Rejected, Abused, I Fall for the Forbidden Alpha (by Riley Scott) novel Chapter 293

Chapter 293

It can’t be. This has to be a nightmare of some kind. A bad dream. This isn’t my mate; it can’t be. Not like this. Not bleeding on the floor and barely recognizable between the bruises and cuts all over her body. She looks dead……

I roared with anguish and then shifted back to human form, rushing forward to kneel beside Asher, my fingers trembling as I tried to find a pulse.

It was there but barely.

She was breathing slowly and raggedly. So softly that I almost failed to hear them.

“No, no, no, no,” I whispered, pulling her into my arms, “Asher, baby, who did this to you?”

My eyes shimmered with tears.

I felt blood on my hands. The scent she was wearing was bear repellent. Somebody had done this to her. Somebody had intentionally harmed my mate.

They were a dead man.

I sucked in a breath, trying hard to keep myself together. I rose to my feet, holding Asher gingerly in my arms. She lay limp, like a rag doll, with no signs of life in her eyes.

I made my way out of the cave, careful not to jostle her.

She was so pale, like a ghost.

I was in so much pain it felt like my heart had been torn out of my chest while still beating.

I ran. I ran faster than I ever had before. I ran as though Asher’s life depended on it, because it did.

I ran without pause, caring nothing for my own safety, my priority on her. The mate I had failed to protect. The mate who had suffered at the hands of a monster.

A monster I was going to personally hunt and torture when Asher was safe.

The hospital was already waiting. I put Asher on the bed as they began to wheel her towards surgery.

I had to be physically dragged away from her. It took Damien and Marissa both to do it, because I refused to let go of her hand.

Marissa was kind enough to bring clothes. I dressed and then plonked myself down outside the surgery doors, my eyes refusing to look away.

“Marissa is right, that girl looks at you like you handed her the moon. You just have to have faith. She won’t blame you for this, Aaron; you’re already doing that enough for both of you,” Damien’s voice was hoarse, but his eyes were knowing as he eyed me.

The doors burst open, and I stood up so fast I almost gave myself whiplash.

The doctor walked out slowly and removed his mask, his expression grim as he viewed us.

“She’s out of surgery now, but there were some…” he paused as I fought the urge not to grab him by the neck and shake him, “complications,” he finished.

Complications?

He sighed.

“The girl you knew before is no longer. I need you to prepare yourself for that so that you’re not taken by surprise when she eventually wakes up.”

“What are you saying?” I demanded, feeling sick to my stomach.

“I mean that right now, there’s no telling how extensive the damage to her brain was until she wakes up. However, considering the trauma and the damage, it’s almost guaranteed she will experience a personality change, and that’s the best outcome right now. There could be much bigger issues.”