Selling Myself To The Alpha
Chapter 71

Liana POV

"I don't care for your opinion," Axel's angry voice pierces through my clouded brain. "I'm not leaving her here. She's coming home with me."

"Mister Silvermann," Doctor Webber's voice is patient. "It's heartwarming that you care so much for her, but it's not safe to transport her now. It's in her best interest ..."

"Are you telling me I don't have her interest at heart?" Axel bellows furiously. "I'm not going to dump her on the backseat of my car and take her to a shack. I have the means to transport her with Medivac to a hospital closer to home." "Axel," I croak and instantly he stops arguing with the doctor.

"Hi," he whispers as he stands next to me and gently strokes my hair. "How are you feeling?"

"Stop arguing with the doctor," I grunt and close my eyes. "He's only doing his job."

"Welcome back," Doctor Webber smiles at me. "Your procedure went smoothly and you're going to be fine."

"She'll be even better when I take her home," Axel glares at Webber.

"Doctor, can you give us a moment, please?" I ask politely.

He nods and smiles at me before he leaves the room.

"Axel," I turn to him. "You're not the alpha here. You can't force your will onto people."

"Please," he snorts. "Humans might not understand wolves, but they understand money and I have plenty of it."

"A hospital is a hospital, Axel," I reason softly. "Let me stay here. Doctor Webber is kind and I trust him. I honestly don't want to travel right now."

"I'm not being stubborn or difficult," he sighs and for the first time, it registers that he is worried. "I cannot protect you here, and this thing with Wilson isn't resolved. We uncovered some disconcerting stuff about Wilson. Nina's still under protection and you should be too."

With a sigh, I close my eyes. When is this drama going to end? Just as I think we made progress another thing pops up. I was serious when I said that I am not up for travelling, but insisting to stay is going to complicate things for Axel and I do not want to do that to him.

"Okay," I reluctantly agree. "But I'll talk to Doctor Webber. You're too mean."

"I'm sorry," he rests his forehead on mine. "I love you and I wouldn't have insisted if I thought it isn't necessary."

"I know," I try to smile. "Please call the doctor and make your arrangements."

**

Axel POV

I feel like a dog when we land on the hospital's roof. Liana is whiter than the sheets in which she is wrapped. I wish I could have left her where she was, but I cannot risk it. "Her room is ready," Michelle shouts over the helicopter's noise. "Let's get her inside."

I nod and silently follow Michelle and her personnel to Liana's room. I stand in the corner and out of their way as Michelle examines her.

"She'll be fine," Michelle says after a small eternity. "Exhausted but fine."

"And our arrangements are in place?" I ask sternly.

"Yes," she nods. "Nobody in or out of this room except for pre-screened personnel."

"Good," I nod. "I'll be here most of the time anyway."

"I'm going home," Michelle rubs over her eyes. "It's one o'clock in the morning and judging by your complexion, you also need to rest."

"Duly noted," I grunt and wait until everyone is out before I walk to Liana's bed.

I kiss her softly before I make myself comfortable on the recliner and close my eyes.

**

The vibration of my phone wakes me and I quickly step out of the room before it wakes Liana.

"Hello, Angela," I try to keep the irritation out of my voice. "Why are you calling so early?"

"It's eight o'clock," she laughs brightly. "Since when is that early for you?"

"Since I was up most of last night dealing with pack business," I growl.

"Oh, yes, I heard," she replies, and I frown. How the fuck does she knows our pack's business?

"Your father told my dad," she says as if she read my mind. "Terrible stuff."

"What do you want, Angela?" I ask exhausted. It is too early in the morning to deal with her.

"I miss you," she sounds like a little girl and a shiver of disgust ripples through me. "I haven't seen you in a month, and I cannot forget our last night together."

"Now is not the time," I cut her short. I do not want to be reminded about that.

"When is the time?" She asks irritated. "You always have an excuse not to see me."

"When this is over," I inhale deeply to calm myself. "I'm not even at home."

"I know," she replies. "Your mother told me."

"Then you know I'm not lying," I grind my teeth. My parents really should stay out of my business. I am only glad that I have not told Dad every detail. I told him just enough to keep him happy. "Well, we should still talk," she says adamantly. "We need to announce our engagement and make arrangements for the wedding and your inauguration. There are only three months left." "There's no need for an engagement party," I smirk. It feels good to say it. "You already announced it."

"Only to Julia," she protests. "That's hardly an announcement."

"And you think that juicy piece of information won't travel like wildfire through my pack," I yell angrily. "You brought this over yourself. No engagement party."

"Axel, no," she starts crying. "That's not fair. How was I supposed to know Julia couldn't keep a secret? You should fire her and not punish me."

"What's done is done," I say mercilessly. "I'm also done talking about it. There will be no party. And if I even get so much as a whiff that you're planning one, I'm cancelling the wedding." "You're cruel," she yells. "What has gotten into you?"

"I said what I wanted to," I ignore her crying. "Goodbye, Angela."

"Axel, wait..."

But I do not wait. I disconnect the call and go back into the room. Liana is still sleeping and looking at her peaceful face calms me down a little.

At least one thing is going my way. Liana loves me. I cannot wait for her to wake up so that we can talk and plan our future together.

"It's creepy to watch people sleep," she groans, and I rush to her side. "And before you ask, I'm fine."

"Good," I laugh before I gently kiss her and take a seat on her bed. "Can I get you anything?"

"You can get off my IV," she mumbles and sheepishly I scoot away.

"Anything else?" I chuckle.

"Coffee," she sighs longingly.

"Nice try," I take her hand into mine. "It's clear juices for you until Michelle says otherwise."

"Then I'm going back to sleep," she grunts. "Wake me up when I can have caffeine."

"Liana, we need to talk," I say seriously.

"We'll do plenty of talking," she pulls a face. "The doctor said no sex for the next two weeks."

"Really?" I ask disappointed. Not that sex is the alpha and omega, but she told me she loves me, dammit. I want to celebrate those words with actions.

"Really," she confirms.

I sigh heavily as the true meaning registers. I will have to postpone the arrangements for my proposal. When I started planning, it slipped my mind that she will not heal as fast as a she-wolf. A picnic in the woods where I revealed my wolf to her, is not a strenuous activity but she might not be strong enough or in the mood for an outing.

"Okay, about Wilson," I inhale deeply before I tell her everything Adele discovered. "Was Wyatt ever violent towards you? Or have you ever felt unsafe with him?"

"No," she frowns. "Except for the time in the parking lot."

"And his financial affairs?" I ask as I fight my anger. Remember the time he attacked her, and Nina infuriates me all over. "Have you ever wondered where he got the money from?"

"Of course not," she scoffs. "He's the Delta's son. I always assumed Delta's are paid a lot. Do you think he's in charge?"

"These are routine questions," I smile softly to ease her. "The other investors will be interrogated the same way. I only wanted more information before I confront Wyatt."

"This is disturbing," she sighs. "Remember what Wilson said to you in the park? He said Leon laughed at him when he picked out the gun. Do you think Leon knew Wilson planned on killing me?"

"No," I say urgently. "I think Wilson was playing them. It might have started out as the three of them collecting from you, but I think it changed for Wilson when Nina turned out to be a match. For Leon and Wyatt, it was about the money. For Wilson, it was about the heart." "That's strangely comforting," her bottom lip quivers slightly. "Knowing that my brother didn't participate in planning to kill me."

"I'm sorry," I lean over and kiss her. I would much rather pull her onto my lap and hold her, but I am afraid that I might hurt her. "It's awful and I'm sorry."

"That's not the worst of it," she cries softly. "My parents..."

She stops abruptly and cries softly as she pulls her hand from mine and covers her face.

"Liana," I lay down next to her and gently pull her closer. "Tell me what happened yesterday."

Her words are soft and uneven as she struggles to tell me through the tears. And the more I hear, the angrier I get. For as long as I live, I will never be able to understand how parents can worship one child and grossly neglect the other. I might be an only child, but it simply makes no sense to me.

I stroke her hair and back while whispering comforting words as I try to contain my anger. As much as I despise her parents at this moment, so little can I do or say. It is her parents after all. But if it was up to me ... damn, I am going to need a cemetery