Rejected, Abused, I Fall for the Forbidden Alpha (by Riley Scott) novel Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Hades POV

Raven is wheeled into theatre. The doors close with an ominous thud. She looked so vulnerable, her face as white as a sheet, her body barely breathing. She’d been injured severely. The doctors rushed to save her life. A nurse came running out, looking frazzled.

“We need more blood,” there’s not enough in storage,” she shouted, her voice rising in panic.

“Take mine,” Jackson yelled, pushing his sleeves up in a hurry and extending his arm, which is slightly shaking.

He’s overcome with guilt. Raven had saved his life and sacrificed herself. He was blaming himself. The nurse runs over, but I push Jackson out of the way as he stares at me with accusing eyes.

“Take mine,” I said hoarsely.

It was the least I could do. Jackson was my beta after all. Without Raven’s sacrifice, I wouldn’t still have my best

friend or second in command.

Jackson’s blood wouldn’t be as potent as mine was, nor as strong.

The nurses mouth drops open. It’s unusual for an Alpha to donate his blood only because it can temporarily weaken the host, leaving the Alpha vulnerable. My blood, however, had amazing healing abilities and would allow Raven to recover from her injuries a lot faster than if she was given ordinary shifter blood.

“Are you crazy?” Marissa’s voice is filled with condemnation from behind me, “Do you know what it means to give blood to another woman? People will take Hades,” she exclaimed, showing no concern for Raven’s well- being at all, even though Raven was her maidservant.

I ignore her. Her voice is waspish and annoying. Right now, all I want to do is save Raven. Marissa had no authority to stop me. She wasn’t Luna yet. Even then, I wouldn’t allow her to overrule me. My decisions were my own.

Jackson turns on her. “Shut up,” he yells, “you don’t get a say here at all. How can you be so heartless? Raven’s your maidservant after all!”

“She did her job. An Alpha shouldn’t give his blood up so easily,” Marissa growled.

I hadn’t noticed before how cold she could be. There was no sympathy for Raven at all. Even if Raven had died, she probably wouldn’t shed a tear. I dismiss the thought, knowing I might be overreacting, but I can’t quite shake it off.

They were both like children bickering with each other. I shake my head and extend my arm again to the nurse. She’s already gathered the necessary equipment. I give a small hiss as the needle pierces my flesh, the blood beginning to travel down my arm. Marissa silently seethes, worried about her reputation, while Jackson paces up and down the corridor, his eyes constantly at the closed theatre doors. By the time the nurse has filled three blood bags, my body begins to grow tired. I sit down, rubbing my arm as the nurse races back into surgery.

Hours pass. My strength returns. Marissa excuses herself, claiming she’s still unwell and the hospital chemicals are making her nauseas. It’s a lie but I don’t have the strength to argue with her. Instead, Jackson and I wait, beginning to grow anxious as Raven remains behind closed doors.

“She’s in a coma right now. She had a massive head injury. Her vitals are stable for now, but the next 24 hours are critical. Time and her will to survive will be the ultimate key to her waking up and her recovery. So long as nothing happens, I have every reason to believe she will regain her strength.

“What could happen?”

The doctor looks hesitant. “She could develop a blood clot, which could spread to her lungs or cause a pulmonary embolism. Your blood could have some sort of reaction because she doesn’t have a wolf, we can’t be certain. All we can do is closely monitor her for the next few hours.”

“You have to keep her alive,” Jackson growls, “you have to make sure she lives,” he shouts.

He’s on the verge of breaking down. We’ve lost men before, women, children. Each time he’s been struck by grief, but this one is different. Raven had selflessly pushed somebody she had only known for a few days out of the way of an object that could have killed Jackson. I can understand the depths of his feelings. Part of me wonders whether he has a romantic interest in Raven and it causes jealousy to wash over me, even as I instantly dismiss it. What he’s feeling is guilt. Survivor’s guilt. Until Raven is okay, he’s not going to rest easy. Neither one of us is. It’s strange, the way I feel possessive and also responsible for her. Maybe because I was the one who agreed to let her !come along.

“It’s not your fault, Jackson.” my voice is low.

He slams his fist into the wall, sending plaster shards everywhere. “Damn right it is,” he shouts, his voice thick, I’m the reason she’s in here!”

“She’ll be fine,” I snap back, but my voice lacks conviction and as I look at Raven, part of me is forced to acknowledge that I can’t fight the one thing that may be coming for her. I couldn’t prevent death from taking her, no matter how much I wished I could. This was her fight, and she’d already proven she could take on anything and come out the victor,r no matter how the odds were stacked against her. She would come back stronger than ever, I thought optimistically, and the feeling inside my chest, the tightness, the overwhelming concern for her well- being would dissipate.

I ignored a small voice inside of my head that whispered,, Aren’t you showing more interest in Raven than you should be?