Stephen’s POV
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If she wouldn’t have been Lina’s mother. I would have ripped her head off right then and there. Lina lost her consciousness too quickly compared to any werewolf. That was when I smelled the scent of wolfbane. I looked at the dagger that Mom had held. It was laced with wolfsbane. It meant that the moment it would have entered Lina’s blood, her wolf would have gotten into a deep slumber.
And this was not good news.
Not when she was injured because, without her wolf, there was no chance that this wound could heal soon. I examined her wound. It was on the lower abdomen because if the dagger had hit her Liver or any upper part of the abdomen, then the situation would have been worst and might have caused instant death.
And in that case, I could have felt that Thunder would have felt.
Thankfully the doctor arrived, wearing all black. Of course, he would also be here after all the pack members gather around the packhouse for the funeral.
“Beta, Stephen!! We will have to take her to the pack hospital immediately.”, he said. Since I was new to this pack, I didn’t recognize him, nor could I trust him with my mate, but at that moment, I didn’t have many options with me.
‘We will shift our mate to our pack hospital once her situation is better.’, Thunder said, on which I couldn’t agree more.
I nodded and picked her in my arms.
“Umm… the pack hospital is a little far. In human form, you will take a lot more time which we don’t have currently.”, he said reluctantly.
“Doctor Smith, reach the hospital as soon as possible. We will be there in a minute.”, Eva said, and he nodded before shifting into a wolf and running toward the pack hospital. Eva then turned at me before speaking, “Stephen!! Let me take her to the hospital.”, Eva said. At first, I didn’t want to, but I didn’t have any other choice because she was half vampire too. So, it wouldn’t be a big deal for her to carry in human form. And the other part was that this was the pack where she had been born and brought up, so she would know a lot of things that I wouldn’t be.
I transferred my mate to her arms, and soon she ran into her superhuman speed. To follow her, I too shifted, but when Thunder got control of the body, he looked at Lina’s mom angrily. I knew what was going on in his mind. If he was in pain, seeing our mate in this state, then he was pissed too.
Her mother had lost her consciousness and was held by mom and Aunt Emma while Nora and Paige were sitting near her. He stepped forward, but Daniel stepped in between her and me.
‘Thunder, I know you are pissed, but she is your mate’s mother.’, It was Roman, Daniel’s wolf, who was trying to talk with my wolf to calm him down.
‘You would have said the same if your mate would be at my mate’s place?’ Thunder growled at him.
‘Yes. At least for a while, by giving priority to the situation. Because your mate needs you more than anything, other things can be ignored for a while.’
His words made my wolf realize that our mate was our first priority, not this. Then he started running in the direction in which Eva had left. It wasn’t that too hard to find a packed hospital on that route while my brother stayed there because right now, he had to handle one more pack because the Alpha of that pack was killed, and Luna had lost her mind by stabbing her own daughter and blamed her as his mate’s killer.
Could Aleena do this?
Nope! There was no chance she could think of doing so. Hell, she would kill everyone who would have even thought of killing her father.
‘I agree.’, Thunder agreed. I shifted back to human reaching near pack house. I looked around in search of a boxer because generally, near all the buildings, werewolves keep boxers to wear after shifting into human form, and I finally found a lot of boxers on the nearby tree.
Wearing it, I ran inside and sniffed for her scent. I reached near Eva, who was sitting outside the ICU.
“Will she be fine?” I asked Eva, who looked tense.
“Hopefully.”, She muttered in tension.
“I want to know the truth, Eva.”, I said, calling her name, which I rarely do. “Respectfully.”, She still didn’t say a word. “I know about your powers from Daniel. I know that I’m asking you anything that you don’t know.”
She still pressed her lips tightly to one another, not saying a word.
“Why didn’t you change anything? Why did you let this happen?” I couldn’t help but accuse her. When did she know all this was going to happen, then why didn’t a thing to stop it?
“Do you think my powers are some kind of gift? It is a curse for me. And what did you say? I didn’t try to change a thing? I tried, Stephen. I tried.”, She started crying all of a sudden. “I told him what was coming next for him and also told him his death impact on Aleena. But do you know what he asked me to do? To not change a thing. It was not that he wanted anyone of us to see in pain, most importantly his little princess, because he knew his death would affect her the most. But it was the last part of his job as a father.”, She added.
“And for god sake, I couldn’t stop anyone’s death, but if not today, then that person will die tomorrow or the day after tomorrow because that’s his fate. In fact, even with all these powers, I couldn’t save my mate in another timeline (readers can read Alpha’s Last Minute bride to understand it in a better way). And if I would go back in time change the past and deeds which will create another timeline and the story of that timeline will change, not in this timeline because you will have to endure every punishment of the sin in this life.”, She outbursted and held her head.
“Are you okay?” I asked in concern.
“Yeah! I think I’m. It’s just a slight headache.”, She responded meekly. And then, something vibrated. She pulled her phone out of his phone and swiped the screen to receive the call.
“Is everything all right, Eva?” I heard a male’s voice from the other side of the call. I didn’t bother to hear their conversation even though she was talking to some male because of two reasons, one, she wasn’t someone who cheated on my brother, and second, she was a marked woman, so whatever she would, Daniel would come to know about it through the mate bond.
“No. Vincent. I need your friend, Ezequiel’s help.”, She said in a worried tone.
“What happened? Are you hurt or Daniel’s hurt?”, That Vincent guy asked.
“We both are fine. My sister, Aleena, is seriously injured. Ezequiel has the power to heal, so if you ask him to help me, then that will be a great help.”, She responded. At the same time, my ear rose like a rabbit when I heard that she was calling a vampire to heal Lina.
That …. That would be a great help indeed.
Knowing that Leia wasn’t there healed her quickly. Someone with healing power would definitely be a boon in this situation.
“You are asking me to send a vampire to a werewolf’s pack? Do you want him to get killed?”
“Nothing will happen to him. I take guarantee of that part.” I couldn’t help myself from speaking.
“Who’s that?” Vincent asked.
“My brother-in-law, who happens to be Aleena’s mate as well.”, Eva replied. “And just like he said, Daniel and I will also guarantee that nothing will happen to him. His safety will be our top priority.”, She assured.
“Okay, then! He is ready to help.”
“Did you talk with him first?”
“He is sitting beside me and already has heard our conversation. Also, note that he needs the fresh blood of animals after healing anyone because it exhausts him badly. Also, he will need a place to rest when he is completely exhausted to regain his energy.”
“All terms and conditions are fine with me.”, Eva agreed immediately without wasting any time.
“Fine then! He will be there in a few hours or so.”
“Perfect. Share his number with me so that I can coordinate with him accordingly.”, Eva said.
“Sure. I will be sharing his number after disconnecting the call.”
“Great. Bye! Tell Mom and dad that I miss them.”
“And what about me?”, My ear rose again. Who was this Vincent? Why was he so eager to sign a death warrant?
“I don’t miss you at all, brother.”
‘Brother!’ I sighed, knowing that I was getting worried for his life unnecessarily.
“I don’t miss you too.”
*****
After a few hours, as per doctor smith, Aleena’s intestine was cut brutally, and because of wolfsbane in her blood, she was not able to heal. And the worst part was that her internal bleeding was not stopping. I knew what that bastard wanted to say by explaining everything, but I had promised Thunder that if he dared to say those words, then I wouldn’t stop him from ripping his throat.
With each passing second, we were waiting for Ezequiel. I would have asked Eva about his position after every five minutes, but I knew that she was also keeping an update of his location while Daniel took the responsibility of bringing him here safely.
We were thinking all these things when Thunder sensed the vampire’s smell. But there was not just one vampire, but two. Who was the other one? I wondered until my eyes landed on a carbon copy of Eva.
What the hell?
She had a twins sister?
I could see a few of the staff gasping and looking at her in shock. I forget to notice the presence of a man beside her until they finally reach near us. Daniel must have trusted them a lot. Otherwise, no vampire could have reached here with a blindfold and without their ears being closed.
“Mom,” Eva hugged her and started crying.
Mom?
And there I thought that she was her sister.
“Where is the patient?” my mind diverted in the other direction when I heard the other vampire’s voice. He was asking Daniel about Lina.
“She’s inside.”, I replied, pointing toward the ICU.
“Please ask them to stop the operation. I will take it from here.”, he said in a calm and professional tone.
“You sure?” I asked in an unsure tone.
“Yes, Stephen. He is also a doctor by profession. So, don’t worry about your mate.”, Daniel assured me. If he could trust them, then I knew I could also trust them blindly. Just like Ezequiel asked, Eva, asked Doctor Smith to stop the operation and vacant the ICU.
“You can accompany me inside if you want.”, he asked me before going inside. Of course, I would go inside, and there was no way I was going to leave my unmated mate with a stranger. Not that I doubted them, but my possessiveness for mate got the best out of me. When I walked inside the ICU, I saw my mate’s pale face. Her heart beat was too low, and she was struggling to breathe.
“May I?” he asked before touching my mate. In other cases, I would have said a straight NO but not now. Not when I knew he was the savior of my mate.
“Yes, please.”, I responded. Then I watched him placing his hand over her wound. And I saw it was working, and soon her wound started getting healed. I looked up at him to check his status. I observed that using his gift was draining his energy.
‘Daniel, you have arranged the fresh blood, right?’ I asked, knowing that he would know his food after all this.
‘Yes! Don’t worry. Nora will be here with the blood any moment.’, he responded.
‘Great.’
“Done.” I heard Ezequiel’s weak voice while he held the table beside him. He looked like shit now. I looked at my mate, who was now breathing normally. But her eyes were still closed. “I need blood.”, I heard him speaking again.
“Don’t worry, my sister is here with blood.”, I said, sensing Nora’s presence in the hospital. “She will be reaching here any second.”, I added, letting him know that he didn’t have to wait for longer to get the blood. Immediately the door of the ICU was slammed loudly like an insane person. I turned to scold my baby sister, but my voice died in my voice when I heard her speaking.
“MATE.”
It was not Nora but her wolf, Roxy, in control. Her fiery white eye was looking at Ezequiel in concern. “MATE,” She said again. At the same time, Eva, her real mother, and Daniel walked inside the ICU. At the same time, Ezequiel looked like he would pass out any moment if he wouldn’t get blood any moment.
“Ezequiel.” Eva’s mother quickly rushed toward him to hold him before he fell to the ground.
“My mate,” Nora attacked Eva’s mother, thinking of her as a threat. But Eva was quick to come in between and pushed her toward Daniel, and Daniel grabbed her in her arms. “My mate. My mate.”
“Roxy, get control of Nora.”, Daniel said, but she was still wiggling in his arms.
“ROXY, GIVE CONTROL TO NORA.”, Evangeline orders using Alpha tone. Since she had an Alpha Lycan, her aura was enough for any wolf to knelt down in front of her. Even Thunder whimpered in fear. In no time, Nora’s wolf gave control to her, and she looked at everyone and then Ezequiel in concern.
“Nora, dear!! Where is blood?” Clara asked, on which Nora looked clueless.
‘Please don’t tell me that her wolf dropped it somewhere.’, I thought in my mind.
“I… I had blood with me until Roxy took control over my body, sensing our mate in the hospital.”, She responded. No one said a thing to her, at least not now.
I saw Eva’s mother biting her wrist and feeding him her blood.
“This would not be enough. We need more blood for him.”, She said.
“Don’t worry, Mom. I had informed Uncle James to get it as soon as possible. I know; Ezequiel was already exhausted before coming here. It meant a lot that he still came here tonight, or I have lost my sister.”, Eva said.
“Mom? Is she Eva’s mom? Not her twin's sister?” Nora asked in confusion.
“You better go home now. We will talk to you later about this behavior of your wolf.”, I ordered Nora, on which she looked at me, showing her puppy eyes, which I ignored for a while.
“Big B.”, She tried to convince Daniel.
“Princess, do what Stephen had said,” Daniel said the same thing which I wanted. Looking at her vampire mate for one last time, she left for now. But I knew this topic was not closed yet.
A vampire as a mate?
A big NO to that part.
‘But why?’ Thunder asked. ‘I know they’re our arc enemy, but I don’t think Ezequiel is a bad vampire.’
‘It’s not that I doubt Ezequiel’s intention or character. It’s just that vampires are very strict with their law as long as he or she is a hybrid. You can pick any book or any story of vampire and werewolf as mates. In every story, one of them is killed brutally, and they leave the other one to die in pain. And none of us will want that future for our little princess.’, I explained, on which he reluctantly agreed.
After a while, Uncle James reached us, carrying fresh blood just like Eva had said. And I didn’t miss to look at his shocked look when he saw Eva’s mother. Well, we all were on the same team.
Just like we had agreed, we had also arranged a room for him in our packhouse where Ezequiel could rest until he regained his energy.
At first, none of us wanted to take him to our pack, where Nora was, but then he was our responsibility as long as he was here. So, instead of making him stay at Alpha Francis's pack where the Alpha of the pack got killed, and no one could do a thing, we place him in our pack, tightening the security of the pack a little more.
“Even Aleena looks fine now. We should take her to the pack.”, I suggested. Not sure I was right about that part.
“Yes! That’s a great idea. She hates staying in hospital anyways.”, Eva said. “But take her to dad’s packhouse, not ours.”
“No way! I can’t trust that Lunatic Luna again. Who knows she would attack my mate again?” I quickly turned down her suggestion.
“My job was to suggest you, Stephen. The choice is all yours because, just like I said before, neither you nor I can change anyone’s face.”, She paused before speaking again, “By the way, Mom, Dan, and I are leaving for dad’s packhouse. So, are you joining us?”
I frowned, hearing her. I wasn’t able to decide anything.
‘Let's take her to her dad’s packhouse. Because the moment she would regain her consciousness, she would look for her dad or anything that belonged to his dad. So, it would be better if we take her to the place where she could find her dad’s presence in each and every corner of the house.’
“Okay.”, I agreed.
Picking Lina in my arms, I walked out of the hospital, where an SUV was already waiting for us to drive to the packhouse.
******
After reaching the packhouse,
Everyone except Clara (Eva’s mother) unwantedly ate a small amount of dinner before walking toward their room. I knew that Eva would check on that Lunatic Luna before going to bed. I wondered why she was so good even though those people who were never good with her?
I hadn’t forgotten the recording incident. It was her who had implemented the plan of sending vampires to the place where she and Daniel were, enjoying their personal time.
I looked at Lina, who was sleeping peacefully. As much as I wanted her to open her eyes, I knew what she would do when she would wake up. I sat beside her, holding her hand for god knows how long until she started screaming.
“Dad…. dad ….. Please don’t leave me, dad. Dad”, Not just scream, she was crying too, and she had held my hand so tightly that I was sure that she was considering this hand as her dad’s hand, whom she was trying to hold as tight as possible to stop him for leaving.
“I’m here, Lina. I’m here.”, I mumbled and kissed her hand before wiping her tears. I remembered my conversation with her dad when I met him last morning and when we were trying to know each other better. It was him the most who was checking in every possible way whether I was right for his daughter or not.
(‘I want to say something to you. I know I should have said these words to you at the time of the wedding, but then my little princess would have taken it as these lines are for Eva. That’s why I’m telling it right now.’, He said in a serious tone, and I nodded my head, wondering what he was going to say.
‘From now on, your family and especially you are the NEW family of my daughter. And I want my daughter to have you as her priority now. It’s also the time for her mother and me to take a backseat in her life. We don’t mind taking that position at all, but I would request one thing, please keep her happy!
That’s a different thing. I’m more than sure that you will try your best to keep her very happy. Maybe she will be happier than when she used to be here. But like all-father fathers, I obsess over my daughter’s happiness. That’s why I’m saying this over and over again, and please keep her happy!
She never was and will never be a burden to me. This pack is still as much as her as it was before. It’s just that I’m helpless in the face of our culture and therefore sending her to your pack, your home. I’m giving away my princess to you. Please make sure you treat her like a queen.
If my princess does something wrong, feel free to scold her. But handle her with love because that is what she always needs even though she is totally unaware of it. If at times she feels sad, be with her. She just needs a little bit of your attention. If she feels sick, show her some care. It’s the medicine that will work best for her. And please empathize with her. There are a lot of things for her to learn, so do understand that she is not perfect. Please keep her happy!
I don’t mind if I don’t get to see her for months. Neither do I mind if I won’t be able to talk to her regularly, nor do I mind if she keeps thinking that I don’t love her as equal to Eva. Because my only motive in life has been her happiness which is now in your hands, so, please keep her happy!
Maybe you won’t understand the depth of these words now, but if you are lucky enough to be a father of a daughter someday, you will understand each and every word of mine.’)
‘You too, get some sleep, Stephen. It looks like she is not going to wake up tonight. Hopefully, by tomorrow morning, she will be fine.’, Thunder suggested. I sighed before closing the light of the room and laid down on the bed, still holding her hand and bringing her close to me.
I tried to sleep but I couldn’t because I knew what was coming next!
Investigation for Alpha Francis’s murder.
And that Lunatic Luna had blamed Lina as her father’s killer. In case she was serious about her words, then the first thing that her own pack members would do was put her in the cell in charge of the death of the Alpha. Not just that, if she was found guilty and in case even a single percent of evidence would be against Lina, then she would be beheaded then and there.
Damn it!
Lina was trapped by her own mother against the charge of killing her own father.
I wouldn’t have been this worried if Lina had been in her right state of mind. And right now, she was far away from that. She was already lost and broken, and at this moment, any attack from her mother would lead her to her death for sure.
‘But we won’t let that happen.’
‘Yes! We won’t. We can’t lose our mate again.’, I said with determination and wiped her eyes. Her tears were the proof for us that she couldn’t think of killing her father, but at the same time, I knew that I needed some serious evidence because her tears would not help, just like my assumption didn’t help me in my last trial.
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#TBC
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Thank you for showering so much love in the previous part. I cried for 3-4 hours to write that single part because the part recalled me of my situation when I lost my father all of a sudden, and there were a lot of things left unsaid between us. Deep down, I always feel regret for not him knowing that I never told him that he was the best father and that I loved him so much.
Just a little piece of advice: 'Let your loved ones know your feelings before they are gone.