Filed To Story: Destined Bond with My Forbidden Alpha Novel (Alpha Alexander & Selene)
“I don’t want to hurt you,” Galen said calmly as he positioned himself to defend Selene. “But I will do what I must to end this madness.”
The men looked at each other. One seemed to second guess his decision and took a step back. But the other turned to Galen. His eyes were filled with desperation and rage.
“We will defend our Luna!” the man snarled. “Get out of the way!”
“I won’t,” Galen growled back at him.
Though Selene could not see them, she knew Galen’s eyes were beginning to glow.
The second man suddenly seemed afraid. He moved away from his friend, looking around for an escape.
“No…” the man facing off with Galen growled, shaking his head. “No! She is the one! Not you! She is the only one… the only one that can make it right again!”
He suddenly charged forward, snarling and baring his teeth as he swung his arms wildly. Galen prepared himself. Once the man was close enough, he would take control of the situation.
Selene was feeling weak. The wound may not have endangered her life, but the blood loss was taxing her.
The man pulled his arm back, preparing to swing at Galen. But before he got close enough, he suddenly stopped. The man fell to his knees with a soft grunt and a look of confusion. He heaved heavily, and his eyes rolled back as his body fell limp to the ground.
Selene’s eyes widened. The second man looked on in horror and then ran.
Galen furrowed his brows and looked up from the man’s body. To his surprise, he found himself staring at a rifle barrel pointing toward him from several feet away.
The rifle lowered, and Galen gasped as he recognized the weapon holder.
“Bell?” he whispered.
Bell gave a quick smile and a wink before looking behind her.
“The other one ran,” she called back to someone. “Catch him quickly before he finds a hole to hide in!”
A woman, whom Galen recognized as one of the nurses Bell worked closely with, ran after the other man. She also carried a rifle in her hands, and following her were two of Galen’s men.
As Galen watched the three run off, Bell moved her rifle onto her back and moved to the man on the ground. She checked his pulse and then looked back over her shoulder.
“Restrain and move him back to the hospital with the others,” she instructed. “And toss me my kit!”
Two more of Galen’s men appeared with a stretcher and immediately got to work following Bell’s instructions. One of them tossed her a bag. Bell caught it and hurried over to Selene.
“Hey, bestie,” Bell smiled as she knelt beside Selene. She opened her bag and pulled out several items. “Playing nice with others just like usual, huh? Got yourself a pretty scratch this time.”
“Would you believe I didn’t start it this time?” Selene replied weakly.
Bell laughed and put on her gloves.
“This time,” she said as she began to clean the wound, “I’ll believe you.”
Bell quickly cleaned and bandaged the wound.
“That’s all I can do here,” she said as she stood back up. “We need to get you to the hospital so I can stitch it up. You’re gonna have a nice scar, though.”
Selene reached up and touched the bandage.
“Thank you,” she said quietly.
Bell nodded and smiled at her friend.
“Bell,” Galen called, his arms crossed over his chest impatiently.
He had stood aside and said nothing in the few minutes it took Bell to treat Selene, but she knew he was itching to talk to her.
Bell waved over the man who had gotten her bag for her.
“Can you escort Selene back to the hospital?” she asked.
The man nodded and offered his hand to Selene. She took it and got to her feet. She glanced between Galen and Bell but said nothing before being led away.
“Bell, what are you doing here?” Galen asked, turning her to look at him. The concern in his eyes was unmistakable. “It’s dangerous!”
Bell took a deep breath.
“There are reports of wounded all over Summer,” she said. “These guys didn’t start out violent, but they did a lot of damage to buildings, and it caused a lot of injuries. I had no choice but to send my team out.”
Galen sighed and nodded.
“And,” Bell continued, “I realized there was a much more efficient and less risky solution than sending soldiers in to fight their friends and family.”
She pulled the rifle from her back and handed it to Galen.
“Tranquilizers,” she said. “Point and shoot, knock them out for a few hours. Plenty of time to get them restrained and moved back to the hospital where they can be treated and kept comfortable for now.”
Galen smiled and nodded, handing the rifle back to her.
“Good plan,” he said softly. “I hadn’t even considered something like this.”
“Well, I did,” Bell smiled as she put the rifle on her back.
Galen hugged her tight and kissed the top of her head.
“Thank you,” he said with a heavy sigh. “I really didn’t want to have to hurt anyone else.”
Bell squeezed him in her arms and nuzzled against his throat.
“I know, Puppy,” she whispered.
756 Relax and Listen
Galen continued with his men and the team that Bell had sent to help clear the area. Meanwhile, Bell and Selene returned to the hospital to treat Selene’s wound.
Bell entered the room, and Selene already sat on the bed. Her blood-soaked shirt had been replaced with a hospital gown.
“Been a while since we’ve done this,” Bell smiled as she gathered her supplies.
Everything was neatly laid out on the tray. Bell turned on a bright light just above the bed, and Selene closed her eyes, naturally turning her head away.
“Sorry, bright light,” Bell said. “I’ll need you to turn toward the door so I can see everything clearly.”
Selene did as instructed, and Bell put on a fresh pair of gloves before removing the bandage she had placed in the field.
It was a deep cut, but no significant damage was done. Stitches would be required, and there would be scarring, but otherwise, the wound was clean and straightforward.
Bell began by cleaning the wound again and swabbing it. Making sure there was nothing that had gotten inside. There was no sign of foreign debris or poison on the blade that made the cut.
There was a commotion in the hallway. Shouting and things hitting a wall, then more shouting. Selene tensed up and focused on the door. She was ready to jump up and fight at a moment’s notice. She tilted her head slightly, trying to give her hearing a better angle.
“If you move like that while I’m stitching, we’re gonna have a problem,” Bell sighed.
Selene turned and looked at Bell. She furrowed her brows.
“Aren’t you concerned about what’s happening out there?” Selene asked, looking back at the door.
“There are plenty of people out there to be concerned about it. I’m concerned about what’s happening in here,” Bell replied.
She reached up and grabbed Selene’s chin, forcing her to turn so she was back in the proper position and lighting for the procedure.
Selene took a deep breath through her nose.
“How are you so calm?” she asked, staying as still as possible. “I still can’t wrap my head around what happened out there…”
Bell let out a soft chuckle.
“Calm?” she asked, focusing her eyes on the wound. “My son is trapped in a panic room underneath his school, with a barrier blocking anyone from reaching him, including me. My husband is being physically attacked by people who have known and respected him his entire life. I went out and essentially hunted people down to shoot them with tranquilizers…”
Bell sat back and smiled at Selene.
“The world around me is on full tilt right now,” she said. “Inside, I am screaming, crying, shouting, and throwing everything within reach.”
Bell paused and took a breath.
“I can lean into fear and anxiety. Let it out into the open, just like those people out in the hall right now… and create even more problems for even more people,” she said softly. “Or I can do what I’m really good at.”
She smiled again.
“Make jokes and fix all the ouchies and booboos you silly crash test dummies bring to my door.”
Selene sighed and gave a weak smile.
“Weren’t you the one that told me I couldn’t do that…” she said quietly.
Bell smiled and nodded.
“Yeah,” she said. “Avoiding your pain and fear isn’t really a healthy choice.”
“But it’s all right for you to do it?” Selene asked. Looking at Bell with a sad smile.
Bell thought for a moment about how to answer. But no matter how she phrased it, the answer would still be painful for Selene to hear.
“I don’t do that,” Bell said. “Not anymore.”
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?