of course,” Edwin says, putting his arm around me as we walk to a private meeting room.

Max hugs me as soon as I walk in the room. “He made it through,” he says. I sob in relief as soon as his words are out, and Max rubs my back before guiding me to sit down. “I have very good news,” Max says to the group. “The Alpha is out of surgery. He was incredibly lucky tonight. The bullet only managed to tear a small section of his heart. Once we opened him up, we were able to see that the internal bleeding had already stopped and the heart muscle was beginning to heal itself. Unfortunately, healing from the surgery will probably take more time than the injury to the heart itself.”

“Is he awake yet?” I ask.

Max shakes his head. “Not yet.”

“He’s going to wake up, though, right?” I say as I get a pain in the center of my chest.

“I have every reason to believe he will make a full recovery. We just need to wait and give his body time to repair itself, but I would expect him to wake up soon.”

The room releases a collective sigh of relief. My hands cover my face as I start crying again, this time with thankful tears. “Thank you, Max.” I stand to hug him. “Thank you so much. Can I see him?”

“Of course,” Max says.

I turn to look at Edwin, Caroline and Vanessa. “Are you coming?”

“We’ll let you have some time with him alone,” Edwin says, putting his arm around me and kissing the top of my head. “We’ll join you in a few minutes.”

“Follow me,” Max says with a kind smile, and I nod and join him as he leads me down the hallway.

I choke on my sobs when I see Ethan lying in the hospital bed, so silent and peaceful. The cardiac monitor beeping next to his bed is the only sound in the room. I’ve never seen him so vulnerable. I sit down in a chair that Max pulls over for me, and I take Ethan’s large hand in mine. His hand is cold, and he’s so pale.

“I’ll check on you in a bit,” Max says. “Just alert a nurse if you notice that he starts to stir.”

“Okay, thank you,” I say with a small smile as Max leaves the room. I look at Ethan’s hand in mine and twist his tungsten carbide wedding band around his ring finger. “I’m here, Ethan.” I drop my lips down to place a gentle kiss to the back of his hand. My tears drop from my eyes down onto his olive skin, and I brush the moisture away with my thumb. Our wedding was just hours ago. I should be dancing with my husband at our reception right now.

“Ethan Sullivan, I know just how much you love being in control and taking charge. Well, now is the time. I need you. I love you so damn much. I can’t do this without you. I need you to heal and come back to me.” I don’t know how long I sit and stare at his handsome face, thinking about how much we’ve been through, and what I could have lost today. Deep in thought, I jump and gasp when someone touches me on the shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” Max says in a hushed tone. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“It’s okay.”

“No sign of waking up yet?”

---