Falling For the Alpha's Daughter

Chapter 35

Anastasia's P.O.V.

The following weeks were terrible.

I had been discharged from the hospital with strict orders for rest and to begin physical therapy but with most of my family in the hospital, I was soon re-admitted for stress and overwork, much to everyone's anger but not to their surprise. Luke and I were sharing a room so he could keep an eye on me, making sure I was not taking more burden than I could bear.

"Anastasia," his low voice laced with a warning as I sat typing away at my laptop. My eyes had not left the screen for hours and I could sense he was half inclined to throw it across the room.

"It's the school," I murmured, not even bothering to look at him. The blanket rustled as he relaxed. "I have asked them to defer my audition."

"And?"

I bit back my tears as I couldn't bring myself to relay the response I had gotten. I felt Luke sifting through my thoughts as I leaned back and sighed.

"Don't give up my love," Luke reached across to tilt my head towards him. "They said you showed promise, they still want you."

"Yes but how long are they willing to wait for me?" I murmured and laid my head on Luke's stomach as he ran his fingers through my hair.

"Bryan tells me that your lands were left untouched," Luke's voice had a deep timbre to it; one that reverberated with power, my wolf purred under the power that was our mate's.

"Save a couple houses on the northern boundary, but yes, relatively untouched," I traced the outline of his muscles.

"When are you planning a first move?"

"When at least Ari and Asher have been given the all clear," I replied. "They will go with the all the college-gens and start working. They can more than defend themselves if anything. Then the kids and finally, everyone else as they get the all clear for travel."

Luke's fingers stopped their wandering on the apple of my cheek, commanding my undivided attention. I met his steely gaze, "Yes?"

His warm hand cupped my cheek, "When do you leave?"

I kissed his stomach in an attempt to reassure him, "I'll be one of the last. More than likely I leave with Axel, Damien and Dad." The four of us were the hardest hit out of all of this, and not to toot my own horn, we were some of the most vital people in the pack.

His thoughts whirred by too fast for me to understand them. "And when do you want to come back?"

My breathing hitched for a moment. It wasn't priority but we needed to talk about the next step of our relationship; leaving my pack and officially becoming a part of his. "Definitely when my family can hold their own," I thrummed my fingers, "months from now?"

Luke bristled, "I don't think I can wait months."

His unvoiced fear hovered in the air. A power shift was evident between him and his father with even the simplest of conversation degenerating into petty but potentially deadly arguments. A lot of an alpha's power came from within himself but the remainder was drawn from the strength and faith from his pack and now most of the Blackwell pack had renewed or newfound respect and belief in Luke. While I doubted Jonathan would challenge Luke but I was not sure about Jonathan's wolf who could see Luke's wolf as a foe rather than family.

I hoisted myself up onto Luke's bed and pressed a kiss to my mark on his smooth skin. "I know."

Luke's arms coiled around me, his fingers playing a thoughtful melody along my spine. We stayed quiet, just the hum of the machines and muffled beating of ours hearts filling the room. Our thoughts wove in and out of each other with Luke thinking months ahead while I just planned day by day.