Chapter 46: The Attempted Rejection

Damien's POV

She is my mate? I thought, my eyes widened, but still wondering why the moon goddess would give me a human for a mate. How is this possible? I thought. If she is my true mate, I know I have to protect her as my luna and no longer as my surrogate.

"Francis, I want you to run a thorough check on her. And let me know everything you find," I made the request.

"Yes, Alpha," Dr Francis replied, and finished cleaning Ariana's back.

He applied some medicine to her back.

"This should help heal the wounds. She will have to apply this ointment for the next four days," Dr Francis said to me and placed the medicine on the table.

"Hmm," I replied, staring at Ariana. 

"About your request, is there something specific you want to find out about her?" Dr Francis asked, packing his stuff.

"I want to know if she is a wolfless she-wolf or if she is truly human," I replied, still staring at Ariana on the bed.

"In that case, there is something I need to tell you," Dr Francis began.

"Go on," I permitted, shifting my attention to him.

"She is human. A pure human, except for her heart," Dr Francis said.

"What do you mean?" I asked for clarification.

"Her heart is strange," Dr Francis said.

"How strange?" I asked, getting annoyed with how he was giving his information in bits.

"She has the heart of a werewolf," Dr Francis announced, and I frowned.

"How is that possible?" I asked.

"I checked her blood pressure and listened to her heart. That was when I discovered the abnormal heartbeat," Dr Francis reported. "When you brought her here the last time, when she had the accident. I seized the opportunity and did an electrocardiogram," he continued. "With her permission, I did a physical body examination to confirm my suspicion. She has a surgery scar on her chest," he reported. "An open heart surgery scar.

"You looked at her chest?" I questioned, holding him by the neck.

"Alpha, I sort her permission," Dr Francis replied in between breaths. "She also has traces of an alpha blood running through her," he added. "This explains how she was able to get pregnant. I am sure she had a heart problem as a baby. So the transplant was done. Except the donor was a baby werewolf," he said, and I let go of him.

I recalled my little sister, Kassie. She died a couple of minutes after birth. I remembered my mum telling me that my sister lives in someone else, because her heart was used to save a baby who lost her mum after she had given birth to her.

Could Ariana be the one? I thought, staring at her. 

"Get out," I said to Dr Francis, and he hurried out of the room after nodding to me.

I quickly retrieved my phone from my pocket and dialled a number.

"I tasked you to do something. Where are my results?" I asked, my voice unwelcoming.

"Apologies for the delay, Alpha. I just got the last confirmation. I am sending over everything I found on the mining site attack. It was no accident," the person replied.

"Good. I have another job for you," I said. "I need you to go to a particular hospital. I will send you the details. My kid sister's heart was donated to save another baby's life. I want you to find the baby who received the heart," I said on the phone. "You are going to Pearl City," I added.

"Yes, alpha," the person replied. 

"You have six hours to get me this information. It's very urgent," I added, the urgency of my request registered in my voice.

"Yes, alpha," he replied, and I ended the call.

I dialled Michael's number next.

"Michael, where are you?" I asked.

"Alpha, I am almost at the hospital," he replied.

"What did you do to those criminals?" I asked. 

"I broke their bones, took them to the forest behind the warehouse and fed them to the wild beasts of the forest," he replied.

"Perfect," I said and ended the call.

"I am sorry," I heard a faint voice.

I turned around and stared at Ariana. She was still lying on the bed face down, with her back exposed, except for my jacket covering her lower waist.

"Ariana?" I called out to her and moved to the bed.

"I'm sorry," I heard her faint voice.

"Heh, it's okay, you are safe now," I said, my voice very gentle.

"Alpha Damien?" she called out my name and opened her eyes.

She tried to turn, but I gently held her down.

"You have some ointment on your back to help you heal. Just lie down," I said to her, my voice very gentle.

"Please let me go. I know nothing about the marriage, and I am not trying to create a problem between you and your girlfriend," she said, her voice quavering. "Please let me go back to Pearl City. I promise you, when the child is born, I will let you see him or her," she begged, and the pain in her voice broke my heart.

"I am sorry for not protecting you before. From now on, I promise you, I will protect you and our child," I said and planted a kiss on the side of her face.

"Please, don't do that. You have a girlfriend. She thinks I am her competition. Meanwhile, I am just a surrogate," Ariana pleaded. 

"I, Alpha Damien Dakota of the Westhills Pack and President of this country and the current heir to the Dakota family fortune, I promise to protect you, Ariana Brown. No one shall henceforth trouble you," I said to assure Ariana of her safety.

"Alpha Damien," she began, and I interrupted.

"Just call me Damien," I said.

I wanted her to drop the formal addressing of me. She is my mate after all, and if she is the one whom my sister gave life to, she is, by fate, family.

"My back hurts, can I sit for a while?" Ariana asked.

"Okay," I agreed and helped her sit up.

She held what was left of her torn clothes to cover her chest. I stood up and went to the wardrobe. I picked one of the patient gowns and brought it to her.

"Here, use this instead," I said, and she just stared at me like I was doing the strangest thing ever.

I unfolded the gown and helped her put it on to cover her front. I tied the cord around the neck and left the rest, so it wouldn't clean the ointment on her back.

"Why are you suddenly taking care of me?" Ariana asked, staring at me.

I stared into her beautiful eyes and read fear. I was sitting on the edge of the bed. I reached out to touch the side of her face, but she flinched. This is her first time seeing me by her side. All the times I had attended to her, she was unconscious. 

"Calm down, I am not going to hurt you. You are the mother of my unborn child. Why would I want to hurt you?" I said, just to make her feel safe. "Now, tell me. What exactly happened?" I asked, retrieving my hand and keeping it to myself.

"Someone grabbed me on the staircase. I woke up from a burning sensation I felt inside my nose. I found myself bound to a table, with my face down. I only saw shoes. Next, I felt canes landing on my back," she narrated.

For some reason, I felt she was not telling me everything, but I decided not to trouble her. 

"I am sorry for not protecting you. I promise you, no one will dare bother you again," I promised her.

We both heard a knock on the door, and I stood up from the bed. I faced the door and invited the person in.

"Perfect timing. We are going to the mansion," I said to Michael as soon as he walked in.

"Yes, alpha," he said and exited the room.

"Stay here, I will be back," I said to her, and she nodded.

I exited the room. After instructing Dr Francis to watch over her and leaving two of my guards behind, I left with Michael and the remaining guards for my mansion. 

At the mansion, I went upstairs to my floor. As soon as I opened the door, I was greeted by Victoria standing just a distance away from the door, her arms folded across her chest and tapping her feet away.

"Do you not have a home, Victoria?" I asked, heading for the staircase.

"Damien, what is the meaning of this?" Victoria questioned. "I am your fated mate, yet you married another. Why?" she questioned. "You went in for a wolfless she-wolf as your Luna? What is wrong with you?" she questioned, and I stopped on the staircase.

"Let's fix this," I said and turned around. "I, Damien Dakota of the Westhills Pack, reject you, Victoria ......." I began and paused. 

I can never have two bonded mates at the same time. If I felt a mate bond with Ariana, it only means I didn't have a mate all along. 

"You want to reject me, your fated mate? The moon goddess would not allow you. See, you couldn't even complete your statement," I heard Victoria say, but I was lost in my thought.

I know about people using witchcraft to create a false mate bond. Is that what Victoria did? I thought. 

Just then, I heard my phone buzz with a notification. I checked, and it was the investigation report on what happened at the mining site.