The Alpha's forbidden omega mate - Chapter 86: Chapter 86

Catrina's POV:
My breath hitched, stuck in my throat as I watched Brock lunge.
The other man – so handsome, even with the worry creasing his brow – was fast, but Brock’s madness made him unpredictable.
Something inside me snapped.
I couldn’t just stand here, a helpless damsel in distress, not when my instincts screamed at me to protect… to protect him.
Without thinking, I leaped forward, throwing myself between the two men.
A scream caught in my throat, choked off as the sharp, searing pain exploded in my back.
The world tilted, the smell of blood filling my nostrils.
It was my blood, I realized, a terrifyingly warm wetness blooming against my skin.
“Catrina!” His voice, filled with panic, was like a lifeline in the chaos.
Strong arms caught me, holding me upright even as my legs threatened to give way.
I looked up at him, my vision swimming, pain a throbbing pulse in my back.
My wolf whined, sensing my distress but also recognizing its Alpha, finally, after weeks of confusion.
My Alpha. But why couldn't I remember?
Words wouldn’t come, only a strangled gasp.
Fear for him, for our pup, was a living thing inside me, more powerful than the pain.
Brock stumbled back, his face pale, the crazed glint in his eyes replaced by something like… horror? No, not horror. Regret.
As if he hadn't meant to actually hurt me, as if this wasn't part of his plan.
It was an absurd thought – a dangerous man with a knife doesn’t just “accidentally” stab someone. And yet…
"No, no, no," Brock stammered, his voice trembling.
"This wasn't supposed to happen."
The man holding me, his grip tight but gentle, turned his head, eyes blazing with a fury that made even my wolf cower.
"You did this," he growled, his voice a low rumble that vibrated through me. "You'll pay for this."
"I didn't mean to," Brock pleaded like a trapped animal.
“I just wanted Catrina to be with me, to love me like she used to."
Love. Such a weak word for the obsession that had twisted him, the sick possessiveness that painted everything he did.
This wasn't love, it was a disease, and it had almost just killed me.
"She was never yours," the man snarled, his voice tight with barely controlled rage.
"Catrina is my mate, and you’ll never keep her from me."
His eyes hardened, the knife held tighter, a last vestige of defiance. "Then I'll make sure she never leaves," he hissed, a cornered animal.
Before anyone could react, a wave of dizziness hit me, stealing what little strength I had left.
My vision swam, the edges fading to black.
“The Pup…” I whispered, the word a broken sigh against my lips.
My hand instinctively went to my belly, as if I could shield our baby from this madness.
Terror tightened the man's features, his eyes wide as he looked down at me.
"Go," he commanded Brock, his voice a whip crack.
"Get out of my sight. If anything happens to her, to our pup, I will find you. And I will kill you myself."
For a moment, Brock hesitated, his face a mask of indecision.
Then, without another word, he turned and fled, melting into the shadows as quickly as he'd appeared.
The man barely spared him a glance. His entire world, I realized with a rush of warmth, was focused on me.
"Catrina, stay with me," he pleaded, his voice rough with emotion.
He lowered me to the ground as gently as if I were made of spun glass, his hands pressing against the wound on my back.
The pressure hurt, but it was a steady, reassuring pain, nothing compared to the fear that threatened to consume me.
"The pup," I whispered again, my voice thin and reedy.
I reached for him, needing to touch, to anchor myself to his warmth. “Just save our pup.”
His face was etched with anguish, fear for me mirroring my own.
"No, Catrina, listen to me," he said fiercely, his eyes holding mine.
"You're both going to be okay. I’ll get you to a hospital, the doctors will take care of you. I promise.”
His words should have been reassuring, coming from the Alpha, from my… my… I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to grasp the memories that felt so close, so frustratingly out of reach.
Why couldn’t I remember?
“I… I don’t remember you,” I confessed, the words a tortured whisper.
But even as I said it, another part of me, the part that was all wolf, all instinct, recognized him.
“But… I feel safe with you.”
His eyes softened, shimmering with something that might have been tears.
He leaned down, pressing a kiss to my forehead that felt like a brand, marking me as his.
"I'm going to bring you home, Catrina," he murmured, his voice thick with emotion.
"I won't lose you. Not again."
Then he gathered me up in his arms.
I clung to him, drawing strength from his warmth, the steady beat of his heart against my cheek.
Despite the searing pain in my back, a strange sense of calm settled over me as I lay against him.
His warmth enveloped me, his scent – a heady mix of pine needles, leather, and something uniquely him – filled my senses.
We moved at a speed that would’ve been terrifying if I wasn’t so focused on the simple act of breathing, of clinging to consciousness.
Buildings blurred past in a dizzying rush, the night air whipping at my face.
“I’m scared,” I whispered, the words thin and shaky.
His arm tightened around me, a silent promise of protection.
He leaned down, his lips brushing against my temple.
“Don’t be afraid, Catrina,” he murmured, his voice a low rumble against my ear.
“I’ve got you. I won’t let go.”
His words, filled with a raw emotion that resonated deep within me, should’ve calmed the storm inside me.
But the fear, for myself and our pup, was tangled up with something else… a confusion that went beyond the shock of the attack.
"I don't understand," I breathed, my hand instinctively going to the swell of my belly as if to protect the life growing inside.
"I feel like I should know you… but I don’t.”
Sadness flickered in his eyes, a look that hurt my heart even though I didn’t understand it.
“It’s okay, Catrina,” he said, his voice softening.
"You don't have to remember right now. Just focus on staying with me. On keeping our pup safe."
Our pup.
The words washed over me, a balm on the fear. I clung to that thought, to the warmth of his body against mine, as the world outside faded to a dizzying blur.
I could feel his movements changing, becoming more frantic, his scent spiking with a desperation that mirrored my own.
"We're almost there," he said, his voice tight with urgency. “Hold on, Catrina. Just a little longer.”
The next few moments were a blur of bright lights, the squeak of wheels, and the hurried murmur of unfamiliar voices.
I was vaguely aware of being transferred onto a hard, uncomfortable surface, of hands probing at me, their touch clinical and cold compared to his.
His presence remained a constant, though. A steady, reassuring presence in the chaos.
"I'm right here, Catrina," he said, his voice cutting through the fog of pain and confusion.
"I'm not going anywhere."
And for a heartbeat, the fear disappeared, replaced by a fierce, primal joy. He was here.
With me. He’d come back. All those weeks of loneliness, of feeling him so close yet so distant, it all melted away.
He was real. And he was mine.
I wanted to tell him I understood, to tell him that I felt it too – this connection, this bond that went beyond memory.
But the words wouldn't come. My body, battered by the attack, was reaching its limit.
"Hold on, Catrina," I heard him say, his voice thick with emotion.
"Hold on for me. For our pup. I can't lose you. Not again."