Filed to story: Claimed by My Ex’s Alpha Brother
I woke up to the sound of dripping water. Was there a leak in the roof? I had to look at that after my chores this morning. Mold spread quickly and could make Grayson sick. Mentally, I went over my to-do list for the day, and I opened my eyes,
But I wasn’t in my room at my aunt’s house. For the third time in my life, I woke up in a hospital bed, confused and unsure how I got here.
Where’s my son? Is he safe?
Panic threatened to overwhelm me, but I forced myself to calm down and remember how I ended up in this hospital room. After I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, an image of Liam and Noah crashing through a window burst into my mind. This triggered my memories to come back to me all at once: finding out about my father’s attack, seeing Liam for the first time in six years, Liam and then Noah finding out about Grayson, and the three of us fighting each other in our wolf forms. The last thing I remembered was Noah biting into my shoulder.
Why had Noah been so aggressive? Sure, finding out that his brother and ex-girlfriend slept together couldn’t have been easy to hear, and in a way, I even understood him thinking he was in the right to punch Liam. But he didn’t even stop to talk things through with Liam. Noah had been the one to cheat on me, and it had been six years since we had spoken. Could he really be that mad to risk his role as Beta of the pack?
Although my father had told me that there had been a rumor floating around WaterLock that Noah wasn’t going to be named Beta, even though he was destined to inherit the role. Sometimes, rumors had no merit to them, though. I was proof of that.
I examined my body, trying to assess how badly I was hurt. I was wearing a pale pink hospital gown. Did a healer put the gown on me when I was unconscious? When I tried to move, my shoulder screamed in protest. I hissed through the pain.
The dripping sound came from my right again, and my eyes traveled to a skinny tube in my arm attached to a clear bag filled with yellow liquid. There were two chairs next to my bedside, and they were the same cream color as the ones in the lobby.
Was my dad in a room similar to mine? Had there been any change to his condition? Did he wake up and wonder why I wasn’t at his bedside?
I glanced around for a button to call a healer or one of their helpers.
But before I could, my heart began to race and my breathing became erratic.
What the hell?
Was I having a delayed reaction from waking up after I fainted? Was I having a heart attack? Why was my body so overly excited? Why did it seem like something amazing was about to happen?
“Liam! If you don’t get back in bed right now, I’ll tackle you,” a voice warned from outside my door.
I recognized the voice as belonging to Healer Nia.
“You wouldn’t dare tackle a patient with head trauma,” Liam countered.
There was a shuffling sound, and I imagined Liam dodging Healer Nia’s outstretched hand.
The door to my room swung open, and Liam rushed in with a frantic glint in his eyes.
When he saw that I was awake, he let out a deep sigh.
My skin heated when he strode to my bedside.
“Ella, I’m so glad you’re okay.” He reached for my hand but hesitated when he saw my weary expression.
“Where’s my son?” I asked.
“He’s fine. No one was injured in the fight besides you and me,” Liam assured me.
Some of the tension in my shoulders lessened, but my heart didn’t slow down.
“Can I examine my patient now, please?” Healer Nia asked Liam while she crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently. Her tone was almost as sharp as her cheekbones.
My fondness for the healer grew.
I took a moment to study her since I hadn’t had a chance during all the chaos last night. She was gorgeous. Healer Nia had smooth, dark skin, wide brown eyes, and a confident aura about her that made me glad she was the one in charge of my father’s care. She had a long, faded scar across her neck that only made her more striking.
Liam waited outside as Healer Nia checked my vitals and assured me that an accelerated heart rate was normal for someone who just woke up from a traumatic event because of the nerves and confusion. I wasn’t sure that was why my heart was racing, though.
She also told me that my shoulder wound was already getting better, thanks to the accelerated healing of a shifter. Our injuries mended much faster than a human’s. If our wounds weren’t life-threatening, most of them would mend overnight. But our scars from bites of other shifters would never fully disappear like our regular scars did. It was almost like the magic within us that allowed us to shift into our wolf forms, wanted us to remember an injury from another wolf. That way, we would train harder, so it never happened again.
Healer Nia wanted to keep me overnight to monitor me. When she told me I’d always have a scar, I glanced down at the Rogue’s faded bite mark on my arm.
Anger tore through me.
I was full of scars from men.
Healer Nia excused herself, and Liam walked back in, followed by my mom. He waited in the corner of the room while my mother came to me and held my hand.
“Grayson is fine,” was the first thing she said.
The leftover tension seeped from my body. Although Liam had already said my son was safe, the assurance was different coming from my mother.
“Aunt Mia?” I asked. “And Dad? How’s Dad?”
“Your aunt is safe. Healer Nia said that you’re going to have to spend the night here, so Liam found us an extra room to sleep in tonight. Grayson is already fast asleep.” A look of happiness flitted across her face, but it faded and was replaced with one of deep sadness. “Your father is…stable. For now. I went in to see him, and it was…” She swallowed and closed her eyes, tears running down her cheeks. “But you need to focus on recovering, and you can see him tomorrow.” She patted my hand, and her lips turned up in a watery semblance of a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
I wanted to tell my mom that her husband of almost thirty years would be all right, but I didn’t want to make a promise I couldn’t keep.
I squeezed her hand, knowing that wasn’t enough, but it was the only small comfort I could give her.
“What did you tell Grayson about what happened?”
Although I wanted nothing more than to hold my son in my arms, it would be selfish of me to wake him up.
“Just that you got hurt, but not as badly as his Grandpa. I promised him that he would be able to see you tomorrow morning. Now, get some rest, sweetheart. I love you.”
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?