She laughs, along with Aliyah and Wyatt.
“You need to let go, Rose. Think of the people who are missing you right now, and whatever happens, do not think of this place. It will only bring you back here.”
I nod, not exactly knowing what she’s talking about.
“We have to go now, Rosealine. You can do it, my child. I believe in you.” She pats my cheek and kiss my forehead before she walks away from me.
“And Rose, you and Nick are meant for each other. Don’t fight that.”
With that, they all disappear. Laying down on the ground, I close my eyes and relax my body to the best of my ability. I let all the memories of the past few days slip from my mind and focus on the what’s back home.
My family, friends, my pack, and all the things I wanted to do with my life, with William and Nick being my main focus.
The same way they both scrunch their noses. How they can’t sleep without taking a shower first. And how the words ‘I love you’ are always in their everyday vocabulary.
An intense pain hits my legs, causing me to flinch in pain. It grows worse by the moment, causing me a headache. The pain spreads up my body, leading up to my neck. The peaceful aura of the afterlife seems like the best place right now, but I keep the moon goddess’ advice and keep my mind away from there.
Will’s face comes to view, along with everybody else’s. They’re all sitting there with tears running down their faces as the doctor speaks to them. I see anger in Jake’s eyes as he gets up and leaves. My mom busts out in tears, clutching to my dad for support.
Why are they crying so much?
‘They think you’re dead,’ Aurora says, appearing beside me in wolf form.
‘But I’m not dead. Why would they think that?’
She nods towards the hospital bed.
My body lays there, battered and bruised—lifeless. The heart rate monitor beside me beeps, showing a flat line across the screen.
‘But she said I wasn’t dead!’ I exclaim to Aurora, tears thick in my voice.
‘You’re not, Rose, but you will be if you don’t go back now.’ She sends me a wink and runs off in the distance.
I focus my mind back on my body. I let go to finally reach my self again.
***
Nick
We sit there, all staring at the ground blankly as we wait for the doctor to let us see Rose’s body.
My chest feels heavy, and I can’t feel Nikolai anymore. The tears don’t fall, but my eyes burn as if they do. I’m clinging to Will, needing his comfort just as much as he needs mine.
It’s just us two left. Everybody else left to grieve by themselves. I have to inform the pack of the loss of their luna sometime soon. Just the thought of it makes my stomach clench tightly and my eyes water.
I feel anger. Not towards Rose or even Wyatt. But towards myself. How could I not know about Jason or Amber? How could I let my mate get kidnapped and raped in front of me?
I don’t even deserve to live after the crap I did and let happen. But ending my life won’t make things better.
I would be leaving my pack, my family, and my son. It would end up hurting them more than anything. But I would be with Rose again.
I’m brought out of my mind by the doctor’s voice.
“You can see her now, Alpha.”
I nod and take Will in my arms. We reach the room, my footsteps faltering as reality hits me hard.
The doctor pats me on the shoulder, opening the door and giving me a little shove in.
Her body lays there, cold and lifeless. The heart monitor still beeps a flat line. Tubes and wires everywhere, but none of them is doing their job.
I move closer to her where I can touch her. She feels as she looks, cold. Her usually flustered cheeks are of a pale shade. Her black hair drains out her face.
“Daddy, I want Mommy!” Will cries into my neck.
I don’t respond, not knowing what to say. Will is old enough to know what’s happening, but not old enough to know how to comprehend everything that’s going on.
I sit down on the side of the bed, careful of her fragile body. I open my mouth to say something, anything, but the words don’t come out.
All the tears I held in pour out of my eyes at once. The regret of not wanting her, the guilt of letting her get kidnapped, and the fact that I was completely useless to her.
My tears stream down my face. My hands shake and I struggle to breathe properly.
Watching.
Waiting.
For nothing.
No one’s coming.
She’s not coming back, but we still wait.
Doubt.
What we feel even though we don’t move a muscle.
Hope.
What we have, wired into our brains, is hang on the thinnest thread.
Seconds. Minutes. An hour passes, and we don’t move. Our eyes never leave her face.
Movement.
It must be the body’s after death reaction.
A bleep on the monitor.
The heart monitor rises. Her non-existent heart beats are becoming gradually steady.
The doctors rush in, staring at us in amazement. But what are they looking at? Nothing has changed.
Her face is still the same. The beautiful blue eyes are still hiding behind her eyelids. The usual curve of her smile is flattened by death.
A tap on my shoulder tears my eyes away from the corpse. Will looks at me wide-eyed, mouthing something I don’t understand.
Paddles. Machines. Chest Rising. The sound of air hitting the lungs.
She’s awake. Or am I dead?
My body is moved away, feeling as if I weigh nothing. I watch, in a corner, the doctors crowd the bed, shielding me away from my mate.
But she’s gone. They told me she’s gone.
“Is she gone?” I ask, not even knowing that the words have left my mouth.
But the respond never comes. Just a bunch of shouts, beeps, noises that make my ears ring.
The room slows down.
I feel my body awaken as if for the first time being in human form. The blood rushes throughout my body as the air returns to my lungs. The scene in front of me speeds up until I’m back to normal.
The room falls silent.
I stare into the eyes that seem to hold the ocean in them. Holding all the horrors, nightmares, but still have happiness in them. Joy, Life, Love. The eyes of Rosealine Washington.
The door clicks, and I realize it’s just me, my son, and Rose in the room. We stare at each other, lost for words, or maybe just lost in each other’s eyes. One way or another, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a beautiful woman.
Black hair, blue eyes, pink cheeks, and red lips.
She looks as if the moon goddess blessed her with everlasting beauty. She’s glowing, inner life shining through her skin that is no longer lifeless and pale.
We don’t loose eye contact until her eyes move downwards. The little boy holds his mother tightly as if she would wither away in the wind.
The door opens again and our families stare at her in shock. Words of love are exchanged while tears and hugs are brought together.
But I stand there looking at the only person I’ve ever been in love with. How can I be in love? Why am I so certain that I’m in love?
Because I can’t imagine my life without her. And the fact that when I had to, I get numb: forgetting how to talk, hear, see, and breathe. That’s how I know, and she needs to know too.
“Rose…”
“We’ll leave you two alone. We’ll be outside if you need us,” Marcus says, shooing everybody, including Will, out of the room, leaving us alone.
“Nick, I—”
“I’m in love with you! Not just the simple I love you. It’s the one where I could sit here and tell you how beautiful you are. Tell you how much I adore you and how you’re my world. But that would take days, months, years. Cause we have no end, Roselaine.”
Tears are in our eyes when I fini
sh.
I see love in her eyes like the first night we laid eyes on each other. I couldn’t tell who leaned in first, but I could tell that the moment our lips met, it’s as if time stopped.
The soft touch of her lips, the way our heads fit together … we were meant for each other, and for once, I’m not the only one who thinks it.
CHAPTER 19
Rose
I pull away from Nick first. Fresh tears well in my eyes. His lips land back on my face, kissing away my tears. I almost want to giggle at the gesture. I actually enjoy it.
“I love you too, Nick,” I whisper in his ear, trying my best not to let more tears fall.
From the moment I woke up, I couldn’t keep my eyes off of him. It’s like the first time we meet and I fall in love all over again. No rejection, no kidnapping, and definitely no death.
Warm arms wrap around me. My arms feel weak and sore, so I keep them at my side, sticking with nuzzling my face into Nick’s neck. His scent hits me in full force, and for some strange reason, my arousal seems to increase. I know Nick smells it, by the way his body slightly tenses.
I pull back and look deeply into his eyes. I see what I always see, love. And for once, I can finally return it with maybe a little lust thrown in there.
I move my eyes down his body, slowly taking everything in. His wrinkled white shirt tightly clings to him, showcasing all his abs. His basketball shorts have suddenly become a lot tighter, followed by his tan toned legs.
I lick my lips, my mouth becoming suddenly dry. A low growl is heard, making me snap my head up. Nick’s eyes have changed into a dark green color, his eyes now holding more lust than love in them.
Before I know what’s happening, his lips are on mine. His muscles his way in, forcing his way into my mouth and making me moan into the kiss. I’m gently laid back down on the bed, our lips leaving each other’s, only for his to be on my neck. I can feel myself getting turned on more by the minute, and I know if I don’t stop him now, he won’t stop.
“N-Nick, we should stop.” I end up half-moaning as he grinds himself into me, never leaving my neck.
My weak attempt to stop him fails, but when we hear the door opening, he finally lets up.
“Sorry if I was disturbing something, Alpha, but I have Rose’s chart.”
My cheeks flush as I push Nick away from me. He nods, sending me a grin as he takes the seat next to me. I pull my hospital gown back up, hiding the hickeys I know are there.
“Well, Luna, to my utter surprise, you’re perfectly healthy. All your blood work came back, and you seem to be as healthy as ever. You’re going to be very sore for a while, and you need to take it easy for now.”
We stare at him wide-eyed, the news shocking us.
“How is that possible, Doc? She was dead an hour ago,” Nick asks, making me flinch back. He sends me a worried look, but I ignore it and take his comforting hand, squeezing tightly to it.
“I don’t know how to answer that, Alpha. In all my years of being a doctor, I’ve never seen such a thing. You truly are a miracle, Luna.” He smiles at me as he sets my chart down.
“So when can I go back home?”
“We want you to visit us everyday, just to make sure that nothing happens to you, but you should be able to sleep on your own bed by tonight.”
I nod, letting him take all the wires and tubes out of me.
“What about sex?” Nick asks, making me choke on air.
The doctor laughs, patting me on the back. My whole face turns a shade of red as I stare at Nick wide-eyed. He winks at me, addressing the doctor again.
“Well, as soon as she is released, she should be good. But I would take things slow, she still might have slight tearing down there, and you don’t want to injure her.”
Nick nods slowly and sends me a devilish grin.
After all the IVs and such are taken away from me and I’m given my prescribed medicine, I’m left to rest. Oh how I wish I was doing that.
“So what was it like being dead? Did you see dead people? We’re there demons, ghosts? Wait! Did you meet the moon goddess?” Will asks, looking at me with crazy eyes and only being centimeters away from my face.
“Give your mom a break. She’s probably worn out.”
Will pouts but nods at my dad’s words. I feel Will snuggle close to me. I wrap my arms around him and drift off to sleep.
***
Two Hours Later
I hear talking close to me. I keep my eyes closed, enjoying the state I’m in.
“Daddy, can Mommy come home today?” Will’s little voice ask.
“Yeah, buddy, she is. You think I’ll be able to convince her to have a sleepover with me?” Nick asks in a teasing tone.
“I don’t know, Daddy. Maybe, but Mommy moves a lot in her sleep, so just be careful.”
I let a laugh leave my mouth, making them both look at me.
“I don’t even move that much, William,” I say hoarsely, sleep still clear in my voice.
“Whatever you say, Mommy!” He shrugs his shoulders, hopping off the bed to play with the skeleton in the room. Why is that even in here?
“How you feelin, love?” Nick asks, pushing the hair out of my face to leave a kiss on my forehead.
“Fine, just achy. I think I’ve been in this bed too long.”
He chuckles, helping me sit up when I struggle to do it myself. I swing my legs over the bed, taking the leap off. I wobble a little, but Nick is there to help me.
“Easy there, baby. There’s no rush.”
I hold on to one of his arms for help. Walking slowly, I make it to the door, wobbling only a couple times.
After walking the hallways and back to my room, my legs start to go out. Nick carries me for the remainder of the way, setting me down in the bathroom where I’m supposed to change.
“I-I can do it myself,” I say once I notice he isn’t leaving. He gives me an amused look. He locks inside.
“Mh-mmm, and risk you getting hurt? I think I’d rather stay for the show.”
I groan inwardly, knowing he is never going to leave. I turn around, at least shielding him from seeing me completely naked.
“It’s not like I haven’t seen it already, Rosealine,” he says casually, leaning up against the door and keeping his eyes on me.
I roll my eyes, pull the strap, and release the gown. I can basically feel the air grow thicker, his intense gaze hitting my back.
Nick’s hands touches mine, taking the bra from me and slipping it over my head. He turns me in his arms, so I face him.
He runs his hand through my hair as he look over me. He leans in and catch my lips in a kiss. He grabs me below the butt and let my legs wrap around his waist. My back hits the wall as his lips attack my neck. I relax more into his touch. My head falls back, and I release a moan when he finds my sensitive spot where my neck meets my collar bones.
A knock comes at the door, making us pull apart. The nurse announces that she has my release forms.
“Okay, I’ll be out in a minute.” I unwrap my legs and arms from Nick’s body.
“Can’t seem to be left alone, can we?” Nick asks with a groan.
I laugh and grab on to him for help as I put on a pair of his sweats. I pull the draw strings, tightening them as he slips one of his shirts on me.
“Why am I wearing your clothes again?”
“Cause you look good in them.” He moves closer to my ear and whisper, “And I don’t want to rip your clothes when we we’re alone.”
His words send a shiver down my spine.
Walking out of the bathroom, I’m greeted by our families. They all smile at us, and Nathan handing me flowers.
“I didn’t know what kind you like so…” he says as he scratches the back of his neck.
“So you went with roses?”
“I-I, uh, I’m sorry?”
I laugh and smell the roses.
“I love them, Nathan. Thank you.”
He gives me the Rollins family smile.
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“Where’s Will?” I ask.
“He’s taking a nap. He hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep these last few days. He was knocked out after he left earlier.”
I nod, feeling guilty for worrying him. Nick must have seen the frown on my face as he comes to comfort me.
“He’s fine now, Rose. It’s not your fault.” I nod, but still looking down.
He grabs my chin, making me look into his eyes. “It’s. Not. Your. Fault,” he says, bringing my face to his. Our lips brush against each other.
We hear a squeal, but I smile and lean in fully to the kiss.
“You guys are SO cute!” Marcus squeaks out, practically jumping in his shoes.
I smile at him as I take a seat on my bed. They all send me smiles and just stares at me. It’s a little creepy!
“Oh my god.” Somebody breaks the silence.
“So when’s the ceremony?” Noah asks, jumping on the bed beside me. He lays a hand on my thigh and gets a growl from Nick.
I shake my head and ask about this ceremony.
“The luna ceremony since I’m guessing you’re accepting the title now.”
I form my mouth in a ‘O’ shape.
“Nick’s got to mark her first, so he’s the hold up.”
I laugh as Nick glares at his mom.
“Well, I would if everybody just wouldn’t keep interrupting. Unless you want me to do it in front of y’all.”
Everybody shouts NO as Marcus shouts YES. We all turn to him, sending him weird looks.
“What? Y’all know that would be good stuff!” I bust out laughing as everybody groans.
“Why are you laughing? That’s weird.” Noah exclaims.
“Cause only Marcus would say that!” He winks at me, making me grin at him.
“Well, I for one, don’t want to see that.” My dad says, scrunching his face together.
“I would imagine Rose as a power bottom. Ooohh, even a top.”
I sit there, wide-eyed, at my best friend.
“Definitely a power bottom,” Nick says.
Everybody laughs as I gape up at him.
“Never know she could have changed. Six years is a long time.”
“Yes, a very long time,” Nick says, wiggling his eyebrows.
The Alpha's Unknown Son: A Shifter Romance Page 16
