The Shy Alpha

Chapter Twenty Two

"Hunter!" Alexa called out, concern and relief flooding her words. She fought to move past Demitri, but he could see how mentally unstable Hunter was, and was unwilling to let her pass him. Hunter roared when he saw this, an anger to it that Alexa had never heard before.

"Let me go to him!" Alexa ordered, before stepping on Demitri's toes, causing him rear up and away from her in pain, giving her the opportunity to run to Hunter.

"Alexa stop!" Demitri called, terrified for her safety. Hunter started to stalk towards Alexa, his entire form still raring for a fight if necessary.

Alexa had to stop before she reached him, out of breath and feeling more feverish than she did before. She collapsed to her knees, her body shaking, feeling cold and hot at the same time.

"Al...exa...!" Hunter groaned out, Ivan desperately trying to take control of the situation. He fell to his knees in front of her, his paws reaching up to touch her face. His fur against her skin was comforting, despite the clumps of dirt and the occassional fractured twig. She rubbed her cheek against his paw, holding it tightly with her hands.

"Hunter... I've missed you so much..." she cried out, tears collecting in the corners of her eyes.

Hunter gulped, and forced the words out, "Al...exa... okay?" He hadn't spoken in so long, he hadn't needed to. But having Alexa back in his arms, meant he had to talk to her again. She nodded, smiling slightly, but teetering on her knees, her balance beginning to fail her. "Baby... okay...?" Before Alexa could nod again, everything went black. She fell forward, her eyes rolling back into her head as she slipped into unconciousness. Hunter felt his heart constrict and pound frantically at the same time as his mate slumped into his arms.

He growled out in panic, his arms wrapping around her frail body tightly, holding her to him, never wanting to let her go again. He quickly rose to his feet, Alexa resting in his arms, the comforting feeling of her pregnant belly rubbing against his fur. Even in the hazy midst of his feral mind, Hunter and Ivan still felt happy and warm knowing his mate and his unborn pup were in his arms, safe.

In the two months that had passed since the death of Dominic, since he had left the pack to wander and sort himself out. He had discovered a lot since then, he'd come to terms with what had happened to his mother, and the angry animal within finally understood that no matter what, even if he could rewind time, nothing would have changed. His mother still would have died, and his father would not have been there to help. He would still blame himself.

But none of that mattered now.

As he stared down at the bright red, sweaty face of his mate, he knew he had to hurry and get her home again.

"You've been away too long... she needs her mate to make it through the pregnancy... it could be too late..." Ivan explained, sorrowfully.

"NO!" the animal roared back, defiantly, refusing to believe his mate was in danger.

"Hunter..." a voice called out from somewhere in the distance. His eyes darted to meet those of the rogue standing ten feet from him. He'd been so focused on Alexa's form that he didn't pay attention to his surroundings.

He growled in warning.

"Hunter I'm not here to fight you... none of us are... we found Alexa in the woods a few hours ago, she was looking for you so we helped her," Demitri explained. "Let's face it, you've been a thorn in our side since you got here, we were happy to help her out. I'm sorry she's so ill."

"You... want... mate..." he snarled, angrily. The beast momentarily distracted from his unconscious mate. "My... mate..."

"I don't want Alexa, Hunter. She was weak, and in need, so I helped her. She's lovely, but she's definitely in love with you," Demitri continued, trying desperately to explain before Hunter decided just to kill him.