Chapter 169

Carol’s POV

“Carol, are you okay?” Allen asked, rushing into my office after I just finished throwing up. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and peeked up at him, forcing a smile.

“Yeah, just a stomach bug,” I told him.

It’s been a few days since I last threw up and I was starting to doubt it was a stomach bug. But I wasn’t going to worry him or anybody about this. He looked at me concerned anyway though.

“Have you been throwing up a lot?” He asked.

I didn’t want to talk about this anymore.

“Was there a reason you came into my office?” I asked, changing the subject.

He frowned at me and studied my face for a moment. Allen was a handsome guy, and he was probably a little older than Aiden. He had ashy blonde hair and blue eyes that could make any woman swoon. He was also very muscular, which wasn’t surprising because most hockey players were pretty muscular. As cute as he was, he didn’t compare to Aiden. My heart swelled when I thought about my mate and husband, and I couldn’t wait to be around him again. I’ve been blocking him from being able to hear too many of my thoughts and feelings because I didn’t want him to worry about this random sickness.

I don’t think he’s noticed I’ve been blocking him and if he has, he hasn’t said anything. I bit my lip thinking about it and I really hoped he wasn’t worried about me. The last thing I wanted was for anyone to worry about me.

“Yeah, a few of us were going to the bar tonight. Want to join us?” He asked, giving me a boyish smile.

“Thanks, but I think I’m just going to head home. I need a clear head for tomorrow,” I told him.

He frowned, looking almost dejected.

“Okay,” he murmured. “Well, if you change your mind, I’d love to see you tonight.”

I smiled at him, but I said nothing as he left the office. I sighed and finished doing my tasks before I left. I received a phone call from Miranda earlier about Cassidy. She finally woke up from her coma after her surgery last week. Thankfully, they were able to save her baby, and the baby seems to be doing fine. The children have been staying at the packhouse with Miranda and Joseph. Ben is still rotting in jail and waiting for a sentence. They wanted to wait until Cassidy was awake until they figured out what to do with him.

Right after I left the rink, I went straight to the hospital. Miranda was already in Cassidy’s hospital room when I arrived. Cassidy was still pale and looked exhausted despite being in a coma for a week, but she was looking better than she had when I first saw her. She even looked better than she had in the vision I had.

“Cassidy, I don’t think you were formally introduced. This is Luna Carol,” Miranda said, motioning for me.

She was at my Luna ceremony, as was the rest of the pack. But Miranda was right, we were never officially introduced, and I didn’t really talk to her.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I said, stepping towards her bed.

She gave me a weak smile.

“I heard you’re the one who saved my children…” she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. I fiddled with my fingers almost awkwardly. I didn’t want to be thought of as a hero or anything; I was just doing my job and doing what was right. “I don’t know how to thank you…”

“You don’t have to thank me. I would have done it regardless of anything. It was the right thing to do,” I told her, touching her hand gently. “Your ex-mate was not a good man, and I think your son knows this. Did he hurt you previously? Is that why your son was so protective of his sister?”

Tears fell from her eyes, and she sniffled as she looked down at her hand.

“You don’t have to answer that,” I said quickly. “I’m so sorry. I don’t mean to pry. Especially considering you just woke up.”

She shook her head and gave me a sad smile.

“He hurt me before and my son witnessed it. He’s threatened the children before too…” she whispered hoarsely. “But he’s my fated mate and I loved him so much. I still love him even now. I can still feel the broken bond even though he rejected me…”

She reached up and touched the mark on her neck with trembling fingers.

Miranda grabbed her hand and squeezed tightly.

“It’ll take some time,” Miranda assured her. “That feeling, along with the mark, will fade and you will heal again.”

Cassidy let more tears escape from her eyes and she nodded, her bottom lip trembling as she suppressed a sob.

“Your children are doing well,” I assured her. “And we will make sure they remain well. I also have some cleaners coming to take care of your apartment. It’s kind of a mess in there.”

Her cheeks reddened and she nodded.

“Yes… after Ben left the first time, I grew depressed. I could feel every time he was with another woman… every time they…” her voice trailed off, unable to continue the sentence.

“It’s okay,” I whispered, trying my best to be understanding.

She swallowed and took a deep breath.

“I could feel everything, and it destroyed me. Our bond was still very much active, so it was hard. I was depressed. I was barely able to care for my children and I know I worried a lot of people. I’m so sorry for causing such a mess.”

“You didn’t cause any of this, Cassidy. Get that out of your head. This was his mistake. He was the one who did this. You must know that,” I told her firmly.

She nodded slowly, biting her lower lip and chewing on it with such uncertainty on her face.

“It’s okay,” I assured her, brushing some hair out of her face. “I will make sure he never hurts you or your kids again.”

“What’s going to happen to him?” Cassidy asked, looking between the two of us.

“That’s up to you,” Miranda told her. “Like I said, he’s in jail right now. But they were waiting until you woke before they decided on what to do with him.”

She didn’t look as if she liked that, but she nodded and rested her head on the bed.

“I’m just so tired,” she whispered.

“You should get some sleep,” Miranda said, patting her hand. “We won’t stay.”

Cassidy nodded and looked at me again.

“Thank you again,” she whispered.

I smiled at her.

“Any time.”

With that, I turned and left the room with Miranda behind me.

“I hope that asshole pays for what he did to her,” she said in a low growl.

I nodded in agreement. Over the week I’ve been working alongside Miranda, we have gotten surprisingly closer. I ended up telling her about my powers and she was amazed by this. It was much earlier in the evening than I expected, and I knew Aiden was working late tonight. I decided to go to the bar and see the team before I went home. It wouldn’t hurt to have a couple of drinks tonight.

When I got there, Allen was already almost drunk, and he was so excited to see me.

“You came!” He cheered, making everyone else laugh and cheer with him.

“Just for a little bit,” I told him, sitting on the stool beside him.

“What are you drinking?” He asked, loudly so he could be heard above the loud music.

“A martini!” I yelled back.

He ordered me a martini and I thanked him as I sipped the delicious drink. It’s been a while since I’ve had a martini, and it felt good to let loose. The bar was cute; it was small and kind of a hole in the wall in this pack. However, there were a lot of familiar faces around and they weren’t just teammates. There were a ton of packmates, and they all looked so happy and carefree. It made me smile to see it.

I started to see these packmates as family, even if I never officially met them. I still cared about them my entire life.

“We should dance,” Allen said, taking a deep sip of his whisky.

I raised my brows.

“I don’t dance,” I told him.

“That’s bullshit. I was at your Luna ceremony, and you killed it,” he said, nudging my shoulder.

I blushed and shook him off.

“I only dance with my husband,” I told him.

“Oh, come on! We are friends. What’s good a friend if you can’t dance with them,” he whined.

I knew he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. It was getting late, and I wasn’t feeling great after that martini, but he looked almost desperate.

“Just one dance!” He pleaded.

I sighed.

“Fine,” I muttered, letting him grab my hand and pull me to the dance floor.

As the music continued, I got lost in the rhythm. Just because I didn’t dance often, didn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it. I would have enjoyed it more if it were Aiden though and I felt kind of bad that it wasn’t. I didn’t like the way Allen was touching my waist, and I kept wiggling him away from me, trying to get him to stop touching me, but he was almost relentless.

He kept grabbing my arm and pulling me close to him and I kept putting my hand on his chest and giving him a little shove to gain some distance. But he kept coming back for more. He twirled me around and I chuckled but then felt a bit nauseous from the dizziness. He pulled me back into his arms and before I knew what was happening, his lips were on mine……

and his tongue was being shoved deep into my mouth.