The Alpha's Promise ✔️

C H A P T E R 48

Heal

"I love her. And that's the beginning and end of everything." -The Great Gatsby

ZANE DE LUCA

My chest throbs with pain in a way it never has before. I can vaguely remember my fight with the Nightshade and the slashes of its claws that led me to this state. However, the image of Alessandra with tears streaming down her face is at the forefront of my mind.

My eyelids feel heavy but I'm able to wrench them apart. I immediately regret my decision when the bright lights of my bedroom overtake my vision. Once I'm able to blink away the fogginess, I attempt to sit up. It takes a few tries, but I'm able to prop myself onto my headboard. I still feel sluggish, and if I was less confident  I would believe that what I am seeing is a result of my delirium.

Alessandra and Isabel sit out on the balcony of this room with a smile on each of their faces. The sight of Alessandra happy and with no tears on her face puts me at ease. A small grin makes its way onto my lips because it's hard for me to recall the last time I saw the Romano sisters like this. There was a time where they were inseparable and I've always harbored some guilt for their strained relationship.

I watch through the floor-to-ceiling windows as Alessandra tosses her head back and laughs at something Isabel said. If I did not feel like my body was run over by a bus, twice, then I might have been able to use my werewolf hearing to eavesdrop. Silently, I thank Isabel for taking Alessandra's mind off things. I do not know how long I have been out but I can see from here that Alessandra's eyes are swollen from crying and a lack of sleep. Hopefully, she remembered to eat.

I feel too weak to call out to her so I opt for mind link.

Il mio amore.

Her head whips to the side with such speed that I almost think I imagined it. She pushes up from her chair, the piece of metal falling to the ground, and uses her supernatural speed to get to me. For a second, she just stands there, taking me in, then she leaps onto the bed and gently places her face onto the small part of my chest that was not ripped up by the Nightshade.

"Oh goddess," she croaks out.

I bring my hand to the back of her head and stroke it in an effort to comfort her.

"I don't plan on leaving you mate," I tell her. It's the truth.

"You don't know that," she says into my neck.

It's said with contempt, not for me, but for the situation.

"If I lose you in this life then I'll find you in the next."

"I'll get the healer," Isabel says from a distance. She quickly scatters out of the room after uttering the words.

"I'm glad you two are making amends."

"There's still a long way to go but I know we can do it. I just want my best friend back," she tells me.

"I'm so sorry Alessia," I say earnestly. The guilt from breaking their bond makes me nauseous.

"I don't blame you anymore, Zane. I used to, but now I've realized that she made those choices. She chose to be a bully to my friends, she chose to say those cruel things about me, and she chose to ruin our relationship. I'm happy we are fixing our broken relationship but it's going to be a slow process."

Sometimes I wonder how in the hell I got so lucky. To have a mate like Alessandra is a blessing, a blessing I don't deserve but one I plan on treasuring till my last breath. No matter what she says, I will always feel the guilt of pushing her and Isabel apart. It was never my intention but it does not change the fact that it happened.