You Rejected Me. Remember?
In Love With My Best Friend Chapter 21

Astrea

We had to warn the Royals about what we had smelt. If the rogues were so close by, it meant that they were frequently infiltrating the patrols at the perimeters.

“We must call the Queen,” I gasped.

Leo glanced at his watch.

“But it is already past midnight,” he pointed out.

My mouth widened, appalled by his revelation.

“What? Have we stayed out that long?” I exclaimed.

“Yeah… I guess we lost track of time. So, now what?”

“Call Xander. He might still be awake,” I indicated.

He called him without any delay. When he answered the call, Leo put it on speaker so that we could speak.

“Hello,” he answered groggily.

“Hey, Xander, we need to talk…”

“What… you still out?” Xander seemed to have woken up.

“Yeaaaahhh, we kind of lost track of time,” he sheepishly mumbled.

“But forget that, we just sensed the presence of rogues when we were walking back home. We need to alert the Queen!” Leo exclaimed.

***

“Are you sure that you sensed their presence?” Sir Elliot asked.

I nodded.

“A hundred percent sure. It was undoubtedly their distinctive burning rubber smell,” I confirmed.

Sir Elliott’s jaws clenched and his eyes clouded. He most probably was mind linking the scouts on duty.

“We need to replace out how they keep infiltrating our borders. We have increased the number of guards on duty due to this,” the Queen mumbled, massaging her forehead.

“Right,” Sir Elliot noted. “The lookouts are now scouring the woods and I have ordered the guards at the Palace to keep watch on every entrance to the Palace. Even the windows and the air vents. I don’t like how the rogues are acting,” he added, as his glance shifted towards us.

“Xander didn’t notice anything?” He questioned.

Nodding his head, “I came back at around ten. Danisha went home with Emma and Natasha since their homes were close by,” he clarified.

“So Leo and Astrea were out until?” Sir Elliot cócked a brow as his haze pierced into us.

“I thought you all were together,” the Queen frowned.

We exchanged glances.

“Umm… we were. Then I wanted to come home early….”

“Xander,” the Queen sighed. “Tell us the truth,” her countenance was grim. I fiddled with my icy fingers.

“Actually,” Leo mumbled. “I wanted to leave the party early. Because it was kind of… awkward in there,” he shifted in his seat.

“So we left and went for a walk in the park. There… umm… we kind of lost track of time,” he added sheepishly.

“Sorry,” he added.

Heaving a deep sigh, “at least you are safe,” Sir Elliot mumbled and pursed his lips.

The Queen’s glum demeanour made me uncomfortable.

“Don’t stay out late, hereafter. Since you sensed the rogues’ existence so close to the Palace tonight, we can undoubtedly say that it isn’t safe out there. I know both of you are skilled fighters. But I don’t want to take a risk. As much as I know, they might ambush you and coax us to give in. I don’t know what they are after, whatever it is, it doesn’t sound good,” the Queen expressed.

Nodding our heads, ” Yes, Your Highness,” we responded.

“Now go and get some sleep. It is already too late,” she added, and pulled her lips into a thin line. Her eyes kept searching my face. I felt that she wanted to say much more than what she had said. Perhaps she held back.

Offering a polite smile, I stood up. Xander and Leo walked ahead of me to exit the meeting room. Just as I was about to exit, the Queen called me.

“Astrea.”

I halted and looked around. She still had that meaningful look on her face.

“Just be careful,” she advised.

My lips parted. I think I knew what she was referring to. She didn’t want my personal life to be in a mess.

Gulping, ” Yes, Your Highness,” I replied.

***

Although it was a Sunday, I couldn’t sleep in. I woke up early and rushed to the infirmary when I received a desperate call from Sarah.

Her mate’s heartbeat had suddenly started to drop.

When I arrived, she was hysterical. Elena and the others were trying to calm her down, but she wouldn’t stop crying.

“What if I lose him? I don’t even know his name,” She kept whimpering as the healers tried their best to stabilise him. Her tears had already soaked her shirt and her eyes were red and puffy. Yet, the best I could do was hold her hands and offer my support. Let her know that she wasn’t alone. I felt useless, nonetheless. I didn’t know what to say to make her feel better.

“Please, wait outside. The room is a bit too crowded,” one of the healers told us after some time.

“No! I want to stay with my mate,” Sarah’s voice reduced to a mere squeak as she fought hard against her tears.

Squeezing her hand, “let her stay?” I suggested.

The healer nodded, ” Okay, the two of you can stay. But the rest, please wait outside.”

Elena hugged Sarah before she left with Arnold and Rafael. The healers continued to stabilise him, but in vain. The beeping of the heart rate monitor continued to get stagnant.

“No, please,” Sarah was trembling.

My eyes glossed as I watched from a distance, wondering how it could have gotten this far. I thought he was getting better.

“We are losing him,” a healer mumbled.

“No…” Sarah whimpered.

An older medic rushed inside and at once started to work on him.

“Please…” Sarah continued to beg silently.

We watched helplessly as the heart rate monitor stopped beeping and the faces of the healers wilted in defeat.

I froze. Did we just… lose him?

My breathing was arrested in my throat and my limbs were numb. I slowly glanced at Sarah. I couldn’t even imagine the pain she would be going through.

“No,” she whispered, crying. Her tears continued to stream down her cheeks as she removed herself from my arms. I didn’t stop her.

She waddled towards the bed. After staring at his lifeless body for a while, she burst into sobs. Biting my lips, I remained mute. I didn’t want to cry. I wanted to stay strong for her, but it was overwhelming.

“Mate… you left me without saying hello,” I heard Sarah’s painful sobs. It was heart wrenching. Despite my efforts, I couldn’t hold my tears back.

The healers watched her mourn, in silence. The sound of her sobs and grievances resounded in the room.

“I… don’t care. I will always be yours…” she whispered, making me frown. I watched in anticipation as she slowly lowered her head towards the crook of his neck. From the angle I was standing, I could see her canines elongate.

My eyes widened. Was she marking him?

My mouth hung open in shock, but I couldn’t muster up the courage to utter a word. Everyone in the room was astonished by her gesture. After making sure that her essence was injected, she retracted her canine, and licked the wound clean.

I expected the wound to bleed, because he was gone. However, what happened next was nothing short of a miracle. The wound closed and the heart rate monitor unexpectedly jumped to life, startling all of us.

Sarah’s tear-stricken face suddenly gleamed with hope. The healers sprung into action and this time, it didn’t take much time for him to stabilise.

After making sure that he was fine, the healers took a b***d sample to run some tests and left. They needed to replace out what caused his condition to deteriorate. Everyone was expecting him to wake up this week.

Sarah rushed to his side and admired the mark on his neck. It was a beautiful white wolf howling towards the moon. Her name was written in cursive beside it. Sarah, it said.

She chuckled humourlessly. “I hope he doesn’t mind that,” she mumbled.

“You just saved his life… again. He wouldn’t complain, I’m sure,” I reassured her.

Time passed with no more complications. It looked like her essence had saved his life. The reason for the sudden decline in his state remained a mystery, until the b***d test results came back.

His b***d contained evidence of grayanotoxin, a poisonous substance that caused the sudden drop in his heart rate. Miraculously, his mate’s essence was strong enough to help him fight against it, before it was too late. The healers mentioned that, if Sarah had been even a minute late, he might not have made it.

Now the question was, how did it enter his bloodstream? Someone must have done something. But who?

Our friends, Leo and Xander racked our brains over the matter.

“He was fine when I went to sleep last night. He was doing great. Anyway, why would anyone from this kingdom want to harm him?” Sarah wondered.

I narrowed my eyes. “Or maybe, it is someone who has a connection with the rogues,” I mumbled. “Remember how they tried to kill him that day?” I reminded Sarah.

“You mean they have a helper in the kingdom?”

I pursed my lips. “Maybe… I can’t think of a reason…” I trailed off. What was I saying? If what I mentioned was true, then none of us were safe. Who knew if the perpetrator wasn’t listening to our conversation in the hospital?

“We should check the CCTV footage,” I finally stated, and gave my friends a meaningful glance.

After what happened, Sarah couldn’t leave her mate alone, even to go and check the footage. She was scared that someone might try to harm him again. So I went with the others to see if anything was recorded on the tape.

The Queen and Sir Elliot too arrived after hearing what had happened. From the footage, we saw Sarah leave at around 11 pm at night. The corridors were deserted except for an occasional healer who crossed the path. The room in which Sarah’s mate was placed was peaceful. No one entered, except for the healers. What caught my attention was when a medic entered the room, right after a healer left after taking down the readings. This newcomer locked the door as soon as she entered and took an injection from the tray she was holding. She hastily injected its contents into the IV injection and hastily left the room.

Unfortunately, the perpetrator had her cap lowered so that her face wouldn’t be recorded in the footage.

“Now, who is that?” Questioned Sir Elliot.

The healer in charge was perplexed. “I… I don’t think I have seen her before…” she stammered, her eyes glued to the screen.

***

Days passed. Ever since we found out that there was a traitor in the kingdom, the security of the whole area had been increased ten fold. The problem was, we couldn’t replace out who. Her scent was masked, and there were no fingerprints on any of the equipment. The best thing we could do was, take turns in the hospital so that Sarah could take a break.

Thankfully, after five days, her mate started to show signs of waking up. He wiggled his toes and g*****d. Sarah waited in anticipation, chewing on her lower l*p. She was undoubtedly anxious.

After moving his head from side to side, he finally opened his eyes. He flinched, perhaps the brightness of the room was too much for him. The healers hastily checked on his vitals and nodded in approval. He was fine.

He looked around in confusion until his eyes landed on Sarah’s blue-grey ones.

His eyes widened in shock.

“Mate!” He growled loudly. Crying tears of joy, she nodded and stretched her hand out.

“Mate,” all she could do was whisper.

My heart soared and tears of happiness welled into my eyes. I felt Leo hold my shoulders. Leaning against him, I cried and laughed at the same time.

I was just too happy for her.