Hey kids!
So here's the new chapter. It's taken long I know, Im sorry. I had my exams on.
I'm a little sad coz the story is slowly drawing to a close :( and I've really enjoyed writing this.
Anyway, enough whining. Enjoy!!!
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ELAHEH
"The only thing we can do for him is to keep him stable, Luna. He's the only one who can save himself and your presence gives him strength."
I tried to blink away the ache in my eyes. There had been some improvement in Aleksy's condition. I guess his pallor wasn't as sickly as it was which gave me hope but he had lost a lot of weight. His face looked more angular than before and I worried that if he continued on like this, I'd be counting his ribs to pass the time. I, on the other hand wasn't much of an improvement from Aleksy. Although Chad and Alyssa made sure that I ate and exercised, my eyes were constantly red from crying when I was alone with my mate and my skin looked blotchy and red all the time. My hair was in a messy bun-not the attractive kind- and when I was in the hospital I usually wore loose track pants and a tank top.
It was only when I went out that I pretended to have my shit together. Alyssa smothered my face with make up to hide the fact that I hadn't been taking much care of my skin and she spent at least half an hour wresting with the knots in my hair.
Guilt, as usual was one of the more prominent emotions that kept making its way into my system. Jake had finally begun stepping out of his house but the bags under his eyes showed how little he managed to sleep. His hair was never combed and he often wore mismatched socks...that was when he bothered to wear shoes. He had been losing weight too. Chad had started checking in on him regularly to make sure that he was eating well. I dropped in too at least once a day to see that he was well...physically at least.
I was lying on his couch while he lay on the ground beside me. We had both given in to our misery and let our guards down. He cried for an hour. When he spoke after, his voice sounded like his throat had been rubbed raw. He was angry, but his anger wasn't directed at me or Aleksy or anybody else. No, his anger was solely aimed at Blake.
"He thought he'd made it easier by rejecting me so that I won't die. He thought he was being heroic." He spat while I stared at the ceiling.
"All he was though, was selfish. Forcing me to accept him. Forcing me to fall in love with him. Forcing me to live without him." His voice broke at the end and I made no comment. "He never thought about the fact that maybe, I don't want to live without him. Maybe I wanted to choose death." The obvious question to ask then, would be why didn't he? Why didn't he choose death? The answer to that question was simple. Blake had given his life for Jake's. By choosing death, he'd be spitting on his sacrifice. His death would have been a waste. No matter what, Jake couldn't be as selfish as he claimed Blake was. I knew that Blake just wanted to give Jake a chance at life. They hadn't marked each other so Jake's following death was not a given. By rejecting him, he was giving him a chance to find love again and be happy. Wouldn't any of us have done the same thing?
I made sure Jake had something to eat before I left. It was now getting dark and I wanted to be with Aleksy.
Twenty minutes later, I had bathed and sat in the plastic chair by his bed. My hand was in his, and my eyes were glued to his face. His cheeks were sunken in, his eyes had dark circles and his lips were slightly chapped. Even then, to my eyes he was divine. He still looked like he had been sculpted by the hands of the moon goddess herself. I leaned forward to kiss him lightly on the lips.
My eyes had already begun to shut and I felt the overwhelming need to curl up next to him, knowing his body would provide the warmth that my soul severely lacked. I ached for him to touch me. The little things that he did, playing with me hair, stroking my cheek, holding my hand. I ached to feel his eyes on me in that intense, searching, slightly intimidating way he had.
I fell asleep with the memory of his eyes. Silver and then grey. Tempestuous, angry, passionate,loving. There were no dreams that night and when I did fall asleep, it was with my hand still in his.
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ERIC
It was seven in the morning when I walked into the hospital room. I hadn't seen her in a week and I was growing increasingly worried about her. Kaveh had said that she looked tired and depressed and it hurt me physically to imagine her unhappy.
My heart broke at the sight of her curled up in that plastic chair. She was a mess. Her hair tumbled down her shoulders in a tangled mess, her eyes looked almost bruised from the lack of sleep, her skin looked pasty and still she was the most beautiful being I had ever laid eyes on.
For how long had I been in love with her? For how long had I wanted to hold her and kiss her and call her mine? For how long had I known that all my dreams would count for nothing?
Kaveh had told me that I would be better off forgetting my feelings for her but that was impossible. Where was it written that just because you love someone that they should love you back? Even as I fell in love with her I knew it would amount to nothing but my feelings for her growing stronger as time went by.
So many times she had looked up at me with those blue eyes that had the same look as the little girl I'd rescued from a tree. But it wasn't long before I realised that she wasn't little anymore. She was a woman. With a woman's mind and a woman's body. God that body could drive a man insane and she didn't even realise it.
She still looked up to me the way she did as a kid. She admired me and thought I was amazing and I knew I was one of her favourite people. I knew that I was one of the most important people to her and that without me she would feel lost. But I was rooted so deeply in the brozone it was pathetic. I'd been hounded by every other girl but the one I wanted to be drooled over by. To her I'd always be big brother Wic. I never tried because I knew she was destined for big things. I mean, look at what she'd done. She had brought two rival packs, with pig headed Alphas together. She'd brought two of the strongest packs together.
For all my big talk about loving her in spite of not being loved back, I was still consumed by jealousy when Alpha Aleksy walked in. He was grumpy and seemed to be in a bad mood all the time, yet when he walked into the room it was like her day instantly brightened. Even when they first met, the tension was palpable. They were drawn to each other in a way that was even stronger than when Kaveh and Jenna first found each other. I hated it. I didn't want Elaheh to be around him. He was ruthless. He would use her and throw her away. She didn't mean anything to him. Besides, he was dangerous. He was a mean wolf...or so I thought.
Sure he was mean. He was scary in way that one look from him could make you shit yourself for the next four days consistently. But never with her. He was always gentle around her. He wasn't the big bad Alpha around her. I could see him fight against the instinctive need to protect her. He hated that he had to put her first whether he liked it or not.
That slowly changed though. I could see them growing closer. At the party and every other time I saw them together. His eyes were always glued to her. I recognised the look in his eyes because it was something I constantly experienced around her. Fasciation.
I watched him grow to adore her. By the time the packs got together to train, I could see that he had grown to adore her and his mark on her neck-which had me seeing red-was not the only indication. It was the way he was around her. Always watching her to make sure she was okay, always within close proximity so that he could reach her should anything happen. He worshipped the ground that she walked on and why shouldn't he? Elaheh was a goddess.
It hurt to see the way she looked at him. Her eyes full of wonder and awe as though every move he made was magic. Honestly with the way her eyes lit up when he was around you'd think he'd pulled a rabbit out of his ass.
I was beginning to understand though, that while I loved her, what he felt for her was beyond anything that could be quantified. I'd seen it in the fear in his eyes during the battle when Sloan had pointed the gun at her. She would always be a princess to me. But to him...she was his Queen. And I rested assured of the fact that if anyone unwanted came within breathing distance of his Queen, he'd rip out their lungs.
He would be okay. I knew he would. He would never let her suffer for too long. If he did I'd kick his ass.
She was asleep in her chair and her hand lay in Aleksy's, holding onto it as though it was her lifeline. I shut my eyes tightly to get rid of the hurt inside.
It was when I was concentrating on my breathing that I realised it. There were three sets of heartbeats. Mine, Elaheh's and Aleksy's. Usually, Aleksy's was super slow because of the state he was in. Now it seemed like it was racing to catch up with mine. He was obviously still severely ill but I could make out the increase in the pace of his heart. Even his breathing sounded easier, more rhythmic.
How had I not noticed it when I walked in?
"You were too busy pining over his woman." My wolf snorted and I felt my cheeks burn.
I didn't know whether to call the doctor or wake Elaheh up and asked if this had been the case since I'd last been here. I was looking around frantically...for what I don't exactly know. I was a Beta and I was totally panicking.
But I stopped short when my eyes landed on Aleksy's face again.
His eyes were open.
They were tired and and a little dim in comparison to their usual ferocity. He watched me tiredly and carefully.
"Eric." He said. His voice was hoarse from not having used it for so long. Even now his eyes were already drooping.
"You're awake." I said, stupidly stating the obvious.
"I have been for sometime." He muttered, his eyes moving to Elaheh's sleeping form.
"She's been here every night." I said.
"When I awoke in the middle of the night I saw her. It took me a while to remember what had happened and even now everything is hazy." His voice was getting softer and softer and I figured I should probably let him get to sleep.
"Will you tell me what happened?" He asked.
I sighed. "All you really need to know right now is that we won. We lost many but Sloan is dead. El killed him. You saved her by taking a silver bullet laced with wolfsbane for her and that was why she was able to kill him."
"Silver and wolfsbane?" He asked incredulously. "How am I still alive? That should be too much even for me."
I grinned at that. " You're one tough fucker to take down. You just won't stay dead."
He laughed humourlessly, something I'm sure he wouldn't have done before he met Elaheh.
"From what I hear, there wasn't enough to kill you. The bullet was meant for Elaheh not you." Aleksy's eyes hardened at that.
"I should tell Chad that you're awake." I said, filling the awkward silence.
"No. He'll fuss and then Alyssa will fuss more and they'll wake Elaheh and she looks a little haggard." He said then his eyes narrowed.
"Why is she not lying next to me? Why did she choose the chair?"
I chuckled at that. " Jealous of a chair are we?" I asked.
"Just because I'm weaker than usual doesn't mean I won't still kick your ass to Kingdom Come dog." He spat. He was back.
"She was afraid to disturb the machines. She's been extra careful around you." I said and he frowned.
"Will you put lay her next to me?" He asked and my throat felt tight. I nodded stiffly.
I lifted her gently from the chair so as not to wake her. She was sleeping deeply. I couldn't help but wonder at how right it felt to have her in my arms. Her lips were partly open and I felt the sudden urge to kiss her.
"Don't make me kill you wolf. I won't even hesitate." Aleksy's voice was sharp and all the lightness of it from before was gone. I hadn't realised that I was staring at her while she slept in my arms and I could imagine all the emotions Aleksy had seen on my face.
I cleared my throat and didn't look at him when I placed her near him. Immediately she shifted closer to him and he wound his arm around her. Instinctively she cuddled into him, something she hadn't done when I carried her. She let out a little sigh and Aleksy stared at her with so much warmth in his eyes that I couldn't watch.
Clenching my teeth against the pain in my chest, I bowed to show my respect and turned I walk to the door.
"I'd apologise for the pain this causes you and for stealing her away from you but I'm not really sorry." He called. "I will never regret her being mine and if you didn't love her the way you do, you might not do everything in your power to keep her safe. I can protect her fine by myself but I won't complain about having help."
I stopped short but did not turn back to look at him. "She was never mine. Even if she did by some miracle love me, she would never fully belong to me the way she belongs to you. And protecting her does not extend only as far as my love for her. I would give my life for her regardless of my feelings for her. So you have nothing to apologise for." I said smiling bitterly.
I began to walk again, "Get better soon Alpha. Get healthy again so you can take care of her, because if you fail ...I'll kill you myself.".
I could hear him chuckle as I left the room and allowed a small smile myself. She would be okay. He loved her and he would do anything for her.
She would be okay.
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