Pregnant And Rejected By My Alpha Mate By Caroline Above Chapter 80
Pregnant And Rejected
Chapter 80 Antidote Selenaâs POV Shock, fury and betrayal war for dominance in Bastienâs imposing features. Heâs looking at me the same way he did when he first discovered I was alive, as if heâs realizing he doesnât recognize me at all. Tears have been rolling down my cheeks since I woke, but a fresh surge rushes forth as I wilt beneath his scrutiny.
âBastien, they need it now.â Drake interjects.
As if in a trance, Bastien shoves out his arm toward the lab tech, âTake it.â He orders coldly.
The poor tech is shaking as he tries to draw the enraged Alphaâs blood, and heâs not alone. Every lesser wolf in the room is positively quailing in the face of the apoplectic energy Bastien is putting off, myself in cluded.
When the young man completes his duties, he practically sprints out of the bay, heading off for the lab.
No one says a word. Weâre all waiting with bated breath to see how Bastien will respond, even the doctor.
When Bastien finally finds his voice, he says just about the last thing I expected. âPut on the gown.â He commands, nodding toward the ugly garment at the end of my bed. âYouâre being admitted.â
I blink, my limbs frozen in place. What?
This isnât good. Luna whines, her tail between her legs, His wolf is really mad, I canât bear it.
Itâll be okay. I think back, trying to convince myself as well as her.
I donât know where I find the courage to protest, but I do. âI need to be with Lila.â
Bastienâs eyes flash dangerously, and he finally acknowledges the other people in the room. âLeave us.â He orders, scanning the small group.
One by one they file out, abandoning me. Everyone but Drake. The Eros Alpha stands stubbornly inside the curtain, not looking at my mate. Instead he watches me carefully, waiting to follow my cue. I really donât want to be left alone with Bastien, but I know that Drake staying will only result in a fight between the men. Drake will lose and Iâll still end up alone with Bastien, only heâll be in an even worse mood.
âItâs okay.â I promise Drake. He nods and slips out of the bay, ignoring Bastienâs low growl of disapproval.
Bastien prowls to my bedside, towering over me while I sit defenseless on the gurney. âYouâve been through something very traumatic today. Youâre disoriented, weak and dehydrated. You need to be admitted.â
He may be right, but I donât care. My pup comes first. âButâ
Arguing was a mistake. Bastien growls so savagely I flinch away from him, cowering against the pil low.
âMy decision is final, Selene.â He thunders, his deep voice never rising in volume, but carrying the force of a brutal storm.
The huge wolf reaches toward me, ignoring my fright and yanking my dress off over my head. He snatches up the hospital gown and removes my bra, bundling me into the scratchy garment while I sit there too shocked to move.
Afterwards I eye him warily, painfully aware that his anger has absolutely nothing to do with my resis tance to staying in the hospital, and everything to do with my lie.
âBastien,â I murmur meekly, âIâm sorry. You have every right to be angry with me, but deflecting it this way wonât help anything.â
âIt isnât fair for you to punish me by making me stay here for treatment.â | insist. âLila is more ill t sheâs ever been before, I canât be apart from her until I know sheâs going to be okay.â
Bastien steps back, rubbing his jaw and eyeing me like Iâm a bug heâd like to smush under his bc âYouâve got a lot of fucking nerve, you know that?â
Bastienâs POV Selene is staring up at me like a deer in the headlights, her beautiful eyes wide and bloodshot. It amazing that I can be so unbelievably furious at a person, yet still want nothing more than to hold them my arms and kiss away their tears.
I was livid when I discovered Selene had let me believe she was dead for three years. I was outrage when I learned she didnât think we were mates. I was irate when I thought sheâd taken another man for lover. But none of that is anything compared to what Iâm feeling now.
My heart is torn between joy and betrayal; between relief and wrath; between worry and bitterness..
Finding out that Lila is my pup is the greatest gift Iâve received since finding my mate. Iâve loved Lila from the moment I met her, and I got over it when I learned she belonged to another man. I hated the idea of sharing her with Drake, but he didnât seem to want to be involved in her life, so I made my peace.
Even as my protective instincts rally and rail knowing sheâs not out of the woods yet, Iâm elated and ec static that sheâs mine. Axel is still howling exuberantly in celebration, and I canât blame him.
Of course, all this happiness is tainted by Seleneâs betrayal.
I wouldnât be feeling it so keenly if we hadnât reconciled, if I hadnât finally claimed her or weâd been on rockier footing. I can almost get past the fact that she never told me that she didnât come back to Elysium when she found out she was pregnant. After all, Arabella was trying to kill her and she believed I was in love with her attempted murderess.
I may have had a right to know, especially given Lilaâs vulnerability as a Volana, but I know Selene thought she was protecting her pup. She thought she was doing the best thing for them both. I can even ex cuse the first lie, to a point. Things were chaotic and challenging in the extreme when I first arrived in As phodel, and she was still operating under her old misconceptions.
The true crime is that she never came clean. We resolved all our old issues. Selene realized how horribly sheâd been misled by Arabella and accepted how deeply I love her. We cemented our bond and are finally together the way we were always meant to be. We agreed to start fresh and move forward with no more lies and still she said nothing.
And to top it all off, the stubborn little creature just accused me of taking my anger out on her by sepa rating her from our pup.
Our pup⦠thatâs the first time Iâve thought the words, and Iâll be damned if Iâm not going to be chanting it over and over for weeks to come.
âWhat?â Selene squeaks, drawing my attention back to our conversation.
I stalk back to the bed, catching her chin between my thumb and forefinger and tilting her head up so sheâll have no choice but to meet my gaze. âYouâre my mate, Selene.â I rumble harshly. âDo you really think I wouldnât be making you stay if youâd told me the truth? Do you really believe I care that little about you?
That I would risk your health to appease your will?â
âIâ¦â Sheâs scrambling to find a logical reply, yet she canât seem to conjure anything but half formed stutters, âItâs thatâs not I donâtâ¦â
âI know youâre worried about Lila.â I continue, trying to cool my seething blood, and Iâm offended you believe I would ever keep her from you out of spite, especially at a time like this.â Tears hover on Seleneâs dark eyelashes, and it takes all my willpower to remain strong and not coddle her. âYouâre being admitted because the doctors need to keep an eye on you. Itâs for your own damn good, and shame on you for thinking otherwise.â
Those precariously placed tears spill over, running down her pale cheeks in a steady stream. âIâm sorry.â She professes pitifully.
âAs soon as youâre both settled, weâll have them bring your beds together.â I promise, taking her face between my lands and brushing away her tears with the pads of my thumbs. âBut I expect you to rest and do as the doctors say.â
Selene nods fervently, âI promise.â Sheâs already looking over to the closed curtain concealing Lilaâs bay, anxiously hoping for a glimpse of the pup.
âAnd Selene,â I say, pulling her attention back to me. When she sees my expression her features be come wary. Smart girl. âWhen Lila is healed and youâre both well enough to be discharged, you are in big. big trouble.â
She visibly gulps, looking so vulnerable I canât help but tease her just a little. I press my lips to her crown, lingering tenderly and thoroughly confusing the poor little wolf.
Sheâs flushed and fidgety when I pull away, and I flash her a lethal grin. As I watch the anxious emo tions flickering behind her eyes, I realize thereâs one more thing to be very, very happy about. Now that Lila is mine, there is nothing stopping me from taking them both back to Elysium where they belong.
An Alphaâs pup belongs with his pack, and his mate belongs by his side. Selene has no more excuses to make at least, not any Iâll accept. Sheâs lost, and we both know it.