Waking Up
1640 Words
Addison
Gentle hands prod me awake while I hear a voice that sounds like it is coming from the far end of the tunnel.
“Luna? Luna, can you hear me?” I recognize that voice. I slowly open my eyes and see a pair of concerned brown eyes close to my face. “Luna, can you hear me?”
I nod not trusting myself to speak yet. I slowly blink to reorient myself and realize I am in the pack hospital.
“Luna, let me get you some water.” Brown eyes back away and she brings a cup with a straw close to my lips. I take a few sips and shake my head gently feeling slightly dizzy still. “How are you feeling?”
“Dizzy and disoriented. A little nauseous too.” I tell Dr. Trisha slowly.
“That’s to be expected. Here’s a bowl if you need to vomit.” She backs away, and I see Owen, our Beta standing inside the door. He looks like he aged about ten years since I saw him this morning.
“Luna, do you remember what happened before you fainted?” Trisha asks cautiously.
I think hard, and it comes flooding in making me gasp and fall back against the bed. My body feels like I’ve been struck.
“I was in Seth’s office, and Aubrey walked in. They claimed each other as mates.” The last part comes out in a tearful whisper. I look over at Owen, and he is just shaking his head with his eyes closed.
“I don’t understand. How? I am his mate. I am marked. I…” My voice trails off, and I can't find the words to continue.
“I don’t know, Luna. Do you feel your bond? Can you ask your wolf?” Trisha says with a sigh.
I reached out to Nessa, but she didn’t answer. “I can still feel the bond weakly, but Nessa is not answering me right now. She’s been silent since last night actually.”
Trisha looks at Owen. “Has he said anything to explain this?”
Owen shakes his head, “Nothing except that he was going to spend time with his…with that Aubrey.” His eyes look at me with pain in them.
“He’s not… he… he didn’t bring me here?” I ask, scared of the answer. If I fainted in front of him in his office and he ignored me… then he didn’t feel anything for me anymore? He wasn’t even concerned I could be hurt.
“No, Addi. I brought you in.” Owen replies almost in tears himself.
“I don’t understand. How is any of this happening? Is this real? How long was I out?” I am almost talking to myself.
Trisha takes my hand. “Luna, we have no idea what is going on. Hopefully, Alpha will come to see you, and we can get more answers. And we need Nessa to wake up and help us. She is probably overwhelmed in her grief and unable to speak to you right now. You’ve been out for almost six hours.”
Owen comes over and takes my hand gently squeezing it. “I’ll go talk to him and come back to see you. I’m sure he’ll come with me.”
I stare at him sadly knowing in my heart that he doesn’t believe that either. The forced certainty in his voice hurts. I feel a sinking despair in my soul that I have lost my mate somehow. The pangs in my chest tell me my wolf is of the same mindset.
Owen backs out reluctantly and tells Trisha, “I have placed two guards out here. They cannot leave, Beta commanded.”
I shiver at that. Owen must feel that I am in danger to do that. Only Seth or I can override Owen’s Beta command.
“Luna...” Trisha’s voice breaks into my thoughts, “I will go see what your bloodwork shows. You may have fainted from the sheer shock and pain, but I want to make sure. Did you eat this morning?”
“I had my cup of coffee that I thought Seth left me on the counter this morning. But the Seth I saw in the office… I… I can’t believe what happened.”
She nods as she walks out. I lay back against the bed recalling the last twenty four hours. After dinner, Seth got a link that there was a situation at the north border. He had groaned lifting my feet from his lap where he’d been giving me a foot massage.
“Be back soon, angel. Keep my spot warm.” His lingering kiss told of promises when he returned home. “Love you,” I called after him, and he turned walking backward. “Not more than I love you, angel.” His face lit up with the big sweet grin he reserved for me.
Hours went by, and he hadn’t returned though. I fell asleep last night waiting for his return. When I woke up this morning, I noticed his side of the bed was untouched. I tried linking him worried as he always comes back or leaves me a note.
Had I known what would happen next, I would have stayed in bed.
I close my eyes, replaying the horror that has unfolded.
Flashback to that morning
On the counter in the kitchen are a cup of coffee and a muffin with a note “Come to the Alpha office once you are ready”. It’s Seth’s handwriting but nothing sweet like he usually says at the end. Odd, he must have been in a hurry. I tried to link him, but he has blocked me. I wonder if the border issue was much more serious than it had sounded. Skipping the muffin, I drink the coffee wanting to make sure my mate is unharmed.
I quickly dress after my shower and race down to his office. He is sitting behind his desk typing away as I walk in like I always do without knocking. He quickly looks up with so much annoyance I stop in my tracks. Not once in the two years since I’ve been mated to him has he looked at me like that.
“Seth sweetheart, did something bad happen? You didn’t come back last night.”
His face goes blank and he says, “Sorry about that. I should have linked you I guess, but things got a bit out of hand, and I had to stay late. I decided to sleep here so I wouldn’t disturb you. Came up to change clothes, but you were sleeping hard.” I look at him in surprise.
“Are you ok? Why does it smell so funny in here?” I ask as Owen walks in making a grimace at the smell. I wave to him and he smiles.
“Morning Addi.” He takes his coffee and sits down in his usual chair for their morning briefing.
Seth frowned at him, and I wondered if he needed more sleep. He’s never grumpy like this.
“Someone used a very strong lemon cleaning agent in here. We had to spray some scent overlay blocker to knock it back. Otherwise, I wasn’t going to get any work done today.” Seth explains calmly. I can still pick out his sandalwood and orange scent, but it’s faint and I want to go bury my nose in his neck to soothe the ragged emotions I’m feeling. Nessa too, she is whimpering.
“Seth, can I go get you some coffee or breakfast?” I ask him worriedly. Maybe he’s just stressed or really needs to eat.
He ignores me and intently stares at the door. A second later, the door flies open and a female I vaguely recognize walks in looking around intently, her wolf obviously present in her eyes.
Audrey? Aubrey? Audie? Something like that. She has been visiting her cousin for the last three weeks. Her dark brown hair is cut in a short bob, and I see her light brown eyes almost glazed over. She sniffs the air and smiles saying “mate” like she’s about to eat a meal.
I look at Owen because he’s unmated and has been looking for his mate. However, he just sits calmly and watches her confused. I give him a look, and he shrugs his shoulders.
I turn back and watch as Seth stares at her a moment before Jagger comes forth. I watch his eyes darken. He sniffs the air closing his eyes, and I hear him say, “MATE!”
What?!
The... hell?!
My mouth drops in horror as they approach each other. “Nessa, what is going on? Can you reach Jagger?”
Nothing from her. She’s unable to speak, completely stunned by the sight before us.
He reaches out and cups her cheek staring adoringly into her eyes. Transfixed, I watch in disbelief. My body feels like it is weighted down, and my heart hammers so fast I cannot hear anything.
He leans down to kiss her, and I call out weakly, “Seth…”
He doesn’t hear me and continues to deepen his kisses. I vaguely hear Owen growl lowly. Her arms twine around his neck, and she moans.
Nessa howls before she collapses unconscious in the back of my mind. I start seeing white dots flicker on the periphery. It feels like I am swaying on a boat. The dots start moving in, and I cannot see much else for them.
Owen’s voice cuts through the fog barely. “Addi? Addi?”
I try to swing my face toward him, but the dots converge and blackness spreads across my vision before I hear nothing.
- Writer
