Chapter 39 Riley woke up to see Lana checking her monitors. Lana's face was pale, her eyes narrowed as she considered. the screens, absently rubbing her stomach. "Hey," Lana said when she realized Riley was awake, "how are you feeling?" "Pretty bad, actually." Riley licked her chapped lips. "What time is it?" "Around 6:30 in the morning." Lana looked back at the monitors. "I couldn't sleep last night so I decided to come over early and check on you." "I'm sorry," Riley whispered. Lana frowned. "Don't apologize. You're the one who is sick." She looked back at Riley. "Wesley and I have a call scheduled at eight with the commander." "Is Kent here yet?" Lana shook her head. "Not yet. Hopefully within the hour. Patrick said they were driving through the night but it's still a long drive." "I hope he gets here soon," Riley murmured. "How's your pain?" "Awful," Riley replied. "The medicine isn't doing anything." Lana sighed. "I can't..." "Where the hell is she?!" Both Lana and Riley looked towards the door. "Well, it appears Alpha is here," Lana said with a heavy sigh. "You should have f*****g called me the minute she was brought here," he was yelling as he approached. "I told you to call me immediately!" "Kent, she asked..." Max tried to interject. "I don't care what she f*****g asked you to do!" he roared, just outside the door. "I am your alpha and you listen to me!" The door flung open and there stood a very haggard Kent. His black hair was a mess and there were deep bags under his eyes. His eyes were wide and black with rage, but as his sandalwood scent filled the room, Riley was sure that she had never felt such relief. Max, Patrick, Leo and Wesley were all a step behind him. Kent stood a step inside the door for a moment and the anger quickly disappeared, his forehead furrowing as he looked at her. In three strides,/Kent crossed the room, cupping Riley's face between his hands. Tingles erupted from his touch and she sighed softly. Up close she could see his eyes were bloodshot, his cheeks and chin covered in a day's worth of beard growth. He leaned down, brushing his lip gently against hers and Rose stirred in her mind. < Chapter 39 Mate is here, Rose whispered weakly. "What happened?" Kent murmured. "I can't leave for a day without you falling apart." She smiled weakly. "I just started feeling worse." He shook his head. "I told you I shouldn't have gone. I knew something was going to happen." "You couldn't have prevented this," she replied, reaching up to pull his hands from her face. "I still should have been called right away," he insisted. "I should have been told the moment you were brought here. I don't know how you keep getting these fools to do what you want." She shrugged. "They must like me more than you." He rolled his eyes. "I should have been called. I would have been here right away." * Fords "That's exactly why I didn't want you to know," she said, frowning at him. "Your pack's safety is the most important thing here. You needed that alliance. You need those warriors. You can't blow that just because you're being emotional." He narrowed his eyes. "I'm not emotional." She scoffed. "Right, because you've done such a good job at proving that to me over the last week." "Stop arguing," Lana said suddenly. "We're not arguing," Kent grumbled, looking up. "Yeah you were," Max muttered from the door. Lana paid no attention, watching the monitors intently. "What is it?" Kent asked. "Her heart rate is coming down," Lana replied. "It's been highly elevated since she came in and no meds were getting it to come down, but it's been dropping over the last couple minutes. It's completely within a normal range now." She looked at Riley for a moment. "Your color is looking better too. How do you feel right now?" Riley took stock of her body. She had been so focused on Kent that she barely noticed how she felt. "I feel way better." She looked up at Lana. "My wolf even spoke to me a moment ago." "So she woke up better today?" Leo asked from the doorway. "No." Lana shook her head. "I was in here right before you guys came. Everything was looking even worse. She told me she felt awful." "That doesn't make any sense," Kent said. Lana stared at the monitor for a moment, then at Riley, and then at Kent. Finally she looked back at Riley. "Have you ever felt sick when you're around the alpha?" Riley thought about it for a moment. "I don't recall." She looked at Kent for a moment. "I guess not, no." Kent looked down at Riley for a long moment. "You have always told me you're starting to feel better when I'm around. I just assumed you were pretending so I would leave it alone." 2/4 < Chapter 39 +8 Points > "Remember when we ran the perimeter," Patrick said, leaning against the wall, looking at Riley. "You had trouble shifting, you felt ill and tired for most of that run. You couldn't shift back until Kent came over. Then the next thing I know, you were ready to spar him. You said you felt fine, but once he got mad and walked away, you felt sick again." Riley opened her mouth to reply, but realized she didn't know what to say. She looked at Kent again and then back to Lana. "What does that mean?" she asked. "Well," Lana said, "I can't be sure, but if I were to go out on a limb, I would say that this illness has something to do with the mate bond. You only feel sick away from your mate, then he must be the key to you getting better." "How can you be sure?" Riley asked. "I can't," Lana answered. "But it makes sense. Your body and soul are connected. Your emotions, your mental wellbeing, all of that plays a role in your physical health. We all know how weaker wolves can die from rejection or death of a mate. You two more than anyone understand that." Lana tapped her chin. "Tell me, how did you feel physically following your rejection?" Riley closed her eyes, wishing she could stop revisiting this subject. Kent reached out, cupping her face with his palm and she turned her head into his hand, kissing his palm. "I thought I was dying. I felt like someone was trying to split my chest open. I could barely walk. I didn't eat. I felt so weak." She looked up at Kent, realization striking her. "It's the way I've been feeling lately." "I'm going to suggest a test," Lana said. "Let the alpha stay in the room for a part of the day. If you continue to improve, we'll have him leave for a few hours. If you start to get worse with him gone, then we'll know this is all connected to him." Riley looked at Kent for a long moment before nodding. "We can try that." Lana nodded and looked up to the doorway. "Wesley, when we call the commander, we'll let him know we think she's turned a corner. We can always revisit the topic of a transfer later if we need it." "Sounds good," Wesley said, folding his arms over his chest. "Let's clear out," Lana said to the other men. "I'll come back and check on you in a little bit," she said to Riley. Kent and Riley watched everyone walk out, Max closing the door as he left last. Kent looked down at Riley and raised an eyebrow. "See, you need me." She rolled her eyes. "Goddess help me." He laughed and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "Scoot over," he whispered. I haven't slept in over a day. I'm about to pass out." Riley obliged, sliding over to make space so Kent could climb into the bed. He stretched out next to her and she curled up against him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, her head resting on his chest. "Tell me about the visit to New Dawn," she murmured. He rubbed her arm absently. "I wanted to kill that f*****g alpha." 3/4 Chapter 39 "I take it he ran his mouth," she said, turning her face so she could look at him. +8 Points > "Ran it?!" he exclaimed. "He never stopped talking. He didn't just talk about you but every woman he's f****d. He thinks himself quite the ladies man. I don't know what you saw in him." She shrugged. "Broad shoulders. Nice eyes. A really big..." "Careful," he growled, squeezing her shoulders. "Don't anger the man who holds the key to your health." She giggled. "I'd hate to see what happens." He smiled at her. "Did you at least get the alliance all taken care of?" "Yeah," he muttered, "we took care of that in between all the stories of his s**** escapades." She smiled. "I missed you." He kissed her forehead again. "I missed you too." 2 Comments Get Bonus (Ad) > 553 E Vote