Forget Me Not (Book 3 of Acceptance Series)

Serenity looked at me with wide eyes that were filled with pain and fear, mirroring the look on her face. Her bottom lip quivered, and she took a hesitant step toward my sister and me, her heart pounding hard and fast in her chest. "TJ," she said, and her voice cracked while her voice was barely above a whisper..

Instantly, I grew protective of her and took another step toward my mate with my sister at my side. "Are you ok?" I asked and studied her with furrowed brows and a small frown on my face. "What happened? Are you hurt? Are you ok?"

My mate chuckled and shook her head, wiping tears away as they almost fell down her face. "No," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. She cleared her throat and licked her lips while she looked at me. "I am not hurt, but aren't I supposed to be asking you that and not the other way around?" she asked and raised an eyebrow in question while she cocked her head to the side. "I mean, you were the one that was hurt and had been in the hospital for a couple of days."

I shrugged and grimaced, feeling very nonchalant about the whole thing because I did not like the idea of her being worried about me. "Eh, I have been through worse," I said, earning a small snort from my little sister while she rolled her eyes and scowled, narrowing her eyes.

"Yes, bu-"

"Shut up, Mel," I said and rolled my eyes because I knew exactly what she was going to say, and she snickered while she grinned. "You were the one that decided to help me like this, so this is on you and not me."

"And you will fall if I let you go," my sister said with a small laugh in her voice while she rolled her eyes, and I couldn't help but scowl and narrow my eyes at her. She smiled innocently and flashed me a small wink. "Admit it, TJ. You need more help now than you have in the past."

"I admit to nothing," I grumbled and rolled my eyes, even though we both knew that it was true because it still felt as if I had been hit by a runaway train going full speed ahead and throwing me halfway across the tracks before running over me.

My whole body ached and yearned for a bath or a shower to ease its pain, but a part of me knew that I wouldn't be able to do it with my mate in my room and wondered why she was there.

My mate looked between the two of us with a frown on her face and furrowed brows. She didn't say a word while she watched us bicker, and I couldn't help but wonder if she was grateful that she still didn't have younger siblings.

"Then do you want to see if you will fall if I let you go, TJ?" Mel threatened and narrowed her eyes while she scowled. "I mean, you are leaving almost fully against me, and I know for a fact that you will fall."

I hesitated and grabbed her arm tighter, not sure if she would let me fall or not. I knew that what she said was true; I wasn't able to stand on my own just yet, no matter how much the Alpha part of me wanted to be stubborn and prove her wrong.

My sister took my silence as a victory and grew smug. She didn't say a word and helped me over to the chair at my desk so that I could talk with my mate before I took a much needed shower and a nap.

'Stay,' I said through our mind link, even though I had a feeling that we would be safe in my room, and my sister subtly nodded and glanced at me from the corner of her eye.

'I will,' she promised with a small hum in her voice. She made sure that I was situated in my chair before she walked over to the door so that she could close it before we talked to my mate and see how she was.

I breathed a small sigh of relief, grateful that she would stay with us. 'Thanks, Mel,' I said before I turned my attention back to Serenity, who was looking at me with a small frown on her face. "Go ahead and sit down on the bed, Seren," I said and gestured to my bed, tucking my head closer to my chest. "Are you ok?"

My mate looked between the two of us but did what I told her to do and sat down on my bed, looking at me. "I am ok," she said, her voice barely above a whisper before she cleared her throat and shifted on her feet. "But what about you? Are you ok? What happened? Why is everyone so secretive about what happened to you?" She gestured to Mel, and I looked at her before I looked at my mate.

My sister grew tense when Serenity gestured toward her, but she didn't say a word to dispute about her being so secretive of what happened to me. She made it back to my side and leaned against the desk, folding her arms across her chest and holding herself tightly.

"I am ok," I said and shrugged with a small grimace on my face, not answering her question about why everyone was being so secretive. "I am sore and am ready for a shower and a nap."

My mate frowned and narrowed her eyes with a small scowl on her face. "That didn't tell me what happened, TJ," she said with a small threat in her voice that had me raising an eyebrow in question, amused. "So what happened? Why were you in the hospital?"

Serenity narrowed her eyes further, and her scowl grew deeper, growing tenser with her eyes flashing to a different color than her normal blue eyes. "So tell me now." She bared her teeth in warning, acting like an Alpha, and it took all of my self-control not to either burst out laughing or let her know that I was her Alpha and she shouldn't threaten me like that.

Power filled the air around us, and it would have made me submit and do what she told me to do, if I wasn't an Alpha like her.

"Oh, Goddess," Melody said, her voice barely above a whisper. She looked at me with wide eyes filled with shock and aghast, and I guess I had the same look on my face because her lips curled up in a small smile while she bit her lip to keep herself from laughing.

'Don't,' I said and quickly looked away from her to compose myself before I started to laugh at her like she wanted to laugh at me. 'Don't you dare start laughing, Melody.'

Melody made a weird ass noise that sounded like half between a snort and a squeak while she tried to compose herself, too, before she started to laugh. 'I am sorry, TJ. I am trying not to,' she said with another small squeak, 'but damn that was funny.'

Serently looked between the two of us with a small frown on her face and confusion filled in her eyes. She didn't say a word and waited expectantly for me to tell her what happened and why I was in the hospital.

"What was that?" I asked, pretending to be confused and not understand what was happening. I furrowed my brows and cocked my head while I studied her, hoping that she would answer my question. "What was that tone?"

Serenity stared at me, confused before realization dawned on her face. She bit back a small gasp and covered her mouth with her hands, and her face grew pale. "Oh, my Goddess," she said, her voice barely above a whisper while she looked between the two of us. "What have I done?"