Chapter 60

Almara

I rode in the ambulance with Arthur, trying to regain my wits. I honestly have no idea what had happened. One second, my hand was in Arthur’s and it felt like old times. The way he had been looking at me had stirred something in my chest. I had thought that maybe I had made a mistake.

And then that car had come out of nowhere, heading straight for me. If Arthur hadn’t pushed me out of the way, it would have hit me head on. There’s no way I would have survived it.

I clasped Arthur’s hand in mine, careful to keep out of the paramedics way. There’s blood everywhere and even the hand I’m holding is covered in scratches. The heart monitor shows a steady heartbeat, but by the grim look on the paramedics’ faces, I knew that he was in bad shape.

My own heart was threatening to tear its way out of my chest. No matter what had happened between us recently, I couldn’t lose him. I still loved him. He was still the father of our child. I wanted to hear what he had to tell me.

I prayed to the Moon Goddess all the way to the hospital. I prayed for Arthur’s life. I prayed for our happiness. I prayed for our future. But most of all I prayed that everything would go back to normal, as if the rehearsal had never happened.

When we reached the hospital, the cops were there waiting for us. They had been at the scene of the hit and run, but Arthur’s injuries had been serious enough that there hadn’t been time to talk to them. As soon as I set foot out of the ambulance, they swarmed around me, but the paramedics were having none of it.

“She’s pregnant. She needs to be tended to. You can ask your questions once the doctors are through with her,” Amanda snapped and the cops had the decency to look chagrined. I didn’t blame them though. Their alpha was hurt. It was a very serious crime.

“I’m okay. Just some bruises,” I told them, showing one of the bruises on my arm. I didn’t want to go see the doctor. It meant that I would be separated from Arthur. And I didn’t want to leave his side. I wanted to be there when he woke up.

“You don’t know that it’s just some bruises. You need to be looked over,” Amanda said and her tone of voice brooked no argument. I sighed and let her lead me away as the other paramedics handed Arthur’s stretcher over to the nurses.

“Do you think he’ll be okay?” I whispered, not wanting to even talk about it out loud. If Arthur was taken away from me, I had no idea what I would do.

A muscle in Amanda’s jaw ticked. “I can’t say for sure. But he’s one of the strongest alphas in the world. I think he’ll pull through.”

I played her words over and over again in my head like a mantra. He was the strongest alpha. He would pull through. Lily brushed up against me and I ran my fingers through her fur, grabbing onto her tightly. The baby kicked and I placed my real hand over my stomach. I took a deep breath. I wasn’t alone.

Amanda handed me over to one of the nurses who was waiting just down the hall. I waved goodbye to Amanda, thanking her for her part in all this. The nurse took my hand and led me to one of their rooms. I hopped up on the table and answered all the nurse’s questions as much as I could.

Then she left the room and I sat there waiting for the doctor. I didn’t have to wait for long. He came in and asked the same questions as the nurse had, checking me over physically as he did so.

There were a few scratches here and there, bruises all over, but nothing was broken. The baby was perfectly fine. I bit my cheek in annoyance. I could have told him that. I knew that I wasn’t injured.

“May I go, doctor? I want to be with Arthur,” I said and was surprised at how much bite was in my voice. I guess I was too stressed out to be my usual nice self.

“Yes, of course. You’ll have to go to the fourth floor. He’s in the ICU, I believe,” the doctor said before leaving. My eyes widened. The ICU? Wolves, much less alphas, hardly ended up in the ICU. The only reason the hospital had it was in case a war broke out between packs.

I hurried to the nearest elevator, tapping my foot as I waited for it. Couldn’t this thing go any faster? I may as well have taken the stairs. I was about to do just that when the elevator doors opened.

I climbed in, hoping that there would be no interruptions between the first and fourth floor. The Moon Goddess must have been on my side because the elevator went straight up. I practically ran to the woman at the reception desk.

“Hello, I’m here to see Arthur Covington,” I told her and she cocked her head at me.

“I’m afraid he’s not here. He’s in surgery right now. But if you’d like to wait over there, they’ll be bringing him here when he’s done. Are you family?” she asked and I hesitated.

“I’m…his fiance,” I finally said. That seemed to be the easiest thing to say given the circumstances. I didn’t need to go into our sordid history. Even though I’m sure she’d probably heard that the wedding hadn’t happened.

“Luna,” she breathed, bowing her head. I didn’t bother to correct her. I wasn’t her luna until I married Arthur and I wasn’t sure that was going to happen either.

I thanked her and drifted over to the waiting area. I sat in the chair and just let my mind drift away. I knew on some level that I was dissociating, but I didn’t care. I didn’t want to be in the real world right now anyway.

About twenty minutes later, the cops found me. They asked me endless questions about what had happened at the crime scene, but I wasn’t much help. I couldn’t remember any details. It had all happened so fast.

It didn’t help that I absolutely knew nothing about cars. Even if I had seen it properly, I probably wouldn’t have been able to tell them anything useful. I also couldn’t tell them about who was driving. All I knew was that I was the intended victim and Arthur had saved me.

They finally left and I knew I had disappointed them. I had disappointed myself. I wanted to catch the criminals as much as the next person. But I had failed.

What seemed like hours later, Arthur’s doctor came out to talk to me. He had made it through surgery. His injuries had been quite severe and if it had been any other alpha, they wouldn’t have made it. Arthur was very lucky, the doctor had said.

I sank to the floor and cried. The Moon Goddess had answered my prayer. Arthur was going to be just fine.