Once Rejected, Twice Desired (Book 1 of Blue Moon Series)
Once Rejected, Twice Desired Chapter 67

Alexi

POV

I couldn't say for sure why, but I'd left Xander without an answer on the adviser position for over three weeks now. I'd thought it over and gone back and forth on my decision, but I felt like it was time to let him know finally.

I found him in the nursery hanging curtains while Alaia supervised. These were the fourth set of curtains to be put up in the room because the other three didn't work for her once they were in place, so they were promptly replaced. When he finished, he stepped back and looked over at Alaia, who was gliding in the rocker with her eyes closed.

"Babe, what do you think?" he asked.

She opened her eyes and looked over the entire space.

When she scrunched her nose and tilted her head to the side, we both held our breath. This wasn't a good sign. But then she smiled her brightest smile and began to bounce on her toes. "These are perfect! I knew we'd get it eventually." Xander let out his breath and bent down to clean up the packaging left behind.

The nursery was finally done, with just under three weeks to go.

Alaia had painstakingly picked out each and every detail.

The room had a sky/heaven theme because, according to the mommy to be, the boys were her angels. Clouds, angel wings, little golden halos, decorated the powered blue, gold, and white space. It was something for her to be proud of; she said she wanted to put it together on her own, and she had.

"Xander," I said, pulling his attention to me. "I've decided to take the adviser position. What do we need to do to make it official?"

He looked over at me, then at Alaia. "Little one? Would you make it official for us, please?"

She nodded and shut her eyes.

Blue Moon pack, I'm honored to announce that Alexi Kostov had accepted the position of Head Strategic Adviser. Please join Xander and me in congratulating him on this new endeavor. I'm sure he will do great things for us all.

She then opened her eyes and smiled. "Done."

"Well, that was anticlimactic," I mumbled.

Of course, Xander heard me and had to reply. "You shouldn't have taken so long. You knew you wanted the job when I offered it."

"Maybe! But it was a big decision and required some thought." I looked over to see Alaia and replace out whose side she was on and noticed her eyes clouded over with purple outlining the iris.

"Angel, are you alright?" I asked while moving to kneel in front of her.

Xander was soon right next to me and had taken one of her hands in his. Alaia was in her own world. She didn't acknowledge our presence at all.

"Should we take her down to the hospital, or call the doctor up?" I asked.

"The doctor is already on the way; I just linked her. She's probably having another vision, but it's better safe than sorry."

Right when the doctor came into the room, Alaia screamed out as a large gash opened on her arm and began pouring blood.

***

Alaia POV

While sitting and listening to the guy's bicker back and forth, I felt that tingle in the back of my mind and knew another vision was coming. I had grown used to them at this point and knew how to transition in and out easily. Once again, I found myself in the dungeon with Rachel and the man in black. She was huddled in the corner with her knees pulled up to her chest. The room was moist and dank, and it smelled like mold, mildew, and human waste. The sounds of her cries bounced off the walls as she begged for her life.

"Please, Sebastian, just let me see him. I did what you wanted and gave you an heir. Just let me see my son!"

So, he finally had a name. Sebastian.

"He isn't your son, you filthy mutt. He is mine, and only for purposes that are none of your business. Yes, you have done your part, and now I have no use for you."

"No, no, no, no, no! You said you would let me go back to my mate. You said you'd set me free!"

Sebastian was edging closer to Rachel, who tried to make herself as small as possible on the floor.

I felt my feet pulling me to follow him. I just had to see what would happen. I knew this mattered to my situation in some way.

Sebastian leaned over Rachel's body and whispered in her ear, "The boy will be named Vincent, and he will one day hold unimaginable power. But first, this b***h has to die!" He swung around and slashed his hand across my arm.

White-hot pain shot through me and jerked me from the vision.

When I opened my eyes, I saw Dr. Bennett standing over me with Alexi and Xander directly behind her.

"What the f**k just happened? How can she be attacked like that? We were right there, no one else was in the room," Xander roared at her.

"Alpha, you need to calm down if you expect me to treat our Luna. All of this is not good for her or your pups, so just cool it!"

I think we were all surprised at the way she handled Xander. This lady was tough. I liked her. Until she touched my arm with an alcohol swab, and it felt like she had set me on fire. Again, I screamed out before looking down at the gash she was trying to treat. It had just happened, but it looked infected already. It was oozing green puss and smelled horrible. I had to fight to keep from gagging at both the sight and the smell.

"I've got to get her down to a sterile room. This wound is not normal, and at the rate the infection is spreading, she can be in septic shock within the hour."

Before she could say another word, Xander had picked me up and began racing down to the pack hospital.

There was a slow burn simmering underneath my skin. I could feel it working it's way past my elbow and up to my shoulder. This was really bad.

We made it to the room, and Xander placed me on the bed.

Again, Dr. Bennett tried to clean the gash, but the pain was excruciating. It felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest every time she touched it. "P-Please. Don't touch it. It's so much worse when you do," I gasped out.

"Luna, if I don't clean this wound, the infection will kill you. And your pups. I need you to bear down. I'll try to give you something for the pain." The thin syringe barely pricked my skin but felt as if she was peeling my flesh away with a dull and rusty spoon. Everything she did to help only hurt more. This wound wasn't meant to heal. It was meant to kill me slowly and painfully. I had done this to myself.

Dr. Bennett realized we were fighting a losing battle. She quickly hooked me up to the many different monitors in the room before pulling an oxygen mask over my face. She turned to Xander and Alexi. "I need you two to stay calm; I have to do this. Just know that." She turned and looked me in my eye. "Forgive me, Luna..." Quick as a flash, she jammed her syringe in the middle of the wound and injected the medicine.

The torture that followed was so great that my eyes rolled back, and I was overcome by blackness.

***

Xander POV

How did this happen? One minute she was laughing and joking, enjoying the finished nursery, and now she's passed out in the pack hospital.

When Dr. Bennett injected the painkiller, I heard the monitors go crazy as Alaia's heart rate soared. Then she went still.

"I can get this cleaned now. I'm going to give the Luna something to keep her asleep for a little while that won't hurt the babies. But the way she was reacting to my touch before, her heart would have failed if we kept it up," the doctor told Alexi and me. He stood in the corner with a look of pure rage mixed with terror on his face.

I probably looked exactly the same.

"Would you two like to wait-"

"No!" we both yelled in unison, cutting off the thought before it even fully formed. There was no way we were leaving her like this.

"Okay, just stand back and let me work then, please." A nurse came in the room, and together they hooked Alaia up to two fetal monitors and started an IV on her. "There is a very mild painkiller in the IV. I'll also use a local anesthetic, so we don't have too many drugs in her system." Dr. Bennett took a scalpel and cut away the dead and infected flesh. It had only been ten minutes max, but somehow the gash looked like it was weeks old. Once done, she stitched the clean, fresh skin back together and wrapped it in sterile gauze. "I'm also adding an antibiotic to her IV. I think I got all of the infection, but I want to be sure."

When I looked at Alaia's tear-streaked face, my heart broke, but at least she was resting now and not in pain.

"Thank you, Dr. Bennett. Are they all okay now?"

"The babies are perfect. Their heart rates were a bit elevated at first, but they are back to normal now. The Luna's heart rate and blood pressure have stabilized, so she's not in any pain. We'll just have to wait and see if any infection remains, but I'll keep a close eye on her. She'll have to be with us for a few days."

I'd keep her here forever if it kept her alive and healthy. I sunk into the chair next to the bed, and this time it was Alexi who stepped up to speak to the doctor.

"Thank you again. We'll keep Alaia here as long as possible. We want to make sure she's perfectly healthy as well."

Dr. Bennett checked all the machines and connections again before she left the room, leaving us in silence.

"Xander, what was that? It's like the vivid dream she had with me when she marked and scratched me. But those healed. Why didn't she heal?"

"I have no idea, Alexi. But I will replace out or die trying. Whoever is responsible for this is going to feel just as much pain as they put her through, then they will feel more. On my honor."