Chapter 9
1302 Words
Rune's POV
I spent the rest of the night by his side, holding his hands and waiting for another reaction from him. The longer it took for him to react, the more I began to doubt what I saw. Could I have desperately wanted him to wake up when I imagined it?
Short answer. Yes.
I could, but I didn't.
I wanted it to happen again, so I took it upon myself to beg him this time until all my strength gave out. I didn't fight the drowsiness, but that didn't stop me from whispering ‘please’ until everything went blank.
***
“How is he…”
“Is he…”
“...worry…”
Those were all I could hear at some point before fluttering my eyes open. My head rested on his bed next to his hand. Sighing, I slowly withdrew into an upright sitting position, then stretched my bones.
Goodness. I felt sore.
“Is he okay?” I looked from Freya to the Beta, acknowledging their presence for the first time. “Did I hurt him?” My breath hitched.
With my gaze dropping down to Alaric, I let out a sigh of relief. He looked okay… but… why are they suddenly looking at me like that?
“Are you okay?” Freya finally broke the awkward tension, her voice warm and filled with concern. The Beta only examined me without a word.
I instinctively withdrew my hand from Alaric's when I saw his gaze lingering on the spot.
“I'm fine. Is he?” I mirrored her worry.
She nodded with a small smile.
“I should be back before you leave,” the Beta cleared his throat. “I have business with the council now. Please look after him.”
Since the request was directed to Freya, I stayed mute, only reading the energy their words and reactions left behind.
He was… Sad? Weak?
He glanced at me before doing the same to Alaric. That was when I caught it.
He was broken.
“He's okay,” Freya whispered softened.
I reluctantly took my eyes off the door he just shut then shook my head.
“He's not.”
“Well,” she rolled her eyes. “He's the Alpha's Beta… they stick together in almost everything, so of course he'll be worried… We're all worried about him,” she sighed, one hand rubbing her forehead and the other on her waist. “But he's okay.”
She gave me a small smile.
I couldn't help doing the same with how warm and easy-going she seemed. Perhaps, yesterday must have been a rough day for her too… watching her Alpha at the brink of death. Plus, she was right. Thanks to my brother's decision to keep me locked away from the world, I bet nobody here knew who I was, so now that I thought about it, I couldn't blame her for thinking I didn't deserve those answers.
“It doesn't make sense, though.”
“What?”
“Why would they hurt him in the first place?”
“Oh… about that, the Beta already told me how everything went. He said you stepped in full fury, took down Luca and the rest of the elders—”
“Elders?” My eyes grew wide.
How could I not have sensed their hierarchy? Jeez! I got into a bloody combat with the elders of another pack?
Panic gripped me as I swallowed hard.
“It's okay,” she chuckled. “You didn't know and someone really appreciates that you did what you did. Nobody could have stopped it if not you,” she grinned.
I tried to make sense of the piece of information she just left me with. I wondered who this ‘someone’ was and why nobody else could have stopped it.
“What if I hadn't stepped in?”
She shrugged like it was so simple, but her eyes were filled with a million emotions. All drawing from pain and horror.
“It would have continued.”
“They'd have killed their Alpha?” I almost choked.
She didn't respond at first.
“I can't believe this,” I scoffed, leaning deeper into the chair.
“They'd have continued the rite, Rune.”
“What obnoxious sort of rite is that?” I scoffed, anger taking a new root in me. “My parents once led the pack and all my life reading about royal rites, and all sorts of rites, I haven't come across a single rite that requires such brutality! That was punishment! Murder, Freya! He was numb… and…and… battered yet they kept going. What if he had—” my voice broke before I completed the sentence.
“Died?” She raised her brow, now looking at me with amusement. “He wouldn't have. The Alpha wouldn't commit suicide nor will his subordinates, especially those selected for the rites kill him.”
Honestly, that would have made so much sense if I hadn't been there to witness the chaos for myself. However, I couldn't deny the logical sense in her words either. There was no reason for him to commit suicide and if at all there were, there were easier ways to get it done.
“Then what was it all about?”
“When you get the chance to ask him, go for it.”
“Don't you know?” I furrowed my brows.
“That doesn't mean I'd steal that right from him. Besides, you seem to care so much about him. Someone who did what you did, including running from her pack, must have some sort of connection and deep affection for the other, right?”
I blinked repeatedly while my heartbeat sped up.
My mind suddenly went silent as I tried to think of an answer.
There was none. At least logically fit for my actions lately.
“I…”
I considered telling her about the pull, the shockwave… how familiar I felt when tending his wounds, the excruciating pain I felt when he was hurting, as well as that primal instinct that took over me when he was in danger.
Wrong move.
She'd think I had lost it, especially because there was no tag for it.
“No one should be left to go through something like that,” I murmured with my gaze on my lap. “I didn't want to witness another murder, so I did all I could to stop it,” I told her the logical part of the truth because I never wanted to see one after that of my parents.
“I'm so sorry to hear that,” she spoke softly. She sat carefully by his side across from me.
“It's okay.”
None of us said a thing for a brief second before she exhaled.
“I know you're Alpha Theo's sister, and I know it's only a matter of time before he finds out what happened. You should go back now. I promise, Alaric will be fine.”
“I won't, and my brother won't find out soon either.”
She chuckled softly, giving me the ‘are you sure about that?’ look. It felt embarrassing because how would I not know what he's capable of?
“He will, that's if he doesn't know already.”
“I won't leave Alaric,” I affirmed.
She held my gaze a bit longer before nodding slowly.
“In that case,” she sighed. “Take care, Rune. I'll be on my way now.”
“You too,” I whispered, giving her a small smile.
I watched as she left, then let out a sigh of relief. I let myself linger on the peace and relief briefly before shifting my attention back to Alaric and everything we discussed.
- Writer
