ELLIE

        “Alpha. Welcome back,” I just about managed to open my eyes and I was greeted with a face I hadn’t seen before.

        I could barely make out the smile on her face but she seemed nice enough as she moved around me, making me more comfortable and removing whatever equipment had been previously attached to me.

        “I am Doctor Lira Parker and I have been monitoring you for the last twenty-four hours. You are going to make a full recovery but you need to take at least two months before you return to your Alpha duties fully,” Lira continued to speak as I allowed my eyes to properly adjust to the light.

        I noticed that Jayson was sitting in the chair beside me while Blake was nowhere to be seen. To say I was confused would be an understatement since he was supposed to be in the cells and it should be Blake who was beside me.

        I then looked down at my stomach and saw that there was nothing there. It was now flat and that was when I felt both the panic and the fear rising within me.

        “The twins? Where are the twins?” I asked.

        “They’re fine El. Blake took them home this morning. Luca is with them and Jackson is preparing the fighters for the rogues,” Jayson said without looking up from the magazine he was reading.

        “And you’re here, why?” I replied in confusion. Any moment now I was going to be told that I needed to calm down and that I couldn’t get myself stressed out but I didn’t really care right now.

        I never gave permission for him to be released and, whether he helped me or not, he was the reason Jackson was having to assemble the fighters in the first place. Without his pathetic behaviour, we wouldn’t now be about to face losses which we wouldn’t be able to cope with and would only turn people against me even more.

        I didn’t need that kind of stress. I just wanted things to be the way they were before Jayson decided he was going to come back – I wanted the life I had planned rather than the one where I wasn’t able to do anything because I was stuck in a hospital bed and then I was going to be stuck behind a desk after that.

        “Turns out James had a son he didn’t tell anyone about and he wants you dead. He’s got people in the pack with the job of killing you, hence the reason I am here, and he’s also got people who are after the twins, hence the reason Luca is with them,” Jayson said.

        “The twins? Why does he want to kill the twins?” I was now full of fear. My children had done nothing wrong and the fact someone wants them dead makes me want to cry.

        It’s my job to keep them safe and to protect them from everything but I can’t even do that right now. I was useless as a mother and I was even more useless as the Alpha. There was no one I could actually protect and I was having to rely on other people to be able to do it for me instead.

        That hurt. The only people who will understand how much it hurts are those who have children of their own and have made it their job to keep their offspring safe until they are old enough to protect themselves from the world.

        “They want Blake to suffer because they think he got it far too easy. They think his life has always been a walk in the park and now it’s time to take something back from him and, for this psycho at least, that means killing both you and the twins,” Jayson replied and he finally looked up from the magazine to where I was staring at him.

        “I will personally kill anyone who touches those two. That’s a promise I will fulfil and anyone who dares to challenge me will feel the wrath of a mother,” I gritted out.

        “Alpha, I really need you to calm down,” Lira finally said as she handed me two different tablets and a glass of water. “You will need to take both of these for the next two weeks. It will help with the internal healing as well as the external pain.”

        “Calm down? You want me to freakin’ calm down after finding out some bastard wants to kill my children?” I shouted at her and I was about to hit the poor woman when I felt Jayson’s hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him, seeing him shaking his head as his way of telling me that I needed to calm down.

        “You are only going to make yourself worse El. Trust that we won’t let anything happen to you and or the twins,” he spoke calmly and I wanted to believe him but if this kid wanted to kill me then he was going to kill me and, without me around, Blake was screwed which meant he would have easy access to the twins.

        He would be able to do whatever he wanted to them because I would be dead and that would mean Blake was as good as dead too. He wouldn’t be able to do anything, no matter how much he loved the twins and wanted to keep them safe from the monster who was after my family.

        I had no option but to put my life in the hands of Jayson, Jackson and Luca. I had to trust that they would be able keep all of us safe and that they would fight to make sure nothing happened to any of us. I had always thought I would be able to defend myself and that I would be able to keep the people closest to me out of harm’s way but that wasn’t going to help me here.

        I had never felt more defenceless than I felt right now. There was nothing I could do and, as hard as I tried to convince myself otherwise, I knew it was the truth.

        “I need to go home,” I finally whispered.

        “You can. Tom—“

        “No. I need to leave now. I need to see the twins and I need to be with Blake,” I interrupted Lira before she could even tell me that I was going to have to spend the rest of the night here and that I was going to be able to go home in the morning. I wasn’t going to spend another night here, especially not after the threats which were becoming all the more apparent.

        “Alpha. Please. I ins—“

        “It doesn’t matter what you tell me. The moment you leave this room, I am just going to up and leave anyway,” I told her honestly.

        “I will take her home and I won’t be leaving her,” Jayson said quickly. He knew what I was like and he knew that I wasn’t going to stay here. It was only going to cause more problems if she tried to force me to stay here for another night.

        “As your Doctor, I would really prefer it if you remained here overnight,” Lira sighed as she picked up the charts at the end of my bed and looked over them.

        “Either you can let me go now or you can deal with the hassle me walking out is going to cause. It seems like an easy choice really,” I muttered as I pushed myself further up the bed, taking the medication I had been given by Lira and downing the water immediately afterwards.

        “Still as stubborn as I remember,” Jayson laughed and as much as I wanted to smile at him, to let him know that I was in the mood for someone to actually make me smile, I decided against it as I swung my legs out of the bed and pushed myself up. Ignoring the pain which was rising from the lower half of my body.

        I just wanted to get out of this place and I wanted to see the twins. I wanted to make sure for myself that they were safe and there wasn’t anything for me to worry about.

        It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Luca to be able to do his job, I knew he was more than capable of keeping Blake and the twins’ safe, but I wanted to be there with them too. Luca also had had his own family to protect and I would never forgive myself if something was to happen to them because he was with me.

        “I need you to sign this form,” Lira sighed as she handed me a piece of paper and a pen.

        “What’s it for?” Jayson asked.

        “It basically says that she releases herself from the care of the hospital and, should something happen to her as a result of the treatment she received in my care, then I won’t be held responsible for whatever should happen,” Lira said like she had had to do this a thousand times before now.

        “Yeah. Whatever. We’re leaving,” I signed the form and practically forced it back into Lira’s hand as I wrapped my arm around Jayson and walked out of the room with him holding me up.

        We had barely made it to the front door when I felt myself being lifted from the ground and I was about to punch Jayson, demanding that he put me down because I did know how to walk so I didn’t need him to treat me like a child, but then I saw the two women who were now surrounding the both of us.

        They looked like they were out for blood and I didn’t have a clue who the hell they were. But it would seem Jayson knew who they were and he knew they were a threat, hence the reason he picked me up and practically ran out of the building, he was only doing what Jackson had obviously told him to do.

        “Who were they?” I whispered once Jayson had slowed down and quickly checked to make sure we weren’t being followed.

        “The other two in the hospital who are working for James’ son,” he replied.

        “You know, I never wanted this, I was happy with the life of a rogue before you had your pack come and find me,” I muttered into his chest while holding back the tears.

        “You may have preferred the life of a rogue, El, but I also know that you wouldn’t go back and change anything either,” Jayson sighed in defeat. He was right though. As much as I hated my life right now I also loved my life at the same time.

        “Blake doesn’t deserve any of this. He’s not the one who killed James or Angelica. Hell, I’m the reason his brother is dead and the reason so many people had to move from their homes.”

        It was getting harder to hold back the tears as I thought about that for a moment. Blake, the one who had never left my side despite all the crap I had put him through, was being punished for the things I had done and that wasn’t fair.

        He shouldn’t be made to pay for the things I have done. He should have been allowed to get on with his life while this revenge was taken on me – though this was James’ son we were talking about here and I don’t think he knew the meaning of being fair. He just wanted to take what was his without actually getting his hands dirty which was the coward’s way out.

        “I know it’s hard but you need to trust the people around you. We will protect you at any cost and I need you to believe that’s true. For me,” Jayson begged and I looked up to see the concern in his eyes as he watched me from beneath his lashes. I was sure he could see all the thoughts which were going through my mind and he was wondering how one person could cope with everything I was coping with.

        But even I didn’t know how the hell I was coping with it. I just wanted to cry and give the hell up but I knew that I couldn’t. It didn’t matter how weak I was right now, I still had to keep fighting and I had to believe that there was something I could do to keep all the people around me safe.

        “Where are Luca’s family?” I asked.

        “They are at the pack house. Blake demanded that he bring Charlotte and the pups round so that Luca could protect them at the same time. Last I heard Elliot was watching Luca’s pups, Blake was with the twins and Luca had every single entrance to the house covered,” Jayson replied.

        “How are the twins?” I closed my eyes and simply allowed Jayson to continue carrying me. It was easier for him to carry me rather than having to stop so that he could pick me up again when another threat appeared.

        “You should be proud El. They are both gorgeous and Blake is already in love. He couldn’t put Maxwell down when we visited before he took them home and Nicole, great name by the way, is beautiful. I couldn’t put her down once I had her in my arms. They are both perfect,” I opened my eyes to see that he was smiling and that made me smile.

        I don’t know what it was but there was something about Jayson’s words which simply made me smile and reassured me that there was nothing for me to worry about. I was going to love Maxwell and Nicole no matter what because they were mine and they were Blake’s. I refused to let anyone take them from me.

        “Ellie,” I looked over to see Luca running towards me with a huge smile on my face at which point Jayson put me on the ground and I allowed Luca to embrace me in a hug which I welcomed as I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed him for all he was worth.

        “Miss me?” I chuckled when he finally pulled away.

        “Nah. It’s only been a day so there wasn’t enough time to miss you,” Luca shrugged as he pulled away and walked towards the house with me, opening the door and following me in there with Jayson behind the two of us.

        I looked over at the sofa, seeing Blake asleep with the twins in their baskets in front of him. Maxwell was asleep while Nicole was silently throwing her arms around kicking her feet beneath the blanket which Blake had obviously put over the top of her. Charlotte was asleep on the opposite sofa while Jamie was playing with Luca’s son and Elliot was shushing his daughter.

        Neither of them appeared to notice that I was there and I took that moment to walk over to Nicole, picking her up from the basket and holding her protectively against my chest, rubbing her back as she began making slight noises.

        Maxwell looked exactly like Blake and I couldn’t help but notice the fact Nicole looked like me. There was no mistaking who their parents were and I loved that, I loved that they looked like the both of us because it meant we could be proud knowing they were our children. We were the ones who had raised the both of them and we were the ones who shaped them into whatever it is they may become.

        “Hey baby. Mummy promises nothing will happen to you,” I found myself whispering to my daughter as I walked round the room with her in my arms.

        Holding her in my arms, I felt the love and protection a mother was always bound to feel when it came to their child. I knew what it was to be a mother in that moment and I knew everything it stood for – I knew everything my mother and Jayne must have felt for me as I grew up with them and if I could be half the mother Jayne was to me, then I would know I was doing something right.

        I may not remember my mother but I was sure this is what she felt for me and I know why she did all that she could to make sure I stayed alive. But I did remember Jayne and I was going to everything to the twins that she was to me; she was amazing and she was my world.

        If Nicole and Maxwell grew up thinking of me like that, then I would take that and I would never complain about anything to do with them again. They were my world and they were everything I needed – Blake and the twins completed me and I wouldn’t change that for anything, not even to have a second shot at my life.

- Who is your favourite character and which character have you hated? It can be from either this book or the first book, I am just curious about which characters you love and which you hate.