Chapter 58 — Recovery

Lucian was all right, and that's all that mattered. I flung my arms around him.

"I thought you would leave me," I said softly through my tears. "It would have killed me."

"No, I wasn't leaving you, Alice. I swear. I went there to protect you. Why would I leave you? I was in and out of consciousness, but I heard you. I heard everything you said." He caressed my hair.

"Promise me you will never go on an unplanned mission like that again, and you will never shut me out. I want to be connected with you all the time," I said.

"I promise," he said, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear.

"Now, do I get my kiss? " he grinned.

"No, I am still mad at you!" I retorted.

We sat quietly together while the healers examined Lucian. Once his wolf connected with him, his healing accelerated. Those ugly bruises and scratches disappeared like magic.

The pack was already aware of his recovery, and slowly, they were arriving to see him. The first ones were his Betas and Katherine. I stepped away to give them time to be with Lucian.

My wolf growled with jealousy when Savannah kneeled and kissed his feet. I usually ignored my wolf's natural reaction to any female in his vicinity. Lana didn't think like a human. But even my human side found her devotion odd.

Soon there were so many visitors that the doctors got fed up, and they banned everyone from visiting the infirmary.

"How long was I out?" Lucian asked as I stroked his head, which was lying in my lap.

"You've been asleep for a week."

"Damn! That long! I have to catch up on a lot of things," he grumbled.

"It's all over, dear. She is dead," I said, stroking his stubbled jaws.

Finally, Lucian was declared fit to leave.

As we walked out of the infirmary, the air was jubilant. I saw wolves running in and out of the woods surrounding the buildings. They were in full party mode.

The dining hall was a wild place. Everyone stood up when we walked in, hooting and howling.

"They're excited because the enemy has been destroyed, all because of you," I said to him proudly.

He laughed out loud and pulled my chair out for me. "They are excited because they are out of lockdown. Now they can safely run around."

"Although I disapprove of your method of going off alone, I am glad that everything is over," I said.

"Not exactly. I need to talk to Rick and Daniel and then determine if Regina is indeed dead,” Lucian answered.

I ran my fingers through my hair and sighed. The last thing I needed now was to have Lucian running off on another life-threatening mission. He had just come back from the dead, and I wasn't letting him go anywhere.

Leaning over, I captured Lucian's lips and spent several long seconds kissing him.

He appeared to like my idea and pulled me out of my chair and onto his lap. Wrapping my arms around his broad shoulders, I relaxed into his embrace. Our tongues entwined with each other for a long time before we broke apart.

"What the hell, man?" I heard from behind me.

Turning in Lucian's arms, I saw Rick, Linda, and Daniel approaching us. Rick looked displeased, and Daniel was grinning. Linda looked like she would have preferred to be anywhere else than here.

"Hello, all of you," Lucian smirked while I struggled to get out of his lap. He held me firmly.

"That's my brother! We can't do that in front of him, please," I warned him.

He let me go, laughing, and I sat back in my seat, blushing profusely.

"Great to see you all cured and back in action." Daniel laughed while taking the opposite seat.

Rick was still scowling.

"You look better, Lucian," Linda said, addressing him.

"I am good. Feeling much better," Lucian replied.

"Good that you both arrived. I wanted an update on the situation," Lucian added.

"It's over. We got them," Daniel said triumphantly.

Lucian raised an eyebrow.

"That jeep that you were trying to stop. It had Alpha Adam, Regina, and her accomplice, Maya. It crashed and burst into flames, killing Regina. Adam escaped, but I was able to overpower him. Daniel took care of the rogues. Fortunately, he arrived in time, and we were able to save you. Otherwise, I would have never forgiven myself," Rick said.

With every word, my anxiety increased. Lucian had gravely endangered his life.

"How do you know that the witch was Regina? Does anyone know what she looks like?" Lucian asked.

"Only Aunt Flora can recognize her, but the crash burnt her body beyond recognition. We found her ID and several bullets in the house when it was searched later. There haven't been any new rogue attacks or any reports of poisoned bullets since we took them down. So, I am assuming it's over. We are safe again," Rick answered.

Lucian was thoughtful for a few seconds.

"We still need to determine who else was involved other than Adam, but I agree the main threat is gone," Lucian added.

"That means I am allowed to go around by myself and do normal things without getting kidnapped?" I blurted out hopefully.

Everyone burst into laughter.

Lucian flung his arm around me. "You, my dear, are still being punished. Once I am done with you, then I will see if it's safe for you to go out by yourself."

I scowled. "Well, I do know one punishment you prefer. Maybe we can shift to that…" I stopped, realizing I had been blabbering in front of Rick.

Lucian had a mischievous smile on his face while Daniel laughed. And Rick…I had never seen him look so uncomfortable.

"Well, never mind," I said.

"Rick, as you are the Alpha of the River Moon Pack, maybe now you can take back some of their girls that we rescued. If they wish to go back."

"They are still with you?" he asked, surprised.

I explained how Adam considered them tainted and wouldn’t take them back.

"What a douche! Now that I own River Moon Pack, I have realized they are pretty puritan. But don't worry, I will reunite those girls with their families if they want to return. "

"But why was Adam having his girls kidnapped?" Daniel asked.

Rick's face tightened with anger.

"To appear innocent since all the packs were dealing with troublemakers. If his pack remained unscathed, it would have been suspicious. So, while he was collaborating with Regina and the rogues to get you, he was allowing rogues to take away some of his girls as payment and to appear innocent. I forced out this information from his top-level Betas," Rick replied grimly.

I gasped. "How terrible. That man had no morals!"

"Some Alphas do terrible things, Alice. We can only hope to redeem those things," Lucian said, stroking my arm.

It seemed like a weight had lifted from my heart now that Regina was put to rest. A huge threat was gone. I enjoyed watching my family laugh and chat around the table. Rick and Lucian seemed to have buried their past, and they were now best friends. We discussed further plans to clear up the remaining rogues and organize a mating ball for our packs. It had been a long time since a mating ball was held, which would help normalize things.

Later I was sitting with Lucian having a light lunch when Katherine arrived with a request.

"The pack is ecstatic about your recovery and the victory over those rogues. They would like to celebrate this evening," she said, smiling.

"Sounds like an excellent plan. What do you think, dear? Do you feel healthy enough for a pack run?" I asked.

Lucian raised an eyebrow.

"I am quite healthy. I can do a lot of things that we have been missing out on, mate." His eyes had a glint and a promise.

"I will take that as a yes." Katherine laughed and left our suite.

A thought suddenly struck me. "Lucian, last night before you came out of your coma, I felt like I was in your dream. Your wolf was sleeping, and my wolf roused him up."

"Yes, I remember that we were in each other's dream," he replied, holding my hand in his.

"Is that possible?"

"It doesn't matter, Alice. All I know was that I was lost in a void, and you pulled me back. You saved me, Alice," he smiled and brought my hands to his lips and kissed my knuckles.

A knock disturbed our reverie. "This better be important," Lucian grumbled.

It was Savannah. Jealousy poured through me again, and I felt silly.

"Alpha, sorry to disturb you, but these papers need your signature," she said, looking apologetic.

"Sure, Savannah. Let's move to my study," Lucian replied.

I leaned back on the couch and observed them from the open door. There was nothing suspicious, but I wondered what Savannah's deal was. Where was her mate?