Sweet Caroline
Chapter 22

Caroline woke up feeling much better, although she didn’t open her eyes because they still felt weighed down.

She seemed to be laying on something very hard and frowned. Still not ready to open her eyes, she slowly began to move her hand around. She felt something hard, warm, and smooth which was moving as if breathing. It was a body. She was lying on someone’s chest.

Caroline began to panic even as she took in a deep breath to scream. With that breath, she smelled something slightly musky, something familiar. “Andrew?” Suddenly she wasn’t scared as the familiar scent filled her lungs.

“Hm…?”

Caroline managed to raise her head slightly, though it felt as if it weighed a ton, and pry open her heavy eyelids. Once more, she whispered, “Andrew.” There he was in living beauty, the sun casting a glow around his head from the window.

Andrew’s eyes opened, and he looked at her and smiled. “Yes, doll, it’s me, and I am ever so glad to see those beautiful eyes of yours once more.”

“When did you return?”

“Around two-thirty in the morning, the day before yesterday. Everyone has been so worried about you.”

Caroline frowned. “Day before yesterday?”

“Yes, you’ve been out for two days now. Can you tell me what happened?”

“It’s a bit foggy, but I remember waking up feeling so sick. I haven’t felt well since you left, but this was worse, so much worse. I was sick to my stomach, and everything hurt, then I was throwing up blood. I went to get my dad,” Caroline explained, “but I passed out.”

“Yes, you did, and when you hit the floor, it sent a wave of pain through my body. That’s when I knew something was wrong with you, something besides our agony over being separated, Andrew told her.

“Mate bond?” Caroline asked, confused.

“You remember I told you how I can feel things through our bond.”

She nodded.

“Well, with us being apart, I knew it would be rough on me but hoped since you are human that it wouldn’t affect you as badly. When I began to feel how bad you felt, I thought that’s all it was.”

“Wasn’t it?” Caroline inquired.

Andrew shook his head. “No, baby doll, you were poisoned. Your dad got you to the hospital, but it didn’t look good. By the time I got to you, you were almost dead.”

Caroline’s breath hitched as she thought about what he was saying. “Poison! Who, what, why?”

“We don’t know all the details. I’ll tell you what we do know. We know it was poison and that it was put in your toothpaste because we had it tested. Darryl is the one who figured that out.”

“Thank goodness for Darryl,” Caroline whispered.

Andrew nodded his agreement and continued to explain. “We know Reva was behind it because she came to the hospital to finish you off. We don’t know, though, if she was working alone or not. When she ran into your hospital room with a syringe to finish you off, I tackled her. When I did, she landed on the syringe full of the poison and died instantly.”

“Reva, oh my,” Caroline murmured. “I know she didn’t like me, but to kill me, that seems a little extreme.”

Andrew took a deep breath before sighing deeply. “The last thing she said was that you needed to die because I was hers. Caroline, Reva was twisted, and she had decided she was my mate in her twisted mind. When she found out you were my mate, she knew the only way she could have me as if you were dead.”

“Because a shifter only gets one mate.”

“Right, though some do take another if theirs dies,” Andrew said.

“So, she figured if she got rid of me, she’d get you,” Caroline said, a bit skeptical.

“I guess so since she went to the effort of trying.”

“Didn’t she think you might have a problem with the fact that she was the one to kill your mate?” Caroline inquired.

“I don’t think she really cared, and all this is really just speculation anyway because we never got the chance to question her. She did admit to the Alpha when he went to tell her of her punishment that she thought I should be her mate, not some human. The Alpha told her that wasn’t her decision to make,” Andrew said with a long sigh. “I’m just glad you’re alright.”

His breath caught then, and he looked as if he was about to cry. Caroline wrapped her arms around him and kissed the top of his head as he buried his face in her neck.

“I’m still here, Andrew,” Caroline whispered.

“I know, but it was so close. Doll, I wouldn’t have survived if I’d lost you,” Andrew told her. Then he took a deep breath before pulling his head back. “We should let everyone know you’re awake.”

Caroline knew he was right because there were a lot of people worried about her. However, there was something she needed right then, and it wouldn’t wait.

“I love you, Andrew, and right now, I need you more than anything in this world. Make love to me.”

With a groan, Andrew crashed his lips to hers and proceeded to make love to her with all the love he had in him.

“Doll, do you know what today is?” Andrew asked Caroline as he ran a hand over her bare shoulder.

Caroline shook her head with a slight frown. “What day is it?”

“It’s Thursday. Even with the Alpha giving you blood, you’re still human, and it took a while for you to heal. I think that’s why you lost a couple of days, remember, I told you,” Andrew said.

“Oh, well then, it…?” Caroline let out a gasp as her eyes met his. “It’s my birthday!”

Andrew grinned. “Yes, it is. Do you remember what I wanted to do on your birthday?”

“Elope,” she answered with a soft laugh.

Andrew chuckled. “Yeah, that’s right. Let me up for a moment.”

Caroline moved off him, and he leaned over to grab something from his bedside table. When he turned back, he murmured, “Marry me, Caroline.”

Caroline looked down at the diamond solitaire Andrew held in his hand. She felt a tear roll down her cheek as she held her left hand out to him. Taking her eyes from the ring, she gazed into his eyes and noticed the glow. Knowing that meant his wolf was peeking out at her, she smiled through her tears to whisper, “Oh, Andrew.”

“You are our mate, the one we love and vow to protect with everything that is in us. To me, you are already mine, Caroline. To me, the mark you were on your neck is stronger than any human paper. For you though, sweet Caroline, for you, I will do this human marriage,” Andrew told her, his voice gruff because of his wolf.

Caroline threw her arms around his neck as she kissed him and said, “Yes, yes, I’ll marry you! I love you with everything in me too, Andrew.”

Andrew’s eyes returned to normal as his wolf receded. Then he said, “We should go downstairs now. Everyone, including your family, was waiting for you to awaken.”

Caroline wiped her tears as she nodded and asked, “May I take a quick shower first?”

“Yeah, and your dad brought you some clothes. I left them in the bathroom,” Andrew told her as he helped her up.

Andrew ended up taking a shower with her, and then he left her to dress.

As Caroline pulled out the clothing in her bag, she stared at them with a confused frown. “Andrew?”

“Yes, doll?”

“Why did my dad pack me a sundress instead of jeans?”

“Hey, he’s your dad, so how should I know,” Andrew said with a wink. “Just wear it, and we’ll get you a change of clothes later.”

So, with a shrug, Caroline got dressed. Then, she quickly combed her hair before pulling it back in a French braid. Exiting the bathroom, she grumbled, “He forgot my shoes too.”

“It’s alright. I planned to carry you down anyway since I know you’re probably still weak.” Andrew said as he picked her up.

Caroline smiled and kissed his cheek. “You are so very good to me.”

“Always, baby doll, always,” Andrew murmured as he kissed her.

Then, he was out the door and headed downstairs to where everyone waited. They walked into the large sitting room in Andrew’s home, and Caroline glanced around.

When he’d told me everyone was here, he wasn’t lying. Literally, everyone important in my life is here. Andrew’s parents, his brother, the Alpha, and Darryl were all there. Then there were Caroline’s friends and her dad.

As soon as Andrew set Caroline on her feet, she was grabbed and hugged by her dad. He was followed by Dale, then Rebecca, then Maggie.

“Oh, Caro, I am so glad you’re alright. When your dad told Dale about you being in the hospital after getting food poisoning, we could hardly believe it.”

Caroline glanced at Andrew, her eyebrows raised, and he shrugged.

“Doll, do you know what Darryl’s dad does for a living?” Andrew suddenly asked after Caroline had taken a few minutes to visit with everyone.

Caroline looked at him. I know he’s the Alpha, but I don’t think that is what Andrew would be talking about, considering all the humans in the room. “Um, no, I can’t say as I do.”

“He’s a judge.”

“Okay, and I need to know this why?”

“Because I told you to be ready to marry me on your birthday, which is today, and why everyone is here,” Andrew answered with a smirk.

“I suppose that explains the dress,” Caroline murmured.

The Alpha stepped forward with a paper in his hand. He then calmly explained, “While you were out, Andrew’s dad, and yours, applied for a wedding license for you and Andrew. So, today, with your permission, I will be marrying the two of you.”

“Yes, oh, yes, yes, yes!” Caroline shouted as she grabbed hold of Andrew and kissed him multiple times.

“Let’s do this then,” Andrew said with a grin.

So, Caroline and Andrew stood in front of the Alpha, with their friends and family surrounding them.

The Alpha began. “Friends and family, we are gathered here today to join these two in holy matrimony….”

THE END