The Alpha's Mate

Chapter 14

LEAH

The darkness consumed me, but I knew I was safe somehow.

Whatever I was on was soft to the touch against my back.

Somehow, I knew I wasn't with Dani or Lucy, but some things were confusing. Like, I knew someone kissed my cheek, but who the hell was it? Then there were the tingles that shot through me like a jolt, like I was being electrocuted. And the surrounding smell was musky. Something that made me calm instantly.

Who the hell did it come from? I had no idea.

While this was all going on, I didn't move since I was too scared to even open my eyes.

After what felt like hours, I moved slightly and slowly began to open my eyes. I blinked a few times to get rid of the blurriness till I could focus and looked around. I was in a hospital, which I knew instantly since the room was white and smelled of disinfectant, but it wasn’t the one I was in after my accident. I was somewhere different, and most definitely wasn’t with Dani and Lucy.

I looked around and then down at my hands, I had tubes sticking out of me, and some machines were on either side of me. My mind raced, while questions seemed to pop to mind. Like where was everyone? And the most important one, where the hell was I?

I noticed movement outside the door, and the door opened slightly. A woman walked in with a tray but stopped once she realized I was awake. "You're awake?" she said, sounding surprised.

I cleared my throat. "Where am I?" I asked groggily.

The woman looked at me and gave me a small smile. "You're at the...hospital," she said with a smile. "I will get the doctor to speak to you now."

I stared at her, but she quickly turned on her heel and left. Well, that was odd. She clearly was a nurse, judging by the uniform she was wearing.

Leaning back onto the pillow behind me, my head felt heavy. I moved my hand to my head and felt something there, bandages. What the hell happened to me? My anxiety swept in as I started to panic.

The door opened, and a man with a younger girl who looked the same age as me walked in.

"Hi, I'm Doctor Reed," the doctor said, stopping at the foot of my bed. "You gave everyone a scare."

"What happened?" I asked, but my mouth felt like sandpaper. I needed water. I licked my lips.

Doctor Reed stares at me for a moment, but the girl next to him walks around him and walks to the side of the table, where a jug of water and a small cup are on the table. I watched her closely as she poured water into the small cup and placed the jug back down after she was done. She turned around and walked over to the bed; she held the cup out and put it to my lips. "Take a sip," she said with a small smile.

I did as I was told and sipped, my eyes never leaving hers, but as the water slipped down my throat, I closed my eyes and accepted the coldness straight away.

After a few seconds, I opened my eyes and looked at the girl, but looked over at the doctor, who smiled. "Better?"

I gave him a slight nod, which didn't help matters; my head hurt slightly, which made my eyes close again.

"Ah," he said, making me look at him. "I wouldn't do that."

Once the pain subsided, I looked back at him, while he continued. "You might have had a concussion or something. We did some scans to find out if there was anything on your brain, which resulted in you having blood on the brain, so we did surgery to remove it. All I suggest you do is rest, and you will recover fully.”

I stared, confused but also frightened.

"Where am I?" I asked, clearing my throat.

The doctor stared at me for a few moments, but it wasn't him who spoke next. "You're at the hospital," the girl said, making me look at her. "Your mum brought you here from your hometown. You collapsed before you even left."

I looked over and stared at the girl who spoke till her words sunk, which made my anger flare up at the mention of my mum, but I didn't retaliate. My head was hurting, and I was still feeling slightly weak.

"Where is she?" I asked as calmly as I could while trying not to let on how I felt about the woman who abandoned me.

The girl looked at me and smiled. "She is resting, but she will be here soon.”

I stared at her blankly but turned my attention to the doctor. "I don't want to see her.” Which made them both tense at my words.

The doctor stared, but I noticed a frown appear across his face. "I can't stop your mum from coming here. But you need to rest, and you can see her when you are up to it."

I frowned.

"I take it she told you; she took me against my will then," I said, moving my head to the side, which made his eyes widen. "I don't want to see her."

The doctor stared, but he looked blankly. He gave nothing away about what I asked.

After a few minutes, he looked back and nodded but completely ignored what I said, which made me angrier. "I will tell the nurse to make sure she doesn't come in," he said, looking at me. "I think you should meet with her though; she was a mess when you were brought in, and she never left your side until we asked her to go while we checked your vitals."

I stared at him. I don't know whether to believe him or punch him in the face. I didn't really care if she did what he said. I didn't want to be here.

The room was filled with an awkward silence.

The doctor clears his throat. "Well, I have other patients to see," he said, turning on his heel to walk out the door, while I watched him leave, and as the door closed, I turned my attention to the girl.

Her eyes were on me the whole time I talked to the doctor. I frowned.

"Who are you?" I asked, sounding irritated and not wanting to deal with this anymore. "I don't know you."

The girl smiled. "I know that is silly. My name is Cassie, and I live in this small town. I know your mum; she's good friends with my mum."

I stared at her. Confusion set in. I didn't know what to make of this.

"Why are you here?"

Cassie looked at me briefly, c*****g her head to the side. "You look like your mum. I mean, you have her eyes," she said, but I didn't say anything. I had my father's skin tone and features, everything else was my mum's.

Cassie sighed, while pulling the chair to her and then sat down; I couldn't help but stare at her. "I thought you could use a friend," she said as she leaned back into the chair, while keeping her eyes on me. "I knew you didn't want to be here and wanted to stay home."

How the hell would she know that? Then the realization that my mother liked to talk about her personal life to everyone or is it a small town that likes to gossip? I didn’t like the sound of it.

"I think you should give your mum a chance," she blurted, which pulled me back from my thoughts.

I looked at her dumbfounded.

Cassie shook her head. "I don't mean you should forgive her. I mean, give her a chance to explain things. You don't know her reasons as to why she left."

"Do you know?" I asked her bluntly.

Cassie stared at me for a few seconds and shrugged. "I don't know. And even if I knew, it's not my story to tell."

She knew the reason.

I looked away and stared at the wall ahead. I'm in a place I don't know, with a woman who abandoned me for eight years and who I don't want anything to do with either. What the hell am I going to do now?

How the hell was I going to get out of this one?

"You know she has a family," Cassie whispered, which I caught and looked at her while trying not to let my emotions get too much.

My mum had a family.

I closed my eyes as memories of my father's funeral returned with force, replaying everything that happened. The man from the other night was there, but there was another man. He looked at my mother with affection and love. That must have been her partner. I guessed he was, but something made me think I had seen him before, but I don't know where though.

"Leah," Cassie said, making me open my eyes as a stray tear escaped my eyes. I looked over at her. Her eyes were holding so much emotion, but there was one that I knew more of, especially in the last few days; sympathy.

I cleared my throat. "I think I need to sleep," I said, turning over to face away from her.

A few tears came, but I never let on; I was crying.

I missed my dad.

I wanted him back.

"I'm going to stay here," she said, her voice in a whisper. "I want to make sure you're okay."

I didn't say anything, only keeping my eyes trained on the wall ahead, and letting the tears come silently.

My headache was gone, but a cloud made it foggy for me to think.

I closed my eyes and let my body slip into darkness again, but I was greeted by the yellow eyes again.

The same dream that had been haunting my nightmares since the accident and no one knows about. When will this dream ever leave?