Chapter 54

I sat in the corner with tears rushing down my face. Michael and Oliver are holding me back, out of the way of the doctors. Please don’t let this be the end.

I heard the final beep of the monitors flat-lining and my heart stopped.

I felt the bond snap and I couldn’t stop the sob tearing out of my throat. I tried to break out of Michael’s arms, but he tightened his grip around my waist.

He was gone.

I never got to tell him what he truly meant to me…

He died on my birthday….

The only sound that could be heard over my sobbing was the flat line on the machine.

“Can you not fucking turn that off? It isn’t helping her!” Michael snapped at the hospital staff in the room.

The beeping was shut off and then silence. Only my sobs could be heard.

“Um….Kataleya,” Oliver said hesitantly.

I cannot function enough to form a full sentence. I continued sitting there in Michael’s arms, sobbing.

I faintly heard one of the doctors talking to someone, but I wasn’t able to comprehend what was being said.

Sparks.

Sparks.

Only one person causes sparks….but he is dead.

Sparks. Tingling.

Fingers were placed under my chin and they forced me to look up.

Justin.

It can’t be. I glanced at the bed, but it empty. I glanced back towards him.

Tears rushed down my face.

“This isn’t real,” I whispered.

“Yes, it is, Kataleya. He really is here. He is alive.” Michael whispered in my ear as he slowly let go of me, giving me a small push on my back.

“My love,” Justin whispered.

I tackled Justin and I knocked him down. He let out a low hiss as his back hit the ground. I frantically began kissing every inch of him that I could reach.

‘We are going to give you two some privacy. Let the doctors know when you are ready for them to come do a full check-up on Justin. And, sis, please be careful with him. He is still kind of fragile.’ Michael linked me.

I giggled and nodded my head to him.

*Click*

We are alone now.

“I missed you, Justin. You have no idea how much I missed you.” I whispered, “It would not have been the same without you.”

I rolled to his left side, allowing him to roll towards me.

“Love, how about we go lie in bed? It might be more comfortable.”

I moved into a standing position and helped Justin stand up from the ground.

We moved to the bed, without breaking from touching each other. I sit on the bed and he pulls me to lay down next to him.

We stayed like that for hours before someone knocked on the door.

“Kataleya,” my father spoke through the door, “I am going to let the doctor in to check on Justin. They were scared to disturb you; no one wants to get on the bad side of Skye after the last time they tried to get in your way.”

He opened the door and allowed Leigh and Emily to enter. My dad walked to me and gave me a hug. He, then, reached over and squeezed Justin’s shoulder.

“I am glad you pulled out of it, Justin,” my dad said to him.

“I am too, Alpha. I can’t imagine never being able to hold Kataleya again or hear her voice, “ he said as his voice cracked at the end.

The doctor began all of their checks on him. While they were doing their tests and making sure he was okay, I curled into Justin’s side. I refused to move and anytime they got too close, Skye would growl at them.

Once they finished the tests, they left the room, leaving my dad in the room with us.

“Kataleya, I am going to leave you for now. I am sure you two have a lot to catch up on. Please remember to link his parents tomorrow and let them know he is awake. His parents will want to see him. Now that he is out of this room, I expect you to eat something and take a proper shower. And sleep! Goodnight, Kat, Justin.”

With that, we were alone again.

“Tell me what I have missed.”

So, I did. I told him everything, except me marking him and healing him. I am scared of how he will react when he finds out. Call me a chicken shit, whatever you want.

He held me tighter.

“Baby, as much as I love holding you, I am filthy. I haven’t been able to shower for at least two weeks.”

I giggled. “Of course, silly. Do you want me to help you to the bathroom?”

He nodded his head and I walked with him to the bathroom. He turned and faced the mirror. “Goddess, I need to shave,” he laughed. He is right, he does. He looked like he was trying to mimic the appearance of Chewbacca.

He rubbed his fingers over his marking spot and then looked at it closely.

“Is there something that you left out of your story, love?”

I shook my head quickly. “Of course not.”

“Then, you let someone else mark me?”

Skye growled loudly and pushed me into the recesses of my mind.

“Mine,” she growled.

“Hello, Skye. I was talking to Kataleya, you know. It is rude to interrupt.”

“You. Are. Mine.”

“Yes, Skye. I am. Can I talk to Kat now?”

“She isn’t going to tell you. Scared of your---” I was finally able to cut her off and regain control of her.

“I am so sorry about her. It has been hard to control her the past couple of days,” I told him as I looked at the ground.

“Kat, look at me.” I shook my head no and continued staring at the ground.

“Baby,” he whispered, as he placed his fingers under my chin and gently pulled my face up to look into his eyes.

“Baby, what is wrong? What are you scared to tell me?”

I slowly reached up and touched the mark on his neck. His mark was a white wolf, howling at the moon.

He jolted from the sparks when I touched him. I tried to move my hand, but he held it in place.

“Babe, I will not be mad. I promise, my love.”

“When I brought you to the hospital, you had lost so much blood. The doctors had pretty much given up…” I whispered, “They thought that the only way to possibly heal you would be for me to mark you, since I am an Alpha Female. It is said that Alpha Females have special gifts…gifts that they were hoping to unlock since you were my mate. Skye let the ‘cat out of the bag’ about you being my mate when they refused her entry to the operating room. I struggled with the thought of marking you, not because I was scared to mark you…” I felt the tears streaming down my face, “but because I was scared that I was taking away your choice. I had done it to save you and I was praying that you would forgive me….after I had marked you, my hand started glowing and I healed the wound on your chest. Then, I stayed by your side. I refused to leave to go shower, besides that first night, because I was covered in blood. Your blood, my blood, rogue blood…all over me…That first night, I slept maybe an hour. In the past two weeks, I had about 10-15 hours of sleep and it was all ‘cat naps,’ never a full rest…I was worried I would sleep or leave the room and something would happen to you, and I refused. I wanted to be here no matter what.”

Justin was quiet for a moment. “Kataleya, I have been waiting for you to be ready since I found out you were my mate. You have been my light. While I was in that coma or whatever the hell it was, I felt it every time you touched me, sometimes I could hear you begging me to wake up, I felt it when you marked me….baby, I love you. And I love bearing your mark. You mark makes it worth it. You make it worth it. You are my everything. My love. My heart. My soul. I am proud to bear your mark, just as I hope one day you will be proud to carry my mark and give me the opportunity to make you mine in every single way. Kataleya, you are everything to me. Nothing else and no one else will come in our way.”

I felt the tears pricking at the back of my eyes. I really do not deserve this man.

He wrapped me in his arms, “Baby, don’t cry. I don’t need to mark you now. I stand by what I said. We will wait until you are ready to bear my mark.”

I nodded my head and continued to let his touch comfort me. The emotions of the past two weeks are too much for me to take right now.

He is alive and for that, I will always be eternally grateful. He is my everything. I see that now.

They say you don’t know what you had until it is gone and they are right. I took it for granted. I took Justin for granted. I know I truly do not deserve this wonderful man in my life. I do not deserve to have him as my mate, but I am going to forever cherish him. He has become my everything.

He is my everything.