Selena’s Pov
Shock, fury and betrayal war for dominance in Bastien’s imposing features. He’s looking at me the same way he did when he first discovered I was alive, as if he’s realizing he doesn’t recognize me at all. Tears have been rolling down my cheeks since I woke, but a fresh surge rushes forth as I wilt beneath his scrutiny.
“Bastien, they need it now.” Drake interjects.
As if in a trance, Bastien shoves out his arm toward the lab tech, “Take it.” He orders coldly.
The poor tech is shaking as he tries to draw the enraged Alpha’s blood, and he’s not alone. Every lesser wolf in the room is positively quailing in the face of the apoplectic energy Bastien is putting off, myself included.
When the young man completes his duties, he practically sprints out of the bay, heading off for the lab. No one says a word. We’re all waiting with bated breath to see how Bastien will respond, even the doctor.
When Bastien finally finds his voice, he says just about the last thing I expected. “Put on the gown.” He commands, nodding toward the ugly garment at the end of my bed. “You’re being admitted.”
I blink, my limbs frozen in place. What?
This isn’t good. Luna whines, her tail between her legs, His wolf is really mad, I can’t bear it.
It’ll be okay. I think back, trying to convince myself as well as her.
I don’t know where I find the courage to protest, but I do. “I need to be with Lila.”
Bastien’s eyes flash dangerously, and he finally acknowledges the other people in the room. “Leave us.” He orders, scanning the small group.
One by one they file out, abandoning me. Everyone but Drake. The Eros Alpha stands stubbornly inside the curtain, not looking at my mate. Instead he watches me carefully, waiting to follow my cue. I really don’t want to be left alone with Bastien, but I know that Drake staying will only result in a fight between the men. Drake will lose and I’ll still end up alone with Bastien, only he’ll be in an even worse mood.
“It’s okay.” I promise Drake. He nods and slips out of the bay, ignoring Bastien’s low growl of disapproval.
Bastien prowls to my bedside, towering over me while I sit defenseless on the gurney. “You’ve been through something very traumatic today. You’re disoriented, weak and dehydrated. You need to be admitted.”
He may be right, but I don’t care. My pup comes first. “But–”
Arguing was a mistake. Bastien growls so savagely I flinch away from him, cowering against the pillow. “My decision is final, Selene.” He thunders, his deep voice never rising in volume, but carrying the force of a brutal storm.
The huge wolf reaches toward me, ignoring my fright and yanking my dress off over my head. He snatches up the hospital gown and removes my bra, bundling me into the scratchy garment while I sit there too shocked to move.
Afterwards I eye him warily, painfully aware that his anger has absolutely nothing to do with my resistance to staying in the hospital, and everything to do with my lie.
“Bastien,” I murmur meekly, “I’m sorry. You have every right to be angry with me, but deflecting it this way won’t help anything.”
“Excuse me?” He bites back.
“It isn’t fair for you to punish me by making me stay here for treatment.” I insist. “Lila is more ill than she’s ever been before, I can’t be apart from her until I know she’s going to be okay.”
Bastien steps back, rubbing his jaw and eyeing me like I’m a bug he’d like to smush under his boot. “You’ve got a lot of fucking nerve, you know that?”
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Bastien’s POV
Selene is staring up at me like a deer in the headlights, her beautiful eyes wide and bloodshot. It’s amazing that I can be so unbelievably furious at a person, yet still want nothing more than to hold them in my arms and kiss away their tears.
I was livid when I discovered Selene had let me believe she was dead for three years. I was outraged when I learned she didn’t think we were mates. I was irate when I thought she’d taken another man for a lover. But none of that is anything compared to what I’m feeling now.
My heart is torn between joy and betrayal; between relief and wrath; between worry and bitterness.
Finding out that Lila is my pup is the greatest gift I’ve received since finding my mate. I’ve loved Lila from the moment I met her, and I got over it when I learned she belonged to another man. I hated the idea of sharing her with Drake, but he didn’t seem to want to be involved in her life, so I made my peace.
Even as my protective instincts rally and rail knowing she’s not out of the woods yet, I’m elated and ecstatic that she’s mine. Axel is still howling exuberantly in celebration, and I can’t blame him.
Of course, all this happiness is tainted by Selene’s betrayal.
I wouldn’t be feeling it so keenly if we hadn’t reconciled, if I hadn’t finally claimed her or we’d been on rockier footing. I can almost get past the fact that she never told me – that she didn’t come back to Elysium when she found out she was pregnant. After all, Arabella was trying to kill her and she believed I was in love with her attempted murderess.
I may have had a right to know, especially given Lila’s vulnerability as a Volana, but I know Selene thought she was protecting her pup. She thought she was doing the best thing for them both. I can even excuse the first lie, to a point. Things were chaotic and challenging in the extreme when I first arrived in Asphodel, and she was still operating under her old misconceptions.
The true crime is that she never came clean. We resolved all our old issues. Selene realized how horribly she’d been misled by Arabella and accepted how deeply I love her. We cemented our bond and are finally together the way we were always meant to be. We agreed to start fresh and move forward with no more lies – and still she said nothing.
And to top it all off, the stubborn little creature just accused me of taking my anger out on her by separating her from our pup.
Our pup… that’s the first time I’ve thought the words, and I’ll be damned if I’m not going to be chanting it over and over for weeks to come.
“What?” Selene squeaks, drawing my attention back to our conversation.
I stalk back to the bed, catching her chin between my thumb and forefinger and tilting her head up so she’ll have no choice but to meet my gaze. “You’re my mate, Selene.” I rumble harshly. “Do you really think I wouldn’t be making you stay if you’d told me the truth? Do you really believe I care that little about you? That I would risk your health to appease your will?”
“I…” She’s scrambling to find a logical reply, yet she can’t seem to conjure anything but half formed stutters, “It’s… that’s not… I don’t…”
“I know you’re worried about Lila.” I continue, trying to cool my seething blood, “and I’m offended you believe I would ever keep her from you out of spite, especially at a time like this.” Tears hover on Selene’s dark eyelashes, and it takes all my willpower to remain strong and not coddle her. “You’re being admitted because the doctors need to keep an eye on you. It’s for your own damn good, and shame on you for thinking otherwise.”
Those precariously placed tears spill over, running down her pale cheeks in a steady stream. “I’m sorry.” She professes pitifully.
“As soon as you’re both settled, we’ll have them bring your beds together.” I promise, taking her face between my lands and brushing away her tears with the pads of my thumbs. “But I expect you to rest and do as the doctors say.”
Selene nods fervently, “I promise.” She’s already looking over to the closed curtain concealing Lila’s bay, anxiously hoping for a glimpse of the pup.
“And Selene,” I say, pulling her attention back to me. When she sees my expression her features become wary. Smart girl. “When Lila is healed and you’re both well enough to be discharged, you are in big, big trouble.”
She visibly gulps, looking so vulnerable I can’t help but tease her – just a little. I press my lips to her crown, lingering tenderly and thoroughly confusing the poor little wolf.
She’s flushed and fidgety when I pull away, and I flash her a lethal grin. As I watch the anxious emotions flickering behind her eyes, I realize there’s one more thing to be very, very happy about. Now that Lila is mine, there is nothing stopping me from taking them both back to Elysium where they belong.
An Alpha’s pup belongs with his pack , and his mate belongs by his side. Selene has no more excuses to make – at least, not any I’ll accept. She’s lost, and we both know it.
