The Biker Alpha Who Became My Second Chance Mate Chapter 145

Athena

"Word got back to his family and park, they wanted revenge for their son and brother, they wanted to hurt us the way we hurt him."

"So he sent people to kill us," I said, the words tasting bitter in my mouth.

"He sent people to take you," Orion corrected grimly. "The plan was to kidnap you and Sarah, use you as leverage."

My stomach turned. "But we fought back."

"You fought back," Tristan confirmed. "And you won."

"What happened to them?" Sarah asked. "To Daxon's father and brothers?"

"We dealt with them," Orion said, and there was something final in his tone that told me not to ask for more details. "They won't be coming back."

"Are you sure?" I asked, fear making my voice shake slightly. "What if there are others? What if they try again?"

"They won't," Tristan said with absolute certainty. "We made it very clear tonight what would happen if they came after our families again, we told them that the only reason they were still breathing was because we were showing mercy, but that mercy only extends so far. Told them we knew what happened to our parents."

"We could have ended all of them tonight," Orion added. "For what they did, for what they tried to do, we would have been within our rights, but we chose to only deal with those who directly attacked, we let the rest live with a warning."

"And if they don't heed that warning?" I asked.

"Then we won't show mercy a second time," Tristan said darkly. "But I don't think it will come to that, we broke them tonight, they know they can't win against us. So you don't have to worry or get scared. You're safe."

I wanted to believe him but I was exhausted and scared and my body hurt and all I could think about was the baby growing inside me and how close we'd come to losing everything.

Tristan must have seen something in my face because he stood up and carefully climbed onto the daybed beside me, arranging us so I was tucked against his side with my head on his chest, being mindful of the IV in my arm and my bruised ribs.

"Sleep," he said gently. "I'll be right here, I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

"Don't leave," I mumbled, exhaustion pulling at me.

"Never," he said firmly. "I'm right here, we're safe, the baby is safe, everything is going to be okay."

I closed my eyes and listened to his heartbeat, strong and steady beneath my ear, and slowly, finally, I let myself believe him.

I let myself believe that we were safe, that the danger had passed, that our baby was okay.

And with Tristan's arms around me and his hand resting protectively on my stomach, I finally let sleep take me.

.......

I woke to the sound of quiet voices and for a moment, I couldn't remember where I was or why everything hurt.

Then it all came rushing back and my hand immediately went to my stomach.

"Hey," Tristan's voice said softly beside me. "You're okay, the baby's okay."

I opened my eyes to find him still right there beside me on the daybed, exactly where he'd been when I fell asleep, his hand covering mine on my stomach.

"What time is it?" I asked, my voice coming out rough and scratchy from my bruised throat.

"About six in the morning," he said. "You slept for almost nine hours."

"Wow! Nine hours?" I said. It felt like I'd I'd just closed my eyes.

"Your body needed rest but you kept waking up," he said gently. "Every time a door closed or someone spoke a little too loud, you'd jolt awake."

I didn't remember that but I believed him, the hypervigilance made sense after what we'd been through.

"Where is everyone?" I asked, noticing the room was empty except for us.

"Sarah and Orion are in another room with the kids," he said. "Lily woke up crying about an hour ago, she had a nightmare about the bad men, so Sarah is with her now."

My heart clenched. "She saw too much."

"She did," Tristan agreed. "But she's safe and her parents are with her, she'll be okay."

"What about Derek?" I asked.

"He went back to the border to help with cleanup," Tristan said. "There was still work to be done."

I nodded and tried to sit up, immediately regretting it as pain shot through my ribs.

"Easy," Tristan said, helping me. "Dr. Chen said you need to move slowly, those ribs are going to hurt for a while."

"Everything hurts," I admitted.

"I know, baby," he said sympathetically. "But you're alive and the baby is safe, that's what matters."

He was right but it didn't make the pain any less real.

The IV bag hanging beside the bed was empty now and Tristan carefully removed the needle from my arm, placing a small bandage over the insertion site.

"Dr. Chen showed me how to do that," he explained when he saw me watching. "He said the fluids should help you feel a bit better."

"I do feel a bit better," I said. "Less shaky."

"Good," he said. "Are you hungry? Kiara made breakfast for everyone."

As if on cue, my stomach growled loudly and we both looked down at it.

"I'll take that as a yes," Tristan said with a small smile, the first real smile I'd seen from him since he arrived.

He helped me stand slowly, keeping his arm around my waist to support me, and we made our way out of the small room and down the hallway.

The smell of food cooking hit me as soon as we entered the main living area and my mouth watered, I was starving.

Kiara was in the kitchen with Leah, the two of them working together to make what looked like enough food to feed an army.

"You're awake," Kiara said when she saw me. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore," I said honestly. "But better than last night."

"Good," she said. "Sit down, food will be ready in a few minutes."

Tristan guided me to the couch and I sat down carefully, trying to find a position that didn't aggravate my ribs too much.

Sarah appeared from another hallway, looking exhausted but relieved when she saw me.

"You're up," she said, coming over to sit beside me. "I was worried about you."

"I'm okay," I said. "How's Lily?"

"She's calmer now," Sarah said. "Orion is reading to her and Liam, trying to distract them from everything that happened."

"I'm sorry they had to see that," I said. "They're so young, they shouldn't have had to witness violence like that."

"They're resilient," Sarah said, but I could see the worry in her eyes. "We'll make sure they have everything they need to process it."

Cara and Maya came in from outside, having apparently been keeping watch during the early morning hours.

"Everything's quiet out there," Cara reported. "No signs of any trouble."

"The guards are still stationed around the perimeter," Maya added. "They'll stay until we're sure there's no more threat."

I felt grateful for their continued vigilance even as part of me wondered if we'd ever really feel safe again.

Orion emerged from the back with Lily on his hip and Liam holding his hand, both kids looked tired and a bit subdued, which was unusual for them.

"Aunt Athena!" Lily said when she saw me, and Orion set her down so she could come over.

She climbed carefully into my lap, being gentle in a way that told me someone had explained that I was hurt.

"Hi, sweetheart," I said, hugging her close.

"Mama said you have owies," she said, looking up at me with big concerned eyes.

"I do," I confirmed. "But I'll be okay."

"Does the baby have owies too?" she asked, and I realized she was touching my stomach gently.

I glanced at Sarah who gave me an apologetic look.

"I had to explain why you needed to be careful with you," Sarah said quietly. "She was asking why you were hurt and I thought it might help her understand if she knew there was a baby that needed protecting."

I looked back down at Lily. "The baby is okay," I told her. "The baby is safe."

"Good," she said seriously. "I'm going to be a big cousin, I have to help protect the baby."

My throat felt tight with emotion. "You're going to be a wonderful big cousin."

She smiled at that and snuggled closer to me, careful of my ribs.

Liam walked over and tried to climb up too but Orion scooped him up.

"Let's give Aunt Athena some space, buddy," he said. "She's got Lily, you can sit with daddy."

Liam seemed content with that and settled in Orion's lap as my brother sat down in one of the armchairs.

"How are you really doing?" Orion asked me, his eyes scanning my face, my neck, taking in all the visible damage.

"I'm sore and I'm tired and I'm scared," I admitted. "But I'm alive and the baby is safe, so I'm doing better than I could be."

He nodded slowly. "Tristan told me you're going to see your healer this morning."

"Mara," I confirmed. "She's expecting us at nine."

"Good," he said. "I want to make sure everything is really okay."

"Me too," I said quietly.

Breakfast was ready and Kiara and Leah brought out plates of eggs, bacon, toast, fruit, and pancakes, there was easily enough food for everyone and then some.

"You didn't have to do all this," I said as Kiara handed me a plate.

"Yes, we did," she said simply. "You need to eat, you need to keep your strength up, especially now."

She glanced meaningfully at my stomach and I realized she knew about the pregnancy too.

"Thank you," I said, and I meant it for so much more than just the food.

We ate in relative quiet, everyone tired from the events of the night, Lily and Liam were the most animated, chattering about the pancakes and asking if they could have more syrup.

The normalcy of it, the simple act of sharing a meal together, helped ease some of the tension that had been sitting in my chest since the attack.

After breakfast, Dr. Chen came back to check on both Sarah and me one more time before we left.

"The swelling in your throat has gone down a bit," he said to me after examining my neck. "That's a good sign, but I still want you to be careful, if you notice any difficulty breathing or increased swelling, you need to get medical attention immediately."

"I will," I promised.

He checked Sarah's stitches and declared them to be holding well, then gave us both instructions for care and told us to rest as much as possible over the next few days.

"I mean it," he said seriously. "Your bodies have been through trauma, they need time to heal, don't try to push through the pain or act like everything is fine."

"We won't," Sarah assured him.

After Dr. Chen left, Tristan turned to me. "We should head to Mara's soon," he said. "Our appointment is in an hour and I want to give us plenty of time to get there."

I nodded and stood up carefully, Lily sliding off my lap.

"Do you have to go?" she asked, her little face scrunching up with worry.

"Just for a little while," I said. "But I'll see you soon, I promise."

"Okay," she said, but she didn't look happy about it.

Sarah hugged me carefully. "Let me know how it goes," she said quietly. "I'll be thinking about you."

"I will," I said.

Orion came over and pulled me into a gentle hug. "Take care of yourself, little sister," he said. "And call me if you need anything, anything at all."

"I will," I promised.