Chapter 54
**Adam’s POV**
As soon as Roman shut his eyes, he drifted into a deep slumber and like I promised I stayed by his side all night. At one point I was able to rest my head on the side of his bed, cautious of his many tubes and wires and eventually a dreamless sleep claimed me too.
I feel fingers running through my hair, slowly pulling me into consciousness. I lift my head and rub the sleep from my eyes, looking up to see my little mate staring down at me with a soft smile. Even with dark circles around under his golden brown orbs and his hollow cheeks I can see the life returning to his face. “Roman”
“Good morning Angel, I’ve missed waking up with you. I have to keep telling myself it’s real” his smile doesn’t quite meet his eyes, but I can see he is much more lucid, especially compared to yesterday when he was chanting to himself that none of this was real.
Lifting up from the uncomfortable hospital chair, I straighten my stiff back out before going to lean back over his small frame. I reach one hand up to cup his cheek, rubbing my thumb over his freckles but careful to avoid the stitched up cut reaching from above his left eyebrow to his mid cheek. Lowering my lips to his, after weeks I claim them in a long overdue but gentle kiss. “Does this make it feel more real?”
“Mhmm” He nods, a slight blush blooming across his cheeks as his gaze takes in every detail of my face and I do the same to him. I too am in disbelief that I have my Roman home. We just admire each other in silence for a few moments before his eyebrows shoot up with a gasp. “Greta and Qiang, are they alive?! What about Samira? Did I kill her?”
“Greta and Qiang are alive, I haven’t had a chance to check on them yet but Ezra said they will be okay. I have no idea where Samira is, was that the woman lying beside you in the storm cellar?”
“Storm cellar?, I knew we were underground, and yeah I remember strangling her but everything after that is hazy” Roman says, his voice going quiet at the end as he tries to sift through his memories. Whatever Lillian gave him is definitely helping to clear his mind but some things are likely to remain hidden by the trauma. Sitting back down I wrap my fingers around his hand as he anxiously picks at the lifting edges of the medical tape holding the cannula in the back of his hand. “We will finder her, don’t hurt yourself trying to remember Ro”
“Okay, I’ll stop forcing it. But Adam I am so excited to tell Uncle Ji and Aunty Stelle that Qi is alive! I thought I was seeing a ghost when I first saw him at Dark Claw. He’s different now but he’s alive” I can see the excitement bubbling inside my little mate but I feel my body tense at the mention of our former Beta and his family.
Jiang has been compliant with handing us any information he has which was very little. He has also repeated everything he told Todd and his brother Clive. Most of it vague and meaningless, some things he divulged though quite literally helped them take and almost kill Roman, which would have destroyed his parents and I, which could have catastrophic consequences to Silver Eclipse.
Estelle just broke down when she was questioned, all we got from her was tears and blank stares. Estelle has been fragile ever since her son was first taken but now she is completely inconsolable. Jiang has stayed by her side since trying to help her and both have shown no sign of being a physical threat so both are allowed to stay at the Beta house with two warriors guarding every exit while we try to decide what their punishments will be. I personally would like to see them dead, banished, or rotting in a disgusting prison cell, but they have been family to Alpha Romeo for a very long time, and the reason motivating them was just to protect their son so they have been given this mercy for now. “Adam, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing my love, you should try to rest a bit more, your wolf is still quite weak” I try to brush away my thoughts of the treasonous bastard knowing it would break my mate's heart knowing of his aunt and uncle’s betrayal. I wasn't entirely lying though, he is still very weak, trying to hide the subtle wince and his everytime he adjusts or moves his body. Lillian’s elixir may have helped with the foxglove brew to purge his body of the poison but the doctors said he is still working a large amount of wolfsbane from his system while trying to simultaneously heal his plethora of injuries.
“Adam Michael Rivers, what are you hiding from me? If you don’t tell me I will pull my battered body from this hospital bed and ask my father” his stern tone and gaze tugs a small smirk to the corner of my mouth. I have so missed his sassiness and the way he would puff out his chest and straighten his spine to look bigger in hopes of being taken more seriously. I also missed hearing my name on his lips, even when he would use my middle name when I’m being chastised. The smirk is quickly wiped from my expression though when he starts trying to pull at the monitors he has stuck to his chest. “Ro wait! You aren’t seriously going to try and leave this bed will you?”
“Watch me Rivers. Now speak or I’m getting up”
“Okay I’ll tell you but you won’t like what I have to say Roma-” I’m cut off by the door to the room swinging open to reveal the Alpha and Luna. I silently thank the Goddess for having something to distract him for a while before I break his heart. “Ma! Pa!”
“Roman! How are you feeling?” I can see the caution in Luna Anne’s voice since yesterday when she saw her son he was like a completely different person. Roman however just gives his parents a smile and holds his arms out for a hug which both of his parents rush to give.