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SAM
I watched my Alpha walk out of the hospital and for some reason, I had the most horrible suspicion I’d never see him again.
“I think we need to go speak to Celeste now.”
I stood up and walked into the hospital room with Dane.
Then I stopped.
My heart filled.
I couldn’t believe how beautiful she was, sitting there with our baby within arm’s reach.
“Celeste.” I went straight to her hospital bed and tried to gather her into my arms. “You’re awake. Please, never leave us again. We love you too much to go through that fear again.”
She laughed as she put her head on my chest. “Put you through it? What about me? I missed out on my daughter’s birth and seemed to have toppled off a cliff.”
I kissed her upturned face. Her button nose. Her forehead. Her pale pink lips.
“You did. And you survived it all. My perfect, brave, strong girl.”
I cuddled her close and sighed. “This feels so good. I didn’t realize how much I’d miss you until I didn’t have you for a day.”
She laughed again and pulled away. “So, you weren’t part of the plan to toss me away as soon as the baby was born?”
I frowned at her. “Of course not. There’s never been such a plan, and there never will be. You’re our fated mate, and no one’s taking you away from us.”
Celeste screwed up her face. “That’s not what I heard the other night.”
I grimaced. “Yeah, I know. I still can’t believe how stupid Tayte was to try and bullshit his way through that meeting.”
Celeste blinked up at me. “So, he really was lying?”
“Of course, he was! Are you serious right now?”
Celeste chewed on her bottom lip.
“Tayte said he’s going to move out. I’m not sure where he’d go but...”
I gaped at our mate. “He what?”
Celeste’s eyebrows rose on her forehead. “I don’t think it’s a bad idea, actually. We don’t need him and I can’t forgive him for what he did. He betrayed me.”
I reeled backwards, feeling like Celeste had smacked me with an open palm. “Don’t need him? Don’t need him? He’s our Alpha. He’s the one who holds our family together. Who will save our pack if it comes to a fight?”
Celeste’s gaze dropped away and she began playing with her hair, twirling it around her finger and staring at the strands. “Well, you can do that, too.”
Now I wanted to shake her.
Sure, Tayte had been stupid and we all wanted to punish him for the consequences of his actions, but she didn’t get it.
“I can, but you’re not understanding the difference between an Alpha and a Beta.”
Celeste shrugged and I began to panic. Tayte looked after us. Guarded us. Would die for us. He was the glue that kept this family together.
“Look. I know what he said was dumb and foolish, and resulted in us almost losing you and our baby. I haven’t spoken to him since that night and I was planning on punishing him for a while yet. But breaking up our family... that’s a different thing altogether.”
I didn’t want to lose our pack. It wouldn’t function without him.
“I need to find him. He can do his penance another way.”
I ran out of the room and along the corridor.
He couldn’t have gotten far.
I made my way outside and sniffed the air. Nope. Nothing.
I jogged over to the car park and went up to level three where we’d parked the car.
The truck was still there, and next to it was Tayte’s car.
He hadn’t taken it, so where was he?
I jogged back down the stairs and went to the cafeteria.
It was five in the morning and no one was around, but I’d been hoping Tayte had come to get a stale coffee, or some food from one of the vending machines.
But there was nothing.
No sign of him.
I walked back to Celeste’s hospital room slowly, sniffing the air as I went and not coming up with anything from my Alpha.
When I arrived back at the room, I took a big, careful breath, then informed my Omega and our mate that he was gone.
Dane gaped at me. “What do you mean, he’s gone? Gone where?”
Celeste sighed. “What does it matter? Won’t he be fine, wherever he is?”
I turned on her and growled. “You don’t understand. Tayte has lost his pack, his mate and his baby, or so he thinks. And he has a bear den who wants your blood. How do you think he’s going to solve that problem?”
Celeste’s eyes began to widen and then her mouth dropped open.
“He wouldn’t...” She licked her lips, “He wouldn’t do anything stupid, would he?”
My heart was pounding like a runaway train.
“He’s going to sacrifice himself to the bears, I just know it,” I said.
“But how... why?”
I growled at her again and she paled. “Celeste, you aren’t getting it. Tayte is an Alpha. He lives only for his pack. If he believes it will keep you safe, keep all of us safe, he’d sacrifice himself a hundred times over. If those bears want someone’s head, then he’ll go serve it up on a silver platter.”
Oh fuck.
What had I done?
I’d been angry with Tayte... so angry that he’d put Celeste’s life in danger. But I never wanted this.
“But he can’t... I mean...” She swallowed hard, her eyes turning glossy from unshed tears.
I groaned, feeling frustrated and impotent. Just like I had last night when Celeste’s life was fading away before me.
Now it was Tayte whose life could end soon.
“I know you’re still mad at him and you can’t forgive him for lying about such an important thing, but you need to think. What if it was you? What would you do for someone you truly loved? Our daughter. What level would you stoop to? What lie would you tell? Would you die for her?”
Silvery tears slipped down Celeste’s cheeks. “I’d do anything to keep her safe.”
I nodded once, feeling the strange calm of an impending battle descend over me. “Then you have your answer as to why Tayte did what he did, and now why he’s gone to sacrifice himself.”
Celeste let out a sob and I turned away.
“I need to leave. I’m not losing Tayte. Not today.”
Celeste grabbed for my hand as I tried to walk away. “What can I do?”
I squeezed her hand. “You can keep our baby safe and get better. Because you are the only thing that matters to us.”
“I...” Celeste swallowed, “I didn’t realize he would...”
I cupped her face, willing some courage into her.
“None of us did. But you need to remember that we grew up knowing about the fated mate bond and you didn’t. You don’t understand it the way we do. It is love at first sight, in every way for us. We would die for you. And our daughter.”
She sobbed loudly this time, more tears flowing down her cheeks. “I’d rather you lived for us.”
I pressed a kiss to her lips. “I’ll bring him back.”
“Dane, let’s go.”
We started running and I got on the horn to Dexter and the elders.
It was an hour’s drive from the pack to town. Forty-five minutes if they broke every speed limit along the way.
I prayed to God that wouldn’t be too late.
We needed to save our Alpha from doing something we were all going to regret.