Stronger- #Wattys2019

Part 42

"There you are!" Yuri exclaimed as the couple climbed out of the bear's den, already shivering from the cold.

Alexander looked at his mate. "Go ahead and shift, it's warmer in fur." She nodded and shifted, letting the blanket drop from around her in the process. The king watched, only to make sure she was alright, before he let his own scraps fall as he shifted as well.

The pull on his stitches hurt like a bitch, however, the newly formed skin held long enough to shift forms. The future queen was quick to nudge him around until she could look over all of his wounds and make sure he was alright. Neither of them paying any attention to the beta or guards around them.

"So, are you going to tell me what in the hell happened?" Yuri mindlinked his best friend. He wasn't a fool. Once Alexander had said he was in a bear's den, the beta had gone sniffing out bear scents. The larger beasts gave off a stronger odor which could mask the scent of other animals until someone was practically on them. So, searching within the radius of how far the mindlink could stretch, the beta found the dead bear and knew he was in the right place. After that, finding the den was easy. The search party had just arrived as the two stumbled their way out of the small space, large and deep wounds littered the king. A run in with a bear was no laughing matter. Those two were lucky to survive.

The king ignored the beta's questions, only focused on the alpha female beside him. She still limped a little, though she tried not to show it.

He was still in shock.

He accepted her. He stopped running from the will of the goddess and accepted his mate. And more surprisingly, she accepted him. Even after everything he had done to her, after learning the awful truth; she gave him another chance.

For the first time since he met her, Alexander felt at peace. No longer at war with himself, he'd embraced the opportunity given to him. And by the goddess, he needed to find a way to not let her down again.

As the group made its way into the Royal Pack territories, Alexander started to head toward the changing stalls outside the Training Center. Nadine, however, had other ideas. Her silver wolf cut him off with a warning growl.

"Your Majesty?" One of the guards questioned through the mind link. They weren't used to witnessing her ability to stand against their king.

Alexander rolled his eyes. "Your Luna is worried for me." He spoke with pride. "Go ahead and shift, get some rest. I'm headed to the clinic to have the doc look over my injuries, put her mind at ease."

The royal couple continued toward the doors closest to the clinic stairs, guards opened the doors, the doctor already waited. Having the mindlink had its advantages. With that reminder, Alexander watched his mate, he wondered how long it would take before she would accept joining his pack and gaining access to their shared link? Would she want to go through the luna ceremony and coronation or wait? So many questions settled into his mind. So many details that needed to be sorted through. He could only hope they could maneuver through it all without overwhelming his mate.

*****

As soon as the king entered the clinic and the pack doctor got to work, Nadine quietly slipped away. She found a hospital gown and shifted back to her skin before making her way toward her room.

As she moved, she was numb.

She shivered from the cold. Her steps slow, weakened by her injuries. Her mind a muddled mess, exhausted with her unsettled emotions.

With so much to deal with, she simply shut down.

The future queen was back and she honestly didn't know how to feel about any of it yet. All she knew was that she desperately wanted to climb into a warm bed and sleep.

She'd deal with Alexander, and all of the complications that came with him, later.

As her body fell into the warmth and softness of luxurious sheets and blankets, her last memories flickered to an angry red head, screaming about being left behind. Then she let go, as darkness took its hold.