Page 246 of The Broken Aztec Princesses

“Alpha Cade?” Dr. Roswell finally recognized him.

“What’s wrong with Bells?” Cade barked at us.

“She’s dying,” Violet said, not beating around the bush. “And we think it’s the same reason your wolf is dying.”

“I never said—”

“We need to get inside the room,” Violet interrupted and turned to Dr. Roswell, who nodded and took us to Bells’ room.

The moment the doors opened, I felt Cade stiffen in my arms.

Chapter Forty-Five

Cade

Despite my worries over what was happening to my wolf and the pain in my leg, the moment Violet said Bells was dying, I felt the need to find her and protect her. But fuck, Chris wasn’t putting me down, and I didn’t have the energy to make him. This wasn’t how I imagined seeing Bells again, and boy had I dreamt of seeing her again, every night since I left her.

Every day for the last six weeks, I’d almost called her. I almost begged her to give me a chance. I only just managed to stop myself from becoming a crazy ex-boyfriend by the sheer amount of work I had on my plate. It made the days bleed into one another, until all I could do was fall asleep due to extreme exhaustion.

When I found out what happened to Adam, I was already halfway out of Arizona before John caught up with me, and talked sense into me. It wasn’t the time to show up at Bells door and push her. She would just push me away like she did last time.

I was planning on looking for her when she got here, but then Nyko took a nosedive. I couldn’t control my aura, and spooked the damn horse. I’ve been laid out for over a week. Nyko didn’t have the energy to heal me, and the pain of a broken femur was almost as bad as the pain of losing my princess. I’ve been in and out of consciousness over the last few days.

Being carried in like a new bride, feeling weak and with an almost dormant wolf, wasn’t the best way to see the woman who broke my heart and kept the pieces, again. But, every thought of my dignity left me when the doctor opened a set of doors, and I was hit with the delicious smell of apple blossoms and an underlying smell of alcohol and coconuts saturating the room. Was it this strong before? For the first time in a few days, Nyko lifted his head, and wagged his tail.

Mate,the word slipped out of his mouth as he tried to stand, but slipped and fell.

She didn’t want to be our chosen mate,I reminded him, pain stabbing me at my own words.

MATE,Niko continued to growl and try to stand.

“What’s wrong with her?” I asked when Chris stepped inside, and I finally got my first look at my princess. Wires galore were attached to her face, head, chest, and arms, and I could see many more coming out from under the blankets, and connecting to different machines. And, despite all of that, she still looked like the most beautiful woman in the world to me.

“She’s in a chemically induced coma,” Violet answered, and I was glad Chris was still holding me up, because my knees wouldn’t have held me upright.

“What happened?” I demanded to know as I struggled against Chris’ hold, while Nyko howled in my head.

I need to get to her. I needed to figure out how to fix it.

“I’d like to know what’s going on,” the doctor asked. Evie’s mom, if I remembered correctly.

“We’re hoping it’s you,” Chris answered me, finally putting me back in a standing position, and helping me limp toward the extra bed in the room.

As I got closer, though, I realized the smell of coconut was getting stronger, and my heart began to crack in half. I stopped moving, and tried to keep myself from falling apart. I was too late. I lost my last chance to convince Bells to love me.

“I didn’t do anything to her, whereas she broke my heart and by the smell, it looks like she didn’t have a problem taking another.” My voice cracked as I said the words, and Nyko snarled in my head. I was so sure she loved me, in her own way. How could I have been so wrong?

“How’s your wolf, right now?” Violet asked from behind me.

I couldn’t take my eyes off Bells. Despite the pain I was feeling at knowing she’d taken another so soon after our relationship, it hurt me to my core to see her hooked up to so many machines. Where was her mate? Why wasn’t he here with her? If she were mine, I wouldn’t leave her side for a single moment.

Ours. She’s ours,Nyko growled, now standing up in the back, even if he still looked weak.

“He’s... more alert, actually,” I answered.

I knew he was depressed because he missed her, but he shouldn’t be reacting this way. Bells booted us to the curb and now she was mated. We were going to have to get used to it.

“Touch her, Cade.”

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