Chapter 162

Cara’s POV

With Alaric’s presence, the hospital administration moved the group of us away from the main waiting room and into a more private sitting room, filled with more comfortable chairs and couches. There was also a coffee pot, which Ryan instantly set up to start brewing, and a television, which no one bothered to turn on.

As steadily as I could, I walked to one of the comfortable-looking plush chairs and sat down. Immediately, my body slumped, my limbs so heavy that I could not lift them. It was all I could do just to keep my eyes open.

The sudden weakness scared me, but I tried to keep the concern from my face. I also didn’t say a word about it aloud, not wanting to draw any attention to myself.

Mia was the one we needed to focus on, not me.

Ethan was asleep, resting on one of the couches. The stress must have been too much for him. I was glad to at least see him resting.

“Alaric,” Ryan said. “We need a word with you.”

Alaric looked at him in confusion but still acquiesced. “Of course.”

“In the hallway, if you don’t mind,” Colin said. To me, he said, “You look exhausted, Cara. Rest your eyes. We’ll be back in a minute.”

I had no idea what they wanted to talk to Alaric about, but as tired as I was, I was willing to accept it. I nodded, as Alaric and my brothers stepped out of the room, my eyes already sliding closed.

Perhaps the brothers misjudged how deeply I would sleep, or perhaps they had miscalculated how weak my senses were now without my wolf, including my hearing.

Whatever the reason, they did not venture all that far down the hallway. As close as they were, I could still hear nearly every word.

“Of course I took care of it,” Alaric said, answering something one of my brothers said. “Melinda Bedford has been exiled, along with her brother, as well as those on the elder council who supported her and Lilia’s return.”

“What about her allies?” Ryan said. “We all saw how many supporters she had.”

“I can’t exile everyone before they’ve done anything wrong,” Alaric replied. “But I did compel her to reveal her true ugliness in front of a large group of her supporters and friends. Hopefully that will deter the anti-BloodyMoon sentiment from within the pack, if not outright destroy it. Most of those people were being deceived.”

I had no idea what they were talking about. Did something new happen with Melinda Bedford? She had allies? They were against me and pack Bloodymoon?

Although I was relieved to hear that the Bedfords themselves had been exiled. Melinda, I was certain, had connections to Lilia. Likely she had even helped her plan the many unpleasant things that happened to me. That she and her brother were gone eased me somewhat.

My brothers, particularly Aidan, did not seem as relieved about this news as I was. Did they know something I didn’t? How did they know that Melinda had supporters?

“Deceived or not, they are still dangerous,” Aidan said. “While they are still allowed here, Cara remains in danger.”

“I will protect Cara and the kids,” Alaric said.

“Yeah, you’ve done a hell of a job so far,” Aiden snapped.

Alaric started to growl.

“Tell me I’m wrong,” Aidan said.

“Aidan,” Colin said with warning. “We did not want to talk to Alaric to start fights. What we need are allies.”

“Colin’s right,” Ryan added. “The fact is, there are just as many people in BloodyMoon who are against Cara. Now that she is gaining power in the pack, there are people who resent her, both because she is a woman, and because she is wolfless.”

“She has a wolf,” Alaric said.

“Don’t play semantics,” Aidan said. “She had a wolf. But it’s gone now. In every way, she’s become a regular human. As wrong as they are, those against her are adamant this is a weakness to her character.”

“She has enemies on all sides,” Colin said. “We need to stand together to protect her properly. And to do that, we need to know that we will all take the appropriate measures when those measures are needed.”

“As much as I wish I could, I cannot exile people for disliking Cara,” Alaric said.

“We aren’t asking that,” Colin said. “We just need to stand united here.”

“We need to make sure you aren’t going to side with them,” Aidan said bluntly. “DuskWood and BloodyMoon should be allies.”

“We are allies,” Alaric insisted, “And we always will be. There will always be people standing against everything, no matter what we do. But you have my assurance that this alliance is solid, and Cara’s protection, as well as that of our children, will always remain my top priority.”

“Good,” Colin said. “That’s good.”

Though their conversation seemed to have ended on a good note, the entire exchange left a heavy weight in the pit of my stomach.

I knew there were people who disliked me, that was just part of being in the public eye. But I had no idea there were so many that would justify cause for a discussion like this. Had the kidnapping and attack brought these dissenters out of the woodwork? Did people truly hate me?

Because I was a woman?

Because I had no wolf?

My eyes closed, I once more tried to reach out for the wolf I could feel the barest trace of. I knew she was there, somewhere in the distance, resting. She wasn’t entirely gone, of that I was certain.

Yet, when I tried to feel the location of her presence enough to approach her, she always remained out of reach. Sometimes, when I meditated like this, reaching out for her, I felt as if I was running in a white void, never gaining traction in any direction.

And how I longed to be reunited with her. I missed her voice, her calming, reassuring presence, as well as her strength.

If she was still with me, together we could properly take care of our family, without having to depend so much on Alaric and my brothers. I did not resent their assistance, but instead my own weakness. I should be able to do more. These were my pups to protect, and here I was, barely able to keep from sinking further into this chair.

My limbs were so heavy. Even my eyelids felt permanently closed.

With Mia’s health in jeopardy, I hadn’t wanted to admit to anyone, not even myself, that something might actually be wrong with me.

But I can feel a shift within me. I know I’m unwell.

I’d wanted to chalk it up to exhaustion from what I’d gone through the past few days, but this was more than that. I knew my own body, and I could tell there was something fundamentally wrong with me.

I wasn’t going to say a word about it though, not until all of this was done. Right now, the Healers needed to fully focus on trying to discover what was wrong with Mia.

Whatever was going on with me, I could handle.

I just wished I wasn’t alone in this.

I called out once more for my wolf. I had no true hope for a reply, given how often I had gone without one. Yet, when I was greeted with only silence once more, I was still disappointed.

My wolf remained lost. There was no answer.