My Monster Mate (Book I)

Twenty-Seven: The Bullet

The Bullet
Alexander Russo.

I knew she understood what I was saying, I wanted her not only under my protection but here with me. I was trying, I knew having her share a room with me would be too much for her so I wanted her to feel as comfortable as possible.

"What is it going to take?" I ask her.

I don't understand why she's being so difficult, can't she understand, I can't protect her all the way over there. I have no right, no jurisdiction over there. My wolf needs her here with me, I need her here with me.

"Time." She came to sit beside me.

"We don't have any –"

I was so caught up in trying to push the other side away and trying to calm my wolf that I hadn't heard it. I should have fucken heard it. But I didn't because it makes me so weak. The thought of her not being near me was making it itch to jump right to the surface. I didn't want her to have to deal with it twice in one day so I was focused on that instead of protecting her.

A bullet came barrelling in through the window breaking off a few shards, it connected with the back of her head and her body jerked forward and then fell backwards onto the ground. The blood oozing out, spreading on the snow white carpet turning it blood red.

"Elijah! Shit! Help! I need some help!" Her sister barged in, "She's been shot. I need you to get the medics, quick."

"I-I-I notified them. They're coming –"

The medics pushed past her and came in with a stretcher and all their other equipment, they assessed her wound and tried to stop or at least lessen the bleeding before taking her away.

"Liah, you're going to be okay. Stay with me, Liah. Stay with me, c'mon." I was kneeling beside her as the medics worked on her as fast as they could.

Her blood was leaking out incredibly fast, they managed to tame it. Asking her sister what blood type she was, they hooked up a blood bag and injected her with the tube once they found the corresponding blood type.

If she were home, she would've been safe. I couldn't help but think as I saw her being carried away by the medics.

"Sorry, Alpha." They took her out of the room.

Her sister was quick to follow them but I was frozen. This was all my fucken fault, what if she doesn't make it? I mean, who the fuck recovers from a headshot?

She has to recover, Goddess she has to be okay. I sat on the ground staring at the stained carpet breathing heavily trying to control my emotions. Why was I always switching at the worst of times, why was I always on edge. I knew I wasn't fit for a mate, I knew I was undeserving. I knew it would get in the way and Liah would have to pay.

Now she has and it was crippling. Knowing that had I just been myself, just been alright I would have heard the bullet coming and could have moved her in time. I probably wouldn't have been able to move out the way but rather her than me.

Dammit, it's not even her battle. She should never have been involved but the man Ryan was working for? He didn't care, I should have known he'd come for my mate. A mate for a mate.

Kyrie drove us to the hospital seeing that he deemed me unfit to do it my damn self. When we finally arrived – for the weirdest reason the one day I actually need to be on the roads they were all congested and full – at the hospital, she was still in surgery. I found her sister trembling outside the room, her mate sat beside her speaking softly to her.

No sign of their parents.

"Where are your parents?"

"Home. They don't know about any of this. I can't tell them! What in heavens name am I supposed to tell them?" She shouted.

Her tone was raging, she was hysterical and I understood why. I expected the flip to switch because of her tone but it didn't. It could claw at me over my mate saying she wouldn't move but now, now it was dead silent.

My wolf was just as quiet, he didn't want to be heard. I couldn't feel him at all, it worried me. I was worried about myself, I couldn't feel a thing. My body felt empty, I felt empty. My mate was on an operating table fighting for her life and I couldn't do a thing about it.

"I'll call them." Her mate spoke up.

"And tell them what, Nicholas? That she was shot because she's this guy's mate?" She snapped.

"No. We'll tell them surely the shooter made a mistake. We'll say the bullet was meant for him."

"Okay, but why is she here in the first place?"

That shut him up.

"I had him." I point at her mate, "She had come to save him."

"He's my mate, why would she –"

Growing irritated by the second I interrupted her sentence, her snappy tone was not helping anybody. We were all worried about Liah and we all wanted her to recover, we all wanted the same end goal for once. Why in the fuck was she being snappy with us?

Yes, this wasn't the ideal way to tell their parents or the way Liah would want them to know but they deserved to know. They had to know.

"He's her best friend." I shrug, "Or fine I had your brother. That'll work. Plus that's half a truth seeing as I really do have him." I shrug.

"Your mate could be dead and you're acting so nonchalant. You're unbelievable."

"Listen here, girlie. You don't want to know the fucking day I've had, okay? I could shoot myself right now. Don't you dare try –"

I took deep calming breaths,

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I opened my eyes, using the stupid method Abel suggested to keep it at bay. It works but that doesn't make it less stupid or make me feel less stupid doing it.

"Don't fucken test me," I say once my eyes zero in on her.

That fucking twin. She is always doubting my stupid feelings towards her sister. Does no one think I acknowledge that she is my mate and I could die without her? That my Pack would crumble without her. I asked her to fucken move in with me! Doesn't that show enough affection?

In the human world that's a huge step, why is everyone overlooking that? I fucken want to be with Liah. More than anything, I just need to get it under control first. I know I won't be the man she needs me to be if I can't keep it under lock.

Look at the damage that was done this one time, just this one time I had to focus on it and not her and look at what was the outcome. I was afraid all along that I would be the one to harm her but it wasn't – I was trying.

I was getting there. I am getting there. She can't give up on me now.

I know she shouldn't have had to wait but I couldn't risk hurting her. I couldn't risk knowing that I could have flipped and hurt her. When it takes over anything is possible. I can never protect her if I am the danger. She has to survive this so that I can explain it to her. She needs to understand that she was never the problem. It was always the problem. I just needed some fixing before I could let her in.

I hadn't put much thought into having a mate so these episodes weren't a problem back when they started. But from that very first day I spotted her, I knew I had to do something. I knew I had to change my ways in order for her to accept me, in order for me not to hurt her.

Pushing her away seems stupid now but at that moment it was the only way. It was the easiest way to get her away. Now, I regret it because there's nothing I want more in the world than to just have her with me right this moment and the rest of the moments of my life.

And I feel so goddamn stupid that a bullet to her fucking head is what it took for me to realise that I need her with me.