The Supreme Alpha

Author's note: This is from Zoe's point of view

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I took a few deep breaths and forced myself to stand despite excruciating pain in my back. My stomach and cheek hurt also, but the back was the worst.

"Can you make it to the lab?", Serina asked while supporting me.

I didn't want to be an obstacle for Luca getting his treatment. "I will try. If it's too much, just leave me behind."

Ash moved closer to me. "Let me carry you…"

"No need.", I snapped. "Don't touch me." I didn't want him to read my thoughts again, and just the idea of his hands on me didn't feel right.

Ignoring Ash's sour expression, I turned to Serina. "Let's proceed with the original plan. You lift Luca and we will go. I can make it."

Ash moved to his original spot and gaped in disbelief at Luca's hovering body.

Ah, he doesn't know that Serina can whip tornadoes and summon clouds. He was not there when Serina did a number on Ari, and he spent most of his time in London.

Once we reached the lab, Serina was quick to check on Luca, and she made me go through the same as soon as he was finished.

I was grateful that she has all those machines in her lab. There was even a CAT scan and an ultrasound.

I held my breath while listening to the results.

"I don't see any physical issues with you, Zoe.", Serina said while shoving painkillers into my hand and gesturing for me to take them. She was talking about my condition, and I had a bad feeling that she started with the good news.

"You are sharing only pain with Luca, and there is a chance you are not sharing everything. We can do further tests on this at some other time. However, Luca needs surgery. His spine is broken, and I need to realign it so that it can heal properly."

"Will he be alright?", I asked in a voice so distant that I didn't recognize as mine.

"Luca is a werewolf, Zoe.", Serina assured me. "He will be fine. Now I need you to run to Sergio's villa and get Calista here. I need an assistant who won't freak out at the sight of blood."

"I will help you.", I said right away.

She rejected me. "You are a mess, Zoe. Even if the painkillers help with the pain, you are not in the right mindset."

"I will do it.", Ash volunteered.

I whipped my head to glare at him. Why the fuck was he still here? "I won't allow you to touch him. This is all your fault!"

Ash pressed his lips into a line. "I know. And I want to help."

Serina put her hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Wait outside, Zoe. The surgery won't take long and it's straightforward, but the longer we delay, the more Luca is healing in wrong ways."

I let out a shaky breath. "Are you sure you know how to do it?" It was a stupid question, but I had to ask.

Serina nodded confidently. "Since I found out who Drago really is, I spent a lot of time studying werewolves and their anatomy, and I have plenty of experience opening up bodies and putting them back together. This will be a piece of cake. Remember, a werewolf can die only if two organs are damaged, brain or heart. Everything else will self-heal. Even as we speak, Luca's spine is healing, but if I don't realign it properly, he might limp or have some other side-effect."

It's not that I didn't trust Serina, but surgery on a spine sounded serious. What if something goes wrong? "If he shifts into his wolf, his bones will be rearranged. Can that fix the issue without surgery?"

Serina nodded and shrugged at the same time. "Shifting might solve the issue, but there are no guarantees, and we need Luca awake in order to shift. Now get out so that we can start."

With that, I left the room and sat on the floor, waiting for them to finish.

…

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Author's note: This is from Serina's point of view

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Ash moved in silence according to my instructions and we were ready for the surgery in record time.

I prepared most of the instruments on the side for Ash to pass to me, and I gave Luca total anesthesia before starting. I didn't want to risk him regaining consciousness and moving when my hands are inside his back.

"How many times you did this?", Ash finally spoke as he passed me the scalpel.

"Fixing the spine? This is my first time.", I responded honestly. "But don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Of course, I knew what I was doing. Thanks to my father, I spent a lot of time dissecting our specimens.

Ah, if Aldus was here, he would be the one performing the surgery and I would assist him.

The moment the scalpel started slicing Luca's skin, we heard a shrill scream from outside.

Damn it! I forgot.

"Can you bring Zoe in?", I asked Ash. "The painkillers are not enough. We will need to sedate her."

Ash gave me a complicated look, but he went to get her.

Zoe staggered inside, refusing Ash's assistance to walk.

I could see that she didn't want Ash to touch her which made me wonder what happened. I mean, only yesterday Zoe was all over Ash, and now there was an invisible wall between them. Was it because of this fight between Ash and Luca, or is it more than that?

I left those thoughts for later.

Zoe didn't want to go under total anesthesia, but I gave her no choice.

"You will obey, or I will make you."

I knew that she was concerned about Luca but feeling the pain of surgery is not an option.

"Think of it positively. When you wake up, it will be all over.", I said and she finally agreed.

It took a few minutes to get Zoe ready on the exam table that was on the other side of the room, and then I could focus on what I wanted to do.

Luca's surgery was a success. I confirmed that it started healing properly before patching him up.

If Luca is human, he wouldn't be able to walk no matter how skilled I am.

Luckily, werewolf bodies are wired for self-healing, and I only needed to put things into place and nature took care of everything.

My concern was that Luca was unconscious. I read some books where the wolf side will take over bodily functions, and sometimes shut it down in order to save human. Is it possible that Luca was in so much pain that his wolf decided to keep him in a state of deep sleep?

If that's true, how come Zoe was conscious? Is her tolerance for pain higher, or maybe she was not getting 100% of Luca's pain? I took a mental note to discuss this with them and see if they are willing to go under tests. If it's just pain sharing, it's not very useful, but what if this connection between them is something else and we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg?

I heard that mates can sense each other's emotions and sometimes they can communicate mentally, but this sharing of sensations between Luca and Zoe was something new. I wondered if it's limited to only pain. Ah, more tests!

Ash was helping without a word, but I could see that his eyes were full of regret.

I stitched Luca's back and  I applied on the wound the healing balm that I made personally with my alchemy. It will prevent infection and speed up healing with no scars visible.

With that done, I asked Ash, "What are you thinking about?"

"I will stay in London for some time.", Ash responded. "I need to cool off my head and rethink my priorities."

He looked at sleeping Zoe before turning toward me.

"I know I fucked up. OK? This…" Ash gestured toward Luca. "It shouldn't happen. I didn't know I was hurting Zoe either. I just felt left out, and I didn't know how to deal with it. Maybe this is my punishment for being a crappy boyfriend and an even worse friend. I mean… if I'm a good friend, I should be happy for Zoe and Luca, yet…" He let out a long exhale. "I will figure this out, and then I will return with apologies and everything. I will tell them that I'm sorry and then I will leave. I know that they won't accept my apology now, but I will keep on apologizing until they do. No matter what, Luca and Zoe were always there for me, and I can't just cut them off."

Now that I saw Ash being humble and talking sense, I thought that maybe Duke's method of Ash beating up Luca to settle grudges worked, albeit in some twisted way.

Of course, Luca and Zoe bearing the pain of Ash's selfishness was not the best way to go about it, but the outcome is there.

Ash was accepting that Zoe was with Luca, and I could see that Ash was sincere in his desire to apologize.

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