The Alpha Who Never Loved Me (Serena and Kieran) novel Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Serena

The first thing I noticed was the sound.

A slow, rhythmic beep cutting through my unconsciousness. My eyes fluttered open, but the light pierced my skull so sharply that I winced, immediately turning my head to the side.

A chemical smell wafted into my nostrils, pulling me further into awareness.

When my eyes finally adjusted, I saw white walls, a tiled ceiling, and a fluorescent lamp buzzing overhead. My gaze landed on a clear plastic tube snaking down my arm.

I was in the hospital, but I couldn’t quite remember how I had gotten there.

The memories arrived in a flood: thunder, heavy rain hammering the roof, and the sudden fear that had seized me before I collapsed onto the cold floor.

“Kieran?” I whispered.

Before losing consciousness, I had called him, praying he would come for me.

I felt a flicker of hope.

Surely he was the one who brought me here. He wouldn’t abandon me; everything was just a misunderstanding.

We would talk, clear the air, and things would go back to the way they were.

He loved me.

A small smile tugged at my lips.

I pressed my palm against the bed to sit up, but a sharp pain shot through my wrist.

“Ahhh!” I cried out.

The door swung open and heavy footsteps rushed toward me. A woman in scrubs approached, checking the monitors beside my bed before speaking in a low voice.

“You’re in the intensive care unit,” she explained. “You collapsed due to stress and exhaustion.”

I swallowed, trying to steady my breathing.

ICU.

I could hardly believe what happened had been that complicated to have landed me in an ICU.

“And… there’s something else,” the doctor continued, almost gently. “You’re pregnant.”

The air left my lungs in a single, soundless gasp.

Pregnant?

My mind reeled back to the last time he had touched me. My heart pounded against my ribs as I tried to recall if we had used protection, but my memory refused to cooperate, dissolving into static.

My throat tightened. “Did you… tell anyone?”

“No,” the doctor replied immediately. “This is confidential patient information. No one else knows.”

Relief washed over me, shaky and incomplete.

I touched my abdomen. The sudden arrival of this little life left my mind blank, and I almost thought of Kieran immediately.

Just then, the handle clicked and the door swung open again. Someone entered the room. My breath caught, my heart leaping to my throat. Hope lit up inside me, wild and desperate.

Kieran.

He came. He brought me here. He cared.

My smile returned, trembling at the corners.

Until the figure came into view.

It wasn’t Kieran.

It was Jenna. Kieran’s younger sister.

“Oh my God,” she breathed, sitting on the edge of my bed and taking my hand. “How are you feeling? I was so scared.”

The fragile hope I had allowed myself to feel shattered instantly.

I had expected him to save me. I had even decided that if he showed up, I would ignore everything that had happened and find a way to forgive him.

But he had failed me again.

His absence was loud.

“Kieran wasn’t here,” Jenna said softly, her gaze dropping to our joined hands. “I went to the house last night because he wasn’t answering his phone. The power was out, and I found you on the floor.”

I slowly turned my face toward the wall. I had been abandoned in the kitchen like something insignificant. My wolf stirred weakly, a low whine echoing through my chest.

“How long was I out?” I asked looking between the doctor and Jenna.

“We don’t know.” The doctor responded. “You were lucky to have been brought here just in time.”

Lucky.

How was this lucky?

Was it luck to wake up to a life where my mate chose someone else while I lay dying in the dark? Tears slid into my hair, soaking the pillow.

“I guess, I’ll leave you two.” The doctor said before walking away.

“I called him,” I whispered, my voice trembling, “but he had turned his phone off.”

Jenna cursed under her breath and pressed her forehead to my hand. “I know. I’m so sorry.”

Whatever it was, her apology or the simple fact that she was tied to him, I couldn't hold it back anymore.

Five years of justifying his behavior and taking whatever scraps of affection he offered finally broke me. My shoulders shook as my wolf howled inside me, mourning a bond that had never truly been ours.

When the sobs finally faded into exhaustion, Jenna spoke quietly. “Serena, what’s going on between you and my brother?”

I stared at the wall.

“I’m divorcing him.”

This incident solidified everything. What used to be uncertainty has become urgency.

Jenna’s head snapped up. “What? You can’t decide this right now. You’re hurt and emotional.”

“This is the clearest I’ve ever been,” I replied.

“I know he’s messed up,” she said, dragging a hand through her hair. “I know Sophie being back complicates things, but—”

“You knew?” I turned toward her.

She nodded slowly. “I went to the house last night to tell you. I thought it was better if you heard it from me.”

“So you know he still loves her,” I said, my voice eerily steady. “He chose her over and over again. And when I lost consciousness on the floor, he didn’t come back.”

We were quiet for a beat. Jenna looked away first.

“It’s an act,” I replied flatly, picking up a stack of papers.

“She’s filing for divorce.”

I froze, then a short laugh slipped out. “She wouldn’t do such a thing. She cares too much to leave; I am the center of her world.”

Mark walked in, his smile vanishing as he sensed the tension. “What’s going on?”

“Don’t listen to Jenna,” I said. “She’s fallen victim to Serena’s manipulation.”

“Kieran, listen to her,” Mark cut in. “I saw Serena a couple of days ago. I did some digging and confirmed she really has filed for divorce.”

I huffed, refusing to believe it. “Have you fallen for her tactics as well? This is just a stunt to win sympathy.”

Mark ran a hand through his hair, his voice turning serious. “She’s your mate and your luna. If you keep treating her like this, you’ll regret it.”

I kept my composure, leaning back in my chair. “That’s impossible.”

“I cannot do this anymore.” Jenna walked out.

Mark trailed her movement with his eyes. For a moment, the room fell quiet. Mark had served by my side for years. He was sharp, loyal, and stubborn, but he knew his place. He didn’t argue unless he was certain the matter demanded my attention.

Even so, a flicker of unease crept up my spine.

Divorce.

That word was strange and unusual.

Serena was dramatic, stubborn at times, emotional when pushed to her limits, but to sever things completely? She would never go that far.

Mark spoke again, his tone cautious. “I’m saying this because it affects you. And it affects the pack.”

He always framed his concerns around duty. It was his way of reminding me that he wasn’t prying, only serving. I didn’t respond, so he continued.

“You’re pretending this is nothing. Meanwhile, she looks like she’s done.”

I scoffed, though the memory of her eyes the last time we stood together surfaced. Was it resignation that had resided in her expression?

But she loved me. She would stay up waiting for me to come back home. She would hug me, and kiss me.

I recalled a day in particular, I had a horrible meeting that left me with rage, she had stayed by my side, trying everything possible to fix my mood.

Women like that didn’t simply leave.

“She loves me,” I said, more firmly than intended. “It’s impossible for her to walk away.”

Mark’s jaw ticked, but he didn’t interrupt. Instead, he lowered his gaze.

“Love has limits,” he said eventually.

He didn’t understand. Serena’s love had been relentless, inconveniently bright, and foolishly loyal.

Women who loved like that did not sign divorce papers. They fought. They clung. They stayed.

I met Mark’s stare head-on. “Serena would never throw everything away. She’s emotional, not irrational.”

Mark dipped his head in acknowledgment, the smallest bow.

“Kieran,” he said quietly, “love dies if you starve it long enough.”

I exhaled sharply, irritated by the implication.

“She’s not leaving,” I said, with certainty that felt like armor. “She’s just angry. She’ll calm down and come home. This divorce talk is nothing more than theatrics.”