Stay With Me!

ALEXIS’S POV

“Alexis!” Dyson’s voice filled with panic as he reached me first. He dropped to his knees beside me, his face had gone pale with fear and for the first time in months, I saw real terror in his eyes. “Oh my God… Alexis! Stay with me. What happened?!”

He tried to lift me, but his hands were shaking as they touched my blood-soaked body. “Breathe, baby. Just breathe. I’m here. I’m right here.”

Tears rolled down my cheeks. In that moment, despite everything, I still felt an ounce of hope in my heart, he came for me, he finally chose me. He still cared about me. I weakly reached out and grabbed onto his shirt with my bloody fingers.

“Dyson…” I whispered hoarsely. “The baby… please… help our baby…”

His pupils widened with fear as he looked at the blood. For one beautiful second, I believed he would stay. That the mate bond wouldn’t win this time.

Then a loud scream ran through the mansion.

“Ahhhhh! My hand! The baby!”

Mandy stood near the kitchen entrance with a kitchen knife in her trembling hand and a fresh cut across her palm. Blood dripped dramatically onto the floor as she screamed louder, twisting her face in fake agony.

“Dyson! The baby! I think something’s wrong with the baby!”

The mate bond hit him instantly and I watched in horror as Dyson’s expression changed from fear for me to pure panic for her. His head turned toward Mandy, and he was already moving away from me.

“Mandy!” he shouted in a terror filled voice.

Helena rushed down the stairs quickly. “Mandy! Oh my goddess, the baby! Dyson, get her to the hospital now! We can’t lose this child!”

Clarissa, Denise, and Olivia surrounded Mandy immediately, fussing over her like she was the only one bleeding. Not one of them looked back at me.

Dyson hesitated for a second, his eyes darted between me and Mandy. I tried reaching out to him again, with my shaky hand. “Dyson… please… don’t leave me…”

But the bond was stronger. He stood up, gently lifting Mandy into his arms as if she were made of glass.

“I’ll come back for you immediately, Alexis. I promise. Just hold on!” he called over his shoulder as he rushed toward the door with Mandy in his arms.

Helena and the sisters followed right behind him without sparing me a single glance. The heavy front door slammed shut, and the mansion fell into silence.

I was alone…completely alone.

“No…” I whimpered, fresh tears fell from my eyes, mixing with the blood on my face. “Please… don’t leave me here…”

The pain in my abdomen intensified, it felt like I was being stabbed from the inside and I could feel my baby’s life fading. With every ounce of strength I had left, I dragged my injured body across the floor. My fingers moved aped against the marble as I crawled toward the door, leaving a trail of blood behind me.

Every inch I took forward felt like hell, my sight kept blurring out and my arms shook violently. But I kept moving. I had to. For my baby. For myself.

I finally reached the front door and used the frame to pull myself up. My legs barely worked anymore, I stumbled outside into the cool evening air, gasping desperately. The driveway seemed endless, but I dragged myself forward, one painful step at a time.

I made it to the roadside before my body gave up completely.

My knees went down the hill and I collapsed onto the hard ground, blood kept flowing from between my legs, everything around me was spinning and I found it hard to breathe. 

This is it, I thought. This is how I die…all alone.

Through my fading consciousness, I heard the sound of a car approaching, the tires screeched to a stop right in front of me. A black Rolls Royce.

A tall man stepped out quickly, but I could barely make out his features — dark hair, broad shoulders, brown eyes. He rushed toward me and was in shock at the sight of all the blood. 

“Hey! Stay with me!” I heard him say through the fog clouding my head “Don’t close your eyes. I’ve got you.”

I felt strong arms carefully lifting me from the ground, and for the first time in what felt like forever, someone was holding me with urgency and care.

But it was too late, the darkness was winning and my eyes closed shut as everything faded to black.