KATOMI - RISE OF THE FAE QUEEN

CHAPTER 11 – HOSPITAL CONFESIONS

WYATT’S POV

‘Alpha Wyatt?’ Katomi groaned, her eyes were out of focus and slightly blood shot as she looked at me in confusion ‘What are you doing in my room?’

‘Kat?’ I looked from her to Shay ‘What’s wrong with her, you said her cat scan was normal’

‘She’s just a little out of it’ Shay answered as she started checking the machines Katomi was hooked up to ‘I had to sedate her’

‘Why?’

‘For pain relief’

‘Oh right’ I looked back down at her, but she was already closing her eyes again

‘Kat?’

Katomi’s eyes fluttered open again, but she wasn’t looking at me, she looked into the distance, over my shoulder, her eyes were out of focus still.

‘Daddy?’ She called out, making my heart break, I hated that she'd called for her father and not me

'We only just told mate who we are to her' Kai said reasonably, though I could feel his own sting of rejection 'We'll be the most important person to her soon enough'

‘I’m right here bunny’ William came over to the other side of her bed and took her hand, I wanted to tell him to piss off, but Kat started crying and I shut my mouth

‘Daddy’ She wept ‘I tried, I promise’

‘Tried what?’ I asked, but William shook his head, tears pricked his eyes, and my confusion grew

‘She’s out of it’ William kissed his daughter’s hand ‘She’s thinking about her mother, it always happens when she’s on pain killers’

‘How often does she take pain meds?’

‘When we do the blood transfusion’ Shay answered, looking guilty ‘Like I said Alpha, it hurts her a lot’

I growled and looked back at my mate ‘Why wasn’t I informed of this’

‘We didn’t know you were her mate’ William pointed out ‘Why would we tell you’

‘Daddy’ Kat said, interrupting what I was about to say ‘I’m sorry daddy’

‘I know bunny’ He leaned in and kissed her forehead ‘It wasn’t your fault, just sleep’

‘He killed her daddy’ Katomi cried harder, her eyes closing again ‘The bad man, he’

‘Shhh’ William hushed her ‘I know, just sleep, daddies got you’

It broke my heart, hearing her cry for her mother, but finally she cried herself dry and drifted off to sleep, every now and then she would whimper, but for the past half an hour she was completely silent, the only noise was mine and Williams breathing and the quiet noises from the various machines, Shay had taken Katomi off the pain medication and IV which helped me relax slightly.

'You didn’t tell me that Kat saw her mother’s death’ I said suddenly, I'd been stewing about this, I hated that Katomi had seen such a horrific scene and I could no longer keep it in

‘Why would I’ William growled, I gave him a warning growl and he adjusted his tone and looked down ‘It’s not something I like to remember’

‘Did you ever have her talk to someone about it?’

‘What like a shrink’ William asked, as though this thought disgusted him ‘Of course not. I can take care of my own daughter’

‘Really’ I snapped ‘So that’s why it’s the first thing she thinks about whenever she’s drugged out, clearly it’s still traumatizing her, and you’re doing nothing about it!’

‘I’ve done more for my daughter than you will ever know!’ William shouted, his eyes blackening in rage as his Lycan came forth which infuriated Kai ‘More than you will ever do!’

I growled furiously and stood up ‘TELL YOUR LYCAN TO STAND THE F*CK DOWN WILLIAM!

‘Alpha Wyatt?’ Kat groaned, I forgot all about William and was instantly looking back at my mate, she was looking at me with a confused frown, her eyes still drugged out but more focused than last time

‘Why… why are you yelling at my dad, where am I?’ She looked around the room in confusion before her eyes closed again ‘Why can’t I keep my eyes open?’ She asked, her voice thick with worry ‘My eyes are so heavy’

‘You had an accident’ I sat back down, my anger all but extinguished ‘Are you in pain?’

Kat opened her eyes slowly and looked at me again ‘I’ Her eyes closed for a second before opening again ‘My head hurts’

‘We need to give her more pain relief’ I turned around looking for the nurse, where the f*ck is she? She was just in here, she must have run out when I’d lost my cool.

‘No’ Kat shook her head slowly ‘I don’t want more, I don’t like pain killers, I have bad dreams, dad?’

‘I’m here bunny’

Bunny? Why did he keep calling her that? I’d wondered for years why he chose that kind of nickname for her? Rabbits were disgusting little rats, nothing like Kat

Tears filled her eyes, but she smiled as she looked over at her father ‘How long have I been here’

‘A few hours’ Her father answered before I could, I stopped myself from growling at him again

'Tell him to leave!' Kai snapped at me 'I want mate to myself!'

‘What happened?’ She asked, looking at me in confusion ‘What accident’

‘You were in your car’ I ran my fingers through her soft hair, and she tensed and blushed at my touch but I wasn’t pulling back this time ‘Do you remember leaving my house?’

Kat frowned as she racked her brain ‘I came to see you’ She said thoughtfully ‘And you… we were on your couch’ Kat stopped talking and blushed redder, I smiled, she was remembering our make out session. She looked at her father for a second.

‘Um’ She cleared her throat and her father glared at me ‘Beta Beau came over, and I left, but I stopped, I couldn’t see clearly because’ She paused again and looked at me

‘Because you were crying’ I touched her face ‘I’m so sorry I upset you Kat, we’ll talk about it in private ok, but for now I need to know what you remember about the bomb’

‘Bomb?’ She frowned ‘What are you talking about?’

‘What do you remember after you pulled over?’

‘I was fighting with Remi’ She went on, sounding upset ‘She wanted to go back to you and Kai but I…’ She looked at me guiltily ‘But I said no, we kept fighting and then everything exploded, and the car caught on fire, I climbed out and I remember Remi calling out to you, but then everything went black, but I didn’t see a bomb, I don’t know what happened’ She said in confusion, but I noticed her look briefly at her father, making me think they were keeping something from me ‘I think... I think I saw a man lying by the trees before I passed out, but I might have imagined it’

‘You don’t need to worry about the man’ I told her quickly, I hadn’t told her about her guard detail yet ‘It was Nick, your um.. your guard, he was knocked out in the explosion’

‘My what?’ She frowned at me ‘Why do I have a guard, is that why Raj was outside our house last night? Why didn’t you tell me I have a guard, was he watching me in my car? That’s so creepy, how could you not’

‘Calm down Kat’ I hushed her. She was getting worked up ‘Please, you need to rest, you have a guard because you’re my mate and I have a lot of enemies, I need to keep you safe, I didn’t tell you because I only assigned your guards Friday night’

‘Guards as in plural’

‘Yes Kat’ I answered ‘I can’t have one person watching you 24/7, they do need to sleep, you know, and I would have told you eventually’

‘I don’t want people following me around’ She argued, this is exactly why I didn’t tell her ‘It’s creepy’

‘It isn’t creepy’ I sighed ‘And I don’t care if you want it or not, when will you realize that you're different now, you are the future Queen and as such I need to take precautions to keep you safe’

‘I’d be safe if you’d just reject me’ She mumbled so softly that I suspected she hadn't intended for me to hear.

I pinched the ridge of my nose and took a breath ‘Enough’ I exhaled ‘It’s never going to happen so it’s pointless to keep bringing it up, now please get some rest, I need to go talk to Beau about your car’

‘NO!’ She panicked and grabbed my hand ‘Please don’t go, don’t leave me, it doesn’t hurt when you’re touching me’

I froze and gripped her hand tightly, her eyes were filled with fear, and it chilled me to the bone ‘And I was under the impression you didn’t want me’ I tried to make her smile, but she only looked down, tears falling from her face

'i***t!' Kai growled at me 'Read the room, now isn't the time to joke around!'

‘Your right’ She said and shook her head ‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that, it’s not fare to you, you should go, I’ll be okay’

‘It’s alright baby’ I lent in and kissed her forehead and she tensed again ‘I won’t leave you, I promise’

‘I’ll go talk to Beta Beau for you’ William stood up quickly and glared at his daughter, it was clear he didn’t approve of her wanting me to stay by her side ‘If you don’t mind’

I looked at him and then Kat ‘Fine’ I nodded ‘Keep me updated on anything you find’

‘Yes Alpha’ William lent down and kissed Kat’s cheek ‘I’ll visit again later bunny, listen to the Alpha and rest’

She nodded, but then her eyes widened ‘Dad I’m sorry about the car, I didn’t’

‘It’s fine’ He smiled ‘It wasn’t your fault and that’s what insurance is for, although we might have to lie about why it exploded and caught fire’

Kat smiled for the first time as her father winked, and she laughed softly, but then she groaned in pain and held her chest

‘Are you sure you’re feeling well enough for me to leave?’ William asked before glaring at me again, I sighed angrily, he was really getting on my last nerve, she didn’t need him, she had me now!

‘I’m alright, I promise’ She told him ‘Just a slight stinging, I’m mostly just tired’

‘Okay’ He nodded and looked at me again ‘Please take care of her while I’m gone, I will be back as soon as I can’

‘I don’t need you to tell me to take care of my mate William!’ I snarled ‘Now go!’

‘Yes Alpha’ He said angrily and walked out of the room, once he was gone, I looked down at Kat.

‘He is very lucky I love you Katomi’ I told her ‘But my patience has its limits’

‘He's just worried about me’ She said quietly ‘You didn’t just change my life when you told me we were mates, everything changed for my family too, my dad just needs time’

‘I’ll give him a few days, that’s it’ I stood up, but Kat looked at me in panic. She must have thought I was leaving

‘Relax baby’ I said as I kicked off my shoes ‘I just want to hold you’

‘But’ She blushed and looked at the door her father had just walked though ‘People could come in, they’ll see’

‘I don’t care’

I grabbed the blanket, but Kat’s hand shot out and gripped my wrist as she blushed.

‘But…’ She said nervously ‘I’ve never’ She paused again, and I looked at her in confusion.

‘You’ve never what?’

‘I’ve never been in bed with a man before’ She said shyly and looked down.

‘Good’ I smiled and gently removed her hand and climbed under her covers.

Kat instinctively moved onto her side and moved as far away from me as she could, blushing again, but I smiled to myself, and pulled her against my chest.

I smiled wider when she gripped my T-shirt and molded her body around mine, I'd dreamed about this moment for so long, holding her in my arms in bed, though we were always in my bed and not in a hospital bed surrounded by pack members, and she was naked.

‘We shouldn’t be doing this’ She whispered ‘It’s just going to make things harder when you accept my rejection’

‘I’m not accepting sh*t’ I commented and pressed my face into her hair and breathed in her delicious scent, causing my d**k to stir ‘Are you still in pain?’ I asked to distract myself from the lustful thoughts now running through my mind.

She shook her head ‘It doesn’t hurt when you’re touching me’

‘Good, it’s probably because of the mate bond’ I commented as I ran my fingers through her hair ‘My strength should help you heal quicker’

‘But you haven’t marked me’ She looked up at me and I got lost in her eyes ‘How can I draw on your strength without the mark’

‘A King doesn’t need to mark their mate for them to gain the benefits’

‘I wish I’d known that when I broke my leg two years ago, it was a real b***h trying to shower in that cast’

I laughed ‘You never did answer me back, then when I asked how you’d broken it’ I stated

‘I guess the whole mate thing explains why you freaked out when you saw me in a cast’

‘You have no idea how hard it was for me to see you broken and not be by your side’ I thought back at the memory ‘I hardly slept for the four days it took to heal, it would have been torture if you were human. It takes them at least two weeks to heal from a broken bone, so, how did it happen?’

Kat laughed softly ‘I um..’ She hesitated ‘It’s embarrassing’

‘Just tell me’ I urged, it had puzzled me for so long, wondering how it had happened.

‘I was trying to put a baby bird back in its nest and I slipped on the way down’ She admitted and pressed her face into my chest.

‘You were trying to save a bird’ I rolled my eyes as I tried to ignore the tingles running down my body from her touch ‘Give me strength’ I sighed ‘You really are too kind-hearted for a Lycan’

‘What would you have done then?’ She glared up at me.

‘I would have either left it to die or let Kai eat it’ I shrugged ‘He likes wild bird’

Kat’s mouth opened in disgust as she glared at me, but then she lowered her gaze. Did I upset her somehow?

‘What?’

‘Nothing’ She frowned and shook her head ‘We’re just very different people’

I frowned at her comment and her words came back to me ‘Kat’ I said nervous about her response to my question as I looked down her ‘Do you really think I’m a murderer?’

‘I’ She looked down again and my heart clenched ‘I’m sorry for saying that to you, I know you don’t kill just because you can, I know it’s to keep your people safe, but I, I still don’t like it, I can’t stand by someone who chooses to kill rather than try for peace’

‘I ended the war Kat’ I pointed out ‘I promised you I’d put an end to it and I did. What more can I do, it’s not like I’m actively hunting down Fae or rogues to slaughter, I only kill if they attack us’

‘You could reach out to the Fae Queen’ She suggested ‘Start peace talks. The other Fae will follow her commands, if she tells them to stop, they won’t have a choice but to stop attacking’

‘Kat, this is a very heavy conversation to be having in a hospital room’ I sighed, there was no way I was ever reaching out to that b*tch, I wanted her dead more than any Fae, her and her entire blood line ‘You’re still so young, there’s things you can’t understand right now, we’ll talk about this some other time’

‘Fine’ She murmured

‘I don’t understand why you want to protect the Fae anyway’ I commented ‘One of them killed your mother, you have more cause to hate them than most. How can you want to protect them, how do you not hate them all?’

She tensed in my arms ‘One bad Fae killed her’ She said, her voice shaking ‘It doesn’t make them all murderers, I won’t hate them for something they didn’t do, there’s only one Fae I hate, one Fae I’ve been training my whole life to kill’

‘What?’ I looked down at her in shock.

‘I will kill him’ She said, more to herself ‘He’ll be the only one I ever kill’

‘You’re not killing anyone’ I snapped as my heart raced in fear ‘You are not getting anywhere near the Fae’

‘Not even you will stop me from avenging her’ She told me, her face was dead serious and void of all emotion ‘I will do to him what he did to her, I will make him pay’

Tears fell down her face as she stared angrily at nothing in particular. I had never felt a fear like this, the thought of her fighting anyone least of all a Fae was terrifying, it made me sick with terror, I had to put a stop to this

‘Kat if you want someone killed then I’ll do it’ I touched her cheek and pulled her face close to mine ‘I will not risk you getting hurt’

‘You can’t stop me’ She told me ‘No one can, when the time comes, you better not get in my way’

I frowned and pulled her head down on my chest again ‘Let’s not talk about this right now’ I closed my eyes ‘Just rest’

‘Do you want to talk about it’ I asked nervously. Would this upset her again ‘Your mother’s death, I mean’ She tensed again ‘I know it’s hard on you, you were talking in your sleep’

‘The pain killers’ She said softly to herself, her father must have told her the painkillers make her re-live it ‘I don’t want to talk about it’

‘I’m your mate’ I pointed out ‘It might help’

‘Look I get that to you, we’ve been mates for 13 years’ Her voice shaking in pain again ‘But for me, it’s been two days, up until Friday night, you were just some gorgeous guy I had a crush on’ Gorgeous? Kai and I both liked the sound of that ‘I can’t just open up and let you in suddenly because you want me to’

She had a point ‘I get it’ I nodded ‘We need to build trust and go slowly’ I cleared my throat ‘And about this morning, when we were together’

‘You mean when you kissed me again without my permission’

Alpha Wyatt laughed softly ‘I’m sorry, next time, I promise, anyway about this morning. I think I handled things terribly. I don’t want you to think I was just trying to get off, I wasn’t trying to rush you, I just got caught up in the moment and forgot that you were a virgin, but I never want you to feel like it doesn’t mean the world to me just to touch you, I meant what I said, I love you and I will wait for as long as it takes for you to be ready and when that time comes, I’ll make it as special for you as I can’

‘Kat?’ I said when she didn’t answer.

‘Ok’ She sniffed, and I realized she was crying again ‘I’m sorry too, I shouldn’t have run away like that, I always feel like such a kid when I’m with you, I don’t know how to act’

‘You are a kid’ I teased, trying to lighten the mood, she slapped me weakly on the chest and I remembered she should be resting

‘And you can act any way you want, just be yourself, always, you don’t have to put on a show for me’

‘Ok’ She said again

‘This is probably why I should have waited until you were 18’ I pressed my face against her hair, savoring her scent ‘You wouldn’t feel like a kid with me, but I couldn’t stand it any longer, seeing you and not touching you, smelling your scent all over the pack, it was torture’

To my great displeasure, my stomach chose that time to grumble, I’d only had two bites of my food this morning before Kat came, and I’d missed lunch.

Kat sat up slightly and looked at me, a guilty look on her face ‘You’re hungry’ She said ‘I’ve kept you from eating all day. You should go eat, I’ll be alright’

I pulled her back down on my chest ‘Don’t worry about it’ I dismissed her worry ‘I’ve gone longer without food then a day, you should sleep, you must be exhausted’

I couldn't help but remember my father locking me in the basement of our home for days at a time without food or water whenever I'd protected my mother or siblings from his wrath, going without food was nothing new for me.

‘But’

‘I’m fine Kat’ I kissed her on the head and watched as she closed her eyes and drifted off.

About twenty minutes later I was running my fingers through Kat’s hair and watching her lovely face as she slept when a light tap came from the door, I looked up to see Beau walking in holding a tray with two burgers, chips and a drink sitting on top.

‘Room service’ He said quietly, so he didn’t wake Katomi.

‘I knew there was a reason I kept you as my Beta all these years’

‘Actually, this is all our lovely Luna's doing’ He told me, Kai started growling inside me. He didn't like Beau calling our mate lovely, but I hushed him ‘She linked me and asked me to bring you something’

‘She did?’ I looked at her in surprise.

‘Guess she likes you after all’ Beau winked, and I rolled my eyes.

‘I wish she’d stop fighting her feelings for me’ I commented ‘And realize that for herself’

‘She’ll come around’

‘Not if her father keeps interfering’ I growled lightly ‘I think the main reason she’s pushing me away is because of William, I think he has some issue with me being her mate’

‘Really?’ Beau asked ‘Who wouldn’t want their daughter mated to a King, she’ll never want for anything for the rest of her life’

‘Who knows’ I shrugged ‘But I’ll be putting a stop to his interfering’

‘How?’ Beau asked wearily ‘You can’t hurt him, you’ll lose Kat for sure’

‘I could always make it look like an accident’ I was only half kidding.

Beau laughed and shook his head ‘He likes me, I’ll try to speak to him’

‘Well, it’s worth a shot’

I gently tried to move from under Kat, but she groaned angrily in her sleep and snuggled back up to me, this time throwing her leg over my lap and pressing her face into my chest, sending chills of pleasure throughout my entire body and I wished Beau wasn’t here.

Beau laughed quietly and passed me the remote for the bed ‘Here’

Instead of moving, I pressed the bed into a sitting position. Once I was sitting up enough to eat while still holding Kat close, Beau rested the tray by my side on the table, I wasted no time grabbing the first burger and unwrapping it, I moaned in pleasure at the first bite.

‘So’ I said with a mouth full of food ‘What did the fire brigade say’

‘Nothing helpful’ He sighed, he sat down next to me and rested his leg up on his knee, ‘They didn’t find any explosive residue or casings and there was no accelerant, so they don’t know how the fire started in the engine’

‘So, it was Fae magic’ I frowned, Kai wanted to break free, he wanted to cross the border into their territory and kill them all ‘What about the search’

‘It’s underway’ He answered and stole a chip ‘But nothing so far, I’d say the woods are the best bet, the territory is huge, someone could be camping out there somewhere, I’ve increased the patrols to cover a larger area’

‘Good thinking’ I took another bite of my burger, but I accidentally rocked Kat

Katomi groaned again and shifted in her sleep, she climbed on top of me and wound her arms around my neck before pressing her face into me, I could feel her warm breath on my marking spot, and I was beginning to get turned on, I was suddenly very aware she wasn’t wearing under wear under her gown, I noticed Beau shift in his seat and look down, the back of the gown was open, showing off her body, so I placed my burger down and pulled the blanket up to her shoulders

‘Good thing you have a big bed’ Beau commented, as his gaze remained lowered ‘Looks like Kat’s a bit of a bed hog’

‘I don’t mind’ I kissed her on the cheek and returned to eating, I finished my first burger while Beau filled me in on some pack things I'd missed while I was with Kat, but when I went to grab the second burger, I heard loud running outside the room.

‘KAT!’ The door of the room flew open, and Bronwyn came barging into the room looking frantic ‘WHERE IS SHE!’

Katomi’s eyes flew open, and she jumped up in shock, straddling me as her hands fell on my chest, I wouldn’t mind this position if we were alone.