Chapter 136

Aiden’s POV

I walked into the hospital room to see my father lying in his bed. His eyes were open, and it looked as if he was having trouble breathing. It was understandable considering he was poisoned. I always thought my father would be there; he was the strong one, the true Alpha of our pack, the one everyone, including myself, leaned on when things got tough. We might not always see eye to eye, but he was still my father and I loved him, just as I loved my mother.

Seeing my strong father weak and in a hospital bed, fighting for his life, even after he woke, made my chest tighten. I felt like a little kid again who had woken from a nightmare and just wanted to crawl into my parents’ bed.

But I wasn’t that kid anymore; I had a mate now that needed more than anything and a pack that I needed to run now that my father was most likely retired as Alpha. I could feel myself getting stronger, something I hadn’t wanted to admit to anyone, let alone myself, which meant that his powers were transferred to me. It happens when an Alpha is no longer the Alpha; the next in line will get their powers.

I feel I’m not ready for this type of responsibility, but I also know that I don’t have a choice.

“Johnathan, I brought your son to you,’ my mother said, her voice dropping to a low whisper as she approached his bed.

He took in a raspy breath as he struggled to lift his head to look at me.

“Don’t strain yourself,” my mother ordered him, making him put his head back down on his pillow. I approached his bed so he could look at me better without lifting his head.

I forced a smile.

“Hey, old man. How are you feeling?” I asked him.

He gave me a pointed look.

“Like I’ve been poisoned,” he managed to get out, his tone raspy and almost unfamiliar. “How is the pack?”

“Holding up,” I told him. “Oliver has been doing a great job at managing things while you’ve been out of it.”

He narrowed his eyes at me.

“Olver?” He asked. “Why haven’t you been managing things?”

“I went away for a bit,” I confessed. “I went with Carol to the King’s empire.”

“Why would you go there? You have a responsibility to your pack, and you left them when they were most vulnerable>”

“They were in good hands, father,” I told him, trying not to raise my voice.

I cleared my throat and tried again.

“Olver kept me updated on everything and he did great,” I told him. “I needed to go to the King’s Empire because the poison you were given was from there.

His brows furrowed.

“The poison was from the empire?” he asked, “How is that possible?”

I glanced at my mother, and she gave a small shake of her head. I knew she was worried about him receiving bad news. Once he learned that it was one of his best friends that poisoned him, it would destroy him. I had to keep this to myself for a little longer.

“Answer me,” he said, his voice rising even though it pained him.

I put my hand on his chest, settling him.

“Someone there sent over a poison and it was used on you,” I told him, hesitantly.

“Who did that?” He demanded to know.

“Look, how about we discuss this when you aren’t in the hospital,” I told him.

“No, tell me now,” he demanded.

“Johnathan, please just focus on recovering,” my mother pleaded, walking around to sand on the other side of his bed.

“Someone in my pack?” My father asked, his eyes remained on me.

“Please, Johnathan,” my mother tried again, her eyes filled with concern.

He finally broke his eyes away from me to look at his wife. I could see the conflict in his eyes; he wanted to appease my mother and he also knew she was right that he needed to focus on recovering, but the fact that someone in his pack, under his nose, poisoned him and tried to kill him was eating away at him.

Ultimately, my mother won the argument as she always did, and he sighed.

“I need to know the truth at some point,” he muttered.

“And you will,’ I assured him. “But for right now. You need to recover.”

He opened his mouth to say something, but all that came out was a deep cough that made me wince. I could hear the pain in his chest as he released the fluids that were stuck in his throat. The cough was loud and sounded gurgled. Traces of blood left his lips and coated his closed fist as he coughed into it.

“I’ll get the doctor,” I said urgently; I started to walk away, but he grabbed my wrist and stopped me in place as he continued to cough up his lung.

I gave my mother a concerned look and her eyes were filled with tears as she stared down at her husband.

She sniffled and wiped her wet eyes on the back of her hand before forcing a smile and looking at me.

“I’ll get the doctor; you stay with your father,” she ordered, her voice weak.

I nodded and watched as she left the room.

After a moment, he finally stopped coughing and he was left gasping for breath as he settled back onto his pillow.

“Are you okay?” I asked, grabbing a rag from his bedside and wiping the blood off his lips.

“I’ve been better,” he muttered. “That’s what happens when your wolf dies. Your body starts to betray you. I’ve only seen it happen once before and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.”

I paled at his words.

“You know for sure that your wolf is dead?” I asked him, narrowing my eyes.

He sighed and looked up at me, his head nodding slowly.

“Yes,” he finally answered after a long pause and several deep breaths taken. “My wolf is gone. I can feel it in my body; he’s no longer with me. My body is rejecting me. There’s still a chance I might die with my wolf.”

“We have the best pack doctors in the world,” I told him, trying to sound reassuring. “They aren’t going to let their Alpha die.”

“Nobody can stop death,” my father told me, shaking his head with remorse written all over his face. “It’s up to you now, Aiden.”

“What?” I asked him; I knew what he was talking about, but I didn’t want to believe it. I couldn’t believe it.

“You are the next Alpha in line. I can’t continue running the pack. You need to run the pack.”

I shook my head quickly, not wanting to face the reality of that.

“It’s your pack, father. I can’t run it… I’m not ready,” I told him, feeling a panicking feeling in the middle of my chest.

“You’ll have to be ready. My wolf is gone, Aiden. I’m sure you feel the fact that my powers are transferring to you. It means you are the rightful Alpha for the Capitol. I’m not sure who tried to kill me and what their reasoning was, but you need to watch your back.”

I sighed and slumped into the chair beside the bed.

“Do you really think I’m ready to be an Alpha full-time? “I asked him. “I spent most of my time training as a hockey player and not enough time training as an Alpha…”

He grabbed my hand and squeezed it.

“You’ve always had what it took,” he told me reassuringly. “I have faith in you, Son. Now all you need is a suitable Luna and you’ll be all set.”

I chose not to respond to that part because Carol was my suitable Luna.

My mother returned moments later with the doctor and the doctor examined him. He changed out my father’s IV fluids and gave him some medication to help with the pain.

“Will he be okay?” I asked the doctor once all was set again.

“All we can do now is hope and pray that he makes it through this. The first few days of losing his wolf will be the toughest and take a drastic toll on his body. It’s a painful process and not everyone can make it through, but your father is strong, and I have faith that he will be just fine. He just needs plenty of rest and fluids.”

I nodded as my mother sobbed into her hands. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close to me so she could sob into my chest. My mother needed me right now; my family needed me.

“The medication I just gave him will put him to sleep. I advise that he rest for the night. You can revisit him in the morning,” the doctor said.

“I’m going to stay the night again,’ My mother told him.

He nodded.

“I’ll have the nurse set up a bed for you, Luna,” he told her.

She nodded her thanks as she watched the doctor leave the room.

I turned to my mother as she wiped the remaining tears from her eyes. My father was already half asleep and I knew I needed to get back to Carol who was waiting for me in the waiting room. I thought about what my father said about having a proper Luna and about how I needed to take over the pack. I couldn’t hold things off any longer; I needed to get things going.

“Mom,” I told her, getting her attention. “I’m going to start planning the mating ceremony.”

She gasped and her eyes widened.

“What?” she asked.

“It’s time,” I told her, narrowing my eyes. “I’m going to mate and mark Carol.”