Chapter 235

Julian’s POV

Even though I promised the head of the council that I would think about what to do with Tony, the truth was, with everything else going on, I hadn’t given it much thought. Tony wasn’t exactly a priority in my mind, even in his condition. As he was, he wasn’t suffering, exactly. He wasn’t aware what was happening to him at all.

For this man’s sake, though, I considered it now. He was clearly a Tony supporter, but his request to spare Tony’s life didn’t seem politically motivated. It seemed more like they wanted to save a man’s life.

The problem was that Tony wasn’t a man anymore.

“Going feral is a curse,” I said. “Tony is now a danger to everyone, including himself. And there’s no known cure. He’ll be like this the rest of his natural life. Is that the life you want for him?”

The man was passionate as he said, “Your mate, Healer Amber, has saved so many others. She’s made cures that seemed impossible before. Can’t she cure this one as well? If anyone can solve this, it’s her.”

While I might have been inclined to agree with him, Amber was incredibly talented and had developed many cures already, she wasn’t in a condition to do any such thing at the moment.

“Amber was shot with silver bullets,” I said. It had been on the news, so I wasn’t giving this man any new information. “She is in the hospital fighting for her own life right now. She’s still unconscious…”

“Oh…” the man said, downcast. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I just thought… Well, when she gets better…?”

I stared at this man for a long moment. Eventually, he started to turn away.

“Please, just… give it some time. Don’t make any rash decisions. Even if Tony was your rival, he’s still a man. He deserves better than to be murdered…”

The man didn’t wait for a reply this time. He simply turned and rushed away. I watched him go for a time, reflecting on his words.

Could putting down a feral wolf be considered murder? I didn’t know, but I supposed in the end, I would be the one who would have to make the decision. I wondered if this was why the council didn’t want to be the ones to have to make the choice. Because then they would have to be the ones to live with the guilt and the consequences.

I wasn’t bitter about having the decision thrusted upon me though. As Alpha, it was my duty to make the difficult choices.

I still wasn’t ready to make this one though.

Turning back to Alice, I saw that she was worn down again, looking much like how I felt inside.

“Should we walk some more?” I asked her, thinking more flowers might lift her spirits.

Instead, she shook her head. “I want to go back to the hospital. Mommy might need us.”

I didn’t know if I should try to talk her out of that, especially when I felt that way too. “Okay,” I said.

We held hands again and walked back to the hospital. When we returned, we were told there was no change with Amber. Alice went back to the waiting room, and I returned to Amber, relieving Penny who had stayed at her side.

Here, I would continue my vigil, hoping that Amber would wake up.

“Please,” I whispered to her, when no one else was around. “Open your eyes.”

Amber’s POV

I was walking through a long, foggy corridor, unsure where I was or where I was going. There didn’t seem to be an end to this hallway. I was pretty sure I’d been walking for a while, heading straight without even a turn in the road.

I felt like there was something I was forgetting to do. That nagging feeling sat in the back of my mind, yet the more I tried to think about what it was the farther it seemed to travel out of my reach.

It was easier not to think about anything, I decided, and continued on the long road.

After a few more steps I started to hear a voice.

“Please.” It was loud, echoing through the space, but I couldn’t tell which direction it was coming from.

It had been a male voice though, and familiar.

But who…?

My head started to hurt, but so did my heart. To stop the pain, I stopped trying to remember and continued along the path.

“Open your eyes,” the booming voice said.

How strange. My eyes were open. I chose to ignore the voice, and continued walking.

“Amber, please,” the voice continued. “I need you.”

I paused, even coming to a stop. He… needed me? But who even was he?

In a flash, I was standing in front of a building, eager to share my pregnancy results with the man inside. But when he came out, his arm was wrapped around another woman.

He told me he didn’t have time for me.

He told me to go home.

I was his secret. His wife, but hidden.

The pain felt like stinging barbs wrapped all the way around my heart.

“No,” I said to the memory. Julian had already apologized for all of this, and more, he had made it up to me as well, proving himself a changed man in every moment since our reunion. Olivia had wanted him to fail, to break us apart for her own goals, but we defied her.

The plane crash…

Hiding my identity…

Leaving and being found again…

All of my memories came flooding back to me like a whirlwind, one after the next. I held on as best I could, re-experiencing everything.

Maybe this should have been enough to make me hate Julian again, but in truth, it did the opposite, especially as the memories became more recent.

Yes, our past was littered with misunderstandings, miscommunications, and not enough love and care. But in the time since then, we have both learned to properly express ourselves and our boundaries as well as our needs.

We were both different people than we were back then. I wasn’t so meek, and Julian wasn’t so oblivious.

More recent memories showed the changes, with our softness to each other and our consideration of each other’s emotions and feelings.

The tender way Julian held me…

How protectively he defended me, even chasing after that car when I had been kidnapped…

The way he never wanted Alice or me to worry about anything, so willing to take on the responsibility of everything so that Alice and I could relax…

The more I thought of it, the more the truth of my feelings became clear.

I had forgiven Julian long ago. There was no reason to hold onto the fear or insecurity any longer.

Moving forward, all I really had to focus on now was love and family, and being with the man I adored for the rest of my life.

If only I could get out of this place.

I looked around. Where was I anyway?

It was so difficult to see anything through this fog. And it felt cold, too, I was only noticing this now…

“Open your eyes, Amber,” Julian said, his voice echoing around me. “Please.”

“My eyes are open!” I shouted into the void.

But, then I realized that wasn’t true, was it?

My eyes were closed, because I was unconscious.

Could I change that from where I was? Could I fix this?

I closed my eyes. Then, hoping to wake up, I opened them again.

This time, for real.