My Mate....The Rogue Leader

12. AJ

My heart sank the second I watched Ajax's body begin to morph into his human form before falling unconscious with blood pooling under him. His body was littered with cuts and scratches from his fight with Dominic. I held him as I felt for a pulse but it was so weak that I could feel my wolf pacing in my head with a whine and whimper. I could hear my father and Dominic fighting in the background but I couldn't give a fuck about that, all that mattered was getting Ajax to the infirmary and healed.

"Come on, baby, stay with me," I whispered as I picked his light as a feather body up and rushed towards the infirmary with his family running behind me. I could smell his blood leaving trails behind us but I didn't care. I needed to get him to the doctor before I lose him.

>I can't feel Loki< Stark whimpered in my head as I crashed through the doors of the infirmary startling the pack doctor who quickly jumped into action upon seeing Ajax's unconscious body bleeding in my arms.

"Lay him here," she said before barking orders to her nurses. She was quick to hook him onto an IV and with much reluctance, I stepped out of the room as she began working on healing him. A nurse had handed us all some shorts to put on while we waited for news of Ajax's condition. I paced the hall in front of the room while his family sat huddled together in a corner. My parents soon joined us along with my friends.

"Any news?" Dillon asked but I shook my head, "fuck when did he even get there? I didn't even see him."

"I don't know," I said as I ran my fingers through my hair. I looked up when I saw a pair of shorts in front of me and gave Beau a nod of appreciation before putting them on.

"It's not your fault," Beau said and I clenched my jaw, "I know it's not what you want to hear, but it's the truth."

"How can it not be when I couldn't save him from getting hurt by that bastard?" I asked and he stared at me for a moment before sighing, "I couldn't protect him."

"We can all blame ourselves for not being able to protect him, but Ajax is strong even if he doesn't see it." He stated and I stared at him, "he knew what he had to do to keep those he cares about safe even if that was fighting someone stronger than him."

The halls of the infirmary were filled with mine and Ajax's family and friends as we waited patiently for the pack Doctor to come out of the room and tell us that Ajax would be okay.

"He's going to pull through."

Those five words had my head snapping up to the sound of the doctor's voice as she stepped out of the room. She had on hospital scrubs and I could faintly smell Ajax's blood I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"Ca-can I see him?"I asked her and she gave a small smile before nodding. I turned to the others but no one objected to me seeing him first.

"Go, I'm sure he'll want to see you first thing when he wakes." His father replies and I nodded before excusing myself and following the doctor into the room.

I stood at the entrance of the room and took in the sight of my mate covered in bandages with a breathing mask over his mouth. He looked so peaceful. His lashes touched the skin under his eyes. The heart monitor beeping was the only other indication that Ajax was still alive.

>He's okay, AJ< Stark said in my head and I nodded, swallowing the knot in my throat before walking towards the bed and sitting down on the uncomfortable hospital chair beside the bed. I looked down at his sleeping form and picked up his hand and laced our fingers together before bringing them to my lips and pressing a kiss to his pale knuckles.

"Hi baby," I whispered as tears blurred my vision, "you've gotta wake up, okay?"

Nothing.

My only reply was the beeping of the heart monitor and the whizzing and hum of the oxygen machine. His hand was warm so that was good. And the doctor did say he was going to pull through.

"You've got a big crowd out there waiting for you to open those pretty eyes," I murmured, "don't keep us waiting, love."

****

"Any sign of him waking up?" Beau asked as he entered the hospital room and I shook my head as I looked down at my sleeping mate. His chest rose and fell as oxygen was pumped into his lungs through the mask over his mouth. Beau rested a hand on my shoulder giving it a light squeeze.

"He'll wake soon," he said and I nodded.

It's been five days now since the whole fight with Dominic occurred and since Ajax fell and was put into a medical coma to recover from his injuries. Five days of sitting here on this plastic and uncomfortable chair waiting for him to wake. Every second that passed, the more I feared that Doctor Kelly was wrong and Ajax won't pull through.

> Don't think negatively, AJ< Stark growled and I clenched my jaw and didn't reply.

"How can you be so sure that he'll wake up soon?" I questioned the alpha without taking my eyes away from Ajax.

"Because I'm his brother," he replied and I looked up at him with a raised and he smiled as he looked down before turning back to his brother's sleeping form. "When we were younger," he began and I just sat and listened, "Ajax and I were attacked by a rogue and because he's the eldest he had stepped up and fought against it to protect me."

I can only imagine young Ajax fighting a wolf that was most like three times his size only to protect his baby brother. I couldn't help but smile at that image.

"Ajax won of course," Beau said and I looked up and raised a brow, "but he had sustained injuries that were very deep during that fight. Mama and Papa had found us just seconds after Ajax killed the rogue. He was bleeding profusely from the wounds that he fell unconscious."

"For how long?" I asked now understanding what he meant that Ajax would wake soon. "And how can you be sure of it?"

"It had taken Ajax three weeks to wake up from the induced coma," Beau said and tensed as my grip on his hand tightened before I released as I pressed a kiss to his knuckles fearing that I had hurt him despite him being unconscious. "It won't take him that long as his wounds this time around weren't life-threatening as those from when we were kids."

I nodded and with another flight squeeze on my shoulder, Beau walked out of the room. His family along with mine and our friends have been visiting him daily wanting to know how he was doing. If there was any change. But every time they asked, it was a safe reply. He still hasn't woken up.

"Five days, baby," I murmured as I caressed his cheek, "it's been five days since I last saw those pretty eyes. That beautiful smile. Please wake up, Ajax."

I choked on a sob as I laid my head down on the bed, his hand tightly grasped in mine as tears freely fell from my eyes.

>Sleep, AJ< Stark whimpered in my head and I closed my eyes refusing to let sleep take me under its clutches. I can't sleep. Not when Ajax could wake up any moment. >get some sleep, you've been awake for five days. Your body will shut down if you don't sleep, how will you think Ajax will feel if he sees how tired you are?<

He was right.

Ever since the whole Dominic incident and Ajax-induced coma, I haven't slept. I couldn't not when he could wake up any second. Sleep had been out of the question for five days.

>I can't sleep< I retaliated and he scoffed.

>For five seconds,< he retorted and I rolled my eyes but he was right. Every time I closed my eyes I would jerk awake and think Ajax woke up but there hadn't been any change. >Sleep. He won't be happy when he sees how exhausted you are and will blame himself for it.<

I rested my hand on mine and Ajax's interlocked hands and closed my eyes, the beeping of the oxygen and heart monitors was the last thing I heard as I let the darkness take me under its wings.