Her Blood, Their Bond

Chapter Fourteen- The Hospital

Darius POV

I should have looked away. Should have turned and left the room when Caleb pressed his wrist to her lips.

But I didn’t.

I stood rooted to the spot, every muscle trembling as I watched her fangs pierce his skin, watched her cling to him like he was the only thing keeping her alive.

Her wolf howled. His wolf answered. The bond flared between them, a heat so sharp I felt it burn my own chest.

And I wanted it to be me.

Gods, I wanted it so badly I could taste the phantom ache in my own wrist. I imagined her mouth there, her lips, her need pulling at me the way it pulled at him. The wolf inside me roared, savage, demanding I rip her from him and give her my blood instead.

But all I could do was watch.

Her eyes fluttered closed, relief softening her face as strength returned to her. Her body pressed close to him, trembling but whole. And Caleb looked at her like she was his entire world.

My gut twisted with something too raw to name — fury, jealousy, hunger.

Ours, my wolf snarled, tearing at me from the inside. She is ours.

But she wasn’t. Not in this moment.

She was his.

And the worst part was knowing that every drop of blood she took from him tied them tighter, while I stood powerless on the outside, the bond burning through me with no outlet, no claim.

For the first time in years, I hated my own restraint.

Because gods help me… I wished it had been my wrist she drank from.

Caleb finally pulled his wrist back, blood already sealing over, and brushed his thumb gently across her cheek. “I’ll talk to the doctor,” he murmured. “Don’t move.”

Then he was gone, the door clicking softly shut behind him.

The room felt heavier without him — quieter, sharper. Just me, the beeping monitors, and her.

Rhea.

She lay propped against the pillows, still pale but steady now, her impossible eyes half-lidded with exhaustion. Coffee and caramel lingered in the air, sweet and warm, tangled with the faint copper edge of blood.

My wolf prowled, unsettled, but for once it wasn’t snarling. It was watching her.

So was I.

She turned her head slightly, wincing, and when her gaze found mine, I saw the flicker of fear there. Not for what she was. For me.

And it cut deeper than any blow Caleb had landed earlier.

I drew in a slow breath, forcing my voice steady. “You shouldn’t have been in that office.”

Her lips parted like she might apologize — but then her jaw tightened, and she said nothing. Just waited, guarded.

I closed my eyes briefly, pinching the bridge of my nose. “That’s not what I meant.”

When I looked back at her, the words scraped out rough. “I lost control. Caleb did too. That fight… it wasn’t yours to get caught in. You didn’t deserve that.”

Her eyes widened slightly, confusion flickering there — because an Alpha didn’t apologize. Not to anyone.

I moved closer to the bed, careful, lowering my voice. “You deserve better than to see your supposed protectors acting like feral pups.”

For a heartbeat, her expression softened. Just a little. Enough to twist something tight in my chest.

I straightened, putting distance back where it belonged, but the truth lingered on my tongue, bitter and sharp.

I wanted her to know I was sorry.

I wanted her to know I wasn’t just the monster who snarled at her in the doorway.

But most of all, I wanted her to look at me the way she had looked at Caleb.

And that was something no apology could earn.

Rhea POV

For a moment, I thought I’d imagined it.

An Alpha didn’t apologize. Not to anyone. But the way Darius’s voice had caught, the way his eyes softened when he said I didn’t deserve it… it was real.

And I didn’t know what to do with it.

I watched him straighten, putting distance between us again, like he was already regretting letting the words slip. His scent lingered, cedar and clean laundry, sharp and grounding, and it pulled at me in ways I didn’t understand.

Part of me wanted to cling to my anger — the way he’d spoken to me that night, cold and cruel, like I was a threat instead of a person. The way he’d snarled at Caleb, the fight that ended with me sprawled on the floor, broken.

But then there was this moment. This crack in the steel.

And gods help me, it made my wolf stir, whispering mate in the same breath she whispered it for Caleb.

I wrapped the blanket tighter around myself, shifting uncomfortably under the weight of his gaze. “You don’t have to apologize,” I said quietly, though the words trembled in my throat. “I… I shouldn’t have walked in. I just didn’t want you to hurt each other.”

Darius’s jaw clenched, but his eyes never left mine.

The bond thrummed faintly between us, softer than with Caleb but no less real, tugging at me in a way that made my stomach twist.

I didn’t understand how it was possible. I didn’t understand why my wolf responded to them both.

And I hated that, in this quiet moment, with his apology hanging in the air, I wasn’t sure I wanted to fight it.

Caleb POV

The doctor’s words barely registered — something about keeping her under observation, about her body responding in ways they didn’t understand. I didn’t care. All that mattered was getting back to her.

When I opened the door, her scent hit me first. Coffee and caramel, stronger now that color had returned to her cheeks. Relief rushed through me — until I saw him.

Darius.

He stood near the bed, just a little too close. His stance wasn’t threatening, but his eyes were locked on her in a way I knew too well. And Rhea… she wasn’t cowering, wasn’t bristling. She was watching him, cautious, confused, but listening.

My wolf snarled instantly.

“Everything alright in here?” I asked, my voice sharper than I intended.

Rhea startled, pulling the blanket tighter around herself. Darius straightened, his expression shuttered, the softness I’d caught in his eyes vanishing behind Alpha steel.

“Fine,” he said shortly. “She’ll recover.”

I didn’t miss the way he glanced at me — quick, loaded, and dangerous. He knew what had just happened between us, even if he didn’t admit it.

I moved to Rhea’s side, sitting carefully on the edge of the bed. My hand brushed hers, and she didn’t pull away. That was enough to ground me, to ease the fire in my chest.

“You’re safe,” I murmured, low enough just for her. “I’ve got you.”

Her eyes flicked between us — me steady at her side, Darius silent and rigid across the room.

And for the first time, I realized the truth that made my gut twist.

This wasn’t just between her and me.

The bond was already pulling in more directions than any of us were ready for.

Rhea POV

The beeping stopped before the sun had even risen, and with it came the doctor’s clipped words: “You’re stable. No reason to keep you here longer.”

Stable.

It didn’t feel like it. My body was whole, my ribs knitting cleanly after what should’ve been weeks of recovery. But it wasn’t wolf healing that saved me. I knew it. Caleb knew it. And from the way Darius’s silver eyes had burned when he watched, I was certain he knew it too.

I slid off the bed slowly, tugging the hospital sweater tighter around me. My bag had already been brought over from Caleb’s room — a few clothes, my toothbrush, little pieces of a life I barely recognized anymore.

Caleb was there the second my feet hit the floor, steadying me with a hand at my elbow. His scent — grass and rain — wrapped around me, steadying and safe.

“You sure you’re ready?” he asked quietly.

“Yes,” I said, though my voice was softer than I intended.

Behind him, Darius leaned against the wall, arms folded, expression unreadable. His presence filled the room, cedar and clean linen pressing against me until my wolf stirred again. Mate.

I forced the word down and focused on Caleb.

We left together, the three of us — Caleb close at my side, Darius silent at our backs. Every step out of the hospital felt like leaving one cage for another.

The morning air was crisp, carrying the scent of pine from the forest beyond. For a heartbeat, I wanted to run, to vanish into the trees and pretend none of this was real.

But the bond pulled, anchoring me to them both.

And I wasn’t sure if that meant I was safer with them… or trapped.