Rejected and Pregnant Claimed By The Dark Alpha Prince novel Chapter 658

Chapter 658: Be strong for yourself

Flora was shifted to the palace with all necessary medical equipment on the bedside table, a nurse and a doctor to examine her every hour. It was decided that the palace would be better for Flora than the hospital.

Sora stepped into the room. Zander followed closely behind, his face etched with a exhaustion that only a mate could feel. The rest of the family remained in the corridor.

"Zander, please. Take your mate’s hand," Sora commanded softly as she took her seat in the velvet chair beside the bed.

Zander didn’t hesitate. He reached out, his heart sinking as he felt the chill of Flora’s skin, which was frighteningly cold.

Sora placed her palm against Flora’s forehead. Almost instantly, an ethereal blue light began to pulse from her fingertips, then palm. Zander’s eyes widened; he had heard of Sora’s legendary healing gifts, but seeing the shimmering power of her magic in person was staggering.

"You must close your eyes as well, Zander," Sora instructed. "Do not focus on the light. Focus only on the bond."

Promptly, he shut his eyes, blocking out the world. He poured every ounce of his will into the darkness, reaching out through the mate-link, desperate to pull Flora back from the silent abyss and into the warmth of the living.

~~~~

Flora sat huddled in the corner of a void that mimicked her room, though it felt empty and dark. The only thing piercing the oppressive gloom was a single ray of light. In the suffocating silence, the only sound was the ragged rhythm of her own breathing.

"Is everyone happy now?" she murmured into the dark with guilt and exhaustion. "My absence must have brought them peace... Especially Gabriel and Amelie. I was nothing but a burden, creating trouble for them until the very end." She began to hit her forehead repeatedly against her arm, a rhythmic, self-punishing motion intended to drown out the ache in her soul.

Suddenly, a voice shattered the stillness, a voice she had tried to bury deep within her mind.

"Flora, can you hear me? It’s me, Zander!"

She froze. It was him, the man who had looked past her flaws to see a kindness she didn’t believe she possessed. The man who was willing to sacrifice his world just to anchor her to hers. As his voice echoed through the void, she glanced down at her hands and legs. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

For the first time, since falling into this trance, she felt a strange strength coursing through her limbs. The lethargy that had pinned her to the corner was lifting.

"Flora, you need to return. Just call for me once. I—I will run to you, I promise," Zander’s voice reverberated again, warmer and more desperate than before.

Flora remained motionless, her heart warring with her mind. She shook her head violently, squeezing her eyes shut as she fought the urge to stand. ’Don’t listen,’ she told herself, the darkness whispering that she didn’t deserve the light he was offering. ’Don’t let him pull you back into a life you’ve already ruined.’

Flora kept her face buried between her knees, trying to sink deeper into the shadows, when she felt an impossible sensation of warmth. A pair of steady hands settled on her arms, their touch radiating a heat that felt like a sunbeam in the middle of winter.

"Flora," Zander whispered. "It’s me. Look at me. Why weren’t you responding?"

"Leave," Flora snapped coldly. She refused to lift her head. "I don’t belong there. I don’t belong anywhere."

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