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Chapter 29
Leila POV
Natalie watches me closely as I pull myself together and examine him with a doctor’s eye before excusing herself to find Cooper and get an update on what’s going on. As the new deputy town, she’s technically in charge now that Marcus is out of action. She’s going to need to get up to speed quickly.
Burns cover his body and his two broken legs are splinted to ensure that when the healing process starts, they will set in the correct position. It is the best they could do because of the extensive damage to his skin. His dark brown hair is wet from where they have tried to wash the soot and ash off him.
I drag over a chair and take his chart from the end of the bed, before flicking through the details of his admission and treatment so far. Burns, crush injuries, smoke inhalation. The list is endless, and I struggle not to bawl my eyes out as I read what has happened to him, to his body.
“You stupid bear. Who runs into a
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The Alpha's Inferno Chapter 30
Leila POVHe still hasn’t woken up. He hasn’t moved, and he hasn’t opened his eyes.Some of the burns that cover his body have healed, the raw red and angry skin now pink. The cuts and bruises that covered him are largely gone. X-rays have confirmed that his legs and broken ribs are knitting back together nicely. It has been slower than they’d expect for a shifter, but given the extent of his injuries and what his body has been through, it’s not surprising. Which makes it even more worrying that he hasn’t regained consciousness yet. He is breathing on his own now. They took him off the ventilator a couple of days ago and it was an immense relief to see that he didn’t need it.Each night, I sit in the chair beside his bed holding his hand, talking and reading to him. Trying to draw him out of this state. I hope that my presence offers him some comfort, even just that of a friend. Once the nurse’s shift change has ta
The Alpha's Inferno Chapter 31
Marcus POVBlack. All I can see is black. But I can feel something, static, or electricity, racing across my skin, tempting me to open my eyes. It’s soothing. It makes me want to push through this fog and swim out of the murky depths I feel surrounded by. But I can also feel him, my bear, trying to calm me and convince me to rest for just a little longer. There is something I need to do, need to see, but he’s never wrong, so I try to be patient. And I am tired, so tired. If waiting will make us better, that’s what we’ll do. Just for a bit longer.Leila POVMax drives out to the cabin to save Natalie from coming back to the hospital after her shift at the station. I know she’s frustrated about being kept out of the search for Toby, but someone has to stay in town and keep everyone safe here. We drive in companionable silence along the winding mountain road that leads away from Grey Ridge and up into the hills that Marcus calls home. He lives right on the edge of the pack territory as i
The Alpha's Inferno Chapter 32
Marcus POVWaking up feels like being lifted out of the fog that has been clouding my mind. My sluggish brain is starting to work again, and I can almost think clearly. My bear is telling me it’s time to get up, urging me to drag myself out of my deep sleep. That he has done what he needed to do. Details of what happened slowly trickle into my mind and I remember the fire. Pushing Sam out the window. Falling. Lying there, trapped, too weak to push the heavy beams off my broken body. And finally letting the darkness come, giving in to the inevitable. Or so I thought. Unless heaven smells like antiseptic and flowers, it clearly wasn’t my time just yet.I wriggle my fingers and toes first, making sure I have some movement. Then I clench my fists and roll my ankles. I lift one arm and then the other, repeating the process for each leg. It hurts like hell, but I can move. Whatever damage was done in the fall, it seems my bear was able to repair it.The room is small and functional with no
The Alpha's Inferno Chapter 33
Leila POVHayley corners me in the waiting room, and I need to hide my smile when she approaches. She looks as though she might throw up. I know exactly what’s coming.“Leila, I don’t know how to tell you this, but…” She wrings her hands together, then goes to reach for me, and pauses.“It’s ok, Hayley. He doesn’t want to see me, right?” I ask and her stunned expression tells me I’m spot on. She opens her mouth and closes it again, a deep frown across her forehead.“Wait, what? How?” she stutters out, confused.“I promise, I’m alright. He’s just tired. He needs to rest. I can wait.” And I really can. Stupid bear. I saw his face twitch when I looked at him through the window. He was awake and heard every word. The big, scary grizzly bear faked sleep to get out of talking to me. He’ll run into a burning building, but facing his feelings is too much.I should be offended or hurt. I should be a mess. Which is why Hayley is looking at me as if I have lost it. But I saw the corner of my bla
The Alpha's Inferno Chapter 34
Marcus POVFour enormous wolves approach as I tear up the long driveway towards Steel’s packhouse. I haven’t even attempted to be quiet or discreet. I am so impatient to get to her now that I am tempted to put my foot to the floor and just drive straight through the gate, but I have a feeling my presence is going to be unwelcome enough as it is without breaking and entering and damaging their property. Plus Leila seems to like it here, and I am trying to win her back after all. I should probably play nice.“Can we help you, sir?” A tall man, with dark hair, covered in tattoos, leans down to speak to me through the window as I roll to a stop. He’s unsmiling and unimpressed at the disturbance. It’s dark now, and they were probably expecting a quiet evening.“I need to see Alpha Steel, or Leila.” I try to appear relaxed, but the big guy immediately seems taken aback, like her name was the last thing he expected to hear. His friendly but stern demeanour takes on a more intense feeling as
The Alpha's Inferno Chapter 35
Hayley POVYou could hear a pin drop when I walk into Blake Steel’s office. He’s sitting behind his large desk, lounging back in his imposing black leather chair, looking relaxed and as if he’s thoroughly enjoying himself. Marcus, on the other hand, looks tense. More than tense, like he's about to explode. He’s sitting opposite Blake, hunched over, elbows resting on his knees, one of which is bouncing up and down at a frantic speed. There is a tumbler of amber liquid in the other hand and he’s holding it like it’s his lifeline. His grip is so tight, I’m worried the glass will shatter at any second.Max leans against the wall to one side of the room, arms crossed across his broad chest, dark hair back in a man bun. He doesn’t smile as I walk in, just watches, which lets me know he is firmly in the ‘not happy with Hayley right now’ camp. I didn't lie to him exactly, I just neglected to tell him the whole truth. I stop just inside the door and smooth out my cream dress, trying to calm m
The Alpha's Inferno Chapter 36
Marcus POVMy head is spinning. Not only is my mate not where I was expecting her to be, but Hayley has stashed her in the one place I can’t go. All I want is to find her and hold her, to tell her how much I want her, that I’ve never stopped thinking about her, and that I’ll make it up to her for the rest of our lives if she’ll let me. This must be some sort of twisted karma for being stupid enough to push her away in the first place.“Hayley,” Blake asks cautiously, “are you sure she’s safe there?”I’m not sure whether it’s me he’s trying not to upset, in case I lose my cool right here in his office, or Hayley, in case she clams up and refuses to tell us anymore.“Of course, she’s safe there. Dean isn’t the monster you all make him out to be,” she says, exasperated. Max sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose.“You don’t know that for certain,” he says quietly. “I know that stood up for you against Toby. But that doesn’t mean he’s not also capable of doing bad things. Living in a pa
The Alpha's Inferno Chapter 37
Marcus POV A wide river marks the boundary between the Grey Ridge pack and Reynold’s territory. It’s slow and meandering, the dark water reflecting silvery grey in the moonlight on this clear, bright night. When I crawl to a stop behind Rex and park my truck, a stony-faced Cooper is standing mid-way across the bridge, arms crossed over his muscular chest, eyes fixed firmly on his mate. Hayley walks up to him and stops a foot away directly in front of him, arms by her side, waiting. I hang back, wanting to give them some privacy for what I’m sure is going to be a tense discussion. Keeping secrets from your mate is not something an Alpha male is likely to accept, especially where his own family is concerned. Not to mention Hayley has been sneaking around, speaking to another Alpha and driving off his territory with no security. The night of the fire, it wasn’t Steel’s territory that she dashed off to for Leila. It was Reynolds. On her own. With a madman running around trying to intim
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