Pregnant and Rejected by My Alpha Mate novel Chapter 11

 Pregnant and Rejected by My Alpha Mate Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Selene’s POV

Arabella is curled in a heap at the bottom of the stairs, her pitiful cries grating against my ears like nails on a chalkboard. I can’t see any blood, but the sickening, unnatural angles of her legs leave me with no doubt her pain is genuine. A healthy, young wolf, she’ll heal quickly, but that won’t stop the injuries from hurting like a bitch in the interim.

I might feel some sympathy for her, if it wasn’t for her melodramatic wails and repeated howls of, “Why Selene? Why did you do it?” Doctors and nurses crowd around her, shouting orders, but no one seems to pay me any mind.

I’m still in shock. Everything happened so fast and my brain is scrambling to catch up. I haven’t moved from the top of the stairs, looking down at the grisly scene with wide eyes. How had everything gone so wrong so quickly? One moment my secret was safe, and the next my husband’s mate was trying to push me down the stairs because I hadn’t been smart enough to have a sensitive conversation in private.

Only Arabella and I know what truly happened. It will be her word against mine, and I can’t explain the truth without revealing the reason why the she-wolf tried to push me. I can defend myself honestly and reveal I’m pregnant, or lie and say she simply tripped.

Would anyone even believe me? From the outside it certainly looks like I had motive. My husband is about to reject me for this woman, and in the eyes of the pack I probably seem damaged enough to suffer some sort of mental break as a result.

I’d like to think Bastien knows me well enough to realize I would never do such a thing, but Arabella is his mate, and logic tends to go out the window when it comes to mates. All he’ll hear is that someone threatened her life, and nothing else will matter.

When it comes down to it, Bastien will always choose Arabella over me – and that means I’m in a lot of trouble. An Alpha wolf in a blind rage is the most dangerous animal on the planet, and if Arabella manages to send Bastien into one, it will not matter that I’m his wife.

If you asked me this morning if I thought my husband would ever raise a hand against me, I would have said no – but that was before. I’m not sure what he’ll do now, and I have no intention of sticking around to find out.

I rush back to my room, frantically trying to free myself from the tubes and needles in my arm.

“Let me help you with that.” It’s the doctor from before, slowly approaching from the doorway and nodding towards my arm.

“What? Why would you-” He’s already clamping the fluid lines and pressing gauze to the insertion site.

*I don’t believe you pushed anyone.” He says simply, wrapping a bandage around my freed arm. “And I figure if you’re afraid of your husband, you have good reason.”

I almost feel like crying, “Thank you.” I suddenly realize how rude I’ve been, “I never asked your name.”

“Dr. Kane.” He says with a kind smile. “But you can call me Thomas.”

“Thank you, Thomas.” I breathe. “You’re a good man.“

“Don’t mention it.” He strides to the armchair in the corner where Bastien’s coat is thrown over the armchair and delves into one of the pockets. He extracts a key fob and tosses it to me. “Now get out of here.”

Bastien’s POV

The moment I return to the emergency ward I know Selene is gone. Her scent lingers, but not nearly strong enough. My hackles raise and Axel goes on high alert. Something is wrong.

I start towards her room but stop when I recognize the scent of another she-wolf. Axel continues tugging me towards Selene’s room, growling in frustration. I ignore him, following Arabella’s scent.

As soon as I stop focusing all my senses on Selene, I hear the howls of pain. I take off at a run, finding Arabella in an open bay surrounded by people and machines. Her legs are clearly broken, and bruises are beginning to form down the length of her body.

I rush to the front of the gurney, leaning over her so she can see my face. “Arabella, what happened?!”

#Chapter 11 Thunderstorm

Her head is held stationary by a heavy neck brace and her cheeks are soaked with tears. “Selene pushed me down the stairs.”

I’m certain I’ve heard her wrong. “What?”

As empty as I sometimes feel, I’ve learned to manage without Luna; I’ve learned to cope with darkness and locked doors, meeting strangers and standing in crowds. I handle some things better than others and though it’s always hard, most things do get easier as time passes.

However there are some struggles that never get easier; wounds that have been indelibly carved into what’s left of my soul. No matter how many months or years go by, raised voices, arguments, and loud noises turn me inside out; and thunderstorms reduce me to a quivering puddle,