The Alpha's Scarlet Heart

Chapter Thirty Eight

My eyelids flutter open and I feel a sharp pain in my neck. I open my eyes fully, seeing a white ceiling above me. I am back in our room, Cole sitting beside me, his head in his hands. I open my mouth to call his name but I freeze, remembering what happened.

The rogue, he, he marked me. I sit up, my hand flying to my neck, I hiss in pain when I touch it, tears form in my eyes. I'm now mated to another man. A sob escapes my mouth as tears run down my cheeks. Cole's head snaps up and his eyes, filled with sadness stare into my own.

Cole climbs into the bed besides me and pulls me into his arms and I sob into his chest. How could this happen? This was not supposed to happen. What does this mean for me, for us? Am I going to be pulled towards that rogue against my will? Am I going to be forced away from Cole? For the rest of my life?

Cole rubs my back, whispering in my ear that everything is going to be okay but I know it won't be. Cole isn't my mate anymore, that brutish rogue is. No matter how I feel, the mate bond is going to pull me towards him, no matter how hard I try to resist that pulling will always be there.

'Mate, you are awake.' A deep creepy voice says in my head. I gasp and jump out of the bed quickly but my knees buckle and I collapse onto the hard cold ground. Cole moves quickly to my side.

"I-I can hear his voice in my head." I don't want to hear his voice in my head, I don't want anything to do with him, I just want this all to be a bad dream.

'I'm coming to get you mate and we will be very happy together.' I sob harder tears streaming down my face. Cole grasps my shoulders.

"He's coming for me, he's coming for me!" I scream, gasping for air, hyperventilating. I'm having a panic attack, oh god I'm having a panic attack. I hate this, I hate feeling weak. I have to be strong, I have to be. Cole pulls me into his lap and places my head in the crook of his neck. I inhale his scent, trying to calm myself down.

"I won't let him get close to you, I swear. We are going to find a way to fix this, I swear. We are going to get rid of the mark."

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Cole explained to me that after the rogue marked me, he disappeared with his goons, didn't even try to take me with them, which makes no sense at all.  He explained he has the pack doctor looking into finding a way to help me get rid of the mate bond I have with the rogue, he also said that he has several pack members searching the archives from their ancestors for some mention of what we are going through.

After spending some time in silence, I asked Cole to take me to Callum, I wanted to check on him. We walk through the hall, Cole leading to the way, I follow behind him, my head hanging low, feeling ashamed, not wanting to look at any of the pack members right now. Cole stops and knocks on Callum's door.

"Come in." I rush past Cole and through the door. Callum is sitting up against his headboard, his face tired, bags under his eyes.

"Are you okay? How are you feeling?" I ask, placing my hand on his head. He has a slight fever still. He chuckles and grabs my wrist, pulling my hand away.

"I'm okay Darling. How are you?" He asks. I keep quiet, shuffling my feet, knowing that no matter what lie I could force out, it wouldn't sound sincere. He sniffs the air before growling. I jump back in surprise and Cole pushes me behind him.

"Rogue, I can smell a rogue here!" Callum yells, getting out of his bed, just wearing a white tank top and boxers. I avert my eyes and swallow the lump forming in my throat. He means me, he's smelling me, marked by a rogue gave me the rogue stench. Cole growls loudly, making Callum's head bow in submission.