The Alphas' Legacy (Alpha Eyes: Book 3)

Chapter 49

Karina

Karina stood at the foot of her son's bed, arms crossed and nibbling on her bottom lip. She'd been watching over him for two days, waiting for him to even open his eyes. His lycan properties should have healed him in a matter of hours. Yet he remained unconscious.

The beautiful part was Zoey lying beside him, also unconscious. The pair held hands, fingers tightly woven together. The physical touch made her smile, especially since she recognized the spark of a mate bond. It made plenty of sense, the two of them being mates. But Zoey had needed to be free of her first mate before a new one could be felt/established. It was a miracle that Zoey's second chance mate was close behind once she'd broken her former bond. The poor girl had been through enough.

"How are they?"

Lucas appeared behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. Their own mate bond hummed and sent happy tingles through her veins.

"Still no change," she sighed, leaning into him. "They should be awake by now. Why aren't they waking up?"

"They've both been through a lot of trauma," he reminded her. "It's possible that their bodies need more time to heal. They have each other now; their wolves are bonding and strengthening each other. They'll pull through."

She nodded, hugging his arms around her. Deep in her heart, she knew he was right. It was a bit hard to believe at the moment.

Zoey

My body hurt. Every part of my body screamed in protest as I moved a little. It gave me a sliver of hope that I was still alive. You didn't feel pain when you were dead, right?

I forced my eyes open and took a designated deep breath. Yep; definitely still alive. My hand seemed caught in something, but I was able to flex my fingers. Whatever held my hand tightened slightly. I turned my head to the side to see where I was.

Van lay next to me on the bed, facing me on his side and our joined hands tucked against his chest. Glancing past him, I recognized the décor of Van's bedroom. His squad must have brought us back at some point. At least we were safe.

As my brain started to register everything, Van's eyes fluttered open. Our gazes met and a familiar flare in my chest reminded me of what happened when he rescued me. Van was my second chance mate!

Someone else gasped, pulling me out of my shock. When I glanced over my shoulder, Luna Karina stood at the end of the bed. She stared at us, hands pressed to her mouth. Alpha Lucas stood behind her, a hint of a smile that grew into a grin.

"You're both awake," she gushed. "I was getting genuinely concerned."

Van blinked several times and tightened his hold on my hand. We stared at each other like newly mated teenagers. How perfect that we'd become friends on our own terms and now we would have the rest of our lives together as mates.

"Hello, beautiful," he whispered. His voice was the most beautiful sound in the world.

"Hi," I whispered back.

Having spoken to each other, Van turned to his parents. "How long have we been out?"

"Six days," his dad answered, wrapping his arms around Luna's shoulders. "You two had us worried."

"We're awake and alive now," Van said. "We'll be okay."

Luna Karina sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "Now that I know you'll both be okay... We'll let you two connect, and we'll check in later."

"Thanks, Mom."

When they had left and shut the door, Van let go of my hand and leaned forward to pull me into a hug. I clung to him and breathed against his shoulder.

"I thought I'd lost you," he whispered. "When you went missing... and then I saw you laying on the floor of that room..."

"I thought I was dead," I choked as the tears started dripping down my face. "I thought I was never going to see you again."

He buried his face in my neck and held tight. Our fears had been put down, but there was still a lot to overcome. Being mates solved a lot of riddles, but previous actions were still unanswered.

"What happened?" he growled after a minute of silence. "One minute you were talking to me, and the next we lost all trace of you."

"There was a third person," I sniffled. "He snuck up behind me and pricked me with some kind of injection. I couldn't react. And then he was nudging me towards the door..."

He pulled back enough to see my face. "You should have waited for one of us to get to you. Protecting you from him is my whole purpose. It's my squad's mission. Why didn't you wait for me?"

"I panicked. Everything we'd planned was falling apart before my eyes, and I just wanted to hide like I always did. I was so scared that I went back into self-protection mode. I wasn't even thinking about you guys. I'm sorry..."

"Hey, it's over now." Van pulled me closer and kissed my forehead. "Just promise me that you won't leave my side ever again."

I curled into his chest and fisted my hands in his shirt. "I promise."

"I'm going to hold you to that," he mumbled against my forehead. "Now that I know we're mates, I'm going to worry about you even more."

A very real question lingered, and my wolf immediately started shaking her head. I chewed on my bottom lip as she pleaded with me.

Don't say it! Don't say it!

"What happens when you go back on mission?" There. I said it.

Van was quiet for a long time, and I began to wonder how badly I'd stuck my foot in it. It was an honest question, though. Being with me was originally an assignment for him. He was never going to stay grounded forever. As of a week ago, he was chomping at the bit to get back in the air with his team. Now that Jax was gone, Van's mission was complete, and he could be off to who-knows-where by tomorrow. I knew that some mates dropped everything to be together and find their new normal. But I also knew how much Van loved being part of Special Forces. He was driven by helping others out of dire situations, and staying home with me would slowly kill his spirit on the inside. I would never expect that from him.

"When the next mission comes," he finally answered, "I will assess the amount of time it will take me away from you. If it's more than a couple of days, I will entrust you to my mom's care and come back to you as fast as I can."

I pulled back far enough to look up into his face. "Promise?"

He looked down at me, and I saw a forever of promises in his eyes. The combination of a mate bond and Special Forces team loyalty primed him to be the best kind of man that a girl could hope for.

He leaned closed and gently pressed his lips to mine in the sweetest kiss ever. There was no need for aggression, dominance, or possessiveness. He simply showed me his devotion and promised to be at my side each step of the rest of our lives.

Van—Donovan—pulled away but lingered as close as possible. His breath tickled my cheek as he whispered:

"I promise: now and forever."