Once Rejected, Twice Desired (Book 1 of Blue Moon Series)
Once Rejected, Twice Desired Chapter 68

Alaia

POV

I woke up a few hours later, my throat raw from all the screaming. When I opened my eyes, I saw Alexi sitting in the corner, working on his laptop while Xander was asleep in the chair in another corner. "Could I have some water, please?" I croaked out.

Alexi's eyes shot up, and he was instantly standing next to me with the cup of water. "How do you feel, angel? Should I call for the doctor?"

He helped me sit up, and after I gulped the water down, I passed the glass back and shook my head at him. "I'm okay; we don't need to call anyone yet."

"What happened, Alaia? You scared the s**t out of Xander and me. We thought we were losing you."

I figured I couldn't hold this any longer. I had to tell them what I knew and what I had been doing. "Will you wake Xander up, please? I might as well get this over with all at once."

He looked at me suspiciously. "Get what over with, angel?"

"I'll tell you in a moment. Just wake him up, please."

Alexi gave me another questioning look before he walked over and shook Xander awake.

I had lifted the back of my bed, so I was now sitting comfortably, preparing myself for the hell that was about to come.

Xander walked over and placed a hand on my cheek.

"You look better, little one. I'm so relieved."

"Thanks. I feel better, too. Sit down; I want to talk to you two." I scooted over and pulled them both to sit on the bed with me. This was it, now or never. "Okay, so what you guys saw was one of my visions. Since the one I saw of Xander at the Crescent Moon pack, I've had them more regularly. Once every other day or so, to be specific. The visions have always been of the same person. Well, the same two people. A vampire named Sebastian and a rogue wolf named Rachel. They are Vincent's parents."

I paused and looked at them. There were no words to describe the anger painting their features. I could tell they wanted to shout and rage at me. I didn't know if it was the pregnancy or recent ghost attack, but something kept them from doing it. I was thankful for that small miracle.

"Alaia, please tell us you're joking. You can't have been so stupid as to have visions of Vincent's parents and not think it was worth sharing with us, knowing that we've been trying everything to replace him. Please..." Xander begged.

A lone tear slid down my cheek. I wasn't using my tears to guilt-trip them. No, I was ashamed of the idiotic decision I had made that could have cost the life of my babies. My own life. "I'm so sorry. At first, I didn't know the people I was seeing were his parents. It was this last vision that revealed that to me. And I didn't want to burden you two. There is already so much on your shoulders, and you have been so busy lately-" I trailed off. I didn't even know what else I would have said to justify my actions. There was no justification. I had placed our children in danger. Nothing could ever begin to explain that.

Xander stood up, and without another word, walked out of the room. He couldn't even look at me, and I understood.

I reached out and took Alexi's hand.

His eyes stayed on our hands. He couldn't look at me either.

"Alexi, please forgive me. I'm so, so sorry. If I had known, I would never have done this. I'm begging you."

He took a deep breath and looked up at my face. "I need to go check on Xander. Then I'll send the doctor in to take a look at you since you're awake." He gently removed his hand from mine and left the room.

I was devastated. I felt like I had lost them both, and I had no idea how to get them back.

***

Xander POV

I was beyond angry; I was livid. And I wanted to hit something, hard. When Alexi walked over to me, my first thought was to hit him, but he was in the same boat I was. "How is she?" I asked. I at least needed to know she was alright. "Physically she seems to be fine, emotionally, though... that's another story."

"Why would she do something like this? She knows she can talk to us about everything. But she hides the fact that she's having visions of vampires and rogues?"

Alexi didn't answer. He couldn't. He was just as lost as I was. He sat down beside me and shut his eyes before pressing his fingers over his lids.

We sat in silence for a while, trying to think of a reason Alaia would think keeping this a secret was a good idea.

We had nothing.

Matt walked up shortly, out of breath, and looking like he'd run the entire way here. "Is it the babies? Are they coming already?"

I just shook my head. "No babies yet. She's in room 127. Right across the hall." He wanted to ask questions; I could see it all over his face. But I had no answers to give. "Just go check on her. She'll be happy to see you."

He nodded and walked over to enter the room.

I wanted someone in there with her. She shouldn't be alone.

I knew that Matt would be just as angry as Alexi and me, but he wouldn't leave her side. Not at least until we had a chance to accept what had happened. "I need to work up a sweat for a couple of hours. Burn off some of this frustration. You coming?" I asked Alexi. "Nah. I'll stay here and do some work. I want to stay close by."

Maybe it was for the best. I needed to be alone right now, anyway. I left Alexi there and went over to the gym, where I proceeded to punch and kick my anger away. Forty-five minutes later, my knuckles were raw from hitting the punching bag for so long. I was pouring sweat, but I was still pissed off, so I kept going.

I didn't know who I was angry with the most. Alaia, for keeping the secret and putting herself in danger? Vincent, for trying to claim my mate as h is birthright? Or whoever the f**k Sebastian was.

I didn't even notice when Kade came into the room. "Xander. What do you need, man?"

"Just leave me alone for a while. Make sure everything is alright with the pack. That's all I need."

He walked farther into the room and pulled his shirt off. "Nope, I'm staying right here. Matt and Alexi can look after everyone else."

Fine. I didn't care.

He stood behind the bag and held it in place while I continued to pummel it. My hands were now bleeding, but I still had more to left to give. "Do you know what Alaia did?" I asked between punches.

"Yep. I know."

"And? What do you think about it all?"

"I think you're an i***t. You and Alexi."

That stopped me in my tracks. "What are you talking about? She put herself in danger. The babies in danger."

"What she did was have a vision, a few visions. She didn't know who it was she was seeing. Is she supposed to tell you two about every single time she sees something? Get over yourself, Xander. You're pissed because she got hurt, and you couldn't help her. You're scared, and so is Alexi. Rightfully so. But don't take it out on her. She doesn't deserve it, and you damn well know it." "She basically lied, Kade. She lied to all of us."

"Bullshit, man! She didn't lie. She just didn't tell you something you never f*****g asked about. Now get your a*s showered and get back to her room. You smell like shit."

"Who do you think you're talking to?"

"You. Now go. Don't make me kick your a*s." He let go of the bag and left the room, picking his shirt up on the way.

A*****e.

***

Matt POV

When I entered bean's room, I could see that she had been crying. Why would Alexi and Xander leave her here alone knowing that she was upset? Something was not right, and I needed to figure it out and fix it.

"Bean, what's going on? Why aren't the guys in here?"

She looked up with red puffy eyes and sobbed. "They hate me, Matt. They both hate me, and it's all my fault!"

I hated seeing her like this. I walked to her bed, pulled her into a hug, and just let her cry. I didn't push for any answers. I just wanted to comfort her. Then I'd replace out what had happened to my family. After a few minutes, we had repositioned ourselves. I was sitting on the bed and had placed her head in my lap. I gently rubbed circles on her back, helping her to steady her breathing and calm down.

Soon, she had finally stopped crying, and only small sobs escaped her.

"You feel better now?"

"No. I can't feel better. Not when my fiancés won't even look at me, let alone talk to me. They can't even be in the same room, Matt." She took a cleansing breath, then told me all that had happened.

Listening to her story, I had to admit that I was angry as well, but I wouldn't let her see it. Not now. I'd have to save it for later.

Someone had hurt my best friend and Luna. That was where I would focus the anger and hate.

"Bean, listen to me. Those two love you; they will never hate you. They are probably disappointed that you kept this from them, but they do not hate you. Get that out of your head now."

"But-"

"No buts. Alexi and Xander have fought for you from the beginning. They even fought each other. Nothing will change their feelings."

"I messed up bad, Matt. How can I fix it?"

"We'll figure that out later. You just rest for now and focus on getting better. I'll make sure the guys are alright, too, so don't worry about them."

Dr. Bennett poked her head in the room just then, wanting to see how Alaia was doing.

I took this as my queue to leave. I slipped from the bed and walked out to the hall to give them some privacy.

Alexi was still in the same spot I had seen him earlier, but Xander was no longer there.

"Where'd Xander go?"

"He said he needed to work off some frustrations," Alexi replied.

When I sat down beside him, I couldn't help but blurt out. "You two are acting like d***s. She thinks you guys hate her, and that's f****d up." "We don't hate her; she knows that."

"Maybe you should remind her. Because right now, she thinks otherwise."

Alexi turned to me and scowled. "You know what happened, right? Are you okay with all this? Do you think her decision was the right one?"

I took a second before I answered. "Yes, I know what happened. Alaia told me. Am I okay with it? Not at all. I'm f*****g pissed, actually. But I'm also not her mate or fiancé. Our emotions aren't tied together like the three of you. She can feel how angry you are with her, times two. So, what do you expect her to think when she's left all alone in there?"

Alexi leaned back and closed his eyes. "I never thought of that."

"Well, now you are. Don't be too angry with her. She didn't do anything malicious; she just made a mistake. And she's beating herself up about it enough on her own. Just don't add to it."

"I'll go see her in a little while. I just need a bit more time to cool off. Seeing that bandage on her arm just brings all the anger back to the surface."

I could understand that. I was here campaigning for Alaia, but Alexi and Xander had legitimate feelings as well. Maybe they all needed a little time to work through it all. But I knew they would be alright. These three were fated to be together; they had no choice.