Alpha's One Night Bride
Alpha’s One Night Bride – Chapter 53

“Aaaaaahhhhhh…” A sharp pain coursed through my body.

The bruising around the sides of my stomach was beginning to worsen; it went from a light purple to a dark purple and light blue. The bruise expanded from the side of my stomach to my lower torso.

I could feel the heat in my body rising as a fever spiked. I was lightheaded and the voices in the room were becoming distorted. I could feel beads of sweat falling on the sides of my face and landing on my chest, soaking into the blanket that covered me.

I felt a cold cloth draped gently around my face; the liquid washed over my features and soothed away the heat attached to the fever.

“Arina, just breathe,” Jonathan whispered from beside me.

He’s been wonderful. He hasn’t left my bedside since the pain started a few hours ago. Dr. Emily was on the other side of my bed, she plugged an IV in, filling it with a clear liquid that kept me hydrated. I could feel the cold fluids running through my veins.

“Is there anything we can do for her?” Jonathan asked; despite the distortion of his voice, I could hear the panic.

“I’m going to give her another antibiotic that will fight any infections and hopefully soothe some of her pain,” Dr. Emily explained as she prepared the medication. “Then I’m going to give her something that will help her sleep.”

There wasn’t enough air in the world that could help me breathe properly at that moment. The more air I took in, the more my chest ached.

Just as I thought I couldn’t handle any more pain; it began easing up. I felt the sharpness of a needle going into the side of my stomach, just below the bruising. I breathed out in relief as my body began to numb.

Soon enough, the drowsiness hit me, and then I was out.

(Jonathan)

Jonathan watched Arina sleep peacefully; she was no longer screaming out in agony, and it seems as though her fever was finally breaking. She’s been sleeping for the past couple of hours, and he couldn’t keep his eyes off her.

He watched her chest rising and falling with each breath she took, and light snores escaped through her nose. Her features had turned pale in such a short time and began thinning out before his eyes.

He hated seeing this happen to her and he wasn’t sure what to do to help her.

“Mom?” He used the link to get a hold of Jess.

“I’m here,” she said softly, though she sounded a bit indifferent.

“Do you think you can come over?”

…

Jess showed up an hour after Jonathan called her. He was thankful to his mother for showing up on such short notice. They haven’t been able to spend a lot of time together these last few months and he felt bad for neglecting her.

Not that Jess needed constant contact, but she was still his mother.

“How is she doing?” Jess asked as she entered their home.

“Not great,” Jonathan admitted. “The bruising and swelling have gotten worse. She’s in so much pain. I can see the life draining from her body and I feel so helpless.”

“You knew it wasn’t going to be an easy pregnancy,” Jess reminded him.

Jonathan nodded.

“I know…” he agreed.

Jess stayed silent for a few moments; the house itself remained quiet as Arina continued sleeping. Though, there was something different about Jess at that moment. Jonathan noticed she looked almost uneasy; like something was weighing on her mind.

She wouldn’t meet his eyes and kept staring down at the ground, shuffling her feet almost awkwardly. She was also fidgeting with her fingers as she often did when she wanted to say something.

“Mom, is everything okay?” Jonathan asked her.

She looked up at him, almost shocked.

“Everything’s fine,” she said; her tone seemed a bit higher pitched than usual.

Jonathan knew she wasn’t telling the truth.

“Mom?” He asked again, eyeing her face.

She broke eye contact and made her way over to the couch. Sitting down she placed her hands on her knees and stared at her lap.

He sat beside her; whatever it was that she was hiding, it must have been big. Jess wasn’t the kind of wolf to keep secrets, especially from her own son. Jonathan has always known her to be an open book. She used to be a lot more outspoken, but since Regan died before Jonathan turned 18, she’s been very soft-spoken.

“I guess I’ve just been wondering if you’ve been preparing for the territory war? The red moon is a few days away and I’m worried about the festival,” she admitted.

Jonathan had almost forgotten about the red moon festival. He was hoping Arina would be well enough to attend. Each pack held its own festival in its territories. Town merchants would set up their shops along the streets, there would be music, dancing, festival food, shopping, street art, and street performances. Everybody contributed to the festival to make it great. Then at night as the red moon rises to the top, they would all transform into their wolf selves.

Forming into a ceremonial circle in the center of the town, as the red eclipse made its way across the moon, the gods would work their magic on the pack. The weaker of the wolves would be drained from most of their powers and they would be given to the strong. The strong would then go off to hunt to the toughest pray and bring their replaceings back to the pack for a grand feast. While the strong went hunting, the weaker ones would stay behind and pray to the red moon gods.

Thankfully, pregnant wolves aren’t affected by the red moon so he shouldn’t have to worry about Arina being drained any more than she already was.

Looking around Jess’s face, Jonathan noticed how worried she was.

“There isn’t going to be a war,” Jonathan assured her. “Elijah’s dead. Without a war leader, the other packs will stand down. They aren’t brave enough to take us on without Elijah.”

Jonathan didn’t know if that was true for sure, but he trusted whatever pack was on Elijah’s side wasn’t going to make a move now that their leader had met a fatal end.

“What if Elijah wasn’t the leader though?” Jess whispered; her voice seemed hoarse.

Her eyes were still laced with so much worry and distress.

“What’s going on?” Jonathan asked, eyeing her.

She shook her head quickly.

“Nothing. But how much do you trust Graham? He killed Anderson,” Jess reminded him.

“Technically his guards killed Anderson,” Jonathan reminded her right back.

“And you believe him?” Jess asked.

Jonathan frowned; it was clear she was hiding something.

“I don’t have a reason to not believe him. He’s an Alpha just like I am. He might be rough around the edges, but everything he does is to protect his pack. He gave us a clear warning that outsiders on his territory will be killed. I’m not saying I agree with his tactics, obviously. But with everything going on lately. Outsiders invading territories and killing wolves. I understand where he’s coming from and why he’s worried.”

Jess grimaced.

“I think there’s more to his story than you know,” Jess told him.

At that point her voice was hardly audible; Jonathan noticed tears were filling in her eyes as they stayed silent for a long while.

“What aren’t you telling me?” Jonathan asked. Jess stayed quiet. Jonathan grabbed a hold of her hands in his and gave her a gentle squeeze. She met his eyes and blinked away the tears that were forming. “Mom, if you know something you need to tell me. I must protect this pack. I must protect Arina. What do you know?”

“I lied to you,” Jess whispered.

“About what?” He asked calmly.

“About how your father died.”

Jonathan dropped her hands and sat up straight. Jess had told him that Regan died due to a poisonous snake in the forest. One bite would prove to be fatal for even the strongest wolf. Once Jonathan became the next Alpha, he made sure there were no snakes left in the forest. He wouldn’t allow something like that to happen to another wolf in his pack.

“He didn’t die from a snake,” she continued softly.

It wasn’t making sense to him.

How could his mother lie about something like that? He didn’t want to be angry with her because it was obvious, she was beating herself up over this. But at the same time, he felt blindsided and confused. He never knew his mother to be a liar; especially over something as big as this.

“How could you lie to me?” Jonathan asked her; he tried to keep his voice even.

Her l*p was quivering as she spoke.

“I wanted to protect you. Everything I do is to protect you,” she answered in a loud whisper. She was really scared. He felt guilty for questioning her, but this was a huge lie.

If his father didn’t die due to a poisonous snake, then how exactly did he die?

“Okay…?” Jonathan breathed, edging her on so she can continue.

“Your father died at the hands of Graham.”

And just like that, everything Jonathan thought he knew, shattered.