Chapter 30 – Healed by His Accidental Mate

“I don’t even know what time it is,” I say.

“Mid-afternoon, Luna. You’ve been in surgery for hours.”

I nod. The days have blended together since I’ve been here, I honestly don’t know what day it is or what time it is, much less when I last ate.

“I’m going to go get some sleep. I say. feeling the exhaustion hitting me hard, making it feel like I’m walking through concrete. “You need Some too, Savannah.”

“Yes, Luna,” I say, looking at Piper one more time before stepping out of the room.

All I want to do is crawl into bed. I’m so tired, that I don’t even have the strength to wash the blood off of me. I pull my gloves off, tossing them in a bin as I walk into the hospital waiting room.

I look up and see Warren. He’s waiting for me. He stands looking at me intently. Without saying a word, he opens his arms for me.

I feel my lips begin to tremble as everything from the last few days begins crashing down on me; my fear for Piper, my anger at Simon, my hunger, my lack of sleep, my worry about the warriors in this pack, my fight with Warren…ll of it hits me as the adrenaline that has kept me going dissipates. I lose the battle with my tears and a moment Iater I feel Warren’s strong arms wrap around me, embracing me as if he knows that I’ll shatter into pieces unless he holds me together. I cling to him, like he’s a life preserver in a stormy sea and without him, I’ll drown in my emotions.

“Come on, baby. Let’s get you to our room,” he says gently, scooping me into his arms.

“Get back in bed. You can argue with your Luna about coming off the injured reserve list when she’s stronger,” he says. I’m assuming he’s talking to Charlie, but I don’t look. I lay my head on his shoulder, tucking my face against his throat as he begins walking back to the packhouse.

As we walk, I take deep breaths of his teakwood scent, letting the mate bond calm me. I’ve heard of the power of the mate bond, but this is the first time that I think I’ve had a chance to truly test it. I hear Arric begin purring, the sound rumbling in his chest and against my ear, lulling me into something like a trance. I’m aware, but not fully awake.

I know the moment we stepk into the packhouse as the murmuring stops. Still, I don’t look up and Warren doesn’t stop. I feel him climbing the stairs to our bedroom and when we walk in, I take gulping breaths of his scent in our room.

He doesn’t lay me on the bed, instead going into the bathroom. He stands a moment, then sits on the side of the bathtub and tums on the water, keeping me in his arms.

“I’m going to take your clothes off, Yara, and then I’m going to bathe you. You’re covered in blood. I know you’re tired, but you’ll be happy to be clean when you wake up.” I nod, too tired to speak.

He sits me on the sink and pulls the shirt, his shirt, over my head. ” Hold on to me,” he says softly, putting me on my feet and pushing his shorts off me. I feel him removing his too and then he carefully pulls his shirt off while still holding me up.

Then he picks me up and steps into the bathtub, sitting and putting me in between his legs.

“Just lean back against me,” he says.

I do and he begins running the warm water over my tired body.

“When’s the last time you ate, Yara?” he asks softly as he continues to rinse me off.”I don’t know.”

He kisses the side of my head, then begins pouring the warm water over my hair. We’re quiet as he washes my hair, rinsing it and replacing the soapy water in the tub before beginning to wash my body.

I feel my fear for Piper pushing forward again.

“What if she doesn’t make it, Warren?” I whisper, choking back a sob. I feel the washcloth pause before he continues. “Then you’ll know you did everything you could to save her and Simon will die an even slower death for killing that sweet girl.”

I feel my lips trembling. “What if.. I hiccup, trying to hold back my tears. “What if she survives but can’t speak? What if she can’t swallow? What if surviving is worse than dying because I wasn’t able to stitch her throat properly?”

I feel him rubbing his face against my head, kissing me as he thinks.”We’ll figure it out, Yara. If there’s a specialist that we can bring in to work with her,I’ll do it. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. You’re an incredible doctor and Piper, while young, is strong with a strong wolf. It may take her some time to fully heal, so let’s not rush it. Let’s wait and see how she is tomorrow.”

I nod, then sigh as I feel him gently washing my body. I can’t remember the last time someone took care of me, definitely not like this. Alpha Solomon was kind, but he was a busy man.

“Just so you know, this feels an awful lot like kindness and compassion,” I tell him.

I feel Arric’s purr, which hasn’t stopped, increase in intensity.

“I consider this taking care of my mate. But if this counts as kindness and compassion, maybe it won’t be as hard for me as I thought,” he says, kissing the side of my head again. “Sleep, Yara.I’ll take care of you.”

If you had asked me if I’d ever be able to fall asleep in a bathtub with a naked Alpha washing my body, I’d have probably laughed in your face. But between my own exhaustion, Arric’s purring, and Warren’s assurance that I’m safe, I fall into a deep, deep sleep.

Quinton “What the fuck do you mean he’s still alive, Brady?” I yell into the phone. Brady had one job. Eliminate Warren. He swore he had it under control, but now, rather than Warren getting killed, Brady has put his pack out of commission.

“Look, I had the doctor! He was destroying the pack from the inside. But Warren found his mate and she’s supposedly some doctor. I’m telling you, Quinton, we attacked him two days in a row. I don’t know what the fuck that lady doctor is doing, but his pack was stronger the second day than they were the first. They should have at least been as weak as we were, but they weren’t. It was uncanny.”

I sit back, thinking. Brady is a good fighter, and he loves his booby traps, but he’s not that smart. That’s why I’m the strategist.”His mate, you say?” I ask.

“Yeah, and if she’s this good at healing people, I want her in my fucking pack, he growls. “I could use some TLC from a lady doctor.”

“Was Warren marked?” I ask, ignoring the rest of his comments.

“I don’t think so. His scent was the same as it always is.””Do you know what Simon’s doing?” I ask.

“Nah, he’s a loose cannon. Although, I’m pretty sure he attacked Warren’s pack last night. Do you really think he killed his own father?” Brady asks.

“Sure do. I don’t think Solomon ever intended to give him the pack. Simon’s only chance of getting it was to overthrow his father.”

“You thinking of bringing him into this group?” he asks. This group’ includes me, Brady, and Thomas. We’ve been targeting Warren’s pack for years trying to bring him down. He’s got the largest pack lands that just happen to be situated in an area that makes getting supplieswater, and electricity easy compared to the rest of us. Not to mention it’s a gorgeous piece of land. His father was unwilling to give it up to my father, and we’ve been at war ever since.

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