Ch. 71..80

The Broken Warriors Daughter Chapter 71-She will be in an amazing amount of pain. Venom, when rejected like this, basically acts as a poison in the system. Her whole body will feel like it’s on fire. She will need rest after she regains consciousness. Her training will have to take a back seat to her recovery.” “Understood.” “As | said, we'll know more once the results of the blood work come back.” | don’t take my eyes off Cara. “Thank “Yes, thank you.” Mr. Nelson repeats.

you doctor.” | say.

We sit in silence as Dr. Harris leaves, both lost in our own thoughts.

Nurses come and go, checking her vital signs, and the tubes in her arms. My father comes in and puts a reassuring hand on my shoulder while looking at Mr. Nelson. “Your daughter is strong Clint. Stronger than any other wolf I’ve ever met. Stronger than you and Lily. She'll pull through this.” Mr. Nelson just nods. His eyes, as he watches his daughter, are filled with an agony and grief that I’m sure are reflected in my own.

My father pulls up a chair and waits with us. It isn’t long after that Dr. Harris returns. He nods his head at each of us. “Alpha, Alpha, Guardian. | have the results of Cara’s blood work.” He stops and looks at all of us. “Bad news first. Her body is flooded with the Beta’s venom. It has spread throughout her system. The good news. It is being rejected. In every instance of blood that we tested, it is being rejected.”

The Broken Warriors Daughter Chapter 72-| take a deep breathe, breathing out heavily for what feels like the first time in hours. “So, what does this mean, long term.” | ask. | need to know if there is still hope for our bond.

Dr. Harris looks at me as he answers. “We'll have to take more samples and continue to test her blood, but it means two things. First, it’s very likely that she will recover and not have any bond or link to the Beta. And second, it would explain why Kai cannot feel Artemis very strongly. She will be reserving her strength to fight the venom.” “What are you doing to help her? You said you would do everything to help her.” Mr. Nelson asks.

“Yes, and there isn’t much, but there are some things we can do on our end. We will continue to give her IV fluids to help Artemis flush the venom from her system. We will also be giving her liquid vitamins and nutrition until she wakes up to help her regain her strength. She is not only dehydrated but also weak from lack of food. It doesn’t appear that she has eater since she was taken.” “No, she wouldn't.” Mr. Nelson confirms. “It’s part of her training. Drink a much as possible when safe, but never eat anything that can be used to drug you.” Dr. Harris nods in understanding. “If all continues to go well, we may see her wake as early as tomorrow but more likely not until Tuesday.” My eyes close and | drop my head forward. The relief | feel at these words is overwhelming. She will be okay. She will wake up. Everything else will take time, and time is something | can give her.

“Thank you doctor.” My father says.

After he leaves, my father looks at me. “Son, you need to go take a shower and get something to eat.” “lm fine dad.”novelbin “Rik.” His tone is sharp. | look at him. “Son, you are covered in blood from a battle that happened hours ago.” | look down at myself, having totally forgotten that | was in a battle. My father is right, | am covered in blood. “You wouldn’t want her to wake up and see you like this.

| nod and stand. Looking at Mr. Nelson | say, “I'll be back shortly, if she wakes…” 1/2 “You'll be the second person to know.” He says.

| head out with my father. After showering, | change and head downstairs, ready. to go straight back to the hospital. “Rik.” My mother calls me from the kitchen.

| walk into the kitchen and see that she has made me a sandwich. “Have a seat and eat something. You won't help her or yourself if you aren’t at full strength. She’s going to need your strength when she wakes up. It will only take another 10 minutes and your father is keeping in contact with Mr. Nelson.” | sit and take a bite of the sandwich my mother made as she sits down next to me. She doesn’t say a word, she just rubs my back in that soothing way that mothers. have as | eat. The gentle kindness of it brings tears to my eyes. This is why every Alpha needs a Luna. Someone to look after them when they go all in, full throttle on whatever it is that needs their attention. My mom isn't just a great mom, she’s an amazing Luna. She looks out for every member of her pack.

When I'm done, | put my plate in the sink and go back to my mom. “Thanks Mom.” | say as | reach down and hug her. My hug lasts longer than a normal hug as | try to impart how grateful | am to her in that one gesture.

When | return to the hospital, Liam has joined Mr. Nelson in Cara's room. He has taken the time to get cleaned up before coming to see her. | give him a nod of acknowledgement, even as | realize he’s taken my seat and is holding Cara’s hand.

The Broken Warriors Daughter Chapter 73-| look at Mr. Nelson, “Anything?” | ask.

“Nothing new. They are giving her extra fluids as Dr. Harris said and they took more blood to check her venom levels.” | pull up another chair so | can be closer to her. | reach out a hand to touch her leg, just so there is a connection.

| don’t know how much time passes before Liam stands. “I have to go. | need to try to find Eli before the trail goes cold. | just wanted to check in on Cara before | went back out.” Good, now | can get back to holding her hand again.

He reaches down, brushing her hair way from her face before placing a gentle kiss on her lips. | can’t help the growl that escapes my lips as Kai pushes me to my feet.

Liam straightens up and looks at me, growling back. “Stand down Rik. We had an agreement.” 2 | move to the end of her bed, meeting him as he is coming around. “She is my mate. You agreed not to touch her. | don’t want your lips on her ever again.” | snarl at him..

His eyes darken as Cyran pushes forward. | know Kai is forward as well. “She hasn’t made her choice yet. She may decide to reject you and take me as her chosen mate. That will be for her to decide.”novelbin I'm about to get in his face when both of us are jerked down. Mr. Nelson is between us, having grabbed us both by the front of our shirts. “Outside NOW!” He orders, his aura heavy, before releasing us.

Liam and | continue to glare at each other as we walk outside. | hadn’t noticed earlier but the waiting room is full of wolves from both packs waiting to get news on Cara.

As Liam and | turn to face off again, Mr. Nelson gets in between us. “Now you listen to me pups.” He stresses the word showing both of us exactly how little he respects us right now. “If the two of you want to measure the size of your dicks, do it somewhere other than my daughter’s hospital room. Neither one of you is showing me that you deserve her as a mate. A mate would put my daughter first, ahead of everything and everyone else. A worthy mate would not be so busy showboating as an Alpha that he is ignoring the fact that she’s unconscious right. next to him!” He’s shouting now and the entire hospital has gone dead quiet.

+16 BONOS Mr. Nelson's voice goes dark and deep. “So until you two can show me that you are worthy of my daughter, you will not be allowed to visit her again.” “You can’t do that!” | exclaim. “She’s my mate!” “Then you should have thought about that before you started a pissing match in my daughter's room.” My breath is heaving in my chest. | can’t believe he’s banning me from Cara. | can see Liam out of the corner of my eye. His muscle in his jaw is twitching with how hard his jaw is clenched.

“And if either of you pups,” He stresses the word again, to get his point across. ” think that you can get past me to get to her?” Donovan pushes forward and Mr. Nelson’s eyes glow nearly solid gold, “I'd like to see you try.” He snarls the last part at us. 2 He waits a minute before he turns and rolls back into Cara’s hospital room. | feel my dad come up behind me and put one arm around me and the other around Liam.

“And that, my young Alphas, is why Clint Nelson used to be known as the Big Daddy Badass.”

The Broken Warriors Daughter Chapter 74-There is so much pain. It’s everywhere, overwhelming me and my senses. | try reaching out to Artemis, but she is fighting her own battle. | can feel her struggle but cannot reach her. We will need to fight this from opposites sides and meet in the middle. While I’m conscious, | can’t open my eyes or move my body, so | use my other senses.

At some point, | smell brownies again. The scent helps my body relax. | feel hands holding mine. My right hand begins to feel normal, the pain pushed away by the hand holding it. | latch on to that feeling. The only place in my body that isn’t screaming in pain.

| periodically hear voices, | can’t make any of them out, but | think one is my father’s.

When | awaken the next time, the hand holding my right one no longer pushes the pain away. The scent of brownies is faint now and my body feels tight. | try to focus on the scent, hoping it will help me relax.

| feel a draft and the scent of brownies floods my senses again. | mentally sigh. The scent calms my aching nerves and gives me some peace. | hear the sounds of a chair scraping on the floor and then a sudden release of the pain in my leg. The hand that was holding mine before is now on my leg. My mind relaxes and | let myself fall into blissful sleep.

The sounds of growling and snarling wake me. The scent of brownies is still strong, but the pain in my leg is back. It does seem less intense, but | prefer having it gone.

The sounds leave and | hear shouting from far away. | wish | knew what was going on. | wish | could open my eyes and let everyone around me know I’m awake and they don’t need to worry about me. | hear the sound of whirring wheels and know my father is here. | also hear soft footsteps and soft voices, before | feel myself being pulled under again.

| don’t know how long I’m out, but the next time | wake, | am feeling better. | still feel pain throughout my body, but it’s not as strong. | force my eyes open and immediately close them against the bright lights of the room. | moan softly as the light hurts my head.

“Cara? Honey, can you hear me? Go get the doctor.” My dad is talking. | try again to open my eyes only to feel the burn of the light again.

“Turn off the overhead lights. Hang on Cara, let us darken the room for you.” | hear the light switch and can | hear the light switch and can see the light dim behind my eyelids. | try opening my eyes again and this time, | let them adjust. It still feels bright, but it’s bearable.

“Dad.” It comes out as a croaking sound. My throat feels as dry as the desert, my tongue sticking to the roof of my mouth.

“Here honey.” | feel a straw press against my lips. | greedily drink and then. choke as the water sticks before going down my throat. Coughing, | close my eyes and lay back, feeling like | just ran a marathon rather than taking a simple sip of water.

“Try again Cara. They are giving you fluids, but they want you to have a lot so you can help Artemis fight the venom in your system.” That gets my attention and | open my mouth again. This time the water goes down easily and | drink until it’s gone.

“I'll get some more.” | think it's Lacey’s voice. | open my eyes again and see that | am right. She is taking the glass from my father and leaving the room to get more water.

“Cara.” My father’s voice pulls my attention back to him. “How do you feel honey?” “Like shit.” | give him a weak smile. “How long have | been out?” | ask, having no concept of time. It could be one hour or one year, | have no idea.

“Well, I'm not sure how long you were out before Rik rescued you, but you’ve been out for a day and a half since he got you back here. You're in the pack hospital now.” So, Rik rescued me. | wonder if he’s the one that smelled like brownies.novelbin | feel a draft and open my eyes to see Jason, a doctor and Lacey bringing up the rear with a glass of water in one hand and a pitcher in the other.

The Broken Warriors Daughter Chapter 75-The doctor comes over to me. He begins checking my vitals, flashing his light in my eyes, looking over the machines as he talks. “Cara, I’m Dr. Harris. How are you feeling?” “Terrible.” | reply.

He nods. “Can you be more specific. Do you feel burning? Aching? Sharp pains?” “Burning, yes. Aching, yes. No sharp pain, just a general, all over pain.” “| don’t know if your father has had a chance to tell you, but I’ll give you a quick overview of your health. Your body was flooded with the venom of your kidnapper. Your body and Artemis are rejecting the venom making it act like a poison. Artemis is fighting the venom’s spread in your body, so don’t be alarmed if you can’t hear her.” I nod, “I can feel her, but | can’t hear her.” “That’s good, and to be expected. You are healing faster than | anticipated.” He smiles, “Or maybe | should have expected it since you are a Guardian.” “The pain you feel should lessen as time goes on. I'd like for you to continue to try to drink fluids in addition to what we are putting into your system. I’d also like for you to try to get some sleep and when you wake again, try to eat something. Do you think you can do that?” | nod, already feeling exhausted by this interaction. My eyes start to close but before | fall asleep | hear my father telling me he'll be right here when | wake up.

The next time | wake up, | feel better, stronger. It must be the middle of the night because Lacey is asleep in one chair and Jason is asleep in the other. My dad isn’t in the room and | smile because he'll be pissed that he wasn’t here when | woke after he told me he would be.

| must make a noise because Jason’s eyes open and then he jolts up from his chair. “Cara.” He loudly whispers trying not to wake Lacey.

He stands beside me. “I'll go get the doc and I'll mind link your dad, he’s gonna be pissed that you woke up. It took him hours to finally agree to leave to go get a shower and some food.” “What time is it?” | ask, my throat scratchy again.

He checks his watch, “About 2am. Here.” He puts the straw against my lips and 1 drink the entire glass. Lacey stirs and sees me awake.

“Hey! There she is.” She gets up and Jason leaves to go get the doctor. “Are you feeling better?” She asks while refilling my glass.novelbin “Yes. Not great, but definitely better than before.” She starts to put the straw up to my mouth, but | reach out my hand and take the glass, holding it for myself.

Jason returns with Dr. Harris. “Hey doc.” | say as he walks in. “Hey! How's my favorite patient?” | arch an eyebrow at him. “Am | your only patient?” | ask.

“Well, shifters aren’t exactly known for spending long periods of time in a hospital room, shifter healing and all, so yes, you are currently my only patient.” He begins going through the list of doctor questions and is about done when my dad breezes into the room. “Cara. | knew | shouldn't have left.” “It's fine dad, you need to eat, sleep and shower too.” He wheels himself over and looks at me. “Your eyes seem brighter. How are you feeling?” “Better than before. | still can’t hear Artemis, but even she feels stronger than she did the last time | was awake.” “That’s great news honey.” Anurse comes in with a tray of food. She puts it on a stand with wheels and pushes it up to me across the bed.

Dr. Harris looks at me, “I know you may not feel much like eating, but | want you to try.” | look at the food, all bland, boring hospital food. “I'll try. Whatever it takes to get stronger and get out of here.” “After that, you all will let her get back to sleep. No keeping her up talking.” He’s focusing his attention on Jason and Lacey. They both nod in agreement and Dr. Harris and the nurse leave us in peace.

| eat as much as | can. Lacey and Jason tell me some stories about what | missed at school, but it isn’t long before fatigue takes me and I’m falling asleep again.

The Broken Warriors Daughter Chapter 76-When Mr. Nelson kicked Liam and | out of Cara’s hospital room, | was furious. | had made promises to her. She may not have heard them, but that didn’t mean | didn’t want to keep them.

| head back to the packhouse and up to my room. I’m pacing around, trying to figure out how to get back to her when my father mind links me and tells me to meet him in his office.

| head down immediately and walk into his office without bothering to knock. “Can you believe what he did dad?” | ask.

My father watches me as he sits in his seat behind his desk. “Son, in this, | think | can relate to Clint’s reaction, and | can’t disagree with him. You and Liam were wrong. But you potentially have a bigger problem.” | stop my pacing. “What do you mean?” He looks at me for a long moment. “You don’t realize what you said in the hospital, do you?” | wrack my brain. “I said a lot of things. What specifically are you referring to?” He raises his eyebrows at me. “Well, son, do you remember the part where you announced, very publicly, that Cara is your guarantee mate? You can pretty much that that bit of gossip has spread like wildfire and the only person who doesn’t know is Cara herself.” | feel my heart clinch. My father is right. | sit down, hard, putting my head in my hands. This is not how | wanted her to find out. | wanted to let her fall for me before the mate bond went into effect. | wanted her to want to be my mate because she respects me. But now, it will be impossible for her to not find out. Someone will tell her or ask her about it.

| look up at my father. “Shit! What can | do?” My father smiles at me. “Well, there’s not a lot you can do with the Shadow Falls Pack members since I’m guessing Alpha Liam isn't your best friend when it comes to Cara. But, you are the future Alpha of Canyon Ridge. An Alpha command. would keep anyone in this pack from saying anything to Cara.” I stare at my father. It’s brilliant! An Alpha command would force everyone in our pack to follow the command and they would physically be unable to disobey.

When | look back at my father, he is watching me intently. “What do you think?”novelbin “Yes, | want to give the pack the Alpha command to keep quiet and not say a word to her.” He nods his head never taking his eyes off me. “Do you want the command to come from me or you?” | hadn't expected that | would give the command. I’m not technically Alpha of the pack, even though | will be soon. However, | was born to lead and be the pack’s Alpha, so | know my command will be just as powerful as my father’s.

| think about it, then look at my father. “I think it should come from me. Tell me how to do it properly.” My father smiles proudly at me before explaining the requirements of giving an Alpha command. You have to be specific, you have to be clear, and you have to open your mind link to everyone that you intend to command. In this case, my entire pack.

Once we discuss wording and I’m ready. | open up the pack link. “Attention all Canyon Ridge pack members. This is Rik Forte, your future Alpha. Many of you may have been at the hospital earlier and overheard my conversation with Warrior Nelson. Others may have heard rumors of what was said. | forbid any member of this pack to discuss my being mated to Cara Nelson. You will not speak of it to anyone until Cara discovers the truth for herself. This is my Alpha command.” | could feel the command going through the pack link. My father nods his head letting me know he can feel the command going out and that | did well.

After leaving my father’s office, | head to training. When | arrive, | search for Lacey and Jason. | let them know my plan and get their agreement. | am willing to approve both of them missing school, work and training, to sit with Cara until she is released from the hospital as long as they provide hourly updates to me.

“Wait.” Lacey stops me. “You want hourly updates all day AND night.” “Yes. Is that a problem?” Lacey and Jason look at each other. “No, no problem.” “Good. Dismissed. | expect updates starting within the hour. | want to know anything and everything that happens. Changes, updates, good or bad.” “Yes Alpha.” They say in unison.

“I'll let your parents know.” They nod and head out. | mind link both of their parents and let them know that | have them watching over Cara for me and if they have any concerns about them missing training or school, to speak to me directly about it. They assured me that they did not have any issues.

The Broken Warriors Daughter Chapter 77-True to their word, Lacey and Jason provided hourly updates.

Several hours later, | get my first bit of good news. Cara woke up for a short amount of time and the doctor said he’s impressed with her healing ability. | can’t help the smile that spreads on my face as | head to dinner in the pack house dining room.

| meet up with Chase and give him the good news. “That’s great Rik! I’m happy for you.” We find a spot to sit and before | know it, the smell of rosewater assaults my nose again. | see Chase wrinkle his nose before Sheila sits down next tome.

She doesn’t say anything, she just sits down, looking down at her clasped hands. “Sheila.” | greet her.

“Is it true Alpha?” She looks up at me.

“Is what true?” | know that she’s asking about Cara being my mate, but | was very clear that this topic was not to be discussed with anyone. Kai is growling in my head, ready to put this she—wolf in her place.

| watch her struggle to say what she’s trying to say and work around my command. “About Cara?” She finally spits out.

“Yes.” She looks at me with tears in her eyes. “But what about me?” | truly have no idea what she’s talking about. There was never anything more than sex between us. “What about you?” | ask her. “| thought you cared about me.” “Of course | care about you Sheila.” | see her face brighten and | know | have to shut this down right now. “You are a member of this pack and | care about all of my pack members.” Her face falls again. “I thought we had something special.” She whispers.

“Sheila, you are a nice girl that will find her mate someday. When you do, you will understand that there will never be anyone for me but her.” | try to be nice, but firm.

She sniffles, “If you ever change your mind” I cut her off before she can continue. “I won't.” She nods and leaves.

more.

| look at Chase. He watches her leave thoughtfully. “You know there will be They will think that having sex with you meant that you wanted them to be the future Luna.” “They would be wrong. | never promised any of them anything. I’ve always planned to make my mate the pack’s Luna. Now that | have found her, | won't give her up.” After dinner, | head up to my room. | want to get some rest while | can. I’m hoping to get another update overnight, and I’m not disappointed.

Around 2am, | get a mind link from Jason. Cara is up again. She is feeling stronger, and she is eating, but Dr. Harris wanted her to go back to sleep to continue to get her strength back. | go back to sleep feeling better that she is getting stronger.

The next morning, I’ve had quick updates saying that Cara is stable and still sleeping. Dad is doing training again, so | join in. It’s not as difficult as Mr. Nelson’s training but | go all in, working to build my strength. I’m back to the Cara Nelson sparring training’ | take down each of my warriors one after the other. There is a lot of grumbling. The group thought they would get a break without a Guardian in the training.

On my way from training to breakfast, | get another mind link, from Lacey this time. Cara is awake, feeling stronger and had a short conversation with Artemis. All of the attempted mate marks are gone. Artemis is still weak and fighting the venom, but it’s working and they are both getting stronger.novelbin Jason links me to tell me that Mr. Nelson is headed to the pack house to get food for Cara. | walk over to the lead omega in the kitchen and ask for two to-go boxes. | go around and pick up a little of everything, making sure to get protein, carbs and something sweet since I’ve noticed my girl has a sweet tooth.

When Mr. Nelson comes in, | walk up to him. His lips set into a thin line, but | ignore it. “Sir, | heard you were on your way to get some food for Cara. | took it upon myself to prepare two breakfasts to go, so you wouldn't have to waste time putting them together.” | put the to-go boxes in his lap and turn back to the kitchen omega to get a carafe of coffee. “Here you go sir.” | turn to head back into the dining room. “Thank you Alpha.” Mr. Nelson says to 4 1.me. “Please, call me Rik.” He nods and rolls out of the pack house, headed back to my girl.

The Broken Warriors Daughter Chapter 78-The next time | wake up, not only do | feel stronger, but | have a minute where Artemis is forward. She let's me know that she’s countering the venom but it will be another week before she’s back to full strength, but she has effectively eliminated his mark from our neck. The bruises will take longer as she has been focusing on healing other things first.

When | open my eyes, Lacey, Jason and my father are in the room. Dad's attention immediately snaps to me. “Honey, you're awake. How are you feeling?” “I'm better. Artemis says she’s winning the battle of the venom and that Eli's mark is gone. Is that true?” | pull the hospital gown to the side and see everyone's eyes go wide. Lacey jumps up, pushing my neck to one side before pushing it to the other, and pulling the other side of my gown away from my body. “Oh my goddess! Your wolf is amazing! All the marks are gone!” “Wait. ALL the marks? How many were there?” They all look at each other uncomfortably. It’s my dad that answers my question. “Honey, you had multiple puncture wounds on both sides of your neck. It appears he was trying to put as much of his venom into your system as possible to force your body to shut down so he could cement the mate bond.” I'm shocked, although | shouldn't be. “I'll remember to tell Artemis how awesome she is then.” | ask about what has happened in my absence, how they found me and | listen as they fill me in on all the details, Liam’s and Rik’s roles in helping to find me and bring me home.

50…

My dad leaves to go get me some real food from the packhouse. | take the opportunity to ask Lacey and Jason what has been weighing on my mind. I'm a bit surprised to hear that Liam and Rik played such a central role in my return but | haven’t seen either one of them. | know they are busy, but | thought that Rik at least, after everything that happened, would have come by.” They look at each other. 1/ “What?” | ask.

It's Jason that responds. “Well, your dad may have gone all Guardian on them.” “Yeah,” Lacey picks up the conversation, “They apparently had some sort of pissing match in your room and your dad kicked them out and told them they weren't allowed to come back.” Jason jumps back in, “Yeah and that if they wanted to get to you, they’d have to go through him.” He says with awe in his voice.

| don’t know what to say. First, that whatever happened between Rik and Liam in my room seems to be similar to what happened in school on the day Liam brought the bear. And that my dad got all protective and basically pulled rank on two Alphas.

“Alpha Anders didn’t say anything?” “Nope, he gloated that his old Guardian was back. Did you know that your dad is training warriors?” “What?? What else did | miss?”novelbin Lacey responds, “You mean besides the fact that your father is trying to kill us all with his ridiculous training? I've never been so sore in my entire life.” I'm laughing when my dad and Dr. Harris walk in. “Well, that’s a great sign.” Dr. Harris says seeing me laughing.

“Hi doc. So, what's the verdict? When do | get to leave?” He begins checking over vitals and nurse notes. He looks back up at me. “You and Artemis are pretty amazing. | can’t believe that you are healing so well. At this rate, | think you can leave tonight.” lam so excited. | don’t want to spend another minute in bed. | need to be outside. smelling fresh air, sleeping in my own bed, healing in my own home. “What do | have to do?” | ask.

The Broken Warriors Daughter Chapter 79-“I need to take some more blood and | need you to eat a full meal.” “Deal. What are you looking for in my blood?” “We're checking to see how Artemis is doing getting rid of the venom.” “She told me it’s working and that the marks are gone.” Yeah,” Lacey interrupts, “Look at her neck, doc. It’s still bruised but the puncture wounds are all gone.” Dr. Harris checks my neck on both sides and seems very happy with what he’s seeing or isn’t seeing. “Ok, let me get this blood work run, eat the dinner your father brought, and I'll see about getting you out of here.” I'm actually famished and easily finish the food dad has brought me. It’s better than the nasty, boring food from last night. After eating | feel even stronger, so when Dr. Harris returns, I’m ready to get released.novelbin “Okay,” he tells Dad and |, “I’m going to release you, but you must come back tomorrow for more blood work and maybe on Thursday as well. We'll see how tomorrow goes.

Lacey stays to help me get changed as Dad goes to get the car and Jason heads off to afternoon warrior training. | look at Lacey. “Won't you be in trouble for missing training?” She gives me a devious smile. “Nope. When your dad banned Alpha Rik from your room, he gave us a free pass to miss as long as we were here with you and provide him updates on your progress.” | stop mid-way pulling my shirt over my head and get stuck with my head and arms inside as | take in what she said. “Wait. Alpha Rik said you could miss training to be with me?” —we fill him in on Lacey helps me get untangled as she replies. “Yep. As long your status every hour, which we have done, even overnight.” I stare at her. “So, he really means it. He was really staking a claim?” “Yeah, he’s your…” She stops abruptly, her brow furrowing. She opens her mouth a couple more times and looks like a fish out of water before she finally rolls her eyes and says, “Yes, he means it. He’s very serious Cara. You need to know that before you see him again.” “Good to know. And | won’t be seeing him until Dad agrees to let him see me, right?” “That’s what | hear. | wasn’t actually in the hospital when it all went down, but Jason was, and | trust him as a source. But | also heard it from several others, and it was the same, so, yeah.” | finish getting ready and then follow Lacey out to the room where a nurse is waiting with a wheelchair. “Is that necessary?” | ask her.

“Sorry, hospital rules.” | sigh but sit in the chair. As we leave the room, there are several warriors from both Canyon Ridge and Shadow Falls packs. They gather in two lines on either side of the walkway cheering me on as | leave the hospital. I’m stunned. | had no idea this many people were here waiting to see how | am doing.

Just before we exit through the automatic sliding doors, | ask the nurse to turn me around to face the crowd. “Thank you all, so much. | really appreciate all of your support, and I'll be back to fighting strength in no time.” Acheer goes up as the nurse turns me back around and helps me into dad’s van. As we pull away, and head home, | see Rik standing near the packhouse, watching. | lock eyes with him and | lift my hand in a wave. He smiles and lifts his hand back as we pass by.

llaaleat mu fathar “our long before you lift the ban on Liam and Rik?”

The Broken Warriors Daughter Chapter 80-My dad gives me a side—eye glance. “If it were up to me, I’d make it last longer, but it’s up to you, now that you are back on your feet.”

| smile at my dad and as we pull up to the house, he turns to face me. “And...you may be willing to forgive them much faster than lam.”

“Why is that?”

“Liam left a gift for you on Sunday when he was here. Well, | guess it is the final product of the gift Cyran gave Artemis.” | frown as we walk into the house. “What are you talking about Dad?”

He wheels over to the largest gift bag I've ever seen. “What is it?”

“Open it and see for yourself.” Dad says.

| do and it’s the bear. Or should | say, it’s the bearskin rug that needed to be processed. It’s soft and thick and will be perfect on the hardwood floors in my bedroom. “Whoa!” | look at my dad. “This is amazing!”

“I'm going to take it upstairs and call him to say thanks.” | take the bearskin upstairs and lay in on my floor. Then | stand on it barefoot, closing my eyes and feeling the softness of the fur on my feet. Even Artemis purrs in my head. ‘Nice, right?‘ | ask her.

‘I can’t wait until | can shift and roll around on it.‘ She replies. Now | have that image in my head. ‘Eww.* She snickers before laying down in my head.

I call Liam and it goes to voicemail. | let him know that | got released and that | got the bearskin, which is now a rug on my bedroom floor and Artemis can’t wait to roll on it. Who knows, maybe Cyran will appreciate that little nugget of information.

| stare at my phone. Everyone in the pack has the phone number for both our Alphas. | look at the clock and see that it is after 6pm. Rik will be done with warrior training. | take a chance and send a text.

Me: Hey Alpha Rik. | hear | owe you a big thanks for rescuing me.

Rik: Cara. | was surprised to see you leaving the hospital. How are you feeling? Me: I'm better thank you and in part thanks to you Rik: What kind of an Alpha would | be if | left you at the hands of that murderer. Me: Why do | feel like there’s more to that story than | know?

Rik: Maybe a conversation for another time.

Rik: You should focus on getting healthy and strong. | hear you keep taking out my warriors in training and | think it’s time we go head-to-head.

Me: Alpha Rik, are you sure you want your pack to watch as | show you your ass?

Rik: It takes more than a little Guardian to bring me down.

Me: Well, then, challenge accepted. Although, if you want a fair fight, it will have to be a few more days. Artemis is still healing.

Rik: | will absolutely wait. And, in the meantime, your father is training us in the mornings. We can both work on getting stronger before the big matchup.

Me: Well, don’t say | didn’t warn you when you end up crying like a little girl in front of your pack Alpha. Rik: Get some rest my Little Guardian. | hope to see you soon. Me: Thanks again Alpha. | really do appreciate everything, and that includes all those gifts from before as well.

Rik: Call me Rik and anytime.

| set my phone down. My heart was lighter.