Awakening The Alpha, Bound By Blood

Helios' POV

Pain. It wasn’t the kind of pain I was accustomed to, the sharp bite of a blade, the dull ache of bruises, or the searing heat of claws raking through flesh.

No, this pain was different. It came from within, deep and consuming, like my very existence had been shattered and forced back together in a way that didn’t quite fit. I gasped awake, my senses flaring, instinct kicking in before logic.

The scent of sterile antiseptic burned my nose, but beneath it, something sweet and familiar coiled around me like an intoxicating whisper. Vanilla and moonlight. My wolf stirred instantly, and I turned my head, muscles tense, ready to attack whoever dared intrude on my space.

And then I saw her. A frail body lay beside me in this oversized hospital bed, tucked beneath the same sheets I was under. Soft waves of midnight hair framed a face too pale, her chest barely rising with shallow breaths.

Starlight. My heartbeat faltered. She was....why was she here? The memories crashed back all at once. The rogues. The battle. The pain. The darkness. The blood. Her blood.

A growl rumbled deep in my chest. I struggled to sit up, my body aching but stronger, too strong for someone who had been at death’s door. My wounds had healed, my energy restored, but she... She was still unconscious.

Before I could fully process the realization, the door swung open. My father, Killian, walked in with the healer, Elysia, and the pack doctor in tow. Their eyes went straight to me, relief flashing across their faces, but my focus was solely on the girl lying beside me.

“What the hell is this?” My voice came out rough, edged with confusion and barely concealed rage. My father,Killian exhaled sharply, stepping forward. “You’re awake.”

“No thanks to you,” I snapped. “Why the fuck is she here?” Elysia answered before my father could. “Because she saved your life, Alpha.” I turned to her, my wolf bristling at the calm certainty in her tone. “That’s impossible.” Elysia met my gaze without flinching. “It isn’t.”

The pack doctor, a man who rarely spoke in anything other than dry medical jargon, cleared his throat. “Alpha Helios, the blood transfusions we administered earlier failed. Your body rejected every donor match. If we hadn’t used her blood, you’d be dead.”

Silence thundered between us. I stared down at Starlight, her face peaceful but unnervingly still. She did this? The runt? The pathetic little omega I had ignored, taunted, and pushed aside as worthless?

The same girl I had secretly known was my mate but had never acknowledged? My hands curled into fists. I wanted to deny it, to say they were wrong, that she was just a weak omega and nothing more but my body told me otherwise.

I felt different. Stronger. Whole. I swallowed hard, my wolf pacing restlessly inside me, a wicked smirk curling in his mind. "You shunned her. You denied her. And now you're stuck with her." I clenched my jaw. I hadn’t chosen her. I hadn’t wanted her.

But now…I turned my gaze to my father, expecting to see anger or disgust. Instead, he looked shaken, his storm-gray eyes shadowed with something unreadable.

"You knew," I accused. Killian stiffened. "I suspected." A growl built in my throat. "And you never told me?" "Would you have listened?" His voice was cold, biting. I had no response.

Killian exhaled sharply and looked at Starlight. "She needs to recover. Stay close to her. The bond will strengthen, and she will heal faster." I scoffed. "You expect me to babysit her?"

Elysia's sharp gaze cut through me. "I expect you to honor your bond unless you'd rather have her die after she gave everything to save you."

The words hit me harder than I cared to admit. My wolf rumbled lowly, displeased with my hesitation. "She is ours. We need her." I gritted my teeth and looked back at Starlight.

She was tiny, delicate, nothing like the strong, fierce Luna I had always imagined for myself. But she was mine. And no one else was allowed to touch what was mine. Something inside me shifted, an unfamiliar possessiveness coiling in my chest.

Mine.

The thought unsettled me. I wasn’t the kind of man to need someone. But for the first time in my life, I wondered… Had I made the greatest mistake of all by rejecting the mate fate had chosen for me.

I never wanted a mate. Not like this. Not her. Yet, here I was, sitting at the edge of an oversized hospital bed, watching over the runt who had somehow bound me to her with something stronger than a mere mate bond, her blood.

It had been three days since I woke up to find Starlight beside me, pale and unmoving. Three days of watching her remain locked in that damn coma, her breathing too shallow for my liking. Three days of listening to my father and Elysia command me to stay by her side.

Three days of my wolf growing increasingly restless every time I thought of leaving. I hated it. I hated how trapped I felt. Hated the way my instincts screamed at me to protect her, touch her, keep her close. Hated how my wolf refused to let me pull away.

I clenched my fists, trying to ignore the way my body gravitated toward hers. Even now, with her unconscious, she had some kind of hold over me.

"You shunned her. You denied her. And now you're stuck with her." My wolf had been mocking me since the moment I woke up. "She's ours." "We need her." "You were a fool to ignore the bond."

I scoffed under my breath. A fool. That’s what I had been. No. I had been smart. Who in their right mind would have willingly accepted a runt omega as their mate?

It had been bad enough that fate had given me someone weak, but now the entire pack knew. Knew that their powerful Alpha was tied to a nobody. Knew that I had hidden my mate because I was ashamed of her. And yet, she had saved me.

I ran a hand down my face, exhaling slowly. The pack had started whispering the moment they found out. “No wonder he never announced her. Who would accept an Omega Luna?” “He must have been hoping for a second chance mate.” “An Alpha and an Omega? That bond won’t last.”

The worst part? I had thought the same. But now? Now, my own body betrayed me every time I thought of rejecting her. I felt it in my bones, in my wolf’s resistance. I was bound to her. And that terrified me more than anything else.

I heard the door creak open and didn’t bother looking up. Elysia stepped inside, her knowing gaze immediately pinning me in place. “She’s still unconscious,” I muttered, staring at Starlight’s still form.

The healer sighed. “She lost too much blood, Helios. It’s a miracle she’s alive at all.” I gritted my teeth. The witches. They had known about my mate before I did. They had known about the bond, and they had cursed me to reject any blood that wasn’t hers.

Had they been planning to kill me? Or had they wanted me to realize, too late, that the mate I had ignored was the only one who could save me? Either way, they had played their hand well.

“I need her to wake up,” I muttered, voice harsher than I intended. Elysia hummed. “Do you?” I stiffened, looking at her sharply. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

She gave me a knowing look. “You may not have accepted the bond before, but your wolf has. That’s why you haven’t left her side.” “I stay because I’m ordered to,” I snapped. Her lips curled into something annoyingly amused. “If that were true, you wouldn’t be holding her hand.”

My heart stopped. I hadn’t even realized it. My fingers were curled loosely around Starlight’s fragile wrist, her skin too cold beneath mine. I dropped her hand instantly, jaw tightening.

“Your wolf wants to keep her close,” Elysia continued. “It’s why you feel like you can’t leave. The bond will only strengthen from here.” I clenched my jaw, refusing to respond. She was right.

That was the worst part. I had spent years training my body, my mind, my willpower to resist weakness. Yet one unconscious girl was unraveling me in a way no enemy ever had.

Elysia sighed and turned toward the door. “She will wake soon, Helios. And when she does, she will remember everything.” I swallowed hard. She would remember. She would remember the years of torment. The way I ignored her.

The way I pretended not to feel the bond. She would remember every time I let the pack treat her like she was nothing. And I? I would have to face what I had done. Elysia left without another word, and I turned back to the girl lying in my bed, frustration boiling inside me.

What was I supposed to do when she woke up? Would she be grateful that I stayed? Or would she hate me? I ran a hand through my hair, exhaling sharply. There was only one thing I knew for certain.

No matter how much I wanted to resist. No matter how much I wanted to pretend the bond meant nothing, I was never going to be able to let her go. Not now. Not ever. I am now bound to her by not just the mate bond, but bound by blood.