Chapter Twenty
1304 Words
Alpha Nate
I stormed out of the pack house, furious that my mate wouldn't listen. A body fell from the sky, for f**k sakes.
"What the hell happened?" I demanded as I looked at my crushed truck.
"Alpha, we don't know," a warrior bowed.
I pulled out my phone and called Xander.
"Nate?"
"Where the f**k is the dragon?" I bellowed as my aura slipped out, and everyone stepped back. I fought the urge to crush the phone in my hand.
"In the bay. Ryan is watching him with a few warriors. What happened, and where the hell is Ayla?"
I pulled the phone away from my ear and stabbed the video call button. Xander was quick to answer, and I turned the camera around to face my truck.
"What the f**k?"
"Are you sure the dragon is in the bay?" I demanded.
"Ryan has eyes on him now," he confirmed.
"Then how the hell did a body fall from the sky, and we heard and saw nothing?"
"I can't answer that."
"f**k," I growled, pinching the bridge of my nose.
"Where the hell is Ayla, Nate?" He demanded.
"She's safe."
"Did she say which kingdom he was from?"
"She didn't get a chance."
"He's from mine," I whipped around and growled, finding my mate standing there with her scales covering her in armor.
I pointed at her, " You were supposed to stay in the pack house." She crossed her arms, and Kaia growled as I stepped towards her.
"Then maybe you should have barred the windows," she retorted.
"Window? Did she jump out a window?" I heard Xander.
"Sweetie, are you okay?" her father approached her.
"I'm fine. The body is from my kingdom; we should clean up this mess. I need to bring the body back to the pack and call my grandmother."
"Oh my goodness, Ayla," my mother ran out of the pack house.
"I'm fine," she assured her. "Everyone is fine."
She moved toward the vehicle, and Duke growled. She glared at me. "Don't you dare," I warned her.
She opened her mouth to protest, but the sound of a boom had her screaming. I rushed to cover her body with mine as pink blood rained down. Hunched over with my chest against her pack, she threw up.
"Baby?" I exclaimed, pulling back some hair from her face.
"I'm okay," she exhaled before heaving.
"Nate," I heard Xander yelling.
"We are fine," I called out. I was no longer holding my phone.
"Why would someone do that?" she cried.
"I don't know," I told her as I held her.
"Ayla, what's going on?" Xander shouted. I could hear the panic in his voice.
"I'm okay," she panted.
"Someone find my phone," I commanded. "Baby, let's get you in the house. Are you okay?"
"I don't understand," she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and looked over her shoulder, "why would someone do this?" she gagged.
"I don't know. Let's get you cleaned up."
"Sir," a warrior passed me my phone. The screen was cracked and covered in pink blood.
"Can someone talk to me?" Xander bellowed through the speaker.
"Take the phone," I handed it to Ayla, "Close your eyes." I turned her around and picked her up. She wrapped her arms and legs around me.
"Men, collect as much as you can and clean up the blood," I ordered before walking into the pack house with my mate. My mate trembled as I carried her up the stairs to the beta floor.
"Ayla, are you okay?" I heard Xander ask.
"Why would someone do that?"
"I don't know," he sighed.
"Keep your eyes closed," I reminded her as I placed her on the counter in the bathroom. I didn't want her to see all the pink blood and other parts that were covering both of us. "Xander, we will call you back. Just going to get cleaned up." I took the phone from her.
"You have an hour, and then I'm calling you," he said before ending the video call.
I started the shower before stripping Ayla's clothes off.
"Nate, I," she stammered, and I shushed her.
"We will deal with it after. Let's get you cleaned up."
I stripped off my clothes, hissing as glass ripped into my back. I will have to ask my mother to take a look after I have Ayla settled. With her eyes still closed, I helped her into the shower and started to wash the blood off her. We didn't speak. My mind was racing with how they could drop a body from nowhere without anyone seeing or hearing anything.
"I don't care how. We need to keep mate and pup safe," Duke growled in my head.
"Then you need to remind Kaia how to listen." I snapped. "She jumped out of a fuckin' window." Duke sneered. If it was at me or his mate, I wasn't sure.
"Were you hurt?" Ayla ran her hand down my chest.
"I'm okay, baby," I kissed her forehead. "Turn around, and I'll wash your hair." She did what I asked, and it wasn't long until all the blood was washed down the drain.
"All clean," I kissed her cheek from behind. "Let me wash before turning around."
I picked up my soap and turned to the other showerhead. Ayla gasped, and I whipped my head around to find her staring at my back in horror.
"Nate," she whispered as she reached out, and I hissed. She snatched her hand back.
"I'm fine, baby. It will heal quickly once the glass is removed," I assured her.
"I'm so sorry, Nate," she cried. I wrapped her in my arms. This wasn't her fault. I might have been closer to the body if she hadn't shown up. Her distraction may have saved someone's life.
"It doesn't hurt, and I'll ask my mother to remove the glass. I've been through worse."
I quickly finished washing, helped Ayla out of the shower, and wrapped her in a fluffy towel. I wrapped one around my hips before leading her into the bedroom. She sat on the bed, and I went into the closet.
"Mom?" I minklinked.
"Son, is she okay?" her panicked voice filled my head.
"She's okay. Can you come to the beta floor? I have some glass embedded in my back from the explosion."
"I'll be right up," she closed the link.
I pulled on sweatpants before entering the room with sweatpants and a sweater for Ayla. She was curled into a ball on the bed.
"Baby?" I knelt beside the bed.
"What the hell is wrong with people?" she muttered, and I brushed some hair from her face.
"I don't know," I sighed. Tears filled her eyes, and she sniffled.
"Nate?" My mother called out before knocking.
"Give us a second." I helped my mate to sit up and get dressed. I smiled to myself as I saw her tiny bump. You won't be able to tell if you didn't know she was pregnant. Once she was dressed, I answered the door. My mother rushed in to check on Ayla.
"Lay down. Let me check the heartbeat." My mother commanded.
Ayla laid back on the bed, "Kaia says the baby is alright." She pulled up her shirt and pressed her ear into Ayla's lower belly.
A few moments later, "Strong and steady," she confirmed. "But you need to eat, sweetie. You can grow a baby and stay healthy without eating."
"I'm trying," my mate mumbled. I know she has been, and this can't be easier for her.
My mother pulled a food pouch from her medical bag and handed it to her daughter-in-law. "Try this."
"Thank you."
"Lay down, son," my mother told me, "on your stomach. Let me check that back of yours."
- Writer
