Reuben POV
I was fuming! I can’t believe I let him die in front of me, and not even by my own hands. I got nothing out of him. No idea who the hell was behind this.
Nate’s driving was just as erratic as Evelyn’s had been after leaving Pierce’s pack. But then in his defence I was struggling to keep my aura at bay and my block up, he would feel my pain through the pack link.
I could feel the burning poison spreading further. I needed to get this bullet out…fast.
Pierce was being no fucking help whatsoever. He was making comments from the back seat, which was pissing me off even more.
“Like I said, if you want to die…I could take Evelyn as my own.” He smirks as I turn, keeping the pain from my moving abruptly, well hidden. Fuck he was making me angry. Did he want me to lodge this bullet into his chest…if so he was going the right way about it.
“She’s an alpha in her own right…she wouldn’t join packs.” I growl from the front seat, Nate’s foot was all the way down on the accelerator pedal.
“I’m irresistible to a female in need.”
“She won’t be in need, I’ll keep her from you.” I cough out from his comment, both Nate and Pierce looking at me with wide eyes.
“You’ll be dead! Maybe I’ll be the new Alpha King…”
“We are here!” Nate’s relief was clear in his voice as he pushes through the gate which was already open. Nate must have mind-linked ahead. Hopefully Evelyn and Rex have been back for a while and we’re being seen to. Nate pulls us up in front of the medical centre and either Evelyn has raised the alarm or they all felt my injury through the pack link. A swarm of doctors huddle around the car and my door is yanked open.
“Alpha!” One of the doctors helps me out of the car and on to the gurney. I growl from intense pain as I lay back on the gurney, the poison well and truly having claimed my back as its own.
“Reuben?” I hear Vicky running towards me as I am sat back up for my back to be inspected.
Her scream only adds to the hospital staff’s panic and they push me back down and rush me inside.
Was it selfish of me to have a slight hope that Evelyn would be waiting for me, that she would be the one ordering the staff around? I won’t admit it out loud but my heart sank when I heard Vicky’s voice and not hers.
I am rushed into a room and it is complete bedlam in here. Doctors ordering at nurses and nurses panicking, unable to concentrate under my thick oppressive aura.
The room took on a dark cloudy feel that I couldn’t rein in.
A fucking piece of shit doctor decides to poke at my wound which causes me to erupt in a roar. My wolf channels forward, knocking him aside. He wasn’t going anywhere near me now.
“Reuben, calm down.” Vicky tries to order at me but I can’t concentrate on her, my eyes flicker to the scene in the corridor outside my room.
Evelyn’s hand is stroking Noah’s cheek with a soft smile on her face.
Red hot jealousy flows from my gut and I can actually feel it fight the infectious wolfsbane. How ironic, my own anger from her touching another male is keeping my poisonous body under control.
I was glad to see Rex was well though, he was in Evelyn’s arms and even from here I could see the colour in his face was brighter, he wasn’t so pale.
I watch as she leaves with Rex, her eyes glance at me and for a moment I felt our eyes connect, a storm of emotions were hidden in hers as they flickered between her luscious green to dark army green, that always meant she was ready to fight. She reined her wolf in too much, kept herself too conservative.
She needed to feel her emotions, let her anger roll off her if that’s how she felt. I saw a glimpse of it at the graveyard, she wanted to hurt that short fat prick who took Rex and then aimed a bullet at her. I wouldn’t presume she was angry because I actually got shot. As she goes out of view, the door opens and I was so busy watching her and Rex that I didn’t notice Noah enter the room.
Not even the doctors notice him.
My eyes are on him now as I growl rattles from my chest. He’s raised my children and kept their identity a secret too. My wolf wanted to teach his wolf another lesson in respect.
His eyes also don’t leave mine until the doctors can’t seem to take a decisive action. My aura is incredibly thick in this room and was messing with their ability to concentrate. His eyes glance back to mine as a smirk enters upon his face as my staff continue to fluster around me.
“Everybody out!” He roars, releasing his beta command onto everyone in this room. Even earning a growl from Nate, my own beta. “Excuse me?” One of the pack doctors turns to Noah.
“You heard me out. Times up! I’ll sort it.” He steps towards the door and opens it. His aura was angry. From being a doctor watching their shit show or for being her protective beta? I wasn’t sure.
“Alpha?” All eyes fall upon me and I’m intrigued to see how good of a doctor he is.
“You heard him out!”
They all submit their necks to me as they file out of the room but remain lingering in the hall way.
Nate, Pierce and Vicky are the only ones remaining.
With a raise of his eyebrows he makes it clear he is the only medical practitioner required in this room. “Nate, you heard him…”
“Yes Alpha.” Nate nods but not before giving Noah a scowl, then reluctantly leaving the room.
Noah turns to Pierce and Vicky.
“I’m staying!” She declares.
“The less people in here, the more I can concentrate.”
“I’m not leaving…he can leave.” She gestures her head to Pierce.
“He is an Alpha that helped save his life. I’ll remain. Only an Alpha can restrain another Alpha.” Pierce replies emphasising on the He part, earning a deadly glare from Vicky.
“I’ll be fine. A coffee would be good.” I offer to her.
“Fine, but don’t take long.” She sneers at Noah who takes no notice of her in the slightest as she storms out of the room.
“Bloody hell…rein it in Reuben, no wonder the staff were in a fluster.” Pierce chuckles as he sits down on the armchair and puts his feet up on the edge of the gurney.
“The anger is stopping it from spreading.” I seethe at him through gritted teeth as Noah inspects the wound.
“I thought you were Evelyn’s Beta?” Pierce asks with a smirk.
“I am!” Noah remains at my back as he places some kind of liquid on the wound. As my back stiffens, the burning informs me it is alcohol based and to help clean the wound.
“Wow a beta and a doctor, she’s landed on her feet there. A man of many talents.” Pierce winks at me, ignoring my glare to shut the hell up.”Well, let’s just say she’s put a lot of
trust in me….Right, Alpha Pierce if you can hold Alpha Reuben still, I’ll try and get the bullet out.”
He walks to a cabinet and grabs what looks like a large tweezer. He opens it from its sterile package as he walks back.
“Ready?”
“Yes Doctor!” Pierce jumps up off the chair and places his arms around me.
“Keep him steady, it’s lodged in more than I thought.”
I’m pretty much immune to pain, but Noah was right to get Pierce to hold me down. The pain from its removal was intense and my wolf was fighting me for control. It helped to imagine my wolf ripping Pierce’s wolf to shreds, that seemed to help calm him slight.
“There, all done!” He announces, dropping the bullet into a dish. It didn’t look like much, how could something so small cause so much trouble.
“You’ll be fine. I’ll put you on a drip to help wash out the remaining toxins from the poison. You’ll need to stay in over night but sure you’ll be ready to leave in the morning. You’re very lucky it didn’t reach your heart.” Noah says as he takes the dish to the sink.
“No, the man aimed for Evelyn’s heart without a doubt.” Pierce adds as he sits back down on the chair.
“What? Why?” Noah’s spins on the spot, his doctor front completely crumbles as his eyes widen from worry.
“We don’t know. He killed himself with a hidden wolfsbane capsule on the way back.”
“Pierce!” I roar at him for sharing too much detail. “What?” He shrugs.
“We are all friends here.” He quirks an eyebrow at me. An awkward silence fills the room between the three of us.
“I’ll inform your doctors what I did and that they’ll need to put you on a rehydration drip.” Noah sighs before he leaves the room, instantly being confronted by Vicky.
“He’s a good Doctor. Perhaps that’s why everyone is joining her alliance.” He really likes to wind me up.
“What do you mean?”
“I hear they have the best hospital site in the country and all the expecting mothers are transferred there under his watchful eyes. Maybe you should get him to train your staff.”
“My staff don’t need training.” I spit out at him.
“You haven’t reined your aura in at all Reuben. Which means he managed to do all of that when your doctors couldn’t.”
“He’s a beta…” His title afforded him the ability to fight an alpha’s aura for longer.
“Granted but still, it would keep him busy.”
“Busy?”
“For you to make amends with Evelyn. You know…” He bounces his head from side to side. The room wasn’t sound proof and as much as he could be a jerk, he knew when to stop. He didn’t want to mention the twin’s parentage in ear shot of Vicky or my pack members.
He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. What the fuck did he have to be frustrated about?
“You leaned into her touch…do you
know that?” He says standing up and placing his hand on my shoulder. All playfulness gone, he was being completely serious.
“What?” I grunt, not wanting to admit that he was right.
“When she touched your back, you leaned into it. Did you have tingles….” He whispers.
“No!” I lie.
He looks at me for a moment, knowing I was lying.
“You’re an idiot Reuben. Always so stubborn. I’m not going to help you realise your damn gift from the moon goddess…” His face is in mine. His whisper is too quiet and I’m almost reading his lips.
“….I might make her my own gift.”
He moves away from me and starts to head to the door. “See you in the morning, I’ll check on Evelyn and the kid for you!” He winks as he opens the door and walks out. My wolf wants to chase him down and whip him for suggesting Evelyn could be his. Tingles? Is that what happens? Mother died before I could ask her what happened when you found your mate and father showed no affection to anyone, least of all mother and me. Is that what the sensation meant? Was Evelyn my fated mate?
