“He’s lost a lot of blood…”

…the sound of voices…no source….

“He’s strong…”

“I don’t want to say this, but he might not—“

“Quiet!”

The world was swimming and spinning. I was a jellyfish in the ocean, looking up at the waves above me as they spun and mutated, distorting the rays of light that struggled to reach me.

Cold strands of danger pulled threateningly at my toes, persisting in their attempts to drag me down…

My body was elsewhere.

Only I was here, floundering aimlessly in some other world, slipping in and out of the realm of real existence.

Time passed…

I’m not sure how I knew, but I did.

Things began to solidify. Memories. Recollections of events passed.

My body ached.

My body!

I was Bryce, the alpha in Tate’s Scarlet Mountain Pack. I’d been wounded – shot, by Jeremiah, that terrible, horrible beast of a man.

He’d tried to take Clarence from me – Clarence!

His voice was somewhere above me, beside me, filled with pain and despair.

“Please, Bryce,” he spoke. “Come back to me. I know you’re in there. I can feel it. I can feel you in our bond. You’re still there. You have to come back to me.”

I’m trying! I wanted to shout to him, but nothing listened to me. I wasn’t there yet. My body wasn’t listening to me yet.

The black took me over. More time passed.

“He’s holding on,” someone said above me. It wasn’t Clarence. Who else was there in the world but Clarence?

“He’s strong,”

“Damn right he is.” That was Clarence. My sweet omega. My mate. My fated mate.

Something on my right formed. I felt it. It was his hand. Clarence’s hand.

His scent filled my nose.

My nose!

My body was coming back to me. The touch, the sensations. Physicality. I was aware of things. The breath in my chest, my heart pumping, and then the pain.

My body was filled with a dull ache, not specific to anywhere. I felt life stir within me and people around me shifting.

“He’s moving!” Someone gasped. I recognized the voice as Osana’s. Of course she was here. She’d be taking care of me after I’d been hurt.

Jeremiah had shot me. I’d taken a bullet for my mate.

“Bryce!” Someone shouted. It was Martin. He was worried about me.

“Come on, Bryce!” Clarence pleaded, his hand tightening around mine. I was aware of it again. My hand, my arm, the rest of my body. My eyes.

Something inside me tugged at my heart. It was the bond. The bond with my fated mate. His scent awoke something inside me, and I wanted to return to him. I had to.

With everything inside me, I fought. I struggled and kicked against the waves of the ocean that threatened to pull me down. My soul cried out as I willed myself toward the surface, toward the light that was bending and swirling at me from above.

My head broke through and the sun overwhelmed me.

My eyes opened to the world. It was a blur. And it hurt, but somewhere above me there were faces.

Slowly, they came into view. And I recognized them.

Martin. Osana…and Clarence.

“My love,” he said, tears streaking down his cheeks as he looked at me. “You came back to me!”

My words caught in my throat, but I forced them out. “Of…course I did. How could I do anything else?”

“Atta boy,” Martin smiled. “Knew you’d make it.”

“You’ve been out a long time,” Osana told me, leaning forward and slipping a straw between my lips. “Sip this. You need energy.”

I did what she told me and sucked the straw. A liquid that tasted like everything on the Earth filled my mouth. It was greens, vegetables, fruits, sweet and savory all together. I drank eagerly, feeling whatever it was coating my throat and swirling through my body, invigorating me with life.

“You scared me,” Clarence said through his tears, wiping at his cheeks with his sleeve.

“Thought we were gonna lose you there for a minute,” Martin said with a deep sigh.

“I didn’t,” Clarence said. “I knew you’d come back to me. You had to.”

I smiled back at him as Osana pulled the straw from my mouth.

“You know it.”

“You wanna tell him now?” Martin asked, obviously excited about something.

“I think he should rest more,” Osana cautioned.

“Oh, come on!” He roared. “Look at him! He’s ready to run a marathon!”

“Maybe a sprint,” I joked, taking big breaths of air.

The bond was there. Clarence was right. I could feel it now. It was like a little piece of him had filled a part of me I never knew was empty, like that last piece of the puzzle that created me.

And a little piece of me was in him. I could feel his essence, his life energy, his emotions. It was unlike anything I’d ever felt. If only everyone could feel this way.

“Bryce,” Clarence said, leaning forward and clasping my hand in his. “I’m pregnant.”