The Hybrid’s Second Chance
Chapter 22

Alexander's POV

Julianna had been in the hospital since last night, it was now in the early afternoon, and I was thrilled she was awake. My Lycan was howling in my mind about having kissed her. He had wanted to do that since he first saw her in the woods. I was so elated that I didn't even care my mother was aggressively calling for me. I knew it was time for Cecilia and Samuel to leave. Cecilia had pretty much ignored me since I left her in the woods. I know it wasn't what I should have done as the King, but my mate needed tending too,

and that was more important to me than anything.

I joined my mother, Elijah, and Hannah outside the pack house, all lined up to say goodbye before they got into the waiting SUV. I was smiling ear to ear when I approached, with both Elijah and Hannah smiling back at me, while my mother had a disgruntled, angry look on her face. She's not happy about the way I treated Cecilia or the fact my mate is a wolf. I was hoping she would come to accept that, and if not, I wasn't sure what I would do yet.

Cecilia and her father came out of the pack house and started walking down the front steps. They stopped in front of my mother and shook her hand.

"Thank you for your hospitality and for inviting us in."

"You're welcome, Alpha Samuel. I'm so sorry things didn't turn out like we had hoped."

"These things do happen. I hope to see you again someday soon." Samuel then shook Elijah's hand and Hannah's. When he got to me, he bowed his head low. "King Alexander, I had hoped we would be able to join our packs as one, but seeing as you found your mate, I hope we can continue our alliance instead."

"I would like nothing more, Alpha Samuel." I reached out and shook his hand. Cecilia was glaring at me from behind him.

"Say goodbye Cecilia, don't be rude to the King." She went around him to look at me.

"Goodbye KING Alexander," she put all the emphasis on the word King. Perhaps to remind me I was being childish because of the way I treated her.

"It was nice meeting you, Cecilia," I said, extending my hand to her. She hesitated but shook it quickly, before turning and following her father into the waiting car. We all stood there and waiting until they drove down the driveway and out of sight. "I want to speak with you," my mom said in a harsh tone.

"I would be more than happy to speak to you in a little while, mother. My mate woke up and is waiting for me to come back like I told her I would."

"She's awake!" Hannah yelled excitedly.

"Congratulations Alex," Elijah said, thumping me on the back.

"Honestly, is this any way for the King, Beta, Beta female and Princess to behave!" My mother huffed, giving us all a disapproving look.

"Mom, calm down," Hannah told her, rolling her eyes. "This is amazing news. Alex has finally found his mate, and she survived whatever it was that she went through. Why don't you go oil your knees, go see the wizard, and get a heart." My mother just stared at Hannah. She opened her mouth to reply, but instead turned and stormed back into the pack house. Only Hannah would talk to the former Queen that way and get away with it. They were very different people, and my mother was never happy Hannah wasn't the perfect little princess she had always hoped for. She also hated she was mated to Elijah as she saw him as hurting her reputation as a princess because he wasn't an Alpha.

"I think you really pis*ed her off good this time," I warned her.

"She'll get over it, she always does. Now, when do we get to meet her? Have you learned her name yet or not?"

"Yes, it's Julianna Parker."

"Did she tell you how she got stabbed?" Elijah asked. "It's pretty bada** your mate was causing so much trouble she got hit with a knife."

"I'm not sure she's going to see it that way," I laughed.

"But when do we get to meet her?" Hannah asked again more impatiently.

"Calm down girl," Elijah said, wrapping his arm around her waist. "You might be twins, but it doesn't mean you need to share everything." She just rolled her eyes at him.

"You calm down pup," she shot back jokingly. Elijah growled at her, to which she laughed. She was two years older than him, and it always got under his skin when she called him pup. Trying to break the tension, I said,

"I'm going to go talk to her some more. We really didn't get a lot of time before I had to come here. I'll let you know when she's up for visitors." As I walked away from them, I heard Elijah say,

"I might be younger than you princess, but I'll show you who's the boss in our house." I heard her giggle, and I knew what that meant. Gagging internally, I quickened my pace to get back to Julianna. When I walked into her room, she was sleeping peacefully. I smiled, looking at her heart-shaped face and full lips.

"Dr. Williams, are you in your office?"

"Yes Alpha. Would you like to talk about Julianna?"

"I would, I'll be right there." Dr. Williams was typing on his computer when I knocked and let myself in. He stood up and bowed his head to me.

"What would you like to discuss?" he asked, sitting back down after I did.

"I just wanted to know if Julianna said anything to you about what happened to her before I came in."

"Not that much. When she woke up, she seemed confused. She thought she was back in the October Moon Pack."

"October Moon, is that where she's from?"

"It appears so. She was almost beside herself at the thought of being back. She asked if the Alpha was angry with her and said she didn't mean to." "Didn't mean to do what?"

"I'm not sure, she didn't say."

"October Moon is only about 10 miles away or so. She traveled all that way injured like that?"

"It's possible," Dr. Williams replied. "Or it's possible she got injured closer to our borders. How is it that you came across her again?"

"I'm not sure. I was walking with Cecilia, and then I had this overwhelming feeling like I needed to go for a run to the lake. Cecilia wasn't interested in the idea so I suggested a walk. When we got to the lake, the wind kicked up and I could smell her scent mixed with the blood. That's when I found her just inside our borders."

"Strange. She'll have to tell us more about it."

"When do you think she'll be able to leave the hospital?" I asked.

"I would say tomorrow so long as she's feeling alright. All her vitals look good and stable, so as long as they stay that way, I don't see why she won't be able to leave. Her stitches will have to come out in about a week or so, and she'll end up with a scar." "I'm going to go sit with her until she wakes up." I stood up, but Dr. Williams called my attention back to him.

"King Alexander," I turned to look at him. "Try not to push her too hard for information. I know you might be tempted to, but she's clearly been through some trauma. She'll tell you when she's ready." I nodded my head, letting him know I understood before leaving his office.

Even though I was the Alpha of this pack, I valued Dr. William's input. He had been in this pack for a very long time and had seen many things happen. I trusted his opinion and advice. I pulled a chair over so I could sit by Julianna's side. She looked so beautiful sleeping. The color had come back to her face, giving her cheeks a slightly rosy color. Taking her hand in mine, I started rubbing small circles with my thumb on the back of her hand. The corners of her mouth pulled up in a smile while she slept. "Alex, there's a call for you from one of our contractors. He said it's important."

"Okay, Elijah. I'll be right there." My Lycan growled in anger at being pulled away from our mate yet again. I kissed Julianna's hand and whispered,

"I'll be right back, my love." Quickly making my way to my office, I took the call. Since we owned an architectural design company, we had many contractors under us to complete our projects. The call lasted longer than I would have liked because the client was upset with something in our blueprints. I spent a couple hours then trying to fix the problem and sending emails making sure their complaint got to the proper people.

Once I was satisfied, I headed back to the hospital to see if Julianna was awake. I entered her room and saw she was sitting up in bed, with a tray of food in front of her. She was no longer hooked up to the heart monitor, but I could hear her heartbeat pick up when she saw me. My Lycan smiled, enjoying how we could make our mate's heart skip a beat just at the sight of us.

"Hello again," I told her, going further into her room.

"Hi," she breathed out.

"How are you feeling?"

"Good, better than earlier."

"I'm glad to hear that." I went and sat down in my chair from earlier.

"Did you bring that chair over?" she asked curiously.

"Yes, I wanted to sit with you until you woke up, but then I got called away on a phone call." I noticed she had eaten everything they had brought her. "Are you still hungry? I can have something else brought here?" She looked at me questioningly, almost like she wasn't used to kindness.

"I'm okay, thank you. Everything I had was delicious."

"I'll let the kitchen staff know you said that they'll be very pleased." She looked down and smiled. I was trying to think of something to say to her. It was strange feeling this nervousness in front of someone. "Dr. Williams said you should be able to leave the hospital tomorrow. Where would you like to stay once you're out?" The look on her face told me my question had confused her.

"Um, you... You want me to stay?"

"Of course, I want you to stay. You're my mate, I'd like nothing more than to have you here with me."

"I'm sorry. I just, I'm not really sure how this whole second chance mate thing works." Wait, second chance? She had a mate before me.

"Your second chance?" I asked her. "You had a mate before me?" She looked embarrassed, and her cheeks flushed pink again.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that. I did have a mate before you, in my old pack. He... he wasn't very kind to me."

"Is that why you left?" She looked at me and sighed. "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it right now. It seems like you've been through a lot."

"Thank you, I appreciate that. This is just all a lot to take in right now." She ran her hand through her long dark hair. This simple action caused my Lycan to stir with desire for his mate. I leaned forward in my chair so I could take both her hands in mine, causing her to shudder slightly. Hoping it was a good shudder, I looked into her round amber eyes.

"I'll listen whenever you're ready to talk to me about it, but I just want you to know that you're safe here and that you're wanted. I've waited a long time to meet my mate, and now that I have, I will show you nothing except love, kindness, and respect. I took one of her hands to my lips and kissed it. Her breath quickened when my lips touched her skin. Looking up, I saw she had her eyes closed and a satisfied smile graced her lips. I could spend the next millennium staring into her mesmerizing face. "Alexander?" she asked.

"Please, call me Alex."

"Alex, I want to tell you about myself. My wolf Sofia is screaming at me too, but I just need a little time. Just yesterday I was running for my life from my former pack, and now I'm here with you. It's overwhelming."

"I understand, Julianna. Like I said, when you're ready I'll be here."

"Julia, people usually call me Julia." I smiled at her now.

"Whatever you'd like."