Chapter 9

ALEXIS

"She'll be fine, Alpha Horris. I know it has been two days since she fell unconscious, but this is completely normal for a female who has just gone through a vigorous heat cycle. She'll wake up soon."

"Nigel, I hear you, but this is my pup we're talking about. My mate and I can't stand to see her like this. It's worrying us to death that there's some other reason she isn't waking up."

"She's just exhausted, Alpha, believe me. Those heat cycles are vicious."

The voices got louder with every moment that passed and not because they were talking loudly, but because I was being pulled from my state of unconsciousness and back into the real world.

I furrowed my eyebrows and cracked an eye open to stare at the white wall.

Was I in the hospital? Moon Goddess, how bad was my heat?

I let my other eye open and glared at the wall.

Why was everything so bright?

A groan escaped my lips as my eyes fluttered close to avoid the brightness of the room. It felt like someone took a flashlight and shined it in my eyes.

"Alexis,"

There was a soft patter of footsteps before a warm hand cupped my cheek.

"Sweetie, can you hear me?"

I didn't realize that heat cycles were supposed to make you lose your hearing.

With a great effort, I opened my eyes just a sliver and stared at my dad, who looked like he was about to cry.

"Dad," I croaked, coughing at the dryness of my throat. He quickly reached over and grabbed a cup from the bedside table.

"Here," He said softly, helping me up. I guzzled down the water gratefully and cleared my throat once again. Two cups of water later, I finally felt a little better and sighed in relief. At least my throat didn't feel like I swallowed a bunch of thorns.

My dad placed the cup on the bedside table and ran his fingers through my hair, "How are you feeling?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, I suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion rush over me. I knew that if I took the chance to stand up, I would pretty much fall over. My limbs felt like jelly.

"Tired," I whispered, closing my eyes at the pounding in my head, "And hungry."

He gave me a sad smile, "I know, sweetie. I mind-linked your mom. She should be here with some food any minute now. You just need to take it easy for a few more days."

I nodded slowly and closed my eyes again. My eyelids felt like they weighed a thousand pounds.

"Oh Alexis,"

Oh Moon Goddess. My mom was here.

I mentally braced myself as she fussed over me like I was a child– checking my temperature, my pulse, my tongue. I had no idea why she was doing half the things she was, but apparently, they were important. Every time I moved, she would tell me to sit still so she could finish her check-up.

Meanwhile, I was wondering where the doctor was and why my mom was checking me instead.

"Dear, the doctor will come see her shortly. You're being overdramatic. Now, let the poor girl eat. She hasn't had any food in two days."

My mom froze, and I gave my dad a sympathetic look. He was done for.

"What did you say?" My mom growled, "I'm overdramatic? My pup has passed out for two days and I can't even look her over to see if she's okay! Horris, how dare you."

I winced as her voice turned a little shrill for my liking. My eardrums felt like they were about to explode.

My dad kept his mouth shut which was the smartest thing he could have done at this point. He got up and kissed the top of my head, "I'll be back later to check on you, sweetie. I have some pack duties to attend to, but Neville should come by in a bit to see you."

I nodded and watched him rush out of the room as fast as he could. My lips twitched into an amused smile as my mom glared at his back.

"Can I eat now?" I asked, looking pointedly at the tray she had abandoned on one of the tables.

"Oh, of course. I completely forgot about the tray," she said, grabbing the tray and placing it in my lap carefully. I quickly stuck a spoonful of scrambled eggs into my mouth and sighed as my taste buds came back to life. After I had savored the first bite, I started shoveling the eggs into my mouth without breaking my pace once. I was that hungry.

My mom stared at the empty plate in shock, "You ate that in less than two minutes."

I chuckled and popped a strawberry into my mouth, "That's nothing. You should have seen me after the pack run. I pretty much inhaled a huge turkey leg."

She shook her head in amusement and stood up, "Finish your fruit, sweetie. I'm going to go find the pack doctor so he can check your vitals."

I nodded and continued devouring the bowl of berries as she marched out of the room. My eyes wandered around the room, taking in every detail as my mind went into overdrive.

What happened after I passed out? Did Hudson even care that I passed out? Why did my hair smell like hand sanitizer? Why was this blueberry so sour?

I grimaced and spit the blueberry out into a napkin.

Sour foods were definitely not on my list of favorites.

I threw the napkin into the trash can and pursed my lips.

My wolf hadn't even stirred in my head since I woke up. I hadn't felt her since I went into my heat. I closed my eyes and tried to reach her, pushing hard at the mental block she was putting up. A few moments later, the block disappeared and I was able to feel her stir.

Are you okay?

She shook her fur out and stretched her legs.

I'm okay. You?

Alright, could have been better.

I'm sorry that mate didn't accept us.

I sighed.

My wolf was taking the blame for something that wasn't even her fault. She must have thought she wasn't good enough for him or something.

It's definitely not your fault. If anything, it's his. He can't get his head out of his ass.

She stayed quiet, and I felt sorry for her. This was harder for her than it was for me. I couldn't imagine how it felt to have such a deep connection with his wolf and not be able to be close to him.

"Hola mi amore."

I opened my eyes and smiled at Boston, who had a broad grin on his face and was carrying a bouquet of flowers.

"Hola Boston, que pasa?"

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "You know Spanish?"

"It was my elective in high school."

His mouth formed an 'O' in understanding, and he walked further into the room until he plopped onto the chair beside my bed.

"These are for you," he said, handing me the bouquet. My smile widened as I recognized the forget-me-nots.

"Thank you, Boston. These are beautiful," I said, sniffing the flowers happily. Forget-me-nots were my second favorite flower, while peonies were my absolute favorite. I could never get tired of staring at them. They were so stinking beautiful.

There was a knock on the door, and I directed my attention to Matthew. He gave me a small smile, "Nice to see you're alive."

"It's nice to see you too, Matthew," I said, rolling my eyes playfully. He moved to stand beside Boston and handed me a Hershey bar.

"My mom tells me that chocolate is the cure for everything," he muttered, looking quite embarrassed. I nodded in approval, "She's right. Chocolate's like a drug."

He rolled his eyes at my choice of words and leaned back against the wall. I studied the two of them in amusement.

It was funny how Hudson, Matthew, and Boston were all best friends but had completely different personalities. Hudson was the more uptight and serious one with the I-got-a-permanent-stick-in-my-asshole attitude, while Matthew was the more sarcastic and snappy one who didn't like to show a lot of affection. Boston, on the other hand, was like a ray of sunshine on a cold winter day. He was sweet, funny, kind, basically anything a girl could want in a mate.

"So, how are you feeling?" Boston asked, snapping me from my observations.

I shrugged, "Like someone ran me over. I feel like my bones don't even exist."

He winced and shook his head sadly, "Hudson should have stayed with you. None of this would have happened if he had."

"Where is he anyway?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Was he planning on avoiding me for the rest of his life?

"He's....busy?" Boston tried to explain, but his explanation came out as a question instead.

Matthew rolled his eyes, "He is dealing with some pack stuff. Somehow, everyone found out about you and are going crazy about their new Luna. Hudson's parents are apparently even planning to come down here just to meet you."

I stared at the wall blankly, trying to ignore my wolf's quiet whimpers.

"Alexis, what are you thinking about?" Boston asked, looking slightly worried.

I looked at him with the most serious look on my face, all amusement aside, "I'm thinking about whether I should reject Hudson on the next full moon day."

"What?" Matthew and Boston gaped at me as if I said something terrible, which it kind of was.

Rejections were really rare, and they only happened if the mate was abusive or couldn't accept the bond. Unfortunately, they were looked down up no matter what the circumstances were. Wolves were only allowed to reject on full moon days because that was when the Moon Goddess would continue the process of pairing mates together. If she felt the wolf deserved a second-chance mate, she would find them a new mate that day.

It was almost like a matchmaking service.

"You can't do that. What about our pack?" Matthew snapped.

I narrowed my eyes, "Hudson is ignoring me because of the pack. He wants me to prove that I can be a good Luna before he can accept me."

"Then do it."

My face contorted with anger, "I shouldn't have to prove myself to anyone. I am who I am and I can only continue to improve. I'm not perfect, Matthew, but Hudson expects me to be all that when he isn't all that himself. It makes no sense whatsoever."

"You have to understand where he's coming from, Alexis. He feels like he let the pack down once already. He doesn't want to let them down again," Boston protested.

"See, he doesn't even have faith in me. He thinks I would be the downfall of the pack which is absolutely baffling because if I wasn't good enough to be a Luna, then why the fuck would the Moon Goddess give me the blessing and put us together?"

"Blessing?" Matthew asked incredulously.

Crap. I said too much.

I gave him a pointed look, "Out of everything I said, the only thing you got from that was the word blessing?"

He raised an eyebrow, "What's the blessing?"

I shook my head, "That's a subject for another day. We were talking about the reasons why I could reject Hudson."

"Which you shouldn't" Boston added.

I glared at the two of them.

How could they be on his side? Did they not see what he put me through? I was unconscious for two days because he couldn't suck it up and put his big boy pants on.

Matthew sighed and sat on the bed beside my feet, "Alexis, I know this has been completely unfair to you, but hear me out. Hudson is a good guy. He has just had a hard time being Alpha. You see, he was forced into the position of Alpha at a young age, twenty as a matter of fact."

I stared at him curiously– his sudden idea to tell stories piqued my interest.

"Right after Hudson turned nineteen, his dad was injured in a battle by a silver bullet. The bullet had narrowly missed his heart and hit his shoulder instead. The doctor managed to pull the bullet out before it could kill him, but the silver still got to an area of his heart. As a result, the doctor said that his dad couldn't continue as Alpha because the stress could potentially kill him if he panicked at any point."

I winced at the thought of even touching silver. I couldn't imagine what it would feel like to be hit by a silver bullet. Hudson's dad must have been one strong wolf.

"So his dad decided to step down and pass the title on. However, Hudson didn't want the title just yet and he was not ready to have it anyway. He was busy with his college work. So his father passed it on to a wolf by the name of Francis."

Boston decided to chime into the story at this point, giving Matthew a break, "Francis was a good wolf and a good Alpha. The pack adored him just as much as they adored Hudson's father. However, everything went downhill when he met his mate, the rogue Victoria."

My heart dropped at the ominous tone in Boston's voice. It was clear that the rogue caused a lot of trouble in the pack.

"At first, everything was great. Victoria was a pretty good Luna and no one suspected anything of her. After all, rogues joining packs after finding their mates was normal. But, on the day of their wedding, during the reception, almost every wolf got drunk except for some of the pack warriors and older wolves. It was the worst timing ever."

Boston looked at the blanket with a hard look in his eyes and spoke through gritted teeth, "Victoria got her army of rogues to attack the pack."

My eyes widened in shock. I was not expecting that of all things.

"Alexis," Matthew said, "Two hundred and three pack members died that day, including Francis and Victoria. A day that was meant to celebrate a new bond ended up as a day to mourn two hundred and three broken ones."

I was absolutely horrified. My heart broke for the pack members who had lost their loved ones in this terrible war. I couldn't imagine the pain of losing so many pack members. It was devastating.

"Hudson blames himself for it, Alexis. He thinks he could have taken over the pack when his dad asked and prevented this from happening."

"But he wasn't ready. It isn't his fault," I said quietly, still processing all this new information.

"That may be true, but that doesn't stop him from thinking that. It's one of the main reasons why he's so hesitant to accept you. He's afraid that he'll be blindsided by his love for you just like Francis was blindsided by Victoria. He's afraid that he will lead the pack to destruction if he's distracted."

I frowned, "I can understand his fear, but he has to think about this more logically. Victoria was a rogue with malicious intent, I'm not. I'm the daughter of an Alpha who was raised to think about what's best for the pack. Victoria and I are completely different people."

Matthew and Boston were silent.

"Let me ask you guys something. If you found your mate, would you ignore her until she proved that she was good enough to be a Beta female or a Gamma female? Would you expect her to be perfect?"

"Of course not," Boston snapped angrily, "That's ridiculous."

I gave him a pointed look.

Matthew sighed, "I see what you mean, Alexis. We'll help you out with Hudson. Just don't give up on him yet."

"I'm giving it some more time, but if I don't see any change before the full moon, I'm rejecting him. Capisce?"

They looked at each other for a split second and nodded in agreement,

"Capisce."