It's been about a week, and Dakota still hasn't woken up yet. I am still fighting with Layla, Jacob and Logan are ignoring me, Destiny has just been avoiding everything, my mother tries to visit me and keep me calm, and John and my mom are happy together. They are slowly working on their relationship and I can tell it will be way better than her previous one.

I haven't left the hospital room once since she was admitted last week. The only person who seemed to hate me was Sean. Granted, her father and my mother don't hate me, but Layla does. She blames this whole thing on me and makes me feel like shit for something that I couldn't stop.

I was immediately given the title of Alpha, even though I didn't go through the ceremony. I haven't done a single thing since Dakota has been here. I sit in the chair and I stare at her for hours. I cry every now and then for a while before I drink water and end up passing out from exhaustion. The doctors are worried about me, and they want to wake Dakota up, but she has to do this on her own. They are worried about forcefully waking her up, as they don't know what will happen.

Dakota's smaller wounds have healed up for the most part, but her belly was what was destroyed. That is still held together with stitches and her neck was also in bad shape. My father missed her vocal cords, but he had cut a small part of a major artery. That was why she had lost so much blood.

I keep marking her as well. Once a week I mark her in the same spot to help her heal faster. I really hope I'm not wasting my time.

Ryder can feel Buttercup become stronger. She's strong enough to talk to Ryder and that's how I've been updated on how Dakota has been doing. Butter says she herself has regained her strength, but Dakota is still very weak. She does try to communicate with me, however, but it never works. Dakota is too weak to reach out to me via mind link. I heard a knock on the door and sighed.

"Come in, mom," My mother and John entered the room and she rubbed my back. John kissed Dakota's head and sighed.

"Well, have you heard any news?" Mother spoke up and I let out a shaky breath.

"Buttercup has regained her strength. Dakota is still too weak to come forward and wake up. The doctors don't know what would happen if they even attempted to wake her up, and everyone is still ignoring me and blaming me for this." John sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I can try talking to Layla and Destiny. Make them see that this wasn't your fault. I'm sorry that everyone is giving you a hard time. You don't deserve this." John patted my back.

"Dakota is lucky to have you. You're a perfect mate for her, and I couldn't have asked for anyone better for her." I broke out in a sob after what John had told me. He put his hand on my shoulder and I put my hand on his forearm.

"Thank you, John. I-I appreciate that." I stammered as I tried to talk without sobbing. My mother rubbed my back and kissed my hair.

"Come on, love. You need to eat. You've barely eaten, nor had much to drink. We're worried about you. We all care about you." I laughed dryly and stared at nothing.

"The people that you say care about me, aren't even here. They refuse to visit Dakota because I'm always here. So, in a way, they don't care about Dakota much, do they?" John thought for a moment and sighed.

"In a way, yes. They want to visit her but make no effort to even try if you are here." John spoke and my mother pitched in.

"Yes, but Jacob and Logan haven't made an effort to make sure Jax is okay either. Knowing them, they are probably trying to comfort their mates about Dakota's condition. The girls probably don't want them associating with Jax in fear of angering them and them threatening to leave them. Which, sounds horrible, but the one thing no one can lose is a mate." John rubbed the back of his neck and shifted from foot to foot. I sighed and put my head in my hands.

"What if I can't bring her back? What if she doesn't wake up? It really will be all my fault." My mother sat on the arm of the chair and pulled me into her side.

"Honey, this was not your fault. Your father chose his path, and he wasn't going to be changing his mind. None of this wasn't your fault, you couldn't have stopped him." I got up from the chair and I growled in frustration.

"If I had done more to protect her, she wouldn't be like this! Layla has made that perfectly clear, so why the fuck should I believe you?" I felt Ryder come to the surface and my mother was shocked.

"She has gotten under your skin that much?" My mother shed a tear and turned to her new mate.

"You definitely need to talk to Layla. She won't listen to anyone else. I love you and your family, but I will not allow anyone to ruin my son. I hope you understand that." My mother shed her tears as she left the room. John sighed and gripped his hair slightly.

"What do I do? Layla hasn't home, neither has Dakota. Sean and Riley have been spending more time together at the house, and the pack members will visit every once in a while. Since your father has passed, they are more comfortable in the packhouse and have stopped visiting. How am I supposed to talk to Layla when she won't even make an effort to listen?" I thought for a moment as I looked at Dakota. I clapped my hands together and turned back to face John.

"I have an idea." I smiled and John sat down to listen to my plan.

"Well, out with it!" John smiled and I let out a breath before we started talking.

"The only way she will come in here is if Dakota is awake." John nodded and I smiled again.

"Tell her to get her ass over here, because her sister is now 'awake'." I put air quotes around awake and he thought for a moment before standing up.

"If she thinks she is awake, she'll come rushing over and we could lock them in here and force them to listen," John spoke and I nodded once. John pulled out his phone and texted Layla that he has news about Dakota. He then called her and she answered on the first ring.

"Is she okay?" Layla got out as we heard her running. John sighed as he gave me a worried look.

"Dakota's awake,"

It's been about a week, and Dakota still hasn't woken up yet. I am still fighting with Layla, Jacob and Logan are ignoring me, Destiny has just been avoiding everything, my mother tries to visit me and keep me calm, and John and my mom are happy together. They are slowly working on their relationship and I can tell it will be way better than her previous one.

I haven't left the hospital room once since she was admitted last week. The only person who seemed to not hate me was Sean. Granted, her father and my mother don't hate me, but Layla does. She blames this whole thing on me and makes me feel like shit for something that I couldn't stop.

I was immediately given the title of Alpha, even though I didn't go through the ceremony. I haven't done a single thing since Dakota has been here. I sit in the chair and I stare at her for hours. I cry every now and then for a while before I drink water and end up passing out from exhaustion. The doctors are worried about me, and they want to wake Dakota up, but she has to do this on her own. They are worried about forcefully waking her up, as they don't know what will happen.

Dakota's smaller wounds have healed up for the most part, but her belly was what was destroyed. That is still held together with stitches and her neck was also in bad shape. My father missed her vocal cords, but he had cut a small part of a major artery. That was why she had lost so much blood.

I keep marking her as well. Once or sometimes even twice a day I mark her in the same spot to help her heal faster. I really hope I'm not wasting my time.

Ryder can feel Buttercup become stronger. She's strong enough to talk to Ryder and that's how I've been updated on how Dakota has been doing. Butter says she herself has regained her strength, but Dakota is still very weak. She does try to communicate with me, however, but it never works. Dakota is too weak to reach out to me via mind link. I heard a knock on the door and sighed.

"Come in, mom," My mother and John entered the room and she rubbed my back. John kissed Dakota's head and sighed.

"Well, have you heard any news?" Mother spoke up and I let out a shaky breath.

"Buttercup has regained her strength. Dakota is still too weak to come forward and wake up. The doctors don't know what would happen if they even attempted to wake her up, and everyone is still ignoring me and blaming me for this." John sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I can try talking to Layla and Destiny. Make them see that this wasn't your fault. I'm sorry that everyone is giving you a hard time. You don't deserve this." John patted my back.

"Dakota is lucky to have you. You're a perfect mate for her, and I couldn't have asked for anyone better for her." I broke out in a sob after what John had told me. He put his hand on my shoulder and I put my hand on his forearm.

"Thank you, John. I-I appreciate that." I stammered as I tried to talk without sobbing. My mother rubbed my back and kissed my hair.

"Come on, love. You need to eat. You've barely eaten, nor had much to drink. We're worried about you. We all care about you." I laughed dryly and stared at nothing.

"The people that you say care about me, aren't even here. They refuse to visit Dakota because I'm always here. So, in a way, they don't care about Dakota much, do they?" John thought for a moment and sighed.

"In a way, yes. They want to visit her but make no effort to even try if you are here." John spoke and my mother pitched in.

"Yes, but Jacob and Logan haven't made an effort to make sure Jax is okay either. Knowing them, they are probably trying to comfort their mates about Dakota's condition. The girls probably don't want them associating with Jax in fear of angering them and them threatening to leave them. Which, sounds horrible, but the one thing no one can lose is a mate." John rubbed the back of his neck and shifted from foot to foot. I sighed and put my head in my hands.

"What if I can't bring her back? What if she doesn't wake up? It really will be all my fault." My mother sat on the arm of the chair and pulled me into her side.

"Honey, this was not your fault. Your father chose his path, and he wasn't going to be changing his mind. None of this wasn't your fault, you couldn't have stopped him." I got up from the chair and I growled in frustration.

"If I had done more to protect her, she wouldn't be like this! Layla has made that perfectly clear, so why the fuck should I believe you?" I felt Ryder come to the surface and my mother was shocked.

"She has gotten under your skin that much?" My mother shed a tear and turned to her new mate.

"You definitely need to talk to Layla. She won't listen to anyone else. I love you and your family, but I will not allow anyone to ruin my son. I hope you understand that." My mother shed her tears as she left the room. John sighed and gripped his hair slightly.

"What do I do? Layla hasn't been home, neither has Destiny. Sean and Riley have been spending more time together at the house, and the pack members will visit every once in a while. Since your father has passed, they are more comfortable in the packhouse and have stopped visiting. How am I supposed to talk to Layla when she won't even make an effort to listen?" I thought for a moment as I looked at Dakota. I clapped my hands together and turned back to face John.

"I have an idea." I smiled and John sat down to listen to my plan.

"Well, out with it!" John smiled and I let out a breath before we started talking.

"The only way she will come in here is if Dakota is awake." John nodded and I smiled again.

"Tell her to get her ass over here, because her sister is now 'awake'." I put air quotes around awake and he thought for a moment before standing up.

"If she thinks she is awake, they'll come rushing over and we could lock them in here and force them to listen," John spoke and I nodded once. John pulled out his phone and texted Layla that he has news about Dakota. He then called her and she answered on the first ring.

"Is she okay?" Layla got out as we heard her running. John sighed as he gave me a worried look.

"Dakota's awake,"