His Blue Moon Princess
Chapter 96

"Are you sure?"

Liam's voice. He sounds so impatient...

"Hundred percent. She's waking up. I can feel her wolf again. Can't you?"

"Nope. But then again, I don't have your bond, so..."

Our bond. I can feel him, Damian's wolf. A jet-black magnificent wolf, waiting for mine to come back. She's waking up slowly, reaching out to him. I'm waking up, it's like reaching the surface and catching my breath. I open my eyes. "Holy Moon Goddess Mother!"

I'm facing the ceiling. When I turn my head slowly, the first thing I see is... Him. Damian, so close and smiling to me. I smile back to him, feeling overwhelmed. He leans over me, gently kissing my forehead. "Good morning, my Love."

I've never seen him look so overjoyed... It's contagious, I can't stop smiling at him, even though I'm feeling so drowsy. I hear footsteps running, and suddenly Liam comes in the room, panting, followed by people in white coats. "Damian! Damian, is she still awake? Oh Moon Goddess, she really is! Doctor, she's really awake, right?" He asks without catching his breath.

What's going on? I recognize Granny Ariadna, smiling at me, and people start patting my wrists, checking my condition and discussing my vitals. A doctor shines a small flashlight in front of my eyes and moves his finger. "Miss Bluemoon, can you hear me? Can you follow my finger please?"

It's a bit annoying, but I nod and do as he says. I'm a bit confused by all those people in the room, but Damian and Liam's expressions are thrilled. My mate isn't letting go of my hand and stays by my side as long as the medical team keeps examining me. "Her vitals are normal, she is indeed completely awake... This is amazing. Miss Bluemoon, can you speak? How do you feel?"

"I can... And... drowsy."

Behind the doctor, Liam squeals, totally excited. Why won't he calm down? The man examining me nods while taking some notes.

"Well, that is perfectly normal in your condition. But your reflexes are fine for now, and your vitals, as well. We will have to work on your reeducation, of course, but overall, this is... A positively great return. Welcome back, miss Bluemoon."

Welcome back? I turn to Damian, a bit lost. I feel like I've been sleeping, but now I'm a bit confused again. He raises my hand to his lips to kiss it, and I realize I have trouble moving my fingers. I frown and try to move my limbs again. It's like my whole body is twice as heavy.

Granny Ariadna gives me a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, sweetheart, it's going to take a while. Your body will need some time to readjust, but it will."

"Who cares? She's back! Damn Nora, I've missed you!"

I take a look a Liam, smiling from ear to ear behind Granny Ariadna. He looks... Different. He's visibly slimmer, a bit more muscular and taller, and his hair is a bit longer, too. He has a new piercing on his left ear. It's like he's lost all the teenage attitude to look more like his brothers...

I turn to look at Damian.

My mate, too. His hair is cut shorter, and he's not wearing a beard anymore, either. His eyes look darker and deeper. He looks thinner than I remember, too... How did they change so much?

"How do you feel, Love?" Asks Damian in a soft voice.

"I'm okay... What happened? You look different. Liam, you, too. I... How long was I...?"

Liam sighs and nods. "Nora, you saved my brother's life with your Moon Power, remember? He was dying, and you did that whole kissing thing. Next thing we know, you were unconscious and he was totally fine!"

I turn to Damian, who's still caressing my hand.

"You healed me, Nora. But it put you into a very deep sleep. You stayed in some sort of coma for a long time."

I'm gradually remembering everything from before now. At least, my farewell to Damian, and the sight of his injuries... But a lot of my memories are still blurry. I have vague images of a big battle, a forest, a hospital... It's gradually coming back to me. My whole life here. My childhood, life with the Jade Moon Pack, my life with Damian...

A long time? That explains why they changed. I take a second to process and look at the window. It's snowing outside... I turn to them again to finally ask.

"What day are we?"

"December 23rd..."

I try to remember vaguely.

"The fight... It was last Thursday, right? The 20th..."

Damian looks at me and sighs, a bit surprised and uneasy.

But Liam laughs awkwardly. "Nora, that Thursday wasn't two days ago but two years ago! You stayed in the coma for 23 months and over 20 days, girl."

Moon Goddess... Two years? I was asleep for two whole years? I'm in shock. It did feel like awakening after a very long time, but... I turn to Damian. He waited for me to wake up for two whole years? Oh, Moon Goddess... I open my mouth to apologize, but he shakes his head and holds my hand against his cheek.

"It's okay, Nora. I don't care how long it took. Don't apologize, Love. I'm just happy you're back..."

"Everyone will be happy you're back! Holy s**t, I have to tell everyone!"

Liam takes out his phone and walks out of the room in a hurry, but I don't care. All I'm focused on right now is Damian. No matter what, I can't hold back a tear.

"Two years..." I whisper, still astonished.

"727 days," he says. "I counted every single day without you... That's a long to time to catch back up, Love."

I slowly nod, smiling at him. I realized how much I've missed him now that I can contemplate him. The warmth of his skin, his lips against mine palm, and his silver eyes. He's even more handsome than I remember, with his new haircut and clean-shaven face. I concentrate to move my fingers and caress his smooth chin. "What happened to your beard?"

He smiles. "I was waiting for someone to grow it again. I'm happy you're back. It was a pain shaving every day..."

I giggle and nod again. "All right, you can start growing it again, then. I miss it. You..."

But I stop talking as I realize my hand has something new to it. Damian realizes I noticed it, and smiles proudly while holding my hand up for me to see. I gasp. A gorgeous ring is placed on my finger, mesmerizing me. It's a thin ring, but I can't miss the shining sapphire stone on it, flanked by two moon-shaped diamonds.

"Damian, this..."

"Your engagement ring....You like it?"

I can't ignore his mischievous smile. He's obviously enjoying my surprised reaction, playing with my fingers and waiting for my answer. I smile, too, but I'm just overwhelmed by emotions right now. Eventually, I can't hold back a little laugh. "Damian Black, when did I ever get engaged to you?"

"Since you saved this stupid man twice, miss Bluemoon. I was thinking that you had paid a huge price for my life, so... It might as well be yours."

He shows me his hand and the ring he's wearing, too, a simple silver one. Oh, this man... I can't believe him. Damian has changed. He looks more peaceful now, not as restless as when I met him. His eyes have this gentle warmth to them, too. "So?" He asks.

I smile.

"I like it... Mr. Black. I'm glad I woke up before we had our wedding ceremony, though."

He laughs and leans in to kiss my forehead.

"It was high time you woke up, Nora. I don't know how much longer I would have waited for that, too."

Right after he finishes his sentence, someone suddenly bursts into the room. Oh Moon Goddess, my Bobo! I smile like a child, and he looks at me in disbelief, like he can't believe his own eyes. My best friend has changed, too. His hair is way shorter and arranged in neat little braids instead of his former dreadlocks. He seems bulkier, too. Moreover, a pale scar is visible on his left temple.

"Nora!" He exclaims, before running to me.

"Hey, hey, easy, big boy!" Says Liam, holding him back. "Don't knock her out!"

Bobo stops right on my bed's side, and grabs my free hand gently, holding it tight.

"Seriously, Nora... I can't believe it..."

"Hey, Bobo... I missed you, too." I say. "How are you? That scar..."

He shakes his head. "It's nothing. Danny says it makes me look cooler."

"Hey, we got cool scars, too, okay?" Says Liam.

"What are you talking about? You barely had any scratches..."

I turn my head. Sylviana just entered the room behind Bobo, and she gives me a soft smile, sitting at the end of my bed. She's the only one that hasn't changed a bit, surprisingly, even looking a bit younger than I remember. "Hi, Nora. We all missed you a lot..."

"Hi, Sylviana. Looks like I made it, after all."

"Yes, with a lot of luck. Moon Goddess obviously loves you too much to let you go..."

I can only agree to that, though I feel the weight of those two years. I turn to the guys as Bobo is pushing a button that puts my bed in a sitting position.

"You're going to have to fill me in."

"What do you remember?"

"Not everything. Until a few days before the fight, and after that... It's a blur. I vaguely remember us taking the car to the meeting, I think. And the Alphas came... And we started talking.... I remember bombs exploded, and there was a huge fight." Damian nods, and Bobo starts talking.

"We lost you in the confusion. I think they were targeting you from the start in order to weaken the Boss. Some wolves jumped at me right after the first explosions, and you were taken away."

"They isolated me and Damian, too," adds Liam. "So, Damian was badly injured, as you know, but Nate and I made it okay thanks to Sylvia. We had to participate in the fight, but we were worried about Damian and couldn't reach out to you. We realized something was wrong once the fight stopped with the Gold Moon wiped out and the Rising Moon surrendering. But you were nowhere to be found, and William said we couldn't reach you."

Liam keeps talking, explaining how they finally found me while Damian was still in a critical state. Apparently, I went several hours under surgery to stop the life-threatening internal bleeding caused by Marcus' kicks, and to save my leg. Once again, the more he talks, the more my memories come back. The sad ones, too. How people died in the attack or succumbed to their injuries. Finally, Sylviana takes over to explain how I decided to use my Moon Power to save Damian, who was on the verge of dying when I woke up from my first coma.

Once she's done talking, Damian sighs. "That was a crazy thing to do, even for you."

"I wouldn't have lived without you," I answer.

He nods. "I said the same... If you had died in the process..."

He frowns from the thought, as we all know the result of my bet could have taken my life instead of those two years.

Liam claps his hands, taking us away from any depressing thinking, and smiles. "Anyway! Our princess is back now, for good! Right, Nora?"

I smile. "To be honest, I feel awfully sleepy..." I whisper, playing a bit.

But Liam shakes his head. "Oh, hell no, girl, you are not going to play sleeping beauty again! You're back to the living now, so get ready, because you have a lot of people waiting for you and a lot to catch up on, too!"