CHAPTER 238: CHAPTER 238 AWAKENING

Caroline’s POV

I sat beside Draven’s hospital bed, my hand tightly gripping his.

Thirty-six hours had passed since his surgery, and he still hadn’t opened his eyes.

The doctor had just assured me he was stable and that we simply needed to wait when I felt the slightest pressure against my fingers.

My head shot up instantly. Those beautiful violet eyes I’d been desperate to see were finally open, bringing light back into my world.

"Draven, my love! Finally..." I couldn’t stop the smile spreading across my face. "Don’t move, don’t touch anything. I’ll get the doctor."

I rushed to the nurses’ station across from the ICU room and quickly informed them that Alpha Draven had regained consciousness. Within seconds, I was back at his side, clutching his hand again.

"My love, I was so scared," I whispered, feeling tears of relief threatening to spill.

Dr. Wright entered with a confident smile. "So our most-visited patient has finally decided to join us. Alpha Draven, I’m Dr. Wright. You’re here because you sustained a gunshot wound. I need to examine you now, so please follow my instructions."

The doctor performed a thorough evaluation, checking Draven’s strength, reflexes, and monitoring his vitals. After completing his assessment, he explained that he would remove the tube, warning Draven that his throat might feel irritated for several days afterward.

"Now tell me, how do you feel?" Dr. Wright asked.

"Alive," Draven answered with a weak smile. "But in a lot of pain."

"That’s to be expected. You underwent a six-hour surgical procedure to remove a bullet and have been unconscious for almost two days." The doctor proceeded to explain Draven’s condition in detail, outlining the recovery process ahead.

Once we were alone, Draven turned his tired eyes to me. "Sweetheart, tell me what happened. Why do I remember seeing you in that office?"

"Because I wasn’t going to hide in a corner knowing you were in danger," I replied firmly, giving him a serious look.

His gaze softened. "How long have you been here at the hospital?"

"Don’t worry, I’m a responsible mother," I assured him. "I come in the morning, have lunch at home with the children, then return in the afternoon. The guys have been taking turns during the nights, though ICU visitation is limited. Ryan is coming to stay overnight once you’re moved to a regular room."

Draven winced suddenly. "What happened to Howard?"

The nurse entered to administer his pain medication before I could answer.

"Howard was shot in the leg by one of the investigators, and..." I hesitated, then added, "I shot him in the arm when I saw him aiming at you. I was just too slow to prevent him from hurting you." My voice cracked with regret. "He’s in the hospital but will be transferred tomorrow to the maximum-security prison infirmary."

I detailed the events following his loss of consciousness, including Howard’s confession and arrest.

"Finally, this nightmare is over," Draven sighed, relief evident in his tired smile.

"Yes. Leo and Kai revealed everything," I explained. "Magnus told me they managed to trace all of Howard’s accounts and front operations. He followed us when we went to the Alpha Council when I needed to talk to Marcus, and was already planning to break into our house. I was so terrified..." My eyes welled with tears, and Draven pulled my hand to his lips.

"Hey, it’s over now. Everything’s fine," he murmured.

By evening, Draven was moved to a regular room where visitors were allowed, as long as he didn’t get too tired. Of course, all our friends came to see him, clearly relieved that he was getting better.

Though I hated leaving his side, I needed to care for our children, pump milk for the babies, and comfort Liam who was distressed without his father. I reluctantly said goodbye, leaving him in Ryan’s capable company.

Over the next ten days while Draven was in the hospital, I got into a routine—mornings and afternoons with him, evenings at home with the kids. Liam was having a hard time without his dad; their daily video calls just weren’t enough.

When Draven finally came home, he still needed physical therapy and had to be careful. What bothered him most was not being able to hold our children. It took a full month before Dr. Wright said he was completely fine.

While he was recovering, we worked hard to get back all the company money that was stolen.

The criminal investigations concluded and were forwarded to the judiciary system. Numerous arrests had been made; Howard’s scheme had been more extensive than anyone imagined. Draven and Ryan had been fortunate to notice the inconsistency in the company’s financial records when they did.

During Howard’s interrogation, according to what Investigator Magnus shared with us, he revealed a deeply disturbed hatred and envy toward Draven’s father—something pathological that became painfully evident during his attack on our home.

The trauma lingered, leaving us cautious and hypervigilant. We decided to maintain our enhanced security measures. The nanny who had been held at gunpoint by Howard continued to express guilt over the incident, but we repeatedly assured her she’d done nothing wrong and had acted appropriately under life-threatening circumstances.

We understood it would take considerable time for our lives to return to any semblance of normalcy.