8 - Adelaide POV
1215 Words
I hate this...
I hate every part of this...
What has been, what is now and what is yet to come. All eclipsed by sorrow and pain.
This cannot be happening? How can this be happening?
Maeve and I were marching through the corridor, side by side, towards the dining hall.
Our mates were there, and we needed them now more than ever. We needed calming but we also needed reassuring that somehow in these dark times, everything was going to be alright.
Striding through the doors, we gaze in awe at the sight before us. The makeshift hospital was up and running again. This time, it looked clean and laid out better in comparison to the rush job that it was a few days prior.
This was Abby's idea...
"She left her mark on them." Maeve softly spoke next to me. "Not just on the people, but the pack as well. And now..." she shakes her head, refusing to finish that sentence.
Willow came past us, halting briefly as she clocked our expressions. "I am sorry for what you are going through."
"Why do you care?" I snap back at her through gritted teeth. "You have hated her since she first arrived. Now that she's dying, you have changed your tune. Trying to see if Alpha Colt will take you back afterwards?"
She does not look at me coldly or give me a snarky comment like she has done these last few months. Instead, she places a sympathetic hand on my shoulder. "Anger is an emotion, Adelaide. Do not let it become a trait." And she walks off to hand out drinks.
"Since when did she become a source of wisdom?" Maeve asks. She looks as confused as I was that Willow did not seem as devious as she normally was. Is this a new Willow we are seeing?
We shake those thoughts out of our heads and begin to scan for our mates - Clarke was assisting someone to a chair whilst Faye was handing out blankets to the patients nearby.
Maeve did not wait once she saw Faye. She dashed towards her, launching her at an unsuspecting Faye before allowing her tears to fall freely. Faye took a few steps back to steady themselves before reciprocating the hug, pulling Maeve as tight as she could against her chest.
"Shhhh... I am here Maeve. I am not going anywhere." She cooes in Maeve's ear.
"It's just a mess! It's all so messed up!" Maeve sobs as she tries to steady her breathing.
Two giant arms encircle me from behind. "You don't have to hold back either." Clarke whispers in my ear.
That sentence alone nearly broke a dam inside of me. But, I didn't want to break, not in here at least.
I grab one of his hands and steer him straight outside into the courtyard. The evidence of everything that had happened was clear as day since the clean up work was nowhere near beginning.
The Elders with the Alpha Kings and Luna Queens were walking towards us. An unconscious Naomi was being carried by Alpha King Killian.
We bow our heads in response out of respect; mine was a little bit shakey as I tried to hold back my tears.
"Good evening, Coven Leader Adelaide and Clarke." Elder Azul greets us with a bow in response, the rest following suit. "Apologies we have not been able to assist with the fallout, your Beta is quite a formidable feral."
"On her behalf, I apologise for that." Clarke takes lead. He must be sensing that I am barely holding it together. "We can take her if you needs be."
"That is quite alright, Clarke. We can take her to find somewhere to rest whilst being monitored." Alpha King Killian answers.
"How is everything? Is Luna Abby out of surgery?" Sophie questions us.
Right, Luna Abby. Tonight was her Luna Ceremony. Now... she was fighting for her life.
And then there was the other issue: Colt converting Abby into a werewolf. A crime no matter if Abby made it or not.
My rage was beginning to surface. This was not right!
"Is everything ok here?" Elder Marianna looks at me with curiosity.
Clarke takes one look at me before speaking on my half. "A lot going on, so we have come outside for some fresh air and to let off some steam."
"Understood. We are going to stay for a while to make sure everything is alright here so we will be inside if you need anything." They all bow one more time before moving past us to head inside.
The second they are past us, I march into the treeline, dragging Clarke behind me. I needed dead silence and no prying eyes.
It wasn't until we were firmly inside the woods before I slumped to the ground and cried my eyes out. Clarke joined me on the floor and held me tenderly, letting me cry out all of my emotions until the sobs faded into the night.
"I don't understand." I finally meek out. "After everything we have been through, and all the good we have done, why are the ones we love still being punished?"
First my parents, the Coven, Maeve and now Abby. When does it end?
"Talk to me, Ads. What happened in that operating theatre?" Clarke strokes my hair to try and give me gentle encouragement to express myself.
And so, I recounted it all. From the moment that Abby being brought in to myself and Maeve forcefully removing Colt from the theatre. From watching baby Ash get taken out of Abby's stomach to Colt biting her so thst she could begin the conversion process.
Clarke just listens - he waits a moment to make sure I have got everything I wanted to off my chest before he speaks. "What makes you most angry about everything you have just told me?"
My breath is laboured. I take a few deep breaths to steady it before providing my answer. "I am angry at the fact that, no matter Colt's best intentions or how much we try to salvage anything we can from today, it will all just lead to pain."
My tears threaten to resurface as I continue. "Abby could die still, Goddess knows if Asher will pull through. And either way, Colt will be put on trial and this whole pack will be left in turmoil because Austin has also died and Naomi is in no state to lead; Dan and Siobhan will not be able to handle that all by themselves."
"Which is why they have us to assist them." He uses his fingers to gently lift my chin so that I was gazing into his tender eyes.
"I am not feeling strong enough to be a leader at the moment."
"You don't need to be a leader right now. You just need to be their friend." He gently kisses the top of my head before gazing back into my eyes. "But right now, you just need to be you. So let it all out and then we can go from there."
So we did - we hugged in the woods until my tears dried out and my spine felt straighter than it had earlier in the night.
- Writer
