Page 47 of Mate to the Alpha Called God (The Alpha King of Naturiah Trilogy #2)

S he barged into the open door of her father's hospital room, to see the nurses and the doctor surrounding her father's bed, she couldn't even see his face.

"Let's go two hundred joules, come on." The doctor commanded one of the nurses, rubbing the defibrillator together before he jolted her father's chest again. Her father jerked on the bed, but that was the only reaction they got.

The machines were going crazy. There was a loud beeping but for the life of Ismena, she can't seem to figure out where the sound was coming from.

Her mother and sister crowded her, grabbing her from everywhere in sheer panic.

They were asking her questions but she couldn't hear them well.

She couldn't hear anything, see anything apart from the monitor.

She watched in horror as the lines straightened—until it flatlined, and then there was an even louder beep.

The doctor straightened away from him, his lips pursed in sadness, before looking at the nurses and shaking his head. Like a movie, everyone stopped whatever activity they'd been performing, stepping back from her father .

"Time of death, 5:45 pm." One of the nurses announced.

A loud scream tore through the air. It took her a moment to realize that they were from her. She barely noticed her mother rushing to her father's body and throwing her arms around him. Valentina fell to the ground and began crying her eyes out.

Amidst her scream of agony, Ismena heard her mother begging her father not to leave her. Begging him to come back to her. She was yelling to him that she was sorry for leaving with him for so long, but he shouldn't leave her because of it.

Then, she felt familiar strong arms envelop her from behind. She turned and looked up at him with red eyes, tear-faced.

"Ena..." Wolfaraine groaned deeply, sorrow-filled blue eyes looking into her brown ones.

She wrapped her arms around him, pressing her head to his lower chest, and began bawling her eyes out. It was too much. It hurts badly.

He held her to her chest as she cried her heart out. His body offered comfort, even when his body was tearing about with a force of anguish that was not helping her own suffering. But, she didn't care. Ismena couldn't bring herself to pull away.

She held on, tremors after tremors shaking her body while she sobbed loudly.

The rest was a blur of activities. They took her father's body away. Alphose was holding a sobbing Sandra beside them.

Wolfaraine led her to the nearest chair, knelt down in front of her, and told her firmly that she should stay strong now.

"Now is the time to stay strong for your family, Ismena. For your mother and little sister. You have always been strong, now is a time to be a little bit stronger than you usually are. You can break down later...much later, when we get home."

Home. For some reason, more tears flooded her eyes. Something has changed between them, Ismena can feel it. Something has changed in him.

Will Naturiah still feel like home again?

"Is that how you do it? You keep it all in, tying a rope around them and burying it deep down...even when it hurts so much?" She asked, softly. Tearfully.

He averted his eyes, "Yes. At least, until I'm alone." His voice was so low, that she almost didn't hear him.

Then, he took a deep breath and looked at her with tired eyes again, "Alphose and I will take care of everything. Just get some rest and wait here."

With that, he turned and walked away, with Alphose following behind him.

Ismena took his advice, keeping it tightly reined in, staying strong for her mother and her little sister.

Three days later, her father was laid to rest. The burial rites were simple, with only a few people in attendance—just the way they wanted it.

Ismena was happy the priest skipped all the parts of opening the casket, it made it all a bit more bearable. She would have broken down and bawled like a child if she had to see her father's dead body again.

She stood beside her mother, who surprisingly wasn't crying out loud, but tears were streaming down her face. Amelia has been crying non-stop for the past three days, so Ismena didn’t know if her mother was just being strong now or if her tear duct has gone dry.

Her poor little sister was the only one sobbing out loud, while plastered tightly beside Ismena who returned the hug. Thankfully, Wolfaraine was there for her for the past three days.

He was there. Like solid rock, he stayed by her side.

Whenever she wanted to break down, his presence kept her strong.

They haven't talked about her father's confessions. These past few days have been a wind whirl of activities. There was just no time for it. Or, maybe they just didn't wanna talk about it.

Three more days later, they were ready to go back to Naturiah. Wolfaraine made it clear that they cannot stay any longer in the human world. Wolfhunters have attacked twice, he'd confessed, but he and Alphose had managed to take of them in secret to avoid scaring her mother and sister.

"Please, come with us, mother." Ismena pleaded again for the umpteenth time. Wolfaraine had agreed already for her to bring her family to Naturiah if her mother was in agreement. But she wasn't.

Again, Amelia shook her head, pasting a smile on her face. She seemed to have aged more in the past few days, and the changes tugged on Ismena's chest so much. Her father's death hit her mother harder than she's letting on.

"I can't, Ena. I want to stay here," she gestured to their home, "Here... Your father's memories are right here. When I move around the house, I can still feel him."

Ismena swallowed tightly, glancing behind her at Wolfariane’s inscrutable face before staring back at her mother. "Mother, don't you think it'll make you miserable? Father is dead. "

Amelia flinched, but met her daughter's eyes squarely. "So, what if it makes me miserable? I want to mourn my husband, Ismena."

"He was involved in horrible things he never told me about, but he was also one of the best things that happened to me these past few years. It's not even been a week since he died to think of forgetting him. He deserves to be mourned." Her voice cracked in the end.

Ismena moved forward and hugged her mother. "I understand, mama. I'm sorry..."

Amelia nodded against her shoulder, before pulling back and sniffling softly. "I'll be fine, honey. You can take your sister with you too, but I'll be fine."

Ismena met Valentina's eyes behind their mother. The teenager pursed her lips and shook her head.

"I'm staying with her." She mouthed.

Ismena expected nothing less, she smiled at her sister. Her little sister might be a typical rebellious teenager, but she's also very protective of their mother.

To their mother, she said, "Tina is staying with you." Pulling both women together, she embraced them tightly, "Call me if you need anything, I'll come running. Call me if you wanna visit Naturiah and they'll come pick you up. Anytime, mama."

"Alright, honey. Take good care of yourself and please, stay safe."

"I will."

When she pulled back, Sandra moved forward and hugged her family too. Amelia gave her an earful of how to stay safe and she nodded obediently through it all .

They arrived at Naturiah around 2am in the morning. Sandra was already sleeping on Alphose's back while Ismena was awake. She was drained, she was tired but sleep eluded her.

Her heart was hurting too much to shut down for sleep.

"The sentinels at my border just changed posts." Alphose commented, staring ahead at the border of the lands owned by the cougar clan.

"Dreco seems to be doing a very good job as your second-in-command." Wolfaraine said. It was the first words he'd spoken since they began this journey.

In the past few days, he wasn't saying a lot. His face was blank most of the time so no one knows what was going through his head. He leaves with Alphose every night and comes back after hours of staying out, which Ismena articulated might be because of the Wolfhunters.

There are times he just goes out alone. Into the woods. He barely says anything.

"He is doing a very good job." Alphose exhaled, "Should I call the leopard Alpha to come over, so he'll be aware that we're back in the land?"

"Leave it till day breaks." Was all he said before he walked ahead of Alphose, leaving him to catch up.

To get to Naturiah, they'd run all day without relenting and the males weren't showing any sign of fatigue. Ismena's arms tightened around his neck, she pressed her cheek deeper into his soft furs and allowed her own tiredness to wash over her .

As they continued walking, Alphose did most of the talking. She wasn't sure if Wolfaraine was listening or not.

Finally, they arrived at the Tower. That was when Alphose said goodbye to the Alpha King who nodded dismissively. Then, he turned and started walking home. On his back, Sandra stirred awake.

"Where are we?" Her voice was drowsy from sleep.

"We're in Naturiah. I'm going to drop you off with Eline first before I go home."

"Where's Mena and the King?"

"They're home already."

Sandra took a deep breath, allowing her head to rest on his furry back again, "I'm so worried for them. The both of them."

Alphose was more worried than Sandra will ever be. He'd been the only Alpha who's very close to Wolfaraine over the years, he'd become his friend. He'd told Alphose about Nalaila, but he never told him—or anyone—about Ismena. Or Hazel Smith, which is her name at that time.

He's the only one who knows how badly Wolfaraine battled with his horrible past every day of his life—those times in the lab would drive another male insane, but he'd been controlling it.

He'd been trying to beat those traumatic experience, even when it doesn't help that there's a part of him so feral and close to insanity.

Only to find out that his mate was among the women he'd molested under the influence of those inhumane drugs. Not only that, everything she had to go through as an eight-year-old recovering from the most brutal rape experience anyone should ever go through. The consequences that followed—

"Are you listening to me?" Sandra's voice penetrated his worried mind .

"Hmm."

Sandra sighed, "I'm worried about Amelia and Tina. After the things I heard about these wolf hunters, I'm worried about their safety, especially now that their father is dead."

"Don't worry about them, The Alpha King already has four strong sentinels watching over them for the time being."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He arranged for them days ago. They're already in the human world. Ismena's family is in great hands."

"I'm so glad to hear that." It made her feel better, even though worry still gnawed at her for a different reason.

"I'm so proud of my best friend. She lost her beloved father, but still managed to remain strong for the past six days.

But, I'm so worried. It's not a good idea that she's keeping it all bottled in like that. I hope she lets it all out..."

Alphose was quiet for some time, before he exhaled heavily. "Stop worrying, Kassandra. Everything will be fine."

It was a lie, but he hoped she wouldn't call him out on it. It's not alright, today. Nothing will be alright tomorrow.

Let's all hope it will be alright again. Someday.

Everywhere was quiet. Too quiet.

Ismena rolled over on the bed and curled herself into a ball again. It's been an hour since Wolfaraine had gently placed her on the bed in her room before disappearing through the door. Whether he went to his own bedroom or not, Ismena had no idea .

It was just a week ago that Mirian interrupted their love session, crying and bringing the news of her father being in the hospital. It's only been a week again since they'd hurried out of Naturiah to the human world. But, it felt like years ago.

A lot has happened since that time.

A lot was found out during that time.

A lot has changed.

She felt like a huge rock had grown in her chest, her heart was that heavy. Tears threatened her eyes and she blinked hard to keep them at bay, it's been like that for long minutes now, and she seemed to be losing that battle.

Finally, her nightmares made sense to her. Her blank memories of when she was eight have been remedied. Thankfully, the memories weren't that clear because a lot of time has passed, but it wasn't a blank slate anymore.

And, her father...

Her vision blurred so much, that she couldn't see a thing anymore. Memories of her and her father going up was like a movie, playing itself in her head.

He'd taught her everything she needed to know growing up. He was there for her, always so protective. Always such a good father. She loves her father with all her heart.

But, now he's dead.

She was the one with a heart condition that couldn't be medically cured, but he is the one that's dead .

She was the one given only three months to live, but he is the one who is dead.

It hurts. It hurts badly.

She lost the battle and screamed.

Another loud scream filled with pain and agony tore from her lips.