Alpha Aiden's Protection Program

Chapter 26: A Thousand Deaths

It's been a few weeks since Thane and Emery reluctantly left to go back to their home. The promise of my heart problems being kept between us were our parting words.

Since then, we've been planning my surgery and I've been spiralling.

Dr. Nazra had me on a special diet to mitigate any further damage to my heart. She and Aiden have also had me on a lockdown.

I wasn't to exert myself and I had to get frequent check-ups.

But it was neither the bland food nor their acts of caring that left me feeling like there was a bottom-less pit in my stomach.

Feeling sick almost all the time and experiencing shortness of breath dragged me to a dark place. I imagined that it would be hard for a sufficiently capable wolf to go from running miles and training to being confined to a human body and bed rest.

Some days I could feel my fur itching beneath my skin and heat of wolf's body pushing me to just shift.

I was the daughter of an Alpha and the Luna of the Oaks Pack, I couldn't be sitting around all day while my pack strategize and trained around the clock.

Letting them protect me wasn't the sign of a leader, but of a dictator. If they had to trudge through this thick mud that was finding a way to defeat the vamps, then I was going to get dirty as well.

Finding ways to be as strong in human form was a challenge, however, necessary. Once I had the pacemaker in my chest, I won't be able to shift again.

And maybe that thought scared me more than I'd like it too.

For now, though, I had some time. However little it may be.

I didn't know if it was just my bad luck or a rare stroke of good luck, but there's to be a wait until I could have the surgery done.

One, we still needed to get a doctor that was good enough for Aiden and two, we had to acquire quiet a lot of O negative blood for the surgery.

Not a single wolf in the pack had O negative, so we were required to seek it through the human blood bank. Of course, there was a waitlist for the rare blood type.

So, it was just a matter of time.

Until then, I had a chance to shift into my wolf. Aiden wasn't having it, but after a few sneaky kisses I managed to get him to relent.

However, a deal is only as good as a compromise and his ask was for us to go down to the lighthouse.

There was a field where the lighthouse stood and no human eyes to catch the sight of our wolves.

Plus, it was close enough to the castle.

Tourmaline insisted she joined us and then the ball kept rolling until Rick, Calypso, Matt and Kai all decided to have a picnic.

Rick and Calypso recently converted a campervan which they dying to try out, so now was a good a time as any. Matt and Kai took a jeep loaded bikes, at the behest of Tourmaline while Aiden drove one of his cars down.

"So, are you two going to get married now?" Tourmaline asked from the backseat.

Aiden's hand squeezed my own from where our hands were entertained on my lap.

I turned and caught her excited grin while my heart beat with anticipation at Aiden's response.  

A traditional human marriage was customary among werewolves, but I had no idea how the Oaks Pack did it.

"Tourm," Aiden said with a slight warning in his tone.

"But you love Tate, don't you Dad? And she has to stay with us forever."