Chapter 14

Sterling

I feel bad doing this to the guys again. They've sent me home because I've been deemed a safety risk. I don't blame them either. Lately, my insomnia has gotten worse.

I used to be able to get maybe four hours of sleep every night. It's been cut in half since Snow's gotten here.

There's this nagging worry that someone's going to sneak in while we're all sleeping and take her from us. That if I don't stay up and watch over her, something bad is going to happen.

Almost every night, I fall asleep where I sit on the floor, by her door.

It's funny because I can't even bring myself to have a full conversation with the girl, yet I have this intense protective instinct over her. Maybe it's because she's my mate, and that's built into me. Or maybe it's because she's an omega and I'm an alpha.

It could just be because Snow is a sweet girl who has a big heart and the idea of anyone hurting her makes me want to crush their skulls into tiny little pieces.

Hell, let's call it a mix of all three.

Whatever it is, it's causing issues.

The guys think I hate taking the sleeping pills because they make me feel gross when I'm awake afterward. But it's not true.

In reality, they give me horrible nightmares. Nightmares that make me relive the worst time of my life. Where I'm forced to sit and watch the ones I love die over and over again.

I used to smoke weed to help me, giving me dreamless sleep. But I became too reliant on it and was stoned all the time. I was even more useless than I am now.

Maybe once the king is taken care of, the immediate threat on Snow is gone, and she's safe, I'll be able to go back to my old sleeping habits.

As I approach the cottage, my eyes are already growing heavy. I swear to god, if I fall asleep in the damn forest again, I'm gonna be pissed.

I stretch my arms above my head, closing my eyes. I open my mouth to let out a long, loud yawn.

When I blink them open again, I see the cottage. I can't wait to get in my bed and get a few hours of sleep.

As I get closer, I see something on the ground in front of the door. "What the..." I squint my eyes, then rub them before squinting them again. "Is that a person? Why would someone be—" That's when I see long raven hair. Snow!

My eyes widen, all the sleepiness evaporating from me in an instant. I take off running, my heart pounding in my chest. "No, no, no!" I shout, pure terror filling my veins as I see her lying there on the ground.

Knees hitting the ground hard, I roll Snow over and cradle her head in my hand. "Snow, baby, wake up," I plead, my free hand stroking her hair back. "What the fuck happened?" I hiss, my eyes snapping up to look around for any danger. I don't see anyone, nor do I smell anyone.

"Snow. Snow, wake up." I check for a pulse and sigh in relief when I feel a steady one beneath my finger. She's alive, thank fuck. But why the hell is she passed out on the ground?

My eyes catch on the pie smashed on the ground next to her. Reaching for it, I give it a sniff. "Fuck!" I roar as the strong stench of poison hits my senses. Someone fucking poisoned her.

But it didn't kill her. At least not yet. Fuck. Fucking hell. I need to get Dallas; we need to find out what kind of poison this is and how to fix it.

I can't just leave her here, but she's in no shape for me to be carrying her through the woods. Scooping her up in my arms, I kick open the cottage door. "I've got you, Princess," I tell her, rushing her to my room. "I'm going to find out what's going on. Everything will be okay. I'm so sorry, Snow. I'm so fucking sorry," my voice cracks right along with my heart. I'm freaking out. I don't know what to do. My mate is sick, she could be dying. And I can't do anything. "This shouldn't have happened. We should have been here. We should have protected you."

I place her carefully down on my bed, brushing her hair out of her face. She looks so peaceful right now like she's in a deep sleep.

"I'm going to be back. I promise, okay. I have to go get Dallas, but I will come back." I press a kiss to her forehead before taking off out of the house.

I've never run so fast in my life, resorting to all fours for better speed.

Every bad thought I can think of runs through my mind with each passing second. What if she dies? What if I never see her again? I can't lose her, we only just got her.

My mate, my fucking mate. I'm losing it. I'm hardly keeping it together.

I should have spent more time with her, but all I fucking do is sleep. Fuck! I'm fucking useless. Who needs that as a mate?

No, no time for a damn pity party. I need to get her help. She's not dead, she's not going to die. I won't let her. We won't let her.

I can't watch another person I care about die. I'm not sure if I'll be able to come back from the death of my mate.

By the time I reach the opening to the mine, my heart feels like it's about to burst out of my chest, my lungs screaming for air.

With a heaving chest, I stumble my way into the mountain. "Dallas!" My scream echoes off the walls. "Dallas!" I keep running, fighting against the need to stop.

"What the fuck?" Dallas shouts as I nearly crash into him. "Sterling, what's wrong?"

"It's Snow," I pant out. "Something's wrong. She won't wake up."

"What the fuck do you mean she won't wake up!" Gabe growls dangerously.

"I went back to the cottage and found her passed out by the front door. I tried to wake her, but she wouldn't wake up."

"Fuck. Fuck!" Gabe shouts before taking off.

"Snow's hurt?" Henry asks, eyes wide with fear. He doesn't give me time to answer before he takes off, too, with Brady and Sullivan following after.

"There was a pie on the ground next to her. It reeked of poison."

"Someone poisoned her?" Dallas's eyes narrow. "How the hell did that happen?"

"She was dressed in pants and a hoodie. I think she left while we were here."

"Fuck!" he hisses. "Come on."

Dallas takes off out of the cave, and despite my body demanding I take a break, I follow after him.

When we get back to the cottage, the guys are all hovering over my bed.

"She won't wake up," Brady whispers, looking up at his brother, lost. It's how I feel, how I'm sure everyone feels.

Helpless. Useless.

"I'm going to take the pie down to my office and run some tests. If I can find out what poison was used, I can hopefully figure out how to help her," Dallas says, his eyes filled with worry. I can tell it's hard for him to leave her like this, but he needs to. He's the only one who stands a chance of finding out what happened.

Dallas leaves, and I make my way to the bed, exhaustion taking over more and more with every second.

"Why didn't she wait for us before going into town?" Gabe growls. "How could she be so stupid."

"Gabe," Brady says in a warning tone.

Gabe doesn't mean it. He's scared. We all are. I wish she waited. Why did she have to go into town on her own? We would have taken her if she wanted to go that badly.

Eyes feeling heavy, I climb into bed. I curl up next to Snow, draping my arm over her and tucking her into my side. My eyes stay shut, unable to open again as apple pie fills my nose.

Please wake up, Snow. Please. I need to hear your laugh again, to see your sweet smile. I need to tell you how much you mean to me and ask you to give me a chance to be your alpha, your mate.

I need you, Snow. Please wake up.