Chapter 142: Sorry that I scared you

He quietly walked up to the side of the bed where Graham was, so he could look her in the eyes and placed a hand on her head. Bella glanced up at Graham and saw that he was still sleeping.

“It’s good to see you awake, peanut,” her dad said.

“Thanks, dad. Sorry that I scared you,” she said, taking his hand in hers.

“It’s okay. I’m just happy you are feeling better. He hasn’t left your side for more than ten minutes, and that was because we forced him,” he said, looking at Graham.

“I know. I heard he threatened Doc. Did anyone else get a bigger dose than they could handle?” Bella asked. Her father chuckled quietly.

“Don’t worry, we all understood that he was just being worried. Doc got the worst of it. I just think he is being a bit cautious around your mate at the moment,” her father said.

“How are you?” Bella asked.

“I’m fine, peanut. You just focus on you for now,” he said.

“How’s Jessica? She didn’t get hurt in the attack, did she?” Bella ignored her father and asked. Bella saw her father smile.

“No, she is fine. She has been really nice, making sure I eat and has taken me for shorter walks to get my head straight,” he told her.

“I’m happy to hear that, dad,” Bella smiled.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this, peanut?’ her father asked.

“If it makes you happy, then I’m happy,” Bella said. Her father nodded.

He stayed with her for a while, taking the chair that Graham had used. They stayed silent, holding hands, and just relaxing.

“I’m going to head out, peanut. Let me know if you need anything and I’ll be back in a couple of hours,” he then said.

“Thanks, dad. Does everyone know I’m awake?” she asked.

“I don’t think anyone knows. I was just stopping by to see if Graham needed anything,” he told her.

“Can you let them know? And let them know that we’ll tell them when they can come and visit? He needs to rest,” Bella said, looking at Graham.

“I’ll let them know, peanut. They will be happy. The entire pack has been worried about you and your two friends have hardly spoken to their mates because they kept it from them that you were injured,” he smiled.

“Oh,” Bella said.

“Don’t worry about it. They will fix it on their own. You focus on you and the beans. I love you Bella,” her father said.

“I love you too, dad. Get some sleep, you don’t look good. You will never catch Jessica looking like that,” she smiled.

“Oh, peanut. A woman loves to take care of a wounded wolf,” he said, winking at her as he walked to the door. Bella giggled. Her father was a sly man.

It took ten minutes and then she had a mind link from Charlotte and Mickey.

‘Bee?’ Mickey asked.

‘Hey, Mickey, how are things with Mavis?’ Bella asked.

‘Bee, you have been unconscious for two days. I should ask you how you feel,” he said.

‘Well, I’m awake and fine. I want to know how things have been now that Logan is home,’ Bella told him.

‘He isn’t speaking to Logan, and I’m not speaking to Seb either,’ Charlotte said.

‘Why?’ Bella asked, even if she knew.

‘They didn’t tell us you were injured until they had gotten you to the hospital and called us to come down there,’ she huffed, irritated.

‘They were trying to protect you,’ Bella tried to say.

‘No, Bee. It’s more than that. Everyone knew. They knew, the warriors knew, Doc knew, but we didn’t. Even though we knew something was up and kept asking them to tell us,’ Mickey said.

‘And we were in charge while all of you were busy resolving that situation. We could have made decisions that could have had serious consequences for the outcome of this. What if we hadn’t let Doc out of the shelter?’ Charlotte pointed out.

‘I see what you mean, and I agree with you. You shouldn’t have been left out of the loop,’ Bella agreed.

‘But don’t you think two days is long enough to punish them?’ she added.

‘We were waiting for you to wake up. The last part of their penance is for them to ask for your forgiveness for making poor decisions that could have led to you not surviving,’ Mickey told her.

‘They don’t need to do that,” Bella objected.

‘Yes, they do,’ Charlotte insisted.

‘Okay, I’m not going to get involved in how you choose to handle this. Just don’t let it get out of hand. They are your mates, and you love them,’ Bella reminded them.

‘Yes, luna,’ both of them said.

‘I have missed you, Bee,’ Mickey told her.

‘Why can’t we come visit you? Your father wasn’t clear on that point. Are you still too injured?’ Charlotte asked.

‘No. But Gray is exhausted. He needs to sleep, and we need some time to reconnect so we avoid Gray killing someone that comes too close to me when they let me out,’ Bella explained.

‘Good idea, he has been testy. But we all understood why,’ Mickey told her.

‘He threw me out of your room earlier because I insisted he needed to get some sleep,’ Charlotte said.

‘Thank you for being understanding and trying to take care of him,’ Bella said.

‘Well, he is my brother,’ Charlotte said.

‘Get some rest, Bee, and tell us when we can come by,’ Mickey said.

‘I will,’ Bella said and then she went back to listening to Graham’s relaxed breathing.

Two hours later, Bella felt Graham stir, and she looked up at him.

“Afternoon,” she smiled.

“Hey,” he smiled back at her.

“How long was I out?” he asked.

“Almost four hours. Dad stopped by and I asked him to tell the others that I was awake but to give us some alone time,” she told him.

“And they listened?” he asked, surprised.

“It’s hard arguing with an injured, pregnant luna,” she laughed.

“How are you feeling?” he asked. Bella felt his hand gently stroking her arm. Even as he slept. He hadn’t touched her back.

“I’m fine, Gray. No pain. The dressing feels strange on the back, but I’m good,” she said.

“What have I missed?” she then asked.

“Let me see, Bastian, Logan and dad have taken care of most things. They have reported back to me, but I haven’t really been paying attention,” he started.

“That’s understandable,” Bella said, stretching to give him a kiss.

“I thought you would lecture me on being responsible,” he said, surprised.

“Gray, sometimes even alphas get to think about other things than the pack. When their mates are injured, is one of those times,” Bella said. Graham grunted in agreement.

“Okay, let me see. The alpha council have started investigating who Devon was, where he came from. We need to find out if there is a reason he acted this way. And since he can’t answer questions, we will have to find the answers ourselves,” he told her. She nodded.

“You killed him,” she said. It wasn’t a question.

“I did,” he said in a dark voice.

“I’m sorry you had to do that,” she said.

“I would do it again if it would keep you safe,” he told her.

“I know. I just hope you don’t have to.”

“Then there are the funerals. We have put them off, as I didn’t want to leave your side,” he said.

Bella felt a pang of guilt as she thought about the warriors that had died in the cells. She knew that at least five of them had sacrificed themselves to keep her safe.

“Don’t do that,” Graham said.

“What?”

“Don’t feel guilty. They did what they were trained to do. We will honour their sacrifice,” he told her, kissing the top of her head. She nodded.

“Cooper had a mate and two pups,” Bella said. The question was unspoken.

“She is heartbroken, but it looks like she will pull through. Your dad was there yesterday and talked to her,” Graham told her.

“Good,” Bella said.

“Besides Delilah, the rogues also killed Roy,” Graham continued.

“No great loss,” Bella sighed.

“No, it spared us the work,” Graham agreed.

“Sam and Alice have called about ten times a day, asking for updates on you and the beans. You should call them when you get the chance,” he smiled.

“That’s sweet of them,” Bella said.

“I think that’s it,” Graham pondered.

“How’s the pack?” she asked.

“Frazzled. Our family has been berated by questions about you and the pups. There is an entire room dedicated in the hospital to the flowers and gifts that people have brought for the three of you,” he told her.

Bella couldn’t help but get teary-eyed at that.

“Don’t cry, Ellie,” Graham pleaded.

“Sorry,” she sniffled as she smiled. He kissed her for a long time to get her mind on other things. It was as efficient as ever.

“Can you tell me what happened in the cells?” he then asked her. “You don’t have to, if you don’t feel up to it. Betty has told us what she knows,” he quickly added.

Bella took a deep breath and told him everything. It was both hard to talk about it and a relief. Graham listened without interrupting, even though Bella felt him tense up when she told him about the chase and the confrontation.

“You did good. I’m proud of you, Ellie,” he said as she finished.

“Proud of what? I couldn’t even defend myself and our pups, Gray,” she objected.

“Sweetheart, you out-sprinted an alpha wolf, and you survived when he was determined to kill you. No one can expect you to fight off an alpha like him. Even I had a hard time killing him,” he admitted.

“I just wish I could have done more,” she said.

“Ellie, let’s face it. If you would learn to fight like an alpha, there would be no need for me in this pack. You are the most competent wolf I have ever known. Please leave something for me to excel at,” he sighed.

“Fine, you can be the bad ass fighter,” she smiled.

“Thank you,” he said. He lifted her chin so he could kiss her again. Bella enjoyed his newfound obsession with kissing her.

“Gray, do you have a phone I can use?” she asked when both had gotten their breathing under control again.

“Yeah, I have my cell. Do you want to call Alice?” he asked. She nodded.

“Then I think we should invite our family over. We need to fix things with the beta and gamma couple,” she said. He sighed.

“Sometimes I wish I could just keep you all to myself,” he said.

“That would be nice for a couple of days, but you would get sick of me pretty soon,” she smiled.

“Never,” he said, kissing her and handing her his phone.