Alpha Rising

Chapter Nine

Alvira's P.O.V.

The immediate aftermath of Alban and Richie finding each other was terse at best. Doctor Alvarez was flustered and barely restraining his anger. But by now my father was exerting that subtle yet effective push of an Alpha, and he was made to be quietly compliant. 

I couldn’t hear the hushed words that passed between them but my father soon left the man standing in the room with myself, Alban, Richie, and mom. ‘I’m going to have a word with Alpha Matthew,’ he said through the mind link. ‘I’ll be back shortly.’ Mom and I shared a look and silently came to the agreement that nobody would be separating Alban and Richie. 

After a few more awkward minutes, a female nurse came back in and handed the doctor a manilla folder. She muttered something to him under her breath, looking over at Alban, and then politely excused herself. It looked like the same nurse my brother had just walked right past in the hallway, and I felt the pain in her eyes on a deep spiritual level. She didn’t look angry, but she was absolutely hurt. If I had to wager a guess, she was still waiting on someone to claim and mark her. My wold whined in my mind, feeling some of that same pain. 

Both my best friend and my twin had found their mates within weeks of each other. And while I was sure of myself as a fighter, I couldn’t deny the ache that I felt when thinking about my future. So much was changing around me. My entire identity had been called into question in a matter of days, and the people closest to me had been attacked on our own land. I just wished that I had something solid to keep me grounded and secure. 

Safe to say, I was honestly a little jealous. Alban had his string of girlfriends and boyfriends over the years, and Nell was never quite unpopular. But all I ever really had was...well. Them. There were one or two boys over the years that had come close, and I’d even considered letting my ex mark me if we didn't find a mate by twenty-five. But my wolf wouldn’t have it. She was picky and only wanted her mate.

I felt a heat come to my neck at the thought, and I found myself zoning out and staring at the wall. The doctor clearing his throat caught my attention and I looked over to him expectantly. 

“We have some more of your test results back, Alban,” he said. I could see him avoiding looking at my brother, who had Richie glued to his side almost. Instead, the doctor looked directly at our mother and handed her the paperwork. “It looks like the infection is responding well to the medications so far.” 

Picking up the chart from the wall, he made a few annotations on the papers. “I feel confident transferring him back to your pack’s doctors with that news, Luna Katherine,” Doctor Alvarez said. “If you’re comfortable with it, I can begin the paperwork and make a few calls to have the prescriptions ready for you before discharge.”

“What about the poison?” I asked him, stepping forward. “Can he shift?”

Alban readjusted in the bed behind me, and I heard him hiss in slight pain at the strain on his stitches. “I know I shouldn’t until these heal,” he said. “But how long do you think I’ll have to wait?”

Doctor Alvarez shook his head shortly. “I want you to keep it light for now. At least until your medication is done. No training, no fighting.” Another quick glance down at his file had him shaking his head. "Wolfsbane makes your wolf weaker, unable to properly heal you right. So we have to fight off the infection the human way." He looked from my brother back to me. “The same goes for you, Vira.”

“Me?” What? No combat? But we had to go out and hunt for these monsters. We had to get out there as quickly as possible. 

“You didn’t take as deep a slice, but you were still poisoned.” The doctor’s attention shifted to our mother again. “Keep an eye on the both of them, and if anything out of the ordinary happens, call me right away.” His tone brooked no argument and with another nod, he excused himself from the room.

The rest of us were left in a quiet state of shock as the reality began to settle in. I could feel Richie’s confusion and pain, and I looked to my mother for help explaining the situation. Richie took the news about as well enough as one might take the news of their newly-found mate being ambushed by rogues. Which is to say, he didn’t take it well at all.

He curled himself protectively around Alban, one arm nestled under my brother’s back while his other hand laid gently over the still healing stitches. “I haven’t heard many rumors,” he said more to our mother than anyone. “But I’ll ask around.” While he spoke, he worked his phone out of his pocket and unlocked it with his thumb. I could only assume he was shooting off a text to someone. “One of the omega’s daughters was taken last year,” Richie sighed. “I’m friends with her brother.” The young man’s golden eyes looked wide and hopeful. “I’ll see if he has any information you can present to the Alphas.”

Goddess above, this man was a blessing. And the look on Mom’s face said just as much as she heaved a sigh and muttered about him being a great addition to the family. 

It would be hard, and it would be frustrating. But it was beyond necessary. Mom ushered me out after a while, sighting a need to talk things over with Alban and Richie on their own. And boy, was I not about to fight her on that. Instead, I was happy enough to go out and help Nell pack up the car in a more manageable way. She was making sure the scent of Alban’s blood was clear from the seat, lest it send Richie into a rage when he caught whiff of it later. 

We spent the next few hours like this, just gossiping as if nothing had happened and cleaning out the car. It was mindless idle chatter, but it was welcome. 

Eventually my father came out to stand with us and wait until Mom handled all of the discharge paperwork for Alban. Dad didn’t speak, but his face was hardened with worry, and he looked my way nervously more than a few times. By the time it looked as though he was about to say something, Mom came around the corner and ushered him off to their own car. 

It looked like we’d have to chat at home instead.

I looked over at my brother and his new mate as we piled back into Nell’s car outside the hospital. It had been a touch-and-go day after they found each other. Doctor Alvarez had to work around Richie’s hovering presence and work through his own anger. It was never said, but it was clear in his eyes that he disapproved of the coupling. 

“Don’t worry too much about it,” Richie said when my gaze lingered on him for a little too long. “Dad...he’ll come around.” Richie’s hand tightened on Alban’s, causing my dozing brother to shift his head on the man’s shoulder. Even with what little I knew about him I could see that my brother had lucked out with this one. Sweet, sociable, easy on the eyes. “And if he doesn’t, I’m sure my Mom will knock some sense into him.”His soft voice was soothing, and his cocky grin filled me with confidence and hope for Alban’s future and his happiness. 

“True,” I said to him with a laugh, finally sitting back in the third row of seats. “At the very least, my Dad kept him quiet.”

That earned a snort from Nell when she climbed into the driver’s seat. As she pulled the door shut and started the car up, she cast a knowing smirk my way in the mirror. “I had ten bucks riding on Alpha Zachary losing his mind,” she admitted once we got on the road. 

Joey piped up with a warm and resonant laugh. “A bet you were not prepared to lose, dearest.”

“Look. My wallet is Goddess knows where, that’s not my fault!” The boys were all laughing over this development, and I did my best to hold it together. “I had nothing to lose and ten dollars to gain!”

At that point, I lost my s**t and busted out in the chorus of much-needed laughter. The look of abject betrayal on my best friend’s face was clear, though overly exaggerated. And the rest of the drive home was filled with the lightness that our original trip to the lake was supposed to provide. I still felt a little bit of that tension in the back of my mind though, and couldn’t help but feel like there was someone or something watching us as we sped through the mountain roads towards home.