Page 85 of Protected Promise

The large king-sized bed had proven beneficial and there was much more space for the constant stream of people tending to her and coming by to check on her. My previous aversions to the room were long gone.

“She’ll awaken when she’s good and ready, sir,” Abby insisted. “Her vitals are strong. She’s going to be fine, just give her time to rest and heal.”

“If she’d just wake up, she could shift and heal faster,” I argued.

“I know you don’t want to hear this, but her wolf took a lot of the damage, Landon. I am sure it is healing too,” Cadence insisted.

I was so frustrated and worried that I couldn’t even see straight.

Still, I was the Alpha. Despite the fact my mate was fighting for her life, I had responsibilities. Dereck picked up a lot of my slack. Even though we hadn’t had time to officially announce his promotion in pack position, it didn’t mean he was waiting to assume the role.

I wasn’t sure how I would have gotten through any of it without him. I was so distracted with my head whirling in a million different directions, but on the exterior, I was cool, calm, and collected, just as my father had taught me to be.

Show no fear. Show no weakness.

My wolves knew I was hurting, that I was struggling, and worried, but they still looked to me for the daily ins and outs necessary for the survival of our Pack and I would not let them down.

Most of my business was conducted from within the bedroom where I could keep a watchful eye on Kaitlyn. When I had to leave, Tobi came and sat with her. Many times, I would return to find Connie there too. She’d taken a surprising protective role fussing over Kaitlyn and ensuring she was getting the best care possible.

Actually, the entire Pack had become quite defensive where my mate was concerned. She had won them all over with one victorious howl and she didn’t even know it.

As another night fell, I turned off the lights and climbed into bed next to her and held her hand.

“Hey gorgeous. I hope you can hear me. I’m starting to get a little worried over here, so if you could wake up, that would be great.” I laughed. “Who are we kidding? I’m a mess without you. I need you to wake up now. I’m not sure I can do any of this without you. I don’t want to.”

I had told her a dozen times how sorry I was for not being there for her. I had praised her and showered her with admirations for all she had done and how strong she had been. Now, I was resorting to begging her to just wake up.

I gave her hand a little squeeze before rolling over and going to sleep.

I felt a slight tug as she squeezed back.

I shot up in bed and turned the lights on. “Kaitlyn?”

She moaned and turned her face away from the light.

I quickly turned it back off. My wolf eyes were strong enough to see her in the dark anyway, it had just been a kneejerk reaction.

“Kaitlyn? Sweetheart, can you hear me?”

“Shhh,” she said. “My head is killing me.”

I nearly cried in relief. I couldn’t stop myself from pulling her into my arms despite her protest. I just sat there hugging her close to me and telling her it was all going to be okay.

“You scared me. Welcome back.”

“How long was I out?” she asked.

“Three days.”

Kaitlyn

Chapter 23

I sat up a little too quickly, causing pain to shoot through my head again.

“Three days?”

“Yes, three horrible, please don’t ever make me repeat, awful days.”