The Alpha Prince And His Bride
Book 3 The Alpha’s Substitute Bride – Episode 49

~ISABELLA~

Wake up.

Wake up.

You need to wake up Isabella.

I heard voices around me. Something was insisting for me to wake up. The voice in my head wouldn’t stop and I was trying to sleep but it just wouldn’t let me. It was trying to warn me about something that needed my attention but it was hard for me to figure out what exactly was it.

What needed my attention? What could possibly be calling out to me so strongly?

Someone I cared about was in danger.

He’s in danger . . . WAKE UP!

I shifted in my sleep. Was I asleep? Wherever I was, it felt weird.

I felt like I was missing some important part of me; like I was forgetting something important.

What was it? Or who was it? The force to wake up was overpowering the force demanding that I kept on sleeping.

“KILL ME!”

Everything inside of me completely stilled.

I knew that voice. Why was there so much pain and sadness there? I didn’t want there to be any pain. There should only be happiness. He should not be in pain.

Why was he in pain? Who had hurt him?

“I killed your sister.”

What was happening? Why wasn’t anything making any sense to me?

“Thane don’t.”

Thane . . . Yes I knew that name. My brother.

What were they telling him not to do?

I heard shouting next and it sounded like a war was happening right next to me.

Why couldn’t I open my eyes? Why wasn’t I able to say something?

Someone I loved was in danger. I could feel it deep in my bones. He was dying and he needed my help. But who was it?

Why did it feel like he was the most important person in this world to me?

WHO WAS IT? I searched my brain like crazy as I raced to find out the man that meant the world to me.

I should remember. Why could I not remember him? I kept getting little images but nothing was enough.

Why was it taking me this long?

Then I saw a flash of a face, a handsome face that was slipping away from me.

No!

I clung to the memory of him as much as I could.

My breath went.

And then it all came rushing back to me. I saw those beautiful grey eyes first; eyes that always trapped me in its intensity. Then I saw . . . No I felt . . . I felt his soft black hair. And lips . . . I felt the k**s on my neck, the marking, the claiming.

My eyes snapped open as all of the horrifying events crashed into my brain one after the next.

Hunter. Oh God Hunter.

I winced at the bright sunlight and forced my body to move despite the drowsiness that still tried to hold me down.

I rose up in time to see Thane slam Hunter into the house. They both went straight through the wall and my heart dropped from my chest. Hunter was not fighting back. He wanted my brother to kill him.

No! No! No!

My eyes scanned around me desperately for help.

Why was no one trying to stop him?

This was what Maggie had wanted all along. I had to stop this before it was too late.

“Isabella?” Eden asked in shock as she saw me stand up from the ground.

I didn’t have time to pay attention to my sister. I needed to stop Thane before he did something that I could never forgive him for.

I bolted straight into the house ignoring all of the shouts of the rest of my brothers. I followed the sound of Esma’s screams and it was then that I saw Thane slam a vase against my mate’s head.

I couldn’t move from the shock of everything happening in front of me. All of the air was knocked straight out of my body and I staggered forward.

“THANE STOPPPPP!” I screamed.

Esma looked at me with wide eyes, almost as though she didn’t believe that I was standing in front of them.

Thane didn’t move however and it made me wonder if he couldn’t hear me.

Why wasn’t he stopping?

“STOP PLEASE STOP.” I cried as I dropped to the ground next to Hunter. I covered his body with my own and buried my face against his bleeding chest.

I waited for Thane’s punch to hit me but nothing came down on my body.

I looked up to see that his fist had stopped midway and he was staring at me like I was a ghost.

“I-Isabella?” He stuttered. His mouth was parted and he was shaking just like I was.

“Please stop it.” I cried. “Don’t hurt him anymore. Don’t hurt him.” I begged.

Hunter cracked open his eyes then and looked up at me. He could barely open them with the bruises all over his face. There was b***d everywhere and it was almost difficult to recognize him. To my surprise his mouth curved into a soft smile.

“Am I dead sweetheart?” He asked. “This is better than living in a world without you.”

I cried and shook my head at him.

He wasn’t dead. He wasn’t.

“I love you.” He whispered as his eyes shut closed once more and his body stopped moving below mine.

“Hunter!” I cried as I cupped his cheeks and tried to make him open his eyes again. “Please open your eyes. Please.”

“I love you.” I screamed. “I love you so much.”

“Get a doctor.” Austin shouted above the screaming. “He’s beaten up pretty badly and is most likely in shock. I don’t think he realizes that Isabella is still alive.”

My brothers helped us to get him up into the room while I tended to his wounds. They would eventually heal on their own but I still needed to help in some way or another. I couldn’t stop crying as we waited for a doctor to show up.

“Isabella.” Thane said as he took a seat next to me. I couldn’t look my brother in the eye. He almost killed Hunter and I didn’t know what to think about that. I knew why he did it but Hunter was my mate and my body was in shock thinking that he would have killed him if I didn’t stop him in time.

“Please look at me.”

I still couldn’t do it.

“I’m so sorry. I know that I never fully accepted Hunter for you and that you may think that I wanted to kill him but I was so fueled by the thought of him killing you that I let it get in the way of me thinking clearly. I should have known that something was wrong. I should have known that he wouldn’t have killed you.”

I sighed and wiped at a tear. “I don’t hate you. I could never hate you Thane. I’m just in shock with everything. I blame myself, not you. All of this could have been avoided if I had been a little stronger.” I paused as I looked down at Hunter’s unconscious body. “I’m scared of what’s going to happen when I tell Hunter the whole truth.”

Thane quirked a brow. “What whole truth? Who were the people that had taken you and why did Hunter think that he’d killed you? There was b***d everywhere and it was easy for anyone to think that he’d done that to you.”

I didn’t want to tell anyone until I’d told Hunter first. I needed him to wake up so that I could tell everyone as well along with him.

Esma walked in then and I didn’t have time to prepare myself as she bolted into my arms.

“Thank you for saving my brother.” She cried as she wrapped her hands tightly around me.

I shook my head. “I’m the reason he’s in this mess Esma, don’t thank me for it.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You will never hurt Hunter. I know that. Just like I knew that he will never hurt you.”

She couldn’t know that . . . I did hurt him. I stabbed him with that knife . . . I closed my eyes and tried not to think about it.

“Who’s behind all of this Isabella?” Eden asked as she entered the room followed by the rest of my family.

“I will answer everyone’s questions as soon as Hunter wakes up.” I promised.

He needed to be awake when I confessed the truth to everyone.