The Rejected daughter chosen by the Alpha (Maya and Atila) novel Chapter 119

Chapter 119

Apr

Chapter 119

– ATILA

The gunshot was still echoing when her body gave out against mine.

For a second, my brain refused to process what my eyes were seeing.

But then I saw it.

The blood.

Dark.

Thick.

Spilling down her back.

“Maya.”

Her name came out broken, barely recognizable.

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Her fingers were still clutching my shirt, but the strength in them was fading too fast. Her knees buckled, and if I hadn’t caught her, she would’ve collapsed straight onto the cold platform floor.

No.

No.

No.

My arm wrapped around her waist while my other hand pressed against her back, and that was when I felt it. The wet heat. Blood coating my palm. Too much blood.

Fuck!

I yanked her back behind the concrete pillar, twisting our bodies so she was shielded behind me while my eyes scanned for the shooter. Then a voice tore through the station.

“Police! Drop the weapon!”

The man reacted.

His arm moved.

Another shot exploded through the air, ricocheting off the concrete above us.

Instinct took over. I dropped over her, covering her head with my chest, feeling her weak breaths against me.

Footsteps thundered closer.

But I didn’t look.

I didn’t move.

Nothing else existed.

Only her.

TUE

28

C

16:46 Tue, Apr 28 #

Chapter 119

My hand came up to her face, cradling her jaw carefully.

“Maya.”

Her eyes were open.

But heavy.

Distant.

She tried to focus on me.

Tried.

“Stay with me, honey. Don’t close your eyes. You hear me? Don’t you dare close them.”

Her lips moved.

No sound came out.

Her body was going limp in my arms.

Her fingers tightened on my shirt one last time.

Then loosened.

Her head tilted weakly against my arm.

She passed out.

For one full second, the world stopped.

The sound.

The air.

My heart.

Everything.

“Maya.”

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Nothing.

No response.

Reality slammed back into place.

I looked around, then lifted her into my arms.

She should’ve felt light.

But in that moment, she was crushing,

Her blood soaked through my clothes, ran down my arm, dripped onto the ground as I ran.

I took the station stairs two at a time, ignoring the burn in my muscles, ignoring the fire tearing through my lungs.

“Someone call an ambulance!” a voice shouted.

16:46 Tue, Apr 28

Chapter 119

Doors burst open.

Cold air.

Street.

Lights.

People.

Someone rushed toward me.

“Oh my God-”

“She’s been shot,” I said, my voice far too steady for someone whose world was collapsing.

Hands appeared.

Phones.

Someone saying the ambulance was on the way.

But I didn’t let her go.

Not until I heard the sirens.

Not until I saw the red and blue lights flashing across the pavement.

***

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I was sitting in the hospital waiting room, leaning forward, elbows on my knees, my hands still covered in her blood, dried between my fingers, staining my skin like silent proof of everything I had failed to stop. It burned worse than any physical

wound I’d ever endured.

Only one question echoed inside my head, over and over, relentless. What kind of man was I, if the woman I loved had bled to keep me alive?

This fucking humanity is driving me insane!

When the door finally opened, I lifted my head instantly, my entire body going rigid as the doctor stepped out. Her eyes found mine immediately, and she walked straight toward me, like she already knew exactly who I was and what I needed to hear. “She’s out of danger,” she said calmly, and the air tore out of my lungs in one violent release, like I’d been drowning since the moment the gun fired and was only now allowed to breathe again.

The doctor continued, her voice professional, precise, delivering the full truth. “The bullet entered through the posterior thorax on the left side and passed through muscle tissue only. It didn’t puncture the lung, didn’t hit the heart, and didn’t damage the spine. The projectile lodged in a superficial area, which allowed us to remove it without major complications. We were able to control the bleeding and stabilize her vital signs.”

I felt every muscle in my body absorb those words like they were the only thing holding me upright.

“She did lose blood,” the doctor added honestly, but without alarm. “We had to replace fluids and keep her sedated, both for the procedure and to allow her body to recover without stress. Right now, she’s stable. There are no signs of active internal bleeding, and her vital organs weren’t compromised.”

“When will she wake up?” I asked, my voice lower, rougher than I intended.

“In the next few hours, most likely,” she said. “Possibly by tomorrow. Her body needs time to come out of sedation and recover from the trauma, but when she wakes, she’ll be fully conscious. She’s young, and her body responded very well. We

16:47 Tue, Apr 28 J

Chapter 119

expect a full recovery.”

(15

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When the doctor disappeared down the hall, the silence returned, but it wasn’t the same silence that had been suffocating me before. Something inside me started to loosen, like a rope pulled too tight finally releasing its grip from around my chest.

That was when I heard fast footsteps rounding the corner. When I looked up, I saw Beatrice and Cassian approaching, their faces tight with urgency. Beatrice came straight to me without hesitation, her eyes wide with panic.

“What happened, Atila? Where is she?”