Once Rejected, Twice Desired (Book 1 of Blue Moon Series)
Once Rejected, Twice Desired Chapter 37

Alaia

POV

I woke in a warm, bright room, dazed, and a bit confused before I realized that I was in the pack hospital. I didn't even remember the trip back home or how I got here.

I looked down at my arm to see I was hooked to a few machines and noticed an IV pumping fluids into my body. I knew I was extremely dehydrated. Max only gave me small amounts of food and water, and everything I did get always came back up. I rubbed a hand over my slightly rounded stomach and prayed to the Goddess that the last few weeks didn't harm my baby. I couldn't lose this last link I had to Xander.

Xander!

I shot up from the bed so fast I made myself dizzy and had to take a second to wait for the room to stop spinning.

Matt sat in the corner of the room and rushed over as soon as I sat up, afraid that something was wrong. "Bean? Are you alright? What happened?"

"Matt, I need to see Xander. Please take me to him."

He smiled, then nodded his head. "Cool, but don't jump up like that, you scared the s**t out of me. Can you stand up?"

I placed my feet on the floor and pushed up. My legs were still weak, but I could hold my own weight with just a little bit of effort. Proud of my little bit of progress, I smiled up at Matt.

"Okay, take my arm, and we'll go slowly. He's right next door, but you let me know if you need to stop, alright?"

"It's a deal."

We started taking baby steps toward the door to my room, with Matt pulling my IV pole behind us.

"So, how did you get stuck with babysitting duty? Shouldn't you be out there with Kade kicking someone's a*s?"

"We did plenty of a*s-kickings while you were gone. You getting better is the priority now. So, it's you and me, kid."

I just shook my head at him. I would never have thought that he would be so silly, but Matt had quickly become one of my favorite people.

When we arrived in front of Xander's door, I felt Amethyst beginning to stir in my mind. She was excited to see her mate, and so was I. I stepped in and was heartbroken at what I saw. My strong and powerful mountain of a man laid on his side with sweat running down his face. His beautiful hair was stuck to his forehead in clumps, and there were dark, sunken circles under his eyes.

Matt pulled up a chair for me and placed it right next to Xander's head.

I sat down and began stroking his hair, trying to offer him any comfort I could.

"Matt, would you bring me his toiletry bag? I want to clean him up a bit."

Matt went to the closet and returned with a small, black leather bag and passed it to me.

I looked inside, found a small brush and comb, and immediately went to work on taming Xander's beautiful ebony curls. Once that was done, Matt brought me a basin of warm water that I used to carefully give Xander a much-needed shave. "That's more like it. That's the man I love," I said while looking down at him.

"He looks much better, that's for sure. He was starting to look like Grizzly Adams, but he would have killed Kade and I if he knew we had decided to shave him."

"Matt, I can't heal him, can I?"

"No, I don't think you can. All my readings and talks with the elders have ended with this poison being irreversible. In the two days you've been home, though, he hasn't gotten any worse, so there is that. Maybe if your powers won't heal him, the bond between the two of you can help to at least bring some part of him back."

That wasn't what I wanted to hear. I didn't want to lose him so soon.

You have to mark him, doll.

What? What good will that do?

The combination of the mate bond and your powers will help bring him back.

Are you sure? Matt said that our powers couldn't heal him. The poison is too strong.

Usually that would be true, but this isn't a normal situation. For an ordinary wolf, a Blue Moon is no different from a full one. In our case, it amplifies our powers tenfold. The Blue Moon is in two days. You have to mark him when the moon is at its brightest in the sky. That is our last hope of getting them back.

"The Blue Moon..."

"What about it, Bean?"

"I need to mark Xander on the night of the Blue Moon." I filled Matt in on what Amethyst had told me.

"I've never heard of that, and I've been researching like crazy. I'll go to the elders now and see what they can add to this. If it's our last shot, then I want us to have all the information we can."

I felt a spark of hope for the first time in weeks. I would do anything to save him, and this seemed like a perfect solution.

"Do you want me to take you back to your room?"

"No. Actually, could you see if I could be moved in here with Xander? I just need to be close to him."

"Sure, Bean. I'll make it happen. Be right back."

When Matt left, I leaned down and placed a kiss to Xander's lips. I smiled when I felt that familiar spark from the contact. I had missed it almost as much as I'd missed Xander. But he was still here, and I wasn't going to give up on him. About twenty minutes later, another bed and new equipment were rolled into the room and set up next to Xander. I settled in and prepared to watch my peacefully sleeping mate for a while before the doctor came in. "Hello, Luna. How are you feeling today?"

"So much better. So... how am I?"

"Well, besides some mild dehydration and exhaustion, you're doing great. Also, the Beta and Gamma told us that you suspected that you might be pregnant, and a blood test had confirmed that. You are about seven weeks along, Luna." Xander had done it. He was determined to put a pup in me, and he did. But I couldn't really enjoy this moment because he wasn't here to celebrate with me.

"Luna, are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm good, Dr. Roberts. I just wish Xander could hear the news as well. How is he doing?"

I looked over to Xander's beautiful face and hoped to receive news that I knew wouldn't come.

"He's... complicated, Luna. He was getting progressively worse day by day before you were found, but now he has stabilized. Although he's not getting any better, we're still holding out hope. Maybe all he needed was you." "How much longer can he survive like... this?"

"I can't say for sure, but maybe a few weeks? His wolf hasn't been able to heal him, so right now, his body is the same as a human's. His organs are all still functioning, but if they start to shut down, we won't be able to stop them."

The blue moon was my only hope. So long as Xander could hold out a couple more days.

I nodded my thanks to the doctor before he turned to leave the room.

"Just rest for the next couple of days, Luna. We need you and our future Alpha strong and healthy."

He left the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

***

Kade POV

It took all of my restraint not to kill Alexi as soon as we found him in the woods. It was his rogues who attacked our pack, poisoned my best friend, and stole my Luna. He deserved nothing less than death. But Alaia wanted him alive, and I would respect that. When we arrived back to the territory, I personally escorted him down to the cells in the packhouse basement. Once he was locked in, I took a moment to satisfy my curiosity. "Alexi, why would you do something like this? Why would you betray your best friend and your pack?"

He scowled at me, seemingly to say that it was none of my business, but then he spoke. "I always got the girl. Maybe that was my problem. I ran through them, and when I was bored, I moved on to the next. My wolf hated it, he wanted us to save ourselves for our mate, but I didn't care. When I found out that Alaia was my mate, I was ashamed by the way I had behaved all those years. I never wanted her to have to deal with it. So, I rejected her, and as soon as I regretted it and decided to get her back, she already had Xander. He had already moved in and stole her heart without her even knowing. Max was livid, and he absolutely hated me for taking his mate from him. When the challenge didn't end the way we expected, he snapped and decided that drastic actions were needed. "My sleeping around caused us to lose our mate. I couldn't deny that, so I understood. But then I was somehow pushed aside, Max had full control, and his rage fueled his decisions. I couldn't stop him. I hate that a part of me caused Alaia more pain." It was then that I realized why Alaia was so adamant about not hurting him. Alexi did make a few poor choices, but he didn't want all of this. He was a victim as well. "I'll do everything I can to help you, Alexi. This, I promise you."

"You're a pretty good Beta, Kade. Almost as good as I would have been," he smirked at me as he went to go lay down on his cot.

"Someone will be down soon to take you for a shower. Dinner should be ready when you get back." I left Alexi and headed up to Xander's office to figure out a way to keep my promise.

***

Alaia POV

For the last two days, I'd sat by Xander's side, only leaving him for short bathroom breaks and naps. Lots and lots of naps.

Being close to him again had revitalized me, and I was finally feeling back to normal. It was true that mated wolves needed to be close to one another to survive. Xander was regaining some of his color, and the dark circles under his eyes were getting better, too. But he still hadn't woken up, and he still couldn't communicate with us. He was no longer in constant excruciating pain, but that wasn't enough. But I held on to hope, and I'd even felt the baby move a few times. Our baby.

I was sitting in my usual spot at the head of Xander's bed-Matt had gotten a super comfy recliner brought in for me with a ton of extra pillows. It was a little slice of heaven in my otherwise less-than-heavenly world.

I placed one of his hands on my belly and rubbed his hair while I read out loud from one of my favorite books. This had become our daily ritual, and it seemed to bring both me and Xander comfort.

The baby gave a sharp kick, right where Xander's hand was resting, making me gasp. So far, I had only felt small movements, more like flutters, but this was a full-blown kick.

"That's your daddy, little bean. I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure he's here to teach you everything there is to know about being Alpha. We'll watch you grow and learn and shower you with all the love you can handle. He's going to be so happy to meet you."

Another pair of kicks made me smile. This pup was a fighter, just like me, and it's dad.

We'd be a family soon enough; I hoped.