Arise and Shine
1218 Words
The smell hit her first.
A sharp sterile smell of bleach and antiseptic, so strong it burned the inside of her nose.
Then came the sound in a steady, mechanical beeping, slow and rhythmic.
Eleanor drifted toward consciousness like someone clawing her way up from deep water. Every part of her body felt unbearably heavy, as though she had been buried beneath layers of stone and was only now being unearthed. Her limbs refused to move. Her chest rose with effort.
She forced her eyes open.
The ceiling above her was an endless stretch of sterile white tiles, blurred at the edges. The lights hummed faintly, too bright, too harsh. She blinked several times, her vision slowly sharpening as awareness crept in.
A hospital?
Her heart stuttered.
Memories rushed in all at once, crashing over her like a tidal wave she couldn’t escape.
The lobby.
The receptionist’s cold eyes.
His fated mate.
Silas standing beside another woman.
“I don’t know her.”
Pain exploded behind her ribs.
“Eleanor?”
A familiar voice broke through the chaos.
She turned her head slightly, every movement sending a dull ache through her skull. Sitting beside the bed, perched uncomfortably on a plastic chair, was Maya.
Her best friend’s dark eyes were red-rimmed, her expression tight with fear and exhaustion. One hand gripped Eleanor’s fingers like she was afraid to let go.
“Oh, thank god,” Maya whispered, her voice trembling. “You’re awake.”
Eleanor swallowed, her throat felt dry.
“The baby…” she rasped, panic surging as her hand flew instinctively to her stomach.
For a terrifying second, Maya didn’t answer.
Then she leaned closer, squeezing Eleanor’s hand. “The doctor says you’re okay. You fainted from stress and low blood sugar. The baby’s heartbeat is stable.”
Relief crashed through Eleanor so hard her eyes burned.
She took a deep breath of relief
Still alive.
A sob caught in her chest, but before she could release it, the memories returned, sharper now and crueler.
Silas’s voice.
I don’t know her.
“How could they?” Maya continued, anger flashing beneath her concern. “How could they do that to you?”
Eleanor turned her head slowly. “How could they what?”
Maya’s jaw tightened. She reached for the remote on the bedside table and clicked on the television mounted in the corner of the room.
The screen flickered to life.
A familiar headline blazed across the bottom.
THE ALPHA’S RETURN: A LOVE STORY FOR THE AGES
Eleanor’s breath hitched.
On the screen stood Silas, tall and regal, every inch the untouchable Alpha he had always been.
His arm was wrapped protectively around Catheryn’s shoulders as cameras flashed around them. The woman leaned into him effortlessly, her hand resting possessively over her stomach.
She was pregnant.
“They’re calling it the romance of the century,” Maya said bitterly. “Silver-Moon and Obsidian Packs united. A power couple. They’re saying she’s already carrying the next heir.”
Eleanor stared at the screen, unable to look away.
She recognized that expression on Silas’s face, the subtle tilt of his head, the protective stance. It was the same way he had once stood in front of her in the university halls when other wolves snarled at her presence.
But now it was on display for the whole world.
“He left me there,” Eleanor whispered. “On the sidewalk.”
Maya’s grip tightened. “I found you.”
Eleanor turned toward her slowly.
“I saw the news break,” Maya continued, her voice shaking with barely restrained fury. “I recognized your coat in the background of one of the shots. I drove there as fast as I could.”
Her voice cracked.
“You were lying in the dirt, Eleanor. You were alone. The security guards wouldn’t even help me put you in my car. They said they had orders not to assist ‘the trespasser.’”
The word sliced deep.
Trespasser.
Eleanor closed her eyes.
One tear slipped free, trailing silently down her temple.
She remembered the night she and Silas had signed the marriage contract.
No flowers.
No guests.
No celebration.
Just a lawyer, a stack of documents, and Silas’s quiet promise that she would never want for anything.
She had believed him.
She had believed she was choosing love over ambition, giving up her future in medicine to stand beside him, even if it meant standing in the shadows.
She hadn’t realized she was agreeing to disappear.
“He’s using you,” Maya said firmly. “He kept you hidden like a shameful secret for three years while he waited for his ‘fated’ queen to appear. You have to leave him.”
Eleanor shook her head weakly. “It’s not that simple, Maya. I love him. I thought—”
“You thought he loved you back?” Maya snapped. “Eleanor, he didn’t even check to see if you were okay.”
She exhaled sharply, forcing herself to continue.
“The hospital staff told me Silas personally booked Catheryn’s prenatal appointment here for tomorrow. He’s probably in this building right now. And he hasn’t asked about you once.”
The words landed like stones.
Before Eleanor could respond, the door opened.
A nurse entered, pushing a small tray with a cup of water and medication. She glanced at Eleanor, recognition flashing in her eyes—followed quickly by something colder.
“You’re the girl from the news,” the nurse said flatly. “The one who made a scene at the Alpha’s office.”
Eleanor didn’t answer.
She accepted the cup of water silently, her fingers trembling as she stared down at the blanket covering her legs.
“You should get some rest,” the nurse continued, her tone clipped. “We need this bed for patients who actually belong here.”
Maya stood up so abruptly her chair scraped against the floor.
Her eyes glowed a fierce amber wolf eyes.
“She is a patient,” Maya said coldly. “And if you speak to her like that again, I will personally see to it that you lose your license.”
The nurse paled.
She muttered something under her breath and fled the room.
But the damage was already done.
Eleanor felt it settle deep in her bones, the truth she had spent years avoiding.
In a world ruled by wolves, humans were nothing.
Without the protection of a mate, she was disposable.
And her mate had cast her aside.
“Maya,” Eleanor said quietly. Her voice sounded hollow even to her own ears. “Help me get up.”
Maya frowned. “You need to rest—”
“I need to see the doctor,” Eleanor interrupted. “I need to know if my baby is really okay.”
She swung her legs over the side of the bed despite the dizziness that followed. The room spun briefly, but she steadied herself.
This child was no longer just hope.
It was her reason to survive.
Because deep down, Eleanor finally understood something she had been too afraid to face.
The man she had called her husband was no longer her sanctuary.
He was the storm.
And she would have to learn how to survive it.
- Writer
