The Biker Alpha Who Became My Second Chance Mate Chapter 144

Athena

He turned to look at Sarah and me, his eyes assessing us both professionally, and I saw him take in the cut on Sarah's arm that was still bleeding through the bandage Kiara had wrapped, the bruises forming on her face, and then his eyes moved to me, taking in my neck, my face, the way I was holding myself.

"You're pregnant," he said to me, and it wasn't a question.

"Yes," I said. "About two weeks."

His expression became even more focused. "Then you go first," he said firmly. "Sit down on the bed, please."

"Sarah's arm needs stitches," I protested. "She should go first."

"Sarah's arm will wait another few minutes," Dr. Chen said, his tone brooking no argument. "You're pregnant and you were just in a physical altercation, that takes priority, now please, sit down."

Tristan guided me to the daybed and I sat down, suddenly feeling how exhausted and sore I really was.

Dr. Chen pulled up a chair in front of me while Tristan pulled up another chair right beside me, taking my hand in his.

"Tell me everything," Dr. Chen said. "What happened during the fight? Did you take any hits to your abdomen?"

"No," I said quickly. "I was very careful about that, I kept my body turned, kept my front protected."

"Where did you take hits?" he asked.

"My ribs, my back, my shoulder," I said. "Someone choked me, that's where these bruises on my neck came from."

I saw Tristan's hand clench into a fist at that, but he didn't say anything.

"Anywhere else?" Dr. Chen asked.

"My wrist where someone grabbed me," I said. "But that's it, I don't think anything is broken."

"We'll see about that," he said. "Are you experiencing any cramping? Any bleeding?"

"No," I said. "Nothing like that."

"That's good," he said. "That's very good, but I still need to examine you thoroughly."

He started with my neck, his fingers gentle as he probed the bruising.

"This looks worse than it is," he said. "The bruising is superficial, there's no damage to your trachea that I can feel, but there is some swelling."

"Is that dangerous?" Tristan asked, his voice tight.

"Not at the moment," Dr. Chen said. "But it's something we need to monitor, Athena, can you swallow for me?"

I tried and winced at the pain. "It hurts but I can do it."

"Good," he said. "Can you take a deep breath?"

I breathed in and felt the pain in my throat but I could do it.

"Any trouble breathing at all?" he asked. "Any feeling like your airway is closing?"

"No," I said. "Just pain when I swallow and breathe."

He pulled out a small light and had me open my mouth so he could look at my throat.

"There's some inflammation but nothing that looks immediately concerning," he said.

"However, if you notice any increase in swelling, any difficulty breathing, any feeling like your throat is closing up, you need to tell someone immediately, understood?"

"Understood," I said.

He moved on to my ribs next, and his expression became more serious.

"I'm going to need to lift your shirt to examine your ribs properly," he said. "Is that alright?"

I nodded and he carefully lifted the hem of my shirt, exposing my ribs and stomach.

I heard Tristan suck in a sharp breath and when I looked down, I saw why.

The bruising on my ribs was extensive, dark purple and blue spreading across my entire right side.

"I'm going to touch these," Dr. Chen said. "It's going to hurt but I need to determine if anything is broken."

He pressed carefully along my ribs and I tried not to make any sound but I couldn't help the small gasps of pain that escaped.

Tristan's hand tightened on mine with each sound I made, and when I glanced at him, I saw his jaw was clenched so tight I was worried he'd crack a tooth.

"Nothing feels broken," Dr. Chen said after what felt like an eternity. "They're badly bruised but intact, you're going to be very sore for the next week or two but they should heal fine."

"What about the baby?" Tristan asked. "Could the hits to her ribs have affected the baby?"

"The baby is very well protected at this stage," Dr. Chen said, his hand moving to gently press on my lower abdomen.

"The uterus is still tucked safely behind the pelvic bone, it would take direct trauma to the lower abdomen to cause any damage."

His fingers pressed carefully around my stomach and I held my breath, waiting.

"Does this hurt?" he asked.

"No," I said. "Just the ribs hurt."

"Good," he said. "That's very good, I don't feel any unusual swelling or tenderness here."

He pulled my shirt back down and moved to check my shoulder next, which was bruised but not as badly as my ribs.

"You're going to have a lovely collection of bruises," he said as he examined it. "But again, nothing broken, just deep tissue bruising."

He checked my wrist where I'd been grabbed, finding more bruising but full range of motion.

"You were very lucky," he said, sitting back in his chair. "These injuries could have been significantly worse."

"So the baby is okay?" I asked, needing to hear it directly.

"Based on my examination, yes," he said. "There's no sign of any trauma to your abdomen, no cramping, no bleeding, all good signs.

However, I strongly recommend you see your prenatal care provider as soon as possible, they'll be able to do a more thorough examination and possibly an ultrasound to verify everything is developing normally."

"We have an appointment with our healer first thing in the morning," Tristan said. "I already arranged it."

"Perfect," Dr. Chen said. "In the meantime, I want you to rest, no strenuous activity, no heavy lifting, and I want you to monitor yourself closely for any cramping, bleeding, or unusual pain."

"I will," I promised.

He pulled out an IV kit from his bag. "I'm going to put you on fluids," he said. "You've been through a significant physical and emotional trauma tonight, your body needs to recover and this will help, it will also help prevent any shock and keep you hydrated, which is important for the pregnancy."

I nodded and held out my arm, watching as he expertly inserted the needle and taped it down.

"This will run for about an hour," he said. "I want you to rest while it does, don't try to move around too much."

"I won't," I said.

He stood up and turned to Sarah. "Your turn," he said. "Let's take a look at that arm."

Sarah moved to sit on the daybed and Orion immediately took up the position Tristan had been in, right beside her, holding her hand.

Dr. Chen unwrapped the bandage Kiara had put on and I saw Sarah wince as the fabric pulled away from the wound.

The cut was deep, running from her elbow almost to her wrist, and it was still bleeding sluggishly.

"This definitely needs stitches," Dr. Chen said. "Several of them."

"I figured," Sarah said, trying to sound casual but I could hear the pain in her voice.

"Did you take any other significant injuries?" Dr. Chen asked as he began cleaning the wound.

"Bruised ribs, some cuts and bruises on my face and arms," Sarah said. "But nothing as bad as this."

"Let me stitch this up and then I'll examine the rest," he said.

I watched as he worked, his hands steady and sure as he stitched Sarah's arm back together, she didn't make a sound the entire time even though I knew it had to hurt.

Orion watched too, his face tight with controlled emotion, and every so often he'd bring Sarah's other hand to his lips and kiss her knuckles.

When Dr. Chen finished with the stitches, he examined the rest of Sarah's injuries, finding bruised ribs like mine, various cuts and bruises, but nothing broken or seriously damaged.

"You're both incredibly lucky," he said, looking between Sarah and me. "And incredibly tough, most people wouldn't have been able to hold their own the way you two did."

"We had good teachers," Sarah said, glancing at Orion.

"And we weren't alone," I added. "Kiara and the others came when we needed them."

Dr. Chen set up an IV for Sarah as well, saying she needed fluids just like I did, and then he packed up his medical bag.

"I'm going to step outside and let you both rest," he said. "But I'm not going anywhere, if you need anything, anything at all, you call for me."

"Thank you," I said. "Really, thank you so much."

"Just doing my job," he said with a kind smile, and then he left the room, closing the door softly behind him.

For a moment, the four of us just sat there in silence, processing everything that had happened.

Then Orion spoke. "I want to know everything," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "Every detail of what happened here tonight."

Sarah and I exchanged glances, and then Sarah began to tell the story, starting with when the three phones had rung simultaneously at dinner, describing how she and I had put the kids down and were waiting, how we'd received the threatening texts, how we'd heard the glass break in the kitchen.

I picked up the story from there, describing the fight, how Sarah had been incredible, how we'd held them off as long as we could.

"You were amazing," I said to Sarah. "I've never seen anyone fight like that."

"I started training at age fifteen, but then Orion completed the training," she said simply, looking at him with love in her eyes.

"I trained you to protect yourself and our children," Orion said, his voice rough with emotion. "I never wanted you to have to use it like this."

"But I'm glad I could," Sarah said. "I'm glad I knew how to fight when it mattered."

I continued the story, describing how we'd been tiring, how the men had been gaining the upper hand, how I'd been fighting the urge to shift because I couldn't let them know about the baby, couldn't give them a target.

"You almost shifted?" Tristan asked, concern flooding his voice.

"I was trying so hard not to," I admitted. "My wolf was going crazy, she wanted out, wanted to protect the baby, but I knew if I shifted, things might get worse."

"So you fought it," he said, wonder in his voice.

"I fought it," I confirmed. "Right up until Kiara and the others burst through the door."

Sarah finished the story, describing how Leah, Kiara and her friends had turned the tide of the fight, how we'd managed to subdue all four attackers, how the guards had arrived and taken them into custody.

"And then you texted us," Orion said.

"And then we texted you," Sarah confirmed. "And then we waited for you to come home."

Tristan's hand found mine again and he brought it to his lips. "I should have been here," he said. "I should have been here to protect you."

"You were protecting everyone," I said. "That's what you're supposed to do."

"You're my mate," he said fiercely. "You're carrying my child, you're my priority."

"The attack at the border was a diversion," Orion said quietly. "They drew us away on purpose so they could come after our families."

"Who?" I asked. "Who planned this?" Tristan and Orion exchanged a dark look.

"We'll talk about it later," Tristan said. "After you've rested."

"Tell me now," I said. "I deserve to know who tried to hurt me, who tried to hurt Sarah and the kids."

Another look passed between them and then Orion sighed.

"It was Daxon's family," he said. "His father and brothers."

My blood went cold. "What?"