Chapter 194

Ethan

There is no reason my mate should be here, in the hospital, surrounded by my best pack healers and my Beta.

It’s the first thing that ran through my mind when I saw her laying in this bed, looking pale and sick. The next thought was that I shouldn’t be in the hospital. I rub my temples, trying to chase away the fuzzy and confused feeling that sits behind my eyes. The last thing I remember is being in the Challenges and fighting my last opponent.

We were struggling, my mind wasn’t clear, and I got hurt, but I remember that I won the fight. I definitely remember being the victor, but after that, everything goes blank. There’s just darkness and pain.

How long ago was that, and how did Fiona get here.

More importantly, why does she look so tired and sick?

“You should really get back to bed, Alpha,” Ryan tells me, pulling at my arm. Because of my weakened state, my body moves without my permission, and I have to push every bit of my strength into my protest. I plant my feet and yank my arm out of Ryan’s grasp.

“What is going on here? Why is Fiona here?” I demand, needing to know. If there’s something wrong with my mate, I should know.

Ryan glances at the healers, who also motion for me to sit down. Again, Ryan puts his hands on my shoulders to push me to sit. A growl climbs up from my throat, but in my weakened state, I don’t have the power to stop him.

“While you were fighting that last round, your opponent poisoned you and—”

“I know that,” I growl, glaring at him and then pointing at my mate. “Why is Fiona here? And why does she look like she’s been through hell?”

All four of the people around me take a step back from my tone, but I don’t have the patience for this today.

“When I told Fiona you’d been poisoned, she demanded I bring her here to help heal you. Apparently, she’d been playing around with Lycan herbalism and thought she could help,” Ryan explains, sitting in the chair between my bed and Fiona’s.

Clearly something inside me doesn’t like that because another growl forces its way out of my body.

“Zev?” I probe, pushing into the darkness shrouding my mind. There’s no response from my wolf, which is a little unsettling, but I should probably give myself time to get back to normal after being poisoned.

“So, your little mate flew all the way here with me, worried out of her mind and repeatedly ranting about how she couldn’t leave you to die,” Ryan adds, smirking. “She worked day and night even though we told her to rest so she wouldn’t get sick. She also snuck around, met a few Gammas, hid from your parents, met the Denton’s, and helped create the antidote that is now saving your life.”

My mind stutters with all the information, but my heart soars. She was worried and didn’t want me to die. Fiona, the woman who told me she didn’t want anything to do with me, ran to my side to save me.

Hope swells in my chest but then deflates when I look at her again. It’s clear that she exhausted herself while helping me, and the longer I sit here, looking at her, Ryan’s words slowly seep into my brain.

“My father didn’t find her, right?” I ask. “If he did anything to her—”

“Woah. He didn’t even see her,” Ryan says, pushing me back down when I try to stand. “He came into the room, but I had her take scent suppressants, and she hid in the closet. If he knows she’s here, he hasn’t let on that he knows.”

My father knows everything that happens on our land, a habit he hasn’t been able to stop even after he passed the Alpha title down. If he doesn’t know yet, he’ll know soon. Though, I doubt he’s completely clueless.

“What else happened? Fiona wouldn’t be this pale just from fatigue,” I point out. “Is she alright?”

Healer Sarina steps forward, bows, and speaks, “She is fine now. We put her on an IV drip for fluids. She’s been sleeping for about eleven hours, so she will probably wake up soon. There’s also…”

She stops and glances at the other healers, who shake their head. I study their faces, trying to decipher what it is that they don’t want her to tell me. As members of my pack, they shouldn’t ever feel the need to hold anything back.

“What is it?” I finally ask, when I realize they really aren’t going to continue.

“She’s been through some rough situations in the last few days, so we’re monitoring her to make sure she doesn’t have any PTSD or lasting mental effects.”

“From what?” I growl. What had my mate gone through while I was out that would give her PTSD or mental trauma?

Healer Farah steps forward now, bowing like Healer Sarina had, before she speaks, “There were a few nights where she went out in search of a rare flower for the antidote. While in the forest, she—”

“We ran into intruders who attacked,” a new voice says. Turning, I find Laxus walking toward me. “It’s good to see you awake,” he says and bows when he stops in front of me.

I nod.

“Did they hurt her?” I ask, looking at my mate again. I didn’t see any injuries before, but I could have missed them.

“No. We made sure she was protected, but we were attacked. Luna Fiona seems like a strong woman, however, facing an attack can scare anyone,” he explains.

“So, we have her on fluids and are giving her plenty of rest,” Healer Farah repeats.

“Mate is hurt,” Zev whines softly, grabbing my attention.

The dark veil in my mind falls away to reveal him pacing and upset in the depths of my consciousness.

“You’re back.”

“I never truly left. Always here.”

I knew that, but having his presence in my mind again gives me a measure of comfort. Losing something you’ve had with you since you were five creates a hole, and even before I was poisoned, he was silent.

It was unnerving.

“Smells different,” Zev says softly, his words choppy like the poison is still affecting him.

“What does?” I ask while subtly taking in the scents around me. Ryan and Laxus smell like the forest and their usual sharp spice scents. The Healers have that bright, clean smell they always have wafting off them. Fiona… her scent is…

“Different,” Zev says. “Like us.”

He’s right. Her addictive sweet scent is there, but there’s also a hint of my scent on her. It’s been too long since she was with me, so it shouldn’t have stuck to her like this. Not this deeply.

There’s something different, like Zev said, but I can’t quite put my finger on what it is.

“We have some things we need to discuss, Alpha,” Ryan says, interrupting my thoughts. The hard tone in his voice has me sitting up and paying closer attention as he continues, “We’ve had more than a few troubles while you were here. One of them being your father and another being one of our rival packs that thought you being poisoned would be the ideal time to plan an attack.”

“Tell me everything.”