Chapter 149: Chapter 149

/Rose POV/

As soon as the dull thud echoed around the woods, it sent a searing pain through my skull. I was unable to move, taking a few more seconds to process that Aiden was on the floor, unconscious.

With my sight going fuzzy around the edges and limbs twitching and shaking uncontrollably, I tried to work my muscles. Once that was under control, I put my body weight onto the palms, which burned and felt numb at the same time.

Standing up, my chest lurched, and soon after, my stomach jumped violently. A fit of loud coughs escaped my lips, throat constricting, instinctively curling in.

"A-Aiden..." The sting was sitting deep inside as I finally scrambled forward, heart hammering against my ribs, coming to a sudden, painful standstill.

"No...Please wake up!" Tears rolled down my cheeks as I fixated my stare on him, watching the remnants of dirt cling to his skin, making him shimmer. Upon close inspection, I realised that he slowed down his breathing, body unmoving.

"Come on!" I hissed a curse, the tears slowly dripping down my chin. Fingers twitching at my side, I hesitated only a second before I reached out for his limp, lifeless body on the ground. "Wake up, Alpha."

Patting at his cheek, I realised that he was wet and strangely frozen to the touch, lips barely moving. I sat back on my haunches and, without a second thought, pulled at my jacket to drape in a desperate attempt to keep him from freezing. I leaned down, my body shaking all over as my fingers found his throat, and I tried to find a pulse, but I couldn't stop trembling.

Nearly choking on a sob, I held my mate close, my nails digging into the flesh of his shoulders, resting his head in my lap. I inspected the damage, watching with my mouth parted as blood oozed past his chest. Then it dawned on me that during their fight, Reece might have clawed him.

My eyes roamed around, vision blurry as I tried to find something, anything to stop the blood. Helpless, I placed a hand on his wound, gesturing to the pack guards. The beta, Liam, was still unconscious, having suffered from the fatal flow earlier. Liam did everything he could to protect me, like a true brother, threw himself in front of those guards.

"Help, please." I desperately clutched at Aiden's face, tilting it, but his eyelids don't flutter, lashes fanning out over cold skin. "Please, Alpha. Wake up. You can't leave us." I cannot lose him. No. The thought of spending forever, nay, a day without him caused my heart to clench. I brushed my trembling fingers along his cheekbones, his brows, the nearly purple lines of his parted lips.

I rested my head on his chest, desperately listening out for a heartbeat, but his ribcage didn't rise and sink, and the Alpha remained motionless and cold. The panic unfurling inside my stomach spread to my veins, to a point where I wasn't even sure if I was breathing.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw familiar figures approaching, the sound of their boots crunching echoing. Their scents tickled my nose, getting more robust with each passing second. My pupils dilated at that, head lifting to get a clear view.

"Oh, Moons! Rose!"

It's my mother, I realised, still clinging to Aiden despite my muscles screaming to let go. How did she get here? I thought. The last thing I knew was that she was busy doing her study, finding a way for me to survive the pregnancy. So I decided not to interrupt her or tell her anything about Aiden's plan.

She started running towards us, hurriedly shrugging off her big, bulky jacket with a white fur lining while Caden and Ellen followed. Before I could as much as blink, I felt my mother seize my shoulders and pull me away, draping her jacket around.

At first, I was too stunned to move or say anything, slumping into her touch. My sobs turned louder, hands gripping into her side as she held me.

“Rose…”

"S-Save him, mom...Please."

"I am here. It'll be alright." My mother ran a hand down my hair before pulling away. I held my breath as she wiped my tears with her thumb, stroking the flushed cheek before walking past me.

“What the fuck happened to Liam?” I heard Caden’s voice as he rushed to pick the beta in a sitting position. All the voices went over my head; eyes clenched tight as I watched Aiden. Ellen came to stand by my side, wrapping an arm around for support.

My mother sat on her knees; eyes narrowed at the Alpha. I couldn’t look at the wound anymore, my hand still red and cold from trying to stop the bleeding.

“Your mate is all right, honey. Nothing to worry about.”

I snapped my head up at that, my heart beating painfully fast and hard, so much that my lungs seemed to be constricting. Huh? How did she heal him so quick? I flickered my eyes between two, a twist to my lips as there was no visible moment from Aiden.

“You healed him already.” My mother said with a proud smile, getting on her feet.

A gasp slipped out of my lips, unable to comprehend those words. What was she saying? How can I heal him when I don’t know it? Am I missing something here?

“B-But how? I did not do anything.”

I saw my mothers lips twitch as she closed the distance between us. “Do you know the story of a healer born to an ordinary parent?”

She swiped a tongue over her lips, hands falling by her sides with a sigh. “There’s an interesting story hidden in our books, a few centuries old. On a full moon night, a newly mated pair were brutally attacked by rogues. The Alpha died protecting his mate, who was a healer omega. She was born to a healer mother and ordinary wolf, so her powers were unexplored. That’s why she hid the truth about her identity. Unable to handle his loss, she sat under the moon with his head in her lap, a hand on his wound and begged. The moon goddess took mercy and let her bring the Alpha to life.”

Goosebumps prickled all over my arm at the story, a strange feeling rising from the pit of my stomach. That omega must be a strong one, resilient enough to save her bond and get special powers.

“Wow.”

“That’s one version of it, yeah. However, it’s said that later in her life, she was only able to heal her mate and no one else. We healers can heal others, but I think it won’t be the same for you. Just like the story, you can only heal yourself and your mate.”

I dumbly nodded my head, tongue feeling heavy in my mouth to answer. While looking at the trees behind my mother, I suddenly started thinking back to the day Aiden violently threw up. It happened while we were in the middle of kissing, my hand pressed to the taut muscles of his stomach. The touch might have caused a trigger, making way for the poisonous herb to get out of his system.

Ellen squeezed my shoulders, probably in support, and it should have hurt, but my entire body had gone numb. At least I could heal Aiden, so it should not be a big deal. I tried to convince myself.

“W-Why isn’t he waking up then?” I cleared my throat, staring at his still form.

My mother wrapped a hand around my wrist, rubbing circles in them, “He needs a bit of time to wake up. Come on! Caden will carry him back home while you need to warm up and wash that blood off your hands.”

At those words, my eyes automatically fell to the dried blood on my clothes and palms, nose scrunching. “Yes, let’s go.”

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