Chapter 118: The Protection he took away

Hours had passed since they’d brought her into the house, and right now, they were currently back at Eclipse Crown.

Annelise sat down in the chair next to Della’s bed, which was prepared in her own separate room.

Della’s body was covered in bandages from head to toe, and the injuries she’d suffered had been far worse than any of them could have imagined.

A severe concussion.

Several cracked ribs.

A badly fractured wrist, swollen almost beyond recognition.

Deep claw wounds across her back, shoulders and thighs, some still bleeding.

Her face was covered in swelling and bruises, with blood dried around her mouth and tangled through her hair.

There were signs of internal bleeding too, and every breath seemed to hurt her even while unconscious, but it was her abdomen that terrified Annelise the most.

The entire area was badly bruised from the repeated kicks and stomps, and beneath the bloodied fabric, Della’s stomach was unnaturally tense. There was blood between her thighs too, which had almost made Annelise’s heart stop.

After careful examination, it wasn’t hard to understand that the baby had been wounded from the assault too. The little heartbeat she’d been able to detect before was frighteningly weak.

And the bleeding...

The bleeding between her legs wouldn’t stop.

Annelise had cleaned her up more times than she could count, listened for the baby’s heartbeat that was still fading.

Cassian had left a while ago, saying he had something very important he needed to do. She had a feeling it involved whatever grand scheme had happened at the marketplace and why Della was branded a thief and beaten mercilessly by hundreds.

The door opened, and someone walked in.

"Not now, Mother," Annelise groaned, not bothering to look behind her.

Moira had been coming into the room non-stop since Della had been brought in, and she was too exhausted and furious to face her mother’s nonsense anymore.

"How is she?!"

The voice had Annelise flying off her seat, whirling around to face the Alpha. She bowed, her chest thumping as he approached, his eyes fixed on the bed.

He walked around and stood on the other side, and she slowly looked back up at him.

"She’s alive." Annelise swallowed.

Malachi’s gaze remained on Della, "That wasn’t what I asked."

Anne’s fingers tightened around the edge of her chair, "She’s in a critical condition." She sighed.

"How critical?"

Annelise hesitated.

She had been trying not to say it aloud. Somehow, giving the words a voice made them more real, "Her head injury is severe, but that’s not the worst of it. She has several cracked ribs, a fractured wrist, deep claw wounds and significant blood loss. I suspect internal bleeding too, although I’ve managed to stabilise it for now."

Malachi’s eyes dropped to Della’s bandaged body, "And the baby?"

"The baby was hurt." Annelise’s throat tightened.

Something flickered across his eyes — a reaction that finally made him seem human for a moment before they went dull. Although Beatrice didn’t miss his bulging veins that appeared from his neck and travelled to his skull.

He was also devastated.

Hiding it well. As well as a man like him could.

For it’d taken him hours of trying to gain control of his senses and emotions again before he could walk into this room, or else something would have happened.

Seeing her wrapping in those bandages — his pack would have paid. Every single person present in the marketplace would have paid.

"The abdominal trauma was extensive. She was kicked there repeatedly. Stomped on." Her voice grew quieter. "There’s bleeding, and the baby’s heartbeat is extremely weak."

Malachi looked at Della again, looking impossibly smaller than before, "Will it survive?" He asked.

Annelise stared at him, "I don’t know."

The words seemed to settle heavily between them.

"I’ve been listening to the heartbeat whenever I can. Sometimes I can barely find it." She rubbed her exhausted eyes. "And the bleeding hasn’t stopped completely."

Malachi’s gaze remained fixed on Della’s stomach, "How long?"

"Since we brought her here."

"And you’re telling me you still can’t stop it?"

Annelise’s exhaustion suddenly turned into irritation, "I’m telling you I’m doing everything I can."

Malachi looked at her, and Anne immediately realised she’d just snapped at the Alpha.

But she didn’t care anymore.

She had spent hours trying to keep Della alive while listening to that tiny heartbeat fade beneath her hands. She had watched blood continue to seep despite everything she did.

And she had been assured by Rowan that the Alpha was protecting them!

What the hell happened to the guards that were supposed to keep an eye on them? That were supposed to protect them?!

And where on earth was Rowan himself?!

"I am not giving up on either of them," she said firmly, trying to hold back her tongue from swearing at him, "But I need time."

"I don’t understand,"

"She has to recover, and she has to recover without any disturbances," Annelise said, more irritation crawling up her spine, "Whatever happened at that marketplace today, I refuse to believe Della actually stole something. She would never do such a thing. And as you already know, Alpha, a lot of people out there are after her life," Annelise recalled Beatrice, "Her family included. So please, I would like you to give an order that no one walks through that door unless I give them permission, till she’s fully recovered and ready to tell us exactly what happened,"

Annelise straightened, her eyes never leaving his, "And with all due respect Alpha, you can choose to have my head after I’ve said this but you could at least wait for her to recover before considering anyone’s side of whichever story they bring to you about the incident,"

Malachi’s eyes narrowed.

He didn’t say anything first, and Annelise’s toes had curled painfully inside her shoes. She was a second away from scowling at herself for saying something so outrageous.

"Nobody enters this room,"

Annelise blinked, "Alpha—"

"Not a guard. Not a council member. Not even a healer unless you call for one." His voice hardened. "She remains under your protection until she can speak for herself."

Something in Annelise’s chest loosened, "Thank you."

Malachi turned toward the door, for he wasn’t sure he could spend another moment here without crashing out. But before he reached it, Annelise spoke again, "Alpha?"

He stopped.

"Where were the guards?"

Malachi went completely still.

"The ones Rowan told us you’d assigned to protect her," she continued. "Where were they?"

Annelise watched as his shoulders stiffened, still staring at him while slowly understanding that his silence meant something.

"Alpha?"

He exhaled sharply.

He knew.

He had withdrawn them himself.

And now Della was lying beneath a mountain of bandages because of it.