Page 58 of Alpha's Forbidden Bond

Chapter 29

Andreas

Four days had passed, and with them came only more disappointing news. Mikeal still hadn’t figured out who in the pack might’ve killed Michael Kingsley, Sarafina was still in a coma, and now there was this news article in the Post to worry about. From what was written, it was hard to know exactly what information the cops did or did not have, but I supposed the fact that they hadn’t shown up asking questions had to be a good sign.

Becc, on the other hand, wasn’t convinced.

“We need to find out what that prick wrote in the note,” he said to me the morning after we received a copy of the paper. I had plans of asking Stanley this exact question once he woke up, but of course, I couldn’t let Becc know that. “I’m going into town to see if anyone else is talking about this. Maybe I can even shake down one of the officers working the case.”

“That’s a terrible idea,” I said. “You’re only going to end up drawing more attention to yourself, which in turn will likely lead to more attention being drawn to the pack, and I can’t allow that. We just need to lay low for a while and see what happens. We will only take action if we are forced to.”

“I should’ve known you’d pick the coward’s way out. This is fucking ridiculous.” Becc stalked down the hallway and disappeared through the infirmary exit. Mr. Morena had spent the night in Sarafina’s room and Becc was supposed to come and take the day shift, but apparently, he wasn’t in the mood to stick around. With him gone in such a huff, I stood up and entered the room myself.

“Good morning,” I said to Sarafina’s father. “I’m afraid Becc is otherwise preoccupied?—”

“I heard everything,” Mr. Morena said. “So there’s no need to make up some story about him having to be somewhere. And really, I think it’s good that we let him cool off. Standing watch over his sister only seems to make him angrier these days.”

I nodded. “Is it okay then if I spend some time here today?” I didn’t want to overstep, but it had been days since I’d been around Sarafina, and my fear that she would never wake up was growing each minute.

“Of course,” he said. He stretched his arms above his head and yawned. “I was just about to turn in for a little nap. I’ll come back and relieve you in a few hours if that’s alright with you?”

I smiled. “Whenever you feel rested. Take your time.”

Mr. Morena left and I took my place at the chair next to Sarafina’s bed. She looked as beautiful as ever, with her porcelain skin and lips parted ever so slightly. There was a peaceful expression on her face, as if she was merely sleeping—enjoying a nice dream. I took her hand in mine and smiled up at her.

“In case this is the last chance that I get to speak to you, I just wanted to let you know how deeply sorry I am. I swore to protect you, to keep you safe while you were here on my compound, and I did the opposite. I brought danger to these grounds and put you in harm’s way. I’m the reason you ended up hurt…” Tears welled up in my eyes. I pressed my forehead into the top of Sarafina’s knuckles. “You have no idea how much I hate myself for putting you through this. It was selfish and stupid, and you deserved so much better. I swear to you, no matter what happens, I will find a way to honor you. I will never forgive myself for the pain I’ve caused you and the entire Morena pack. The shame will haunt me forever.”

A wave of powerful sadness washed over me, and I began to choke back sobs. I squeezed Sarafina’s hand tightly and wept openly.

“You’re hurting me right now.”

At first, I thought I’d imagined the voice. It was so quiet that I really didn’t even know where it came from. My head shot up and I stared at Sarafina through watery eyes. She was looking back with wide, lively eyes. “You’re—you’re awake!” I exclaimed.

She looked down at our hands. “And you’re squeezing too hard.”

“Oh my god!” I let go of her hand right away. “I’m so sorry. I?—”

She laughed and then coughed a few dry coughs and pushed herself up gingerly. “It’s okay,” she said. “I’ve actually been awake for a while now, but I didn’t want to give my dad a fright earlier.”

“Huh?”

“He was snoozing,” she explained. “And I was afraid if I sat up and tapped him on the shoulder, I could end up giving him a heart attack.” She smiled. “I was going to wait for one of the doctors to come back, but then I heard you talking and decided to give you the honor of seeing me rise from the dead.”

I could hardly believe my own eyes. “We—we were so scared,” I said. “We thought—I didn’t know if I would ever hear your voice again. I have to go find your family. They are going to be so excited.”

“Wait.” She put her hand on my arm and stopped me from leaping out of the chair. “Just give me a few minutes to collect my thoughts. And also, if you could tell me what happened, that would be nice too. I have a feeling the version of events Becc would give me won’t be the most accurate. If he thought he could get away with it, he would probably try to convince me you were the one who pulled the trigger.”

I smiled. “Yeah, that’s not out of the realm of possibility.” I took her hand again but held it much more gently this time. “But are you sure you want me to retell the story right now? The last thing I want to do is stress you out.”

“Not knowing is what’s stressing me out. All I remember from that night is following you out to the edge of the compound, and the rest—the rest is a blur.”

“I know what you mean.” I laughed. “The rest is a blur for me, too, but I think I can still piece together a somewhat correct narrative. This man—Stanley Kingsley—had a vendetta against the pack because his son was killed by one of our members over ten years ago. He showed up here looking for revenge.”

Sarafina’s eyes widened. “Killed?”

“Yes, and before you express any discontent, trust me when I say that we do not normally take such violent measures. It was a rogue wolf who went against my mother’s orders, and we are trying to find out exactly who it was as quickly as possible. Anyway, Kingsley showed up on the compound the night you were shot, and he brought with him a gun full of copper bullets.”

She smiled and looked down at her stomach. “Aha, so that’s why it hurt so fucking bad. You know, I’ve actually been shot before. With an arrow, not a bullet, but still. I took it pretty well, as far as those things go, but when this bullet went into my stomach, it was like nothing I’d ever felt before.”

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