Page 117 of Awakening

“Not yet.” I release a deep sigh and look at Ethan again. “He will wake up, won’t he Max?”

“I don’t have any reason to believe that he won’t,” he says with a frown, which makes my stomach turn, “but he lost a lot of blood today. It may take some time for his body to repair itself. In fact, I was just going to do another quick post-op exam before we bring everyone else in to visit. Would you mind going down to let everyone know I’ll be out with an update in a few minutes?”

“Sure.” I think this is Max’s way of ensuring I’m not here if the results aren’t what he’s hoping for.

“I’ll be with you soon,” Max says, ushering me out the door as a nurse comes in.

Everyone stands as soon as I enter the waiting room. “Is everything okay?” Caroline asks. “Is it our turn to go see him?”

“Max is just doing another post-op check, and then he’ll be down to give us a report. I think you can all go see him then.”

“Any change?” Edwin asks as we all sit down.

I shake my head as I sit in an empty chair, and look at the floor. “No.”

“Are you okay?” Nick asks, sitting down next to me.

“I’ll be better once I’m certain he’s going to pull through.”

He nudges me in the arm with his elbow. “He’ll be awake soon. He’s a stubborn fucker,” Nick says with a grin.

It’s true. “He definitely has that on his side,” I say with a small smile as Nick puts his arm around me, hugging me to his side.

It’s only a couple of minutes when I see Max coming down the hallway with a big smile on his face. “I have great news. He’s awake, and he’s asking for his bride. Quite aggressively, I might add,” Max says with a smile and we all laugh with relief.

“It’s good to know he’s still acting like himself,” Nick says, shaking his head.

“Follow me, Olivia.” Max leads me back through the set of double doors and down the long hallway.

“Did he wake up during your exam? I only just left the room,” I say, feeling guilt at not being there when he opened his eyes.

“Ah.” Max hesitates. “I did a nerve stimulation test, which can be a bit uncomfortable for the healing body.”

I stop in the hallway and turn to Max. “So, is that your way of saying you woke him up with pain?” He tilts his head back and forth, scrunching up his face. I throw my arms around him and hug him. “I don’t care. I’m just relieved he’s awake.”

“Me too, sweetheart,” he says, then gestures for me to enter the room where I can hear Ethan’s distressed voice.

“Is she okay? I need to see her. Where is she?”

“Alpha, please,” a nurse pleads with him, “you have to calm down.”

“Somebody bring me my mate!”

“She’s okay, Alpha. She’s on her way, I promise,” the nurse says.

“I’m here. I’m right here,” I say, rushing around the corner into his room to see him already sitting up in bed. Our eyes meet and I run to him, wrapping my arms around his neck, while still trying to be gentle.

“Thank God,” he says, kissing the top of my head. “They told me you were okay, but I had to see it for myself.” I pull back and tears stream down my face. “Hey…shh.” He pulls me back into him. “I’m okay, baby.”

I pull back again and shake my head. “You weren’t okay. I thought you…I thought—” I can’t even say the words.

“I know, but it wasn’t as bad as it looked. I’d go home right now if they’d let me.”

My eyes widen and I say, “Absolutely not. You shouldn’t even be sitting up. You only just woke up a few minutes ago.”

“Yeah, thanks to what felt like a fucking hot iron on my foot,” he says referring to Max’s nerve stimulation test. He studies my teary eyes and brings his hand to my cheek. “Baby, I’m just joking about going home, and it hurts less to sit up. The nurse says I should sleep in an inclined position while I heal.”

“You’re making jokes, but I thought I was going to lose you. Do you have any idea how that feels?”

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