Finding Her True Alpha
Chapter 112: Waiting

Mason

It’s been six weeks since Ashlyn almost left us, but she has been in a coma ever since her heart started beating again. In that hospital room. It was the happiest day of my life when her heart started beating again and her lungs filled up with air. But this waiting for her to wake up was taking a toll on Derek and me.

We moved into my old house behind the pack house.

Sage, Brandon, Liam all moved in with us to help us take care of James while we waited for Ashlyn to wake up.

Matt had to go help in the dragon kingdom since Derek was refusing to leave Ashlyn. Which I don’t blame him. I didn’t want to leave her either.

These days we barely saw each other between work and switching places, taking care of James and watching Ashlyn. We both barely slept and have been running on empty for weeks now. Thank the goddess for Sage. She has dropped everything to be here for her nephew and for us. She is basically taking care of all of us, and Brandon is taking on my responsibilities because I’m hardly functioning as it is.

We were so hopeful when she first took that breath, but now l fear she may never wake up. l can’t sense Tundra, and that scares me. Her wolf must have sacrificed her life to keep Ashlyn alive, but now, without her wolf, she would heal like a human. I wasn’t even sure if she still had her magic. She could have been str!pped of everything and truly just be human now. Not that l cared. I’d still mark her, even if she couldn’t mark me back.

I was worried about her waking up and finding that Tundra was no longer with her. She has been through so much and to lose one’s wolf has to be at the top of that list. I couldn’t imagine losing Thor. He’s a part of who I am.

Apart from all my regular duties, all the kingdoms had to deal with the aftermath of what King Theo did to our Queen. King Draco assured us that his father and his son were acting of their own volition and the vampire kingdom were unaware of their actions.

King Draco had to take over the throne again and the council and himself are looking for a replacement since Ashlyn killed his only child. He was also quite disappointed in his father and his son. I felt for King Draco and Derek had been helping him. Derek seemed to be close to the vampire kingdom.

And we all had to pitch in to get the council building cleaned up. Ashlyn had made almost the entire building collapse. It was a mess, but it was quite impressive.

Sage explained that the symbol that Ashlyn drew around lan and Alex was a protection knot. She could focus her magic like a shield around them. She wasn’t sure how she escaped the cell. Alex said that the glass just exploded. But Ashlyn shouldn’t have been able to use her magic in the cell. We had a lot of unanswered questions, and the only person who could answer them was lying in a hospital bed.

lan and Alex also reported what had happened at Blue Moon. Well, as much as they could remember. Gregory spelled the pack to sleep, and they forced lan to show them where the bunker was located. Both Alex and lan took a hell of a beating. They also confirmed that they were both taken for insurance. I knew that Ashlyn would have done anything to save them both, but deep down I wish she hadn’t. It may make me a horrible person, but I would trade almost every life for hers, including my own.

I was sitting beside Ashlyn in the hospital room. She was breathing on her own, but she had to have a feeding tube inserted and she still had an IV in. I was doing some work on my phone, waiting for Derek. It was my turn to be home with James while Derek stayed with Ashlyn. We barely spent an hour a day together. Our lives would be so much easier if Ashlyn would just open her eyes. I know James would be better with her as well. He wanted his mommy. Sage would bring him in to visit and he would just cry when they had to leave. He is only six weeks old, but he knows what he wants and he wants his mom. Even his daddies weren’t good enough for him.

I think he likes Sage because she wore Ashlyn’s clothes, so she would smell like her to him. It helped, but now everything smells like everyone else and not her.

Sighing, I looked at our sleeping Queen, wiling her to open her eyes. I put my phone away and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Baby, we really need you to wake up.” I mumbled into her forehead. I sat beside her, taking in her scent.

She no longer smelt like me or Derek. We still had no clue who could break our bond with her. No magic should have been strong enough to break a fully formed bond.

Derek came in about an hour later. I was still curled up with Ashlyn, just holding her close. He sat down on the other side of her and leaned in, pecking my lips.

“Long day?” He asked me, leaning in and k!ssing Ashlyn’s cheek.

“l just need her to wake up. Not knowing if she would ever wake up, was eating at me. And then we don’t spend time together. I miss you and her.” I confessed.

“I miss you too, Mason. And I understand how you are feeling, because I feel the same way. Even with both of us, raising James is exhausting, and I do not know how Sage can handle as much as she does. And she’s so happy to do everything. She’s the real superhero right now.” He said, and I agreed with him.

“She offered to come watch Ashlyn tonight, to give us some time together with James.” Derek told me.

“And what do you think about that?” l asked him and he shrugged.

“I want to be here with her, but then I also want to be with you and James. I feel torn and guilty.” He confessed.

“Maybe we should take Sage up on her offer,” I said, and he looked at me, stunned.

“Are you sure?” He asked me, slowly.

“Ashlyn would want us to spend time with our son and each other. I’m not sure either of us will relax, but I think we need to come to terms with the fact that she may never wake up.” l explained, and he nodded.

“I don’t want to let her go.” Derek whispered, his eyes turning glossy as he looked at our mate.

“I don’t either. I never want to give up on here, but this isn’t healthy for either of us or James. We need to think about the bigger picture as much as it hurts. And I’m not saying we won’t visit her. I just think that we should be home every night with James. Maybe we can have her move into the house. That way we can do both,” I told him.

“We can definitely ask the doctor about moving her. And l understand what you are saying, but I don’t know if I could just leave her here.” Derek told me.

“I understand Derek. Let’s talk to the doctor and then we can decide what is best.” Two weeks later. The doctor allowed us to have Ashlyn moved to the house. We have a room set up for her and all the medical equipment that might be needed. She also has around the hour care. Having her home has made it easier for all of us. We set my office up in her room so l could work from home most of the time. The office is where I would go for meetings. I also felt less anxious having her here with us. I knew no one could get past the warriors or Sage, so l could relax a bit, knowing that she was safe.

Sage started to portal Derek to the Dragon kingdom, so he could help his father. His father wanted to hand over the kingdom to him, but we still didn’t know how we could make that work. Life was finally getting some normalcy back. And whenever we needed to see Ashlyn and to check on her, she was just down the hall from us. I spent most of my day in her room and even most nights.

Sage also confirmed that she could feel Ashlyn’s magic and that it was growing stronger, but there was no way to tell when she was going to wake up. She also confirmed that she couldn’t feel Tundra. Witches heal faster than humans, but with her being a hybrid, we really did not know. Everyone was just guessing about her treatment. Even Sage’s mom has been helping with trying to wake Ashlyn up. Liz went back to the Magical Kingdom to do some research and to gather up some things that she’s hoping will help. It had been eight weeks without her and I was quickly losing hope that she would ever wake up.

Everyone has been working day and night to wake her up, but I think she needs to wake up on her own. She is breathing on her own and all the tests show she has brain function. She may not have her wolf, but she still has her magic.

We all just need her to wake up. James especially.

He’s two months old already, and he has changed so much. He smiles and laughs. When he’s having a bad day, Sage will bring him in here to lie with Ashlyn. He will instantly snuggle into her and go to sleep. It’s becoming more of a daily thing, as he has been growing increasingly impatient for his momma to wake up. His daddies are as well. I will find James and Derek here, snuggled up together with Ashlyn. And Derek always finds me here with her, not just because it is also my home office.

My phone chimed on my desk and I leaned over to see who had texted me. lan’s name popped, and I knew he was texting to ask about Ashlyn’s condition. He would text every few days for an update on her and on James. I think he already knew how Derek and I were feeling because he felt the same way.

I unlocked my phone and read his text.

I: Any changes?

Me: Nothing new to report.

I: How are you doing?

Me: Getting by. You?

I: Same. But I have some news, and I do not know what to do.

Me: Just tell me, I think at this point we can call each other friends.

I: I found my mate. I looked at the text, stunned. I definitely wasn’t expecting him to say that.

Me: Congrats. So what’s the problem?

I: l feel guilty. I found her a few weeks ago and I haven’t been able to mark her or even be around her. She’s the daughter of an Alpha of one of the neighboring packs.

Me: Why do you feel guilty? This is a good thing, and Ashlyn would be so happy for you.

I: She gave me a chance to find happiness while you and Derek are suffering. Even James is suffering. How do I just move on and be happy while she is still unconscious?

Me: I can tell you she would be happy for you and that she wouldn’t want you to feel guilty. I’m happy for you. Take this second chance and cherish it.

I: Thanks, Mason. I’ll try. Please keep me updated and if you need anything that l can help with, just let me know.

“Where is everyone?”