Chapter 96

Hannah’s POV

My first thought was to call Sebastian and tell him what was happening, but he was in the middle of a meeting, and I couldn’t bother him about this. I felt panic rising through me as I thought about my brother. Dr. Davis told me he was stable; however, he still hasn’t woken up. Something was seriously wrong. He should have been awake by now.

Henry was staring around my face for a long while before offering to take me to the hospital. I didn’t have much of an option. He parked his truck nearby and I slid into the passenger seat as he got into the driver’s seat. He didn’t ask any questions until we reached the hospital; the drive was silent as I processed my thoughts. I was shaking in the seat, trying to keep myself from crying.

As we arrived at the hospital, we made our way to Liam’s room. He lay in his bed; he was thin and pale. It tugged at my heart to see him like this. He had a bunch of tubes sticking out of him and needles in his arms; he looked so peaceful and asleep, but I knew he was struggling to stay alive.

Warm tears spread across my features and dripped off my chin, soaking through my shirt. My body shook as I sobbed into my hands. I sat at my brother’s bed; his skin was cold, so I added a blanket to him. I hated this for him; he didn’t deserve what was happening.

Henry stayed by the door silently; he watched me with such concern and sadness in his own eyes. I’m sure he was confused about what was happening. I hadn’t told him I had a brother, and I didn’t tell him that he was sick in the hospital. I wasn’t sure how to bring something like that up, but I guess he knew now.

“How old is he?” Henry asked, keeping his tone low.

“19,” I answered. “Only a year younger than me.”

“He’s so young…” he breathed; I could tell something was running through his mind. “I’m sorry he’s going through that. My thoughts are with you and your family…”

“He’s the only family I have,” I told him through my tears. “Since my mother died, we don’t have anyone else…”

“What about your father?” He asked.

I shook my head sadly and met his eyes.

“My father is hardly a father,” I told him. “He’s an Alpha and has a new family. He abandoned us because my brother and I were born omegas.”

Henry stayed silent; I couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking. I hadn’t told Henry that I was only an omega; I wondered if he looked down on me now. But to my surprise, he came closer to me. I continued to cry into my hands and allowed him to wrap his arms around me and pull me in for a hug; he held me as I cried into his shirt. My body felt frail, and I could hardly hold myself up anymore; I could use all the support I could get.

“I get what you mean,” he whispered to me. “I have an ill sister as well. She’s young too. She’s honestly the only family I have.”

I peered up at him through my tear-soaked eyes.

“Really?” I asked, surprised by this new piece of information; I had no idea he was in the same boat as me.

“Yes,” he answered. “That’s why I work so much. That’s why I too want to be a healer. I don’t have the money to get her help. So, I work so I can take care of her.”

“I’m so sorry you have to go through this alone,” I breathed.

I found myself feeling fortunate that I at least had Sebastian to help support me. He was the one paying to get my brother the help he needed. He’s also allowing me a chance to become a healer myself so I can continue to support my brother and find a cure for his illness. That was something my father wouldn’t do for my mother. He only kept Liam alive after my mother died so he could get me to do his bidding and use my brother against me. Without Sebastian, my brother’s life would still be in the hands of my father. He probably wouldn’t be alive right now.

Thinking about Sebastian with gratitude, I found myself missing him.

“I can always try to take a look at her at some point,” I offered. “Maybe there’s something I can do.”

His eyes widened.

“You would do that?” He asked, shocked.

“Of course,” I confirmed.

This only made him hug me tighter; it felt good to feel embraced. Not as good as it felt to be embraced by Sebastian, but it was nice. Especially during these hard times with Liam.

Before we could break apart, the door swung open, and a familiar presence filled the area. I felt all sorts of annoyance coursing through my body as Nancy stood before us. She was staring at us dumbfounded for a moment before a grin broke across her face. With everything going on in my life, I completely forgot she even existed. She was moved to a different section of the hospital during my last few weeks working here so I didn’t see her much before I left.

I’m sure she heard how I quit though, and she couldn’t wait to take all my patients from me. I rolled my eyes as she folded her arms across her chest.

“Well, this is rich,” she said, humor lacing her words and dancing in her eyes.

I stepped away from Henry; we weren’t doing anything, so I shouldn’t feel ashamed. But part of me knew that if this got back to Sebastian, he would have the last word.

“If it isn’t the luna queen herself with someone who doesn’t look like the wolf king,” Nancy laughed; her laugh sent a chill down my spine.

Henry looked between the two of us confused.

“He’s just a friend, Nancy,” I muttered, turning back to my brother.

“Does your husband know you have a really good-looking male friend?” Nancy asked, eyeing him like he was a piece of candy.

I felt myself growing angry.

“How about you mind your own business,” I shot back, trying not to let my temper get the best of me. Nora wanted to rip her head off though and I was seconds away from letting her.

“I’m going to assume that’s no,” Nancy sneered as she grabbed her phone out of her pocket. “Say cheese for the camera,” she laughed.

Soon the flash of her camera went off, nearly blinding us.

…

Sebastian’s POV

The meeting lasted what felt like an eternity. Sebastian spent time trying to convince the Alphas of surrounding packs that his possession of the moonstone scepter was just a rumor. He told them they needed to silence the rumor spreaders around the kingdom and stop with the nonsense. As the day went on, he started to worry about Hannah. He had a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach that something was wrong.

It was almost like he could feel her sad emotions.

“It’s the mate bond,” Eric informed him. “We can feel when she’s not okay. Emotionally and physically.”

That only confirmed it, something was wrong with their chosen mate. But he couldn’t leave in the middle of the meeting. He just had to wait until it was over before he went to find Hannah. He hoped she was at the palace, even though he knew the likelihood of that was slim.

Just as the meeting ended, he stood from his seat and raced out the door. He ran quickly until the palace came into view but stopped suddenly at the sound of his wolf’s voice.

“She’s not there,” he said, urgently. “She’s at the hospital.”

“The hospital?” Sebastian asked, breathlessly in his mind. “I don’t feel like she’s hurt.”

“No, she’s not,” Eric confirmed.

It must have been her brother; something must have happened with Liam. He was about to run to the hospital, but another familiar voice roamed through his head via the mindlink.

“Alpha,” Arnold said, urgently. “You need to look at the newest news story, right away!”

Sebastian wasted no time; he grabbed his phone and went into his news app. Then he saw a picture of Hannah at the hospital with her brother. Beside her looked like a very startled, and stupid gardener.