The Biker Alpha Who Became My Second Chance Mate Chapter 167

Athena

Was I sure? God, yes. I'd never been more sure of anything in my life.

"I'm sure."

"It's going to drain you. Badly. And we don't know what effect it'll have on..." He gestured vaguely at my stomach.

"I have to try."

He was silent for a moment, then sighed. "Alright. But I'm staying right here. And if anything seems wrong, if you start looking weak or sick, I'm using my authority on you. Forcibly if necessary."

"Fair enough."

Derek moved to the door, positioning himself as a lookout even though Dr. Ben had assured us no one would enter without permission. Sarah stood near the foot of the bed, her eyes never leaving me, ready to help if needed.

And Orion...

Orion stood right beside me, close enough to grab me if I collapsed, his face a mixture of support and regret. I could feel it rolling off him in waves. He was regretting this decision, regretting giving in to me, but he didn't have a choice.

If he hadn't agreed, I would have found a way. Snuck in at night. Picked locks. Done whatever it took.

At least this way, he could watch over me. Make sure I didn't kill myself trying to save Tristan, not that I care.

I took a deep breath, centering myself. Calling on that power that lived inside me, that ability to give life, to heal, to restore what was broken.

It was part of me, had been since I was born, though I'd learnt about it late. But we were one.

My hands moved toward Tristan's chest, ready to place them over his heart where the connection would be strongest.

But before my hands could touch him, something stopped me.

Not physically. No one grabbed me. But I felt it, a pull, strong and insistent, coming from lower. From my stomach.

The babies.

They were reaching out somehow, their tiny, barely-formed consciousnesses connecting with my power.

It wasn't logical, didn't make sense. They were so small, so new. They shouldn't have been able to do anything.

But they were part me and part Tristan. Part life-giver and part Alpha. And somehow, they knew. Knew what I was about to do. Knew their father needed help.

My hands changed direction, moving to my stomach instead of Tristan's chest. I felt insane doing it, felt like I was wasting precious seconds, but the pull was too strong to ignore.

"Athena?" Orion's voice was confused. "What are you doing?"

"I don't know," I whispered. "Something's... the babies are..."

I couldn't explain it. Couldn't put into words what I was feeling. So I just followed instinct, lowering myself to lean over the bed, to rest my weight against Tristan's side with my stomach pressed against his chest.

"That's not how her powers work," I heard Derek say quietly to Orion. "She's supposed to use her hands..."

"I know," Orion replied, equally quiet. "But don't stop her. Look at her face."

I didn't know what my face looked like. Didn't care. All I cared about was the energy building inside me, stronger than it had ever been before.

It wasn't just my power anymore. It was mine and the babies', our combined life-force reaching out to Tristan.

It felt different this time. The last time I tried to heal Tristan, I had to concentrate, had to actively channel my energy into him.

This time, it just flowed. Natural. Effortless. Like it was meant to be this way.

Heat spread through my body, warm and intense but not painful. It radiated from my stomach, from where the babies were, and poured into Tristan through the point where we connected.

I could feel his body responding, his Alpha healing recognizing my power and amplifying it.

His chest moved under me, his breathing deepening.

"It's working," Sarah said, wonder in her voice. "Look at the monitors. His vitals are improving."

I didn't look. Couldn't look. All my focus was on maintaining this connection, on keeping the power flowing steadily. Too much too fast could be dangerous. Too little might not be enough.

But the babies seemed to know exactly what to do. Seemed to be guiding my power, controlling it in a way I never could on my own. It was beautiful. Terrifying. Overwhelming.

I felt Tristan's skull knitting back together, the fracture closing like it had never been. Felt his internal bleeding stopping, the torn vessels sealing. Felt his leg bones realigning, fusing, becoming whole again.

Every injury. Every wound. Healing.

And then...

His eyes opened.

I gasped, the connection breaking as shock rippled through me. Tristan's eyes, those dark eyes I loved so much, were looking right at me. Clear. Focused. Alive.

"Athena?" His voice was rough, confused. "What..."

Before he could finish, before any of us could react, his hand came up to touch my face. His movements were slow, careful, like he wasn't sure if this was real.

"You're here," he said softly.

"I'm here," I managed, tears streaming down my face. "I'm here and you're okay. You're going to be okay."

Behind me, I heard someone exhale sharply. Probably Orion. The relief in the room was palpable, thick enough to taste.

Tristan's hand moved from my face to my stomach, his palm pressing gently where our babies grew. "The babies," he said, remembering. "Are they..."

"They're fine. We're all fine. You..." My voice broke. "You scared me so badly. I thought I lost you."

"Not a chance." He tried to smile, wincing slightly. "Takes more than a bike to take me down."

"Don't," I said, half-laughing, half-crying. "Don't joke about it. You were dying, Tristan. Literally dying."

His eyes widened at that, the reality of what had happened sinking in.

"How am I not dead? I remember...god, I remember hitting the ground. My head..." His free hand moved to touch his head, feeling for the gash that was no longer there. "What happened? How long was I out?"

We all looked at each other. How was I going to tell him?

Dr. Ben burst through the door, clearly having seen the monitor changes from wherever he was watching. He stopped short when he saw Tristan awake, alert, his hand on my stomach.

"This is..." Dr. Chen looked at the monitors, then at Tristan, then back at the monitors. "This is impossible. You were critical. Brain swelling, internal bleeding, multiple fractures..."

"Alpha healing," Orion said quickly, smoothly. "It's faster than people realize. Especially when there's strong motivation to survive." He looked pointedly at me, at where Tristan's hand still rested on my stomach.

Dr. Ben studied us all for a long moment. I could see him processing, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. Because there was no medical explanation for this. None that humans would understand.

Finally, he just nodded. "I see. Well, I'll need to run some tests. Make sure everything is actually healed and not just..."

"Everything is healed," I said softly. "I promise."

His eyes met mine and I saw understanding there. Not complete understanding, he didn't know exactly what I'd done, but enough to know that something beyond normal Alpha healing had happened here.

"I'll run the tests anyway," he said diplomatically. "For my records. But I suspect you're right." He turned to leave, pausing at the door. "You have a very strong will to live, young man. And very dedicated people who care about you."

After he left, silence fell over the room. Tristan was still processing, still trying to understand. His eyes kept moving between me and his own body, checking for injuries that weren't there anymore.

"Someone want to tell me what really happened?" he asked finally.

"You won the race," Derek said, grinning. "Kicked ass against six guys working together. It was legendary."

"And then Vic hit you," Sarah added, her voice hardening. "Deliberately. After the race was over."

Tristan's jaw clenched. "I remember that part. Remember thinking I was about to die. And then..." He looked at me. "Then nothing. Just darkness. Until I woke up and you were..." He gestured at how I'd been lying against him. "What were you doing?"