Alpha Alec's Redemption - Chapter 128: Chapter 128

Sadie
I slowly opened my eyes, my head pounding. The first thing I noticed was the ceiling and then the smell of antiseptic. Immediately, I knew that I was in the hospital.
Honestly, hospitals should really do something about their ceilings. I mean, come on; it’s usually the first thing a patient notices when they open their eyes. Shouldn’t they at least try and make them pretty or something like that? It would make more sense. Maybe I should do that in my pack when I get back.
I move to sit up, but something stops me. Rather, someone stops me. I move my head to the side to find Alec asleep on the chair next to my bed, his hands firmly clutching mine.
What was he doing here? And what time is it? How long has he been here?
This is the first time I’ve seen him like this. He looks so handsome and so peaceful it’s almost painful to watch. His usual scowl is not there; instead, his features are smoothed over, making him look more approachable.
His black hair fell over one eyebrow, and I was so tempted to push it away from his eyes. So tempted to touch him. His touch burned where he held my mind, and the bond was sizzling just beneath the surface.
There was this need that suddenly consumed me. It made me want to abandon all my senses.
Right now he looked perfect, and I desired nothing more than to kiss his lips. He pulled me, drew me in and captivated me. The bond whispered forbidden things into my mind, making it hard to hold on to my control.
I knew the full moon was close. I wanted to blame everything I was currently feeling on it, but what if I was wrong? What if this is not just about the bond pushing for us to be together? What if, beneath the resentment I had towards him, the love I felt for him before was still there? Beaten, bruised and buried under a lot of rubble but still pulsing nonetheless.
The questions were driving me insane that I even forgot why I was in the hospital in the first place. I forgot what I had learned and why I ended up here.
I won’t lie. I admit that I have sensed a certain shift in Alec, but how can I trust it after all that has happened between us? How can I trust him when he has hurt me so much? What’s to stop him from destroying me if or when Lola comes back?
The questions were endless, and I didn’t have answers to any of them. Not yet anyway.
Instead of focusing on the uncertainty, I decided that my best option would be to wake him up.
“Alec,” I called slowly.
He doesn’t wake up, so I do it again, but this time, I give him a little shake.
He wakes up with a start. His eyes scanned the room with a bit of confusion and caution. He looks so cute and so innocent. He kind of reminds me of his younger self. Before he hit adolescence and began to change.
His confusion clears as his eyes focus on me. “You are awake… Do you need anything? Food, water…”
I continued staring at his eyes. I am the one who is now confused. Something about them seemed different from the last time I saw him, which was before I lost consciousness.
They were clearer, as if he had some clarity, but there was something else too. Something foreign. Something I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
I stay quiet. My mind was working as I tried to figure out what was so different about him. I am sure it’s only been a couple of hours since I lost control and blew up. How can he have changed?
“Sadie?” he calls me, pulling me out of my thoughts.
I couldn’t figure it out, so I pushed it to the back of my mind. There wasn’t any need for me to obsess over it when I had more important things to think about.
“Yes?”
“I asked if you needed something.”
I move my eyes from his to our joined hand. I’d expected him to let go of my hand the moment I woke up, but he hasn’t. How bizarre is that?
He notices me looking at our hands, but he still doesn’t let go. Now that’s even more bizarre. Did I lose consciousness and wake up in an alternate universe because what the hell was happening?
You know what’s even weirder? The fact that I didn’t pull my hand from his.
“Just water. I’m parched. I leaned back against the pillow and answered.
He finally let go of my hand, stood up and walked to a small table opposite my bed. He poured me a glass of water and handed it to me.
“How long have I been out?” I asked after downing the whole glass.
“Three hours, give or take.”
“Is everything okay?” I muttered. “I hope I didn’t do too much damage and that no one got hurt.”
“Don’t worry about that. Apart from the trees, no one got hurt,” he teased. I had to blink twice to make sure that I wasn’t dreaming and that Alec, of all people, was teasing me.
I nodded robotically, my mind still having a hard time catching up. Silence descended on the room while I started fidgeting in response to his intense stare.
His eyes searched mine. I’m not sure what exactly he was looking for or if he even found it.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
He takes the glass from my hands and then places it on the bedside table. He then leans in closer.
“I’ve been thinking,” he starts, his voice a little lower than I am used to. It was almost like he wasn’t sure of what he was about to do or say.
For a moment, I get panicked, my mind in knots as I wonder what he’s about to unleash on me. The last time he was in deep thought, he revealed there was a connection between the woman making hybrids and Nyx’s twin sister. That revelation didn’t end well.
I stayed quiet and allowed him to finish what he was going to say.
He takes a deep breath. “I’ve been thinking that maybe you should go back to your pack.”
I’m caught off-guard. My eyes widened as I stared at him in disbelief.
“I think I heard you wrong.”
He sighs, his features contorting in fatigue. “You didn’t… I want you to go back. We can find another solution to things with Kaden, but you have to leave.”
“Are you out of your mind!” I quickly sat up on the bed seething.
“For the first time in a long time, I’m actually thinking clearly.”
“No. I’m not going to go back.”
“You are, Sadie.”
“I’m NOT,” I fumed. “You don’t get to tell me what to do or make decisions for me. You want me to go back. What about your pack? The prophecy clearly said that I am the one to undo the curse, so why the hell would you want me to leave?”
He remains silent for a while and that just pisses me off even more. What the hell is he thinking?
“You should leave. Raven can stay. She can help us, but you don’t have to be here. You shouldn’t be here.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!”
“Please, Sadie.”
“No!” this time I yelled the words. “I am not leaving. Not until we have dealt with Kaden. Not until I have helped this pack.”
“You can’t stay,” he growls, his voice deeper than before.
I could tell he was getting pissed off by my stubbornness, but I didn’t give a fuck. He asked for help, and I wasn’t leaving here until I’d done what I promised I would.
“We are going round and round in circles. The fact remains, I am not leaving.”
“Yes, you are.”
“I am not.”
“Sadie, I swear to the goddess…” he snapped, fire and anger burning behind those green eyes.
“What will you do?” I mock. “You won’t do anything. You can’t do anything. And short of drugging me and taking me back, which I’ll hate you for, by the way. I am staying.”
He was seething. If this were a cartoon, fumes would be coming out of his ears right now. “Why can’t you just do what you are told?”
“Because I am not a fucking dog,” I retorted. “And besides, why would you want me to leave when you clearly need my help?”
He stays quiet.
“Why don’t you want me to stay, Alec?” I pushed, hoping he would answer, but he didn’t.
He still remains quiet. His eyes avoided mine.
He is a stubborn alpha male, so I know this approach wouldn’t work with him. Instead, I switched tactics.
“I swear I won’t talk to you ever again if you don’t answer me.” childish, yes, but it was going to get me what I wanted, especially after I saw a shift in his eyes.
His shoulders dropped. Sadness and worry filled his eyes. It was almost as if he was in physical pain.
“Because it looks like there will be a war and I don’t want to lose you.” His voice is rugged with a bit of vulnerability in it. “I don’t want to lose you, Sadie. Not when I just found you.”