Chapter 38

-Ignatius-

I shifted uncomfortably in the bony chair next to Dorothy's bedside.

It had been almost two weeks with Dorothy still unconscious. I had been whittled down to a shell of a person in my waiting.

1 had developed a daily ritual that involved waking up and immediately heading to the hospital to sit at Dorothy's bed. I would spend all day, every day, waiting at her bedside and occasionally working on my laptop from there.

More Tally attacks had been occurring, each one more brutal than the last. It seemed they were sending deranged, dying shifters after us at random. The shifters themselves seemed to be infected by some kind of sickness we couldn't understand.

Everyb*dy that we managed to take down had to be burned, the ashes thrown around the edges of our territory as a warning

Word of the attacks was beginning to spread and Elliot feared we would lose some of our allies in the process.

The Tally was an untrustworthy and evil bunch but there were many a pack that would kill for the chance to finally take down the Bielke. Joining with the Tally was their means of getting that wish. I had attended a few meetings on what exactly we were going to do about the problem at hand. Some of the elders were ready for war and wanted to stage an outright attack on the Tally Despite how that method would obviously fail us in the long run. It was what I wanted to.

The Tally was too bold, 100 arrogant. Attacking the Bielke people on their own territory was intentional. They wanted to send a message. That message was that the Tally did not fear death or consequences, and no Bielke member would ever be safe from them.

An outright attack would not be possible though. The Tally moved from place to place, they had no single domain - only the outskirts of the South was their common turf. To attack them would require spies and intel on where they were headed next

We would have to be ready to accept the loss of many a good tracker in order to gather that intel. The trackers themselves would have to accept the possibility of a long and painful death

We were at a loss when it came to dealing with the issues, And while we among the council bickered and argued and debated, more Bielke people were lost.

I rubbed my temple, groaning internally at the complex situation we had found ourselves in. It seemed impossible to bot protect our people and take down the Tally at the same time. Any force we threw into either direction - defense or attac would leave one sile vulnerable.

The heart monitor hooked up to Dorothy kept up its slow continuous beeping. I looked over at her still frame. I just wan my mate back. Everything would be easier, more manageable, and less daunting with her at my side.

"Still here I see."""

I turned to see Angie leaning against the doorframe.

"Wallowing around her all day isn't going to make her wake up"

"Rich coming from you.

Angie too had stopped by every day since Dorothy had saved her life.

We had made up in the days following the attack. It seemed being on her deathbed was all it took to shock both Angie and me to sing our relationship

She had apologized for all the trouble she had caused and Lapologized for bursting a blood vessel in her eye after she'd tried to poison my mate

Chapter 38

I hadn't quite forgiven her for that, but she had been honest enough about how all of that came about. As it turns out, it was Mavis who had sent word to the Bielke about Dorothy's rejection, the same day that we had up and left the town.

Angie's family her grandfather and mother who were prominent members of the council, had first mentioned the idea, pressuring her into acting on her anger and jealousy.

It wasn't a justifiable excuse, but then again she had already paid for her crimes with her life only for Dorothy to bring her right back again..

I knew Angie was harboring her own guilt about Dorothy's comatose state. I could see her running through everything in her head like a hamster on a wheel

Wondering if maybe, somewhere, if she had just done something different, things would have turned out this way. I understood what she was feeling I was feeling it myself. But it was useless, looking to the past to rectify the present. It was futile looking back.

"How are your subordinates holding up?"

Both Fae and Gideon had been severely shaken up by the incident. Not only did they witness their superior dying before their eyes, they watched her b*dy stitch itself back together like a lizard growing new limbs.

Fae had stayed close to Angie's side ever since and I couldn't blame her. It was hard to believe that she was really here at all. walking around like nothing had happened. Angie smiled and her cheeks flushed slightly. She cared for her shifters as much as they did her.

"They're doing okay. Finally managed to get Fae off my back for a minute or two so I could slip away. She's probably on her way here right now to protect my back. Gideon keeps calling like he needs to hear my voice to make sure I'm real."

She swallowed and glanced over at Dorothy before sitting down in the empty seat next to me. We both sat in silence for a while, me picking at my jeans and Angie fiddling with her hands:

Angie's voice was small and hesitant when she spoke. "Do you.. Do you think she's going to wake up?"

I couldn't look up. I refused to lift my eyes from the tear in my jeans. I wouldn't be able to hold it together if I did

"I don't know," I whispered. "I don't know. She has to. She just..

I pressed my thumb and forefingers to my eyes, willing myself to keep it together. "She has to"

Angie was quiet beside me. She looked down at her hands. "Ignatius. I'm so sorry."

I kept my fingers to my face, squeezing my eyes shut. The beeping of the heart monitor was deafening - a lifeline that was slowly killing me.

"It's okay. It wasn't your fault."

"She was saving me. I'm the reason she's in this state."

1 couldn't argue with that. But I didn't blame Angie. This was something that, according to Rita, was bound to happen eventually.

Angie sat with me for a while. We didn't speak much but we both found comfort in the unified silence. Dorothy was a motionless entity tying us together.

Eventually, Angie heaved herself to her feet. "I should get going Before Fae tears the town apart trying to replace me

I nodded "Thanks for stopping by. And Angie?"

She paused in the doorway, her eyes couldn't meet mine.

T

10:46 Fri, Jan 26 GG.

Chapter 38

"I don't think she regress is-saving you. Don't blame yourself for this. All she ever wanted was to be your friend."

Angie left without another word - before her tears could spill over and betray her unraveling emotions.

I got up and stood over my mate. Ever so often a nurse would have to come in and move her limbs around. If she woke up - when she woke up, she would be all stiff and sore otherwise. more and more

1 took her hand in mine and pressed a small k*ss to her wrist. I just wanted her to open her eyes. I grew mo hollow each day.

Tor would barely speak with me anymore. He, too, was mourning. Everyone was grieving like she was already gone like she was already dead. I hated that. She would wake up. She wouldn't leave me without saying goodbye.

She had promised me that, long ago when we'd first laid in bed together after I moved inside of her for the first time. She made me promise that, should I decide that I was done with whatever it was that we had, I would at least say goodbye. I made her promise to do the same. She wouldn't leave me. She hadn't yet said goodbye.

I turned to go before my tears wet her face as well as my own. I was halted, however, by the hand, I had been holding. I was stopped in my tracks by the tiniest twitch of a finger. I looked back at Dorothy. She was still so still, I thought I'd imagined the whole thing in my desperation for it to be true. But then, small fingers twitched and slowly started curling around my OWTL

I stared in disbelief at the hand slowly coming to grip mine and knelt down next to the bed. "Dorothy?"

Her soft breathing grew more rapid. Dorothy opened her eyes.

-Dorothy-

The first thing I saw was my mate. Ignatius was leaning over me, his hand collapsed around mine, I was disorientated, my mind cloudy and slow. I reached up to touch the tube in my nose and the wires taped to my chest. "Ignatius? What happened?"

He didn't answer me at first. His face was a cr ack collision of tears and a grin so wide I wondered if it hurt. "Welcome back"

I reached up to stroke his face, my fingers coming away wet when they brushed over his cheek. All at once, the memories, came rushing back to me and I bolted upright - groaning at the pain that shot through my b*dy at the sudden movem

"Be careful. Ignatius steadied me and laid me back down with a band under my head. You shouldn't be moving arou

yet."

"Angie" I gripped his shirt, panicking in my attempts to recall the order of events. "What happened to Angie? There w wolf, blood. There was this white light and then 1 -

"Angie is perfectly fine, he hushed me, parting a gentle cold hand to my foreheul "She's been coming to visit you every day Everyone's been waiting for you to wake up

His voice cracked slightly when he continued. "I've been waiting I've missed you so much. Dorothy"

A vase of sined-out flowers caught my eye. They were standing on the table behind him, dropping petals as they lay dying. My mind was still racing, thoughts clashing in my head like scebergs at the bottom of the worldi

"Are these for me?"

Igranus looked puzzled for a momem and then linked behind him. "Oh thone Yeah. We thought your mould only be out for a few hour. Not two weeks."

"Twowerks" My voice was bourse and it hurt my threat to shout. I swallowed the pain and held tightly to Ignatiue's arm.

Chapore

"What do yosa

1x that how long I've been o

added, gently prying my fingers from his

were going to wake up

In his waiting Thought Id lost you"

I pulled him down to my ches

whispered against his skin. Tm always going to be right here"

metored. He pulled hai

deraming

Trying into my tyeck

mate "Trnight

searching my bave like he needed to make sure that

Then his shoulders buckled and be onlapiod onto my i end 12 the love in the world insa hierar

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