Dumped Omega? Now Their Alpha King Begs at My Feet novel Chapter 49

Valerie's POV

The first thing I felt was a deep, aching exhaustion. It was in my bones, in every single cell. Like my entire body had been run over by a truck.

My eyes slowly fluttered open. The light wasn't the harsh, ugly glare of the ICU. It was soft, coming from a shaded lamp in the corner.

This wasn't the same room. I was lying in a huge, comfortable bed with sheets that felt like silk. A quiet, steady beeping came from a monitor beside me, but it was a calm sound, not an alarm.

I turned my head, my neck stiff.

And I saw him.

Kai was sitting in a chair right beside my bed. He wasn't sleeping. He was just watching me, his expression intense and unreadable. He looked exhausted. His usually perfect black hair was a mess, and a dark shadow of stubble covered his jaw. He was still wearing the same clothes from the ICU, and they were rumpled.

A thick, warm blanket was tucked around me. On the nightstand, there was a glass of water with a straw, placed right where I could reach it.

He had done that.

I tried to push myself up, to sit. A sharp, dizzying wave of weakness shot through me, and I fell back against the pillows with a soft groan.

"Easy," he said. His voice was a low, rough sound. He leaned forward in his chair. "Don't try to move."

I opened my mouth to speak, but my throat was so dry, only a faint croak came out. Without a word, he reached for the glass of water, holding it for me and angling the straw toward my lips. I took a small sip. The cool water felt incredible.

"How long?" I finally managed to whisper, my voice weak.

"About twenty hours," he answered, his eyes never leaving my face. "You've been unconscious since you collapsed."

"But Alpha, I need to check her vitals—" she started to stammer.

"I said, get out," he repeated, still not looking at her. "And tell the guards that no one is to enter this room again unless I call for them. No one."

The nurse practically fled, the door clicking softly shut behind her. We were alone again.

He turned his intense gaze back to me. The professional distance between us, the politics, all of it had been burned away in the ICU.

He was the man whose grandfather I had just saved. And I was the woman he had watched over for nearly a day.

He pulled his chair even closer, his knee brushing against the side of the bed.

"Valerie," he began, his voice a low, gravelly sound that sent a shiver through me.