Chapter 23

For three days the love of my life has been lying in this bed in a medically induced coma and I have been unable to do anything. I don't hear my phone, see anyone but the doctors and speak to anyone but her. I talk to her about how sorry I am that she had to kill her own father, how much I regret not being there when she needed me, and I whisper all of the ways everyone is going to pay for trying to take her from me.

"Good morning Mr. St. Clair. How is the patient?" Her nurse, Charlotte, an annoyingly cheery woman who insists on trying to talk to me every time she comes in here.

"Still not awake." The answer I always give.

"We have more flowers and balloons I see." Yeah the girls have been piling on the well wishes. I think she is leaving the room but instead she stands right in front of me. "What can I do for you? How are your wounds healing?" I look down at my sling and nod my head.

"It's fine. The only thing that hurts right now is my heart," I tell her honestly, rubbing my angel's cheeks.

The bullet was through and through, but it pierced my muscles and collapsed one of the ligaments. I am in this sling until it heals internally so that I don't put any undue strain on it.

"Well," she says, heading for the door. "If you change your mind just push the call button." She opens the door and then I stop her.

"Wait." She turns and looks at me shocked, I said anything to her other than the same thing I have been repeating for the last 72 hours. "I know you know, already, but I need to tell someone." She looks at my hand that is currently resting on Satine's stomach and she nods her head, sympathy written all over her face. Nodding her head she walks towards the bed and like the lovely woman she is, she sits in the chair.

"So, how is she?" she asks me again, initiating a real conversation with me.

"The doctors say she is healing up nicely. I asked them when they are going to start waking her up. They say soon." I grumble that last part because I hate that answer. "They also told me.." I start trying to tell her the most important thing, but the words won't come out. "They said she's.." I'm getting choked up trying to get out the words that have been planted into my mind, clogging my throat and refusing to escape until now. Clearing my throat I blink as a tear falls and finally spill it out. "She's pregnant." Fuck, it finally breathes life into the truth and though I am not telling the one person who should know, it feels more real.

"Oh my goodness. Congratulations. How far along is she?"

"It's early stages yet. They wouldn't have even known if it weren"t for the pregnancy test and a pre-emptive ultrasound before the surgery."

"Well what a wonder. Are you excited about being a daddy?" I run my hands through my hair and take a deep breath.

"I will be when my love wakes up." She stands and puts her hand on my shoulder.

"She will soon and when she does, I will be the first one to wish you both congratulations!!" Nodding, I continue to stare at my angel.

"Thank you for giving me someone to tell."

"Of course." She walks out and I simply lay my head on the side of her bed.

"Soon, angel. Soon I will share with you the news of our nestling miracle."

I don't know how long I have been asleep when a hand touches my shoulder. "Cain." Immediately I look at my wife and the disappointment is tangible even though I know she won't wake until they allow her too.

"Ro. What are you doing here?" I ask, stretching and standing up.

"I came to check on both of you and give you an update." Nodding, I lean over and kiss Satine before walking out into the hallway.

"How is she?" She has been texting me non-stop asking about her.

"The swelling is going down. They say there shouldn't be any permanent damage." She suffered some concussions from being punched in the face and hitting her head when she fell.

"Good. That's good."

"You said something about an update."

"Yes. We got them." My mind knows instantly who she is referring to.

"Where?" I keep adjusting her sheet trying to make sure she doesn't get cold.

"Quan has them on the farm." Fuck yeah. I finally look at her and let the anger seep in.

"Which one?"

"The alpha farm."" He wants to play and so do I. I love when we throw maggots into the lion den and watch them fight for their life. They never win but hey, it's entertainment. But right now, I can't bring myself to leave this room.

"That's great. My angel will be so happy to know that."

"Cain, I know you don't want to leave her, but they are not going to let her wake up yet. You need to see it through." I know she is right, but nothing matters right now.

"I know you're right, but what if something happens and…"

"I will stay with her and call you if anything happens." My hand rubs circles around her stomach. All my mind can think of is her and my unborn child.

"Has she told you yet?" Her question shocks me.

"She knows?" Smiling, she nods her head.

"She suspected. At the shower she realized she hasn't had a period since you rescued her. She was waiting to take the test with you." Emotion overcomes me and I place my head on her chest.

"Angel, I"m so sorry. I should have been there with you so we could have found out together. I never should have left you. Please, please forgive me." I lean over and kiss her stomach. "Both of you." Walking over to Aurora I kiss her on the cheek. "Guard them with your life." She lifts her shirt and shows me her gun.

"Don't worry. I got them." Giving one last look at my family in the hospital bed, I walk out and pull out my phone.

"L.B. How is she?" Quan answers his phone.

"Nothing has changed. They might try to wake her up tomorrow."

"That's good. That's really good. I assume since you are calling me that means you are on your way here."

"Yes. Have you started yet?"

"He was just being loaded in the playpen. How far out are you?"

"Five minutes."

"Great. You will be right on time for the fun." hanging up I finish the drive, my knuckles turning white from palming the steering wheel. My mind is racing, images of her laying on the floor bleeding out, unconscious not talking. Those thoughts have been the only thing keeping me going whether I realized it or not. Knowing that eventually she will recover, and I will be able to have revenge.

Parking, I toss my keys in my pocket and walk in. "There he is fellas." Rocco is on top, teasing the lion with a steak.

"You're pissing him off, Roc." I chuckle, shaking my head at his antics.

"That's the point." he shouts back.

"Alright. Someone kill the lights and turn on the flashers." On the way I decided I didn't need to be a part of the fun, just see it. So, instead of putting on my vest and mic, I put on my earmuffs and night vision goggles. I climb on one of the ledges and sit for the show.

"Welcome to the games, maggots. We would have taken more time to ascertain your survival skills, but we figured, that would be more than you give the women and children you traffic, so.." A loud roar could be heard thundering through the dome.

"Okay. King is ready." Another voice enters the comms and I realize who it is.

"Dario. Not surprised you decided to join us." This is his arena after all. He lets us use it and when we do he sometimes joins in on the fun.

"Between diapers, the law, and my wife, I don't have much fun time." I can hear the smile through the phone, so I know he"s not complaining. The envy hits me like a sledgehammer because I pray I get a chance to know what that is like.

"Let's go boys." For the next two hours, I listen and watch as the boys play with the trash, shooting them in shallow places while they run from the Lion tracking them in the dark. The first one lasts two hours before he falls, and King rips his head off. His screams of agony are like oil on a rusty part, restoring me.

The next one makes it a full hour after that before King jumps from a ledge right on top of him. This time though, King plays with him a bit. He scratches at him, bites one hand and then mauls him a bit. By the time he finishes him off, I am over it and already walking out the door. I have somewhere to be. Someone to be with.

When I finally make it back to the hospital, Aurora is waiting for me in the hallway. "Did you get what you needed?" She asks.

"For now."

"I get that. Listen, the doctors were here. They wanted to try to bring her out, but I told them to wait until you got back." My heart begins to beat quickly. "I am going to go, okay. On my way out I will let the nurse know you are back. Let me know how it goes, okay."

"Yes I will. Thank you for being here." She touches my shoulder.

"Always." Once she is out of the room I sit in the chair beside the bed and grab my angel's hand.

"Good evening. We are going to start reducing her medication. We want to bring her around slowly so there is no unnecessary strain on the brain. We will begin reducing the sedative tonight and hopefully by mid-morning, she will start coming out of it. Now, let's start waking this young lady up." Yes. Please baby wake up. I need you. Both of you.