The Mark of a Beta

forty- one

Cooper's POV

I wake up with Axel's arm draped over me. I love that he stayed the night, even though the hospital bed isn't very comfortable and my large mate doesn't have much room. With him next to me, the pain isn't as noticeable.

Inhaling deeply through my nose, I find it easier to take a full, pain-free breath compared to when I woke up yesterday. I'm not hooked up to any tubes or wires besides an IV to give me fluids, and I refused pain meds before I went to sleep. I don't want to depend on them, no matter how fucking fantastic they make me feel.

I turn over to face Axel and find him already awake. He smiles at me, the right corner of his lip tilting up a little more than the left to create a devastating smile. He leans in, resting his forehead against my own. With his eyes closed, he breathes in deeply, running his hand along my back. With the way this ugly-ass hospital gown fits me, a lot of my back is exposed, so I can feel very faint tingles in every spot where there is skin-on-skin contact.

It's a wonderful reminder that our bond hasn't been completely severed.

"Good morning," Axel says.

I smile even though both of us have our eyes closed. I like when Axel is soft with me.

"Morning, sexy," I say back, only partially joking with my tone. I really do think he's fucking sexy every moment of everyday, but he looks more adorable than sexy right now. I know if I say this out loud, it may just be enough for my mate to fall out of love with me.

Just fucking kidding, Axel's obsessed with me.

"Don't give me any ideas," he says in a low voice, trailing a finger down my cheek. When he reaches the corner of my mouth, his finger lightly trails over my bottom lip. He watches his slow movements, and I swear this motherfucker is horny.

"I practically come back from the dead and you want to fuck me? Who am I kidding, that's why I stuck around. Not for you, but for your dick."

Axel runs his tongue over his canines, which are thankfully not the sharp canines from when he's close to shifting. My eyes automatically follow the movement, and I didn't realize that I could be in physical pain while also wanting to get thoroughly fucked.

"I always want to fuck you," Axel says, then he leans in and kisses me once on my forehead. "But I want you to recover first. I won't touch you like that until you're completely healed."

Damn him and his responsible self! Wait a minute...

"So you won't touch me, but I can touch you, right?" I say, waggling my eyebrows like a crazy man.

Axel growls.

"Okay!" I squeal, throwing my hands up. "Never mind! Next time, be more careful with your words."

Axel shakes his head, exhales through his nose, then he hugs me. I'm not used to Axel being so obvious with his affection, but I fucking love it. I could get used to snuggles and forehead kisses for the rest of my life.

"I love you," he mumbles into my hair, and I practically melt.

"Love you, too," I whisper back, relaxing into my mate as I bask in his warmth.

It must be another thirty minutes before there's a knock on the door. Axel growls under his breath, most likely annoyed that someone is interrupting his cuddle time. I chuckle, then say, "come in!" to the doctor.

Only, it's not the doctor checking in on me.

"Oh, Cooper!" Lane comes barging into the room, arms wide, acting like a mama bear. I can't help but smile even brighter when I see her, Larry trailing behind her. Lane leans in for a hug, not even bothered that Axel is still plastered to my side. It turns into a three-way hug of sorts, and although Axel tenses when her arms go around us both, he doesn't move away. I think it's a testament to his clinginess to me rather than his indifference to Lane, but either way I think it's hilarious.