Selling Myself To The Alpha
Chapter 70

Liana POV

There is a foul taste in my mouth and my eyelids are heavy. I force my eyes open and blink a few times until I register my surroundings. The hospital bed is surprisingly comfortable, and I snuggle deeper into the pillows.

They will only operate tonight because I ate earlier, and my stomach needs to be empty. In the meantime, I had the luxury of a pain-free afternoon nap. Whatever medication they gave me, worked like a charm.

I turn on my side and freeze when I see the sleeping figure in the chair.

"Axel?" I whisper surprised and he opens his eyes.

He looks at me for a second before he jumps up and rushes to my side.

"You're awake," he states the obvious as he takes my hand. "How are you feeling?"

"Well rested," I smile and lean back against the pillows. "How did you know I'm here?"

"The question should rather be why didn't you tell me you're here?" He growls as he pulls the chair closer to the bed and takes a seat.

"I didn't have time," I yawn and close my eyes. "I was in pain and whatever they gave me made me sleep. Stop avoiding answering my question."

"I'm not avoiding it," he chuckles. "Stanley called me. He's part of my pack, and he was keeping an eye on Leon and your parents. Unfortunately, he failed."

"He didn't fail," I sigh. "He was outnumbered."

It warms my heart to learn that - despite what Leon has done - Axel tried to protect him. Leon is not part of his pack. Hell, I am not even part of his pack. Still, he protects us. Nobody has ever been so good to me. Not even the people I call family or who said they love me.

Axel has seen me at my worst. I insulted him, doubted him and fought with him. I even threw him with a tomato, but still, he showed up. And yes, he kills people that deserve it, according to him. But he is also the kindest and most considerate man I know. Not to mention trustworthy and loyal. He is the father of my child - whether he wants to be part of it or not - and I love him.

It hurts to know that he will never love me the way I love him. Once our agreement is over, he will politely thank me and let me go. When the time comes, I will deal with it, and I will always be grateful for everything he has done for me. He might not love me, but he has shown me love.

But if I must pick a day to be rejected, today will be it. My parents already kicked me out, I might as well get it over and done with Axel.

"You're a good man, Axel Silvermann," I say softly as I fight the sleep. "That's why I love you."

"What?" His voice is a mere whisper, and his hold tightens on my hand.

"You heard me," I smile nervously. Just because I want to deal with this, does not mean he does. I have said it and you cannot take back words. Even when you say something you do not mean, it will always be there lingering. Now the poor man must pick his words carefully to let me down easy. "I love you. Can I go back to sleep now, please?"

"Yes... no," he stutters and stands up. "You can't go to sleep after saying that."

"It's the perfect time to say it," I yawn and turn on my side to sleep. "Now you're not in that awkward situation that you have to respond."

"But what if I want to respond?" He protests heftily.

"I didn't say you couldn't," I laugh as I turn back to face him. "But this way you can pretend that I haven't said anything and avoid the awkwardness."

"Do you have a fever?" He frowns and places a hand on my forehead. "Or did they pump you full of drugs and now you're hallucinating?"

"No," I groan, and my eyes fall closed. "I meant what I said. After the day I had... things changed and got into perspective. So, I love you and good night."

His joyous laughter fills the room and I open my eyes to look at him. Of all the reactions, laughing at me was the last I expected. And it stings that he replaces it amusing that I love him. "You should go now," I turn my back on him and close my eyes. I want to be alone and cry.

"Never," he comes to sit on my bed and cups my face so that he can look me in the eyes. "I never planned on leaving you and after your confession I sure as hell not going anywhere." "Axel, you don't..."

"I don't," he leans over and kisses me softly.

"But I want to," he murmurs against my lips. "Because I love you too."

"You do?" I ask flabbergasted and wiggle out of his hold to sit upright.

"Why haven't you said anything?" I slap him against his shoulder. "Why make me say it first?"

"Well, first I had to give you time to get over Wyatt," he shrugs. "And then you sounded so disappointed that you marked me. So, I assumed that you don't feel the way I do."

"I wasn't disappointed," I protest indignantly. "I was devastated that I disgraced something sacred to you. I can't believe you made me say it first. What are you doing?"

I laugh softly as he pulls me onto his lap.

"You talk too much," he mumbles before he kisses me until I am lightheaded.

"If we talked more often, we would've figured this out sooner," I whisper as I close my eyes when his lips trail down to my neck.

"Why do you always fight me on everything?" He grunts against my skin.

"I'm not," I sigh as he pushes me back against the pillows.

"You're doing it right now," he captures my lips and I throw my arms around his neck.

I return his kiss with all the love I have for him. We still have so much to talk about and things to work through, but not now. For now, I am simply going to submit to the happiness that is overwhelming me. "Excuse me," a sharp voice snaps me out of my euphoria. "Sir, what do you think you're doing?"

"Kissing the love of my life," Axel murmurs against my lips and reluctantly I let him go.

"This isn't a hotel room," the resident snorts. "Get off her and return her tonsils."

"Rude," Axel gives the resident a deathly look and the young man's face pales.

"Sir, I'm sorry," he swallows hard. "I meant it as a joke."

"Get out of this room and come back in five minutes," Axel orders him.

"Sir, please," he looks panicky at Axel. "I need to prep her for the procedure and my boss ..."

"Five minutes," Axel growls and he scurries out of the room.

"That poor soul," I laugh softly. "He's a human and doesn't know you're a wolf, Axel. You shouldn't be so hard on him."

"He'll get over it," Axel snorts before he leans over and kisses me tenderly.

The is a cough from the door and Axel sighs heavily.

"I love you, Liana," he murmurs against my lips.

"I love you," I kiss him once more before he stands up.

"And you," Axel's voice is loaded with authority. "You need to work on your bedside manners."

"Yes, sir," he nods. "I apologize, sir."

"You better bring her back alive," Axel threatens him as he starts pushing my bed towards the door.

"Yes, sir," he nods.

"Good luck," Axel kisses me quickly. "And come back to me."

Axel POV

My heart pulls painfully together as I watch the resident push Liana away. I know this is not a life-threatening procedure, but I cannot help but worry. I cannot lose her, not now that I know she loves me.

I have waited and hoped for so long, and now the time has come to confess to her that she is my mate. The happiness I felt when she said those words were overwhelming. I thought my heart was going to explode.

I want to rush home and get her engagement ring to propose when she wakes up, and I must force myself to stay. I am not the world's most romantic man but hell, at the very least I want to make an effort and give her a special occasion. Doing it in the hospital with the smell of illness and disinfectant would be wrong.

I rub my sweaty palms nervously against my jeans. I hope she says yes when I ask. To love me is one thing, to spend the rest of days with me, is another.

But before I plan anything, I must work on Angela's situation. Liana was right - I did not think it through properly. Angela wanted Liana dead when I was only sleeping with her. I shudder to think what Angela will do when I break off the fake engagement to marry Liana.

Killing her would solve all my problems and would be so much easier. I will do it in a blink of an eye, but I heard what Liana said the other day. Not only will she feel guilty that Angela had to die, but her parents will also avenge her and start a war with our pack. What I do know, is that I will not make a decision without consulting Liana. If she agrees to marry me, she will be my Luna and we will be a team. Even though Liana is a human and does not fully comprehend our way of doing, she is reasonable and objective. She is kind-hearted and fair. I never realized how much I need someone like her by my side. I need her voice of reason to keep me from making spontaneous mistakes - like getting engaged to Angela.

I sigh heavily as I sit down and close my eyes. It is going to be at least another forty minutes before Liana's procedure is done and heavens know how long before she wakes up. Time has never moved so slowly before, and this is going to be the longest wait of my life.