Betrayed Heiress: My Second Chance Mate is A Lycan King

Aira’s POV

The beeping of the heart monitor is the only indicator that I am still alive.

Alex Hands has been holding mine for days, not even hours. Days. At this point, it is safe to say that my hands are aching.

Ever since I opened my eyes to find him crying above me and begging me to come back, he wouldn’t leave my side. He has been holding my hand as though if he were to ever let go, I would disappear.

There were a couple of times I tried to free myself from his grasp, but his grip on my hand only tightened. He is sitting on the chair beside my bed with his head and arm on the edge of my bed. I think he is asleep. But even when I tried to move or adjust myself, he would hold onto me like a scared child, afraid to let go of his mother’s hand.

After much effort, I give up and decide to let him hold onto me until he is ready to let go. I doubt that will be anytime soon. But he was super helpful, if I am to admit it. I had a bit of trouble moving at all. You know, considering I have seven stab wounds all over my torso.

Alex would often send the guards to go get us some food, and even before I ate, Alex would test it out first for any poison or something. He became so paranoid it was crazy. He would spring into action at the slightest unsuspecting sound, and it bothered me. He has not gotten much sleep for the past week we have been here.

I keep telling him not to worry, especially with the fact that he had more than half of our security watching every inch and corner of this hospital. But he still wouldn’t listen to me.

He would often carry me to the bathroom whenever I needed to use it, and I couldn’t deny that, at some point, it became so embarrassing. Even in the middle of the night, when he would finally be shutting his eyes to get a few minutes of sleep, I would need to use it and have to wake him up.

It was pathetic.

But somehow, he didn’t seem to mind.

I have to say that Alex has changed a lot from the first day I met him. He is no longer that angry, arrogant, disrespectful asshole I was forced to kneel before all those months ago. Now he is one of the sweetest people I have ever met in my entire life. I am grateful for him.

If I had one reason for being scared of death, it was because I was scared of leaving him. Especially with Ana. I would be damned if I ever let that happen.

My eyes remain glued to the ceiling. Listening to the gentle beeping of the heart monitor as it cuts through the silence. If that sound is to ever seize, then so am I. I wonder what would happen then. Where would I go?

My mind replays the scene of Ana holding the dagger just above my chest. That brief moment where our eyes locked, that moment where I thought she wouldn’t do it, that moment I thought she would realize the gravity of what she was about to do to the girl that has been by her side all her life would dawn on her.

But instead, I saw nothing but joy and relief because she would finally be getting rid of me.

I should have known after she left me alone in the woods with those men that night that she had always wanted me gone. Jace never threatened her. She always wanted me dead.

And she nearly succeeded. Again.

But this time, it was my fault. She used my love and kindness toward her against me. She used the hope that I had that some day we would be the sisters I have always dreamed of being.

Never again.

All those dreams and hopes I had for Ana’s redemption are gone. I have tolerated her cruelty all through our childhood, just for the sake of our parents. But now I don’t have to anymore. There is no saving Ana. She needs to be stopped.

For good.

The door to my room opens, and Alex’s head snaps in its direction. He is in defense mode, and my heart shatters at the sight of how disheveled he looks. I can’t even begin to imagine what he must have gone through after seeing me like that with various stab wounds and unconscious on the floor.

He has always felt incompetent for being unable to protect me when I was in danger. It is no wonder he has been unable to let go of my hand. I feel quite bad for Ana; once she knows that I am alive, I am certain that she will come for me.

And unlike last time, she won’t succeed.

Because now the monster in Alex is out, and he is not happy.

He snarls at our visitor, and the doctor raises his hands in surrender. “I come in peace; I just came to check her vitals.”

I nod for him to come forward, but Alex doesn’t take his eyes off the poor doctor. I can tell that the poor man felt incredibly uncomfortable beneath the possibly paranoid alpha’s gaze, but he did what he had to nonetheless.

After writing the last bit of detail on his checkboard, he nods in approval. “I am impressed, Aira. You have been recovering a lot faster than we anticipated.”

“Is that a good thing?” I ask him.

“Of course it is a good thing, especially since it means you can go home now,” he says, and I smile at him in appreciation.

“Wait, isn’t that a bit too soon? She can’t even walk,” Alex says, and the doctor slowly raises a brow.

“She can’t walk, or you won’t let her walk?” The doctor asks him, and Alex responds with a venomous growl. The poor man quickly adds, “I am just saying that she should at least try to.” He turns to me and nods for me to go ahead.

I take a deep breath and rise slowly from my bed. My feet met the cold tiled floor for the first time in a week. It feels strange. When I am finally on my own two feet, my legs wobble a bit. Alex appears by my side in a flash, as though he was ready to catch me if I fall.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

How poetic.

I take a few steps, groaning at the slight pain in my chest. But the more I begin to walk, the easier it becomes.

It’s a miracle.

Spinning on my heel, I meet Alex and the doctor’s eyes with a wide smile.

“But I don’t understand; it is almost as though nothing happened,” I say, and the doctor nods in agreement.

“It is a miracle indeed, and I must tell you that you are really special. I know patients that would have taken months to recover from the same injuries you have sustained,” he pauses. “You are lucky.”

I suppose I am.

I just hope my luck doesn’t run out when I need it the most.

Even after seeing that I can walk, Alex still scoops me into his arms and takes me out of the hospital. He gives the order to our men to scout out the route we would use to return home. He also makes sure to tighten security back home before we finally hit the road.

“Ready to go?” he asks, and I nod. He takes me out of the hospital in his arms, and as we step out, I am in awe at the line of men leading up to our car. They all bow their heads in submission as Alex and I walk past them. He places me in the car and steps in with me. The driver fires up the engine, and we are escorted by a convoy back to the mansion.

The speed at which they took the roads nearly gave me a heart attack. But on the bright side, we arrived in just a matter of minutes. Alex opened the door, and just when he was about to pick me up, I placed my hand in front of him to stop him.

“I can walk, you know?” I say, and he meets my eyes. The way his lips lift into a dashing grin makes my heart flutter.

“I know.”

Then he proceeds to pick me up and carry me into the mansion. He makes his way up to his room and places me on the bed. He clasps his hands together and asks, “Do you want anything?”

“Yeah. A very nice long bath,” I say, and he nods.

“I will go get the bath ready,” he says before making his way into the bathroom. Once he disappears through the door, I use the opportunity to get back on my feet. I take off the hospital gown I have been wearing for the past week, and my eyes catch my reflection in Alex’s mirror.

I almost burst out in tears.

Yes, it is true that I was miraculously healed, but there are scars littering almost every inch of my torso. My fists clench with rage.

You did this to me, Ana.

“Alright, the bath is…” Alex pauses as he steps out of the bathroom; his eyes fall on the scars on my torso. “Ready.” He finishes.

I tear my gaze away from his, embarrassment creeping into my heart. I try to shield some of my scars, but he moves my hands away.

“Don’t,” he whispers, placing a gentle hand on my cheek.

“I look terrible,” I whisper, still not able to meet his gaze.

“You look beautiful,” he says, and our eyes lock. He places a swift kiss on my lips before crouching down a bit. He places a kiss on the scar on my chest and every other scar on my torso. “Even with these.”

Tears well up in my eyes, and I kiss him once more. This time, the kiss is more passionate and a bit more reckless. He hurriedly took off his clothes and carried me into the bathroom. Our lips never leave each other as we make sweet love in the bathroom.

He kissed, sucked, and pleasured every inch of my body. All while whispering sweet nothings into my ears. It was by far one of the best moments I have ever had with him.

Or anyone, for that matter.

When we finally get out of the shower, he helps me into a warm set of pajamas, and I lay back down on the bed. As he wears his clothes, I pick up the phone from the dresser.

“I need to call in work,” I tell Alex, and he nods in agreement.

I can’t believe I haven’t thought about this ever since. I mean, I just disappeared without a trace. I need to explain what is going on, and I will probably be absent for a while. I dial Aurora’s number, and she picks up on the second ring.

“Hey, Aurora. I am so sorry I have been absent lately; I had a bit of an accident,” I say. What she says next has my eyelids twitching.

“What do you mean? You just left the office about ten minutes ago.”