CALIFF
“It’s been two fucking days. She hadn’t moved a finger. Why isn’t she waking up, doc?” I growled in anger. I didn’t know where to put my feelings. It was everywhere, and my wolf was beyond agitated. “I can’t watch her like this. You should do something or give her an injection to wake her like an antidote.”
“This is beyond my expertise. I’m a medical doctor, and this is not science. We already did a brain CT scan. Her brain is normal. She’s in a deep coma, medically speaking.”
“There must be something we missed here.” I could barely breathe properly. My chest was heavy, and my heart was bleeding.
“The only thing I can do is keep her comfortable, monitor her vitals, and keep her hydrated. In Goddess’ will, she will wake up soon.”
“Fuck!” I gripped the armchair harder, and it cracked in my grasp. “I don’t know what to do anymore. And I can’t feel her emotions. I can’t get through her thoughts. It’s like our bond is gone.”
“What do you mean your bond is gone?” Dr. Sallie’s eyes widened.
“Yesterday, I still felt it. It was weak, but it was there,” I admitted. Even if it was hard, she had to know. “When I woke up this morning, I felt something new, like I lost something like there was a hollow in my chest. I’m worried, doc. What if she wakes up and won’t remember me anymore? What if our connection is completely gone, and she lost her power, or she’s not a Lycan anymore? What if she doesn’t care about us anymore?”
“Stop with what-ifs, Alpha.” Kindra was also worried. She’d been here, helping me watch over Shadow. She only left when Duke came over to take her home. “We will figure this out. We’re not giving up on her. Just stay strong. Have you reached out to that witch she and Zack went to see?”
“She’s not picking up. The necklace seems to have lost its power. It all happened at the same time.”
“How about other witches or fae? Or the elders, maybe they have encountered cases like this?”
“Mom already asked them. They couldn’t figure it out either. The elders, including Mom, forbid me from reaching out to the fae. You know faes. They’re great deceivers, but if I run out of options, I won’t hesitate. I have to wake her up and save Shadow.”
“Maybe a true love kiss.” She smiled sadly.
“I kissed her more than a hundred times, Kindra. And I love her more than anything, more than our mating bond. It should have worked the first time she fell asleep.”
“Do you know any Lycans around? If not a witch thing, maybe this has something to do with her Lycan blood.”
“No, but Dad has reached out to his contacts and connections.” My voice was heavy with deep sorrow as my hopes were slipping off my fingers. “I’m not giving up on her as long as I am alive, Kindra. I don’t know what to do without her. I can’t live without her.”
“Yes. We’re not giving up on her. And I know what it feels like, Alpha. She’s your soulmate. Without your other half, your life is in misery.”
“I’m already in misery.”
She squeezed my hand. “Don’t worry about the pack. Duke is handling all packs business. And they’re sending their prayers.”
“Thank you for being here.”
“Shadow is my Luna and my friend, and there’s nowhere I’d rather be than here with her. And Zack and Lyon will be here shortly.”
The pack members had been sending flowers, food, and fruit baskets to my parents’ house. I’d been here since she lost her consciousness.
No matter how I tried convincing myself that she woke up one day, there was always a hint of doubt inside my chest that maybe she would not, or she woke up not the same Shadow anymore.
I’d never been scared in my entire life than watching my mate lying motionless in bed. Her heartbeat was weaker than normal, and her breathing was shallow, but she was alive.
I should have tried hard to stop her, but it was Shadow we were talking about. Nothing could stop her if she put her mind to it, even her own mate.
“Zack’s car just pulled up into the driveway.” Dad gripped my shoulder.
“Thanks, Dad.” I squeezed his hand as I turned to look at him. “How are you feeling?”
“I feel terrible. I should have disagreed the moment she offered to help me.”
I chuckled sadly. “You know why we fought each other the first time she woke up in solitary? Because she disobeyed me. She was relentless. It made her feel better if she pissed me off. Shadow doesn’t bend to anyone but shows respect. So, don’t even blame yourself for wanting her to heal you. I was surprised myself after hating you for most of her life.”
“She has a heart of a Luna, son.”
“Yeah. She always thinks of others, her pack, rather than herself. She has a lot of compassion in her heart.”
“If I have a choice right now, I’d rather be on that bed than her. I’ve accepted my fate, son. Your mother feels the same. I couldn’t watch you like this because I know how mates work. You’re connected in body, blood, heart, mind, and soul, but we’re not giving up.”
“Alpha?” I quickly stood up as soon as Lyon called my name.
“Did you-” I didn’t finish my words. Zarah walked into the room, shaking her head.
“I get it doesn’t look good,” Zack muttered under his breath.
“She shouldn’t have done that. She should never violate any natural laws.”
“Coming from a witch herself. That’s rich.” Lyon snorted.
“This is all my fault,” she said as she took the chair where I last seated and held Shadow’s hand. She sighed shakily. “I should have kept it to myself.”
“What are you saying, witch?” I came to her.
“Careful, Alpha. I could easily squeeze your throat without you even knowing it.”
“Zarah, please, we need your help. Forgive my son. He’s just under a lot of stress.”
“Understood, Eleanor.” She then looked at me. “Do you feel her?”
I shook my head. “Since this morning.”
“My divine goddess. I’m glad I came here quickly. She’s depleting.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” My eyes narrowed because I didn’t like the sound of it, and she was pissing off my wolf.
“That’s exactly what it means.” She blew a breath. “She’s powerful, you have no idea, and I told her that power without practice and lacking knowledge is dangerous. My guess is she healed you.” She turned to my father.
“Yes,” my father told her the truth.
“I’ve heard about you being ill with incurable disease. That’s not common for werewolves unless it has something to do with magic. And being here without my coven knowledge, I just broke the law.”
“I’m sorry you have to do that. We will protect you.”
“You don’t know who you are up against, Alpha, but I won’t let this child die. She’s my best friend’s daughter, and I failed her mother once, and I won’t let it happen to this child while I’m alive. I’d rather lose all my powers and be banished than lose Raven.” That name. I remembered Mom telling me that name.
Mom gripped my arm as she came to my side.
“Can you wake her up?”
“I’ll do my best. Is your mark fading?”
I touched my mark. “No.”
“That’s good. I’ll do everything in my power to bring back your mate.”
“What’s the catch?” Lyon asked.
“You should keep these two dogs out of this room, or I will snap their necks.”
I nodded at Lyon and Zack.
“I’m kidding. I know how protective your kind is when it comes to their Luna.” She drew a deep, long breath, shut her eyes close, and chanted under her breath before she placed her hand on Shadow’s forehead.
A few seconds later, nothing happened. My hopes were crumbling down so fast.
“She’s dreaming.”
“Of what?” My mother asked.
“Her childhood. She’s living in her past.”
“Can you do something about it?” I would beg if I had to, just to bring her Shadow to me.
“Yes, but it depends on her if she wanna get out or stay there until she forgets her present and every last one of you, including you, Alpha, her mate.”
I gasped and stumbled back as I felt like someone just ripped my heart out of my chest.
“Got you, Alpha.” Lyon and Zack caught me before I fell.
“Do something, please?” Dr. Sallie asked.
“Do you two have a magic word or something that reminds her of you?”
“Tell her Kent wants her back. She has spent a lot of years together than me. Tell her to meet me at the cliff where we can watch the moon.”
She turned to face Shadow again and closed her eyes. “Shadow, I want you to find someone. He’s with Kent, but he wants you to meet him at the cliff where you and he can watch the moon together. He’s right there waiting for you, honey.”
***
Hours later, nothing happened. I faced the floor-to-ceiling window, looking over the vast forest. With my hands on my hips, all I could think was losing all hope in the strength I had left.
“Don’t give up now.” Zarah came, standing beside me. “Did you know I gave her a protection spell?”
I shook my head as I stared at her. “No.”
“Looking at the mark on your neck and her smell on you, you have completed the mating bond before she found out about your father.”
“What does it have to do with the protection spell?”
“Only mating could break it.”
I squeezed my eyes hard as I pressed my forehead against the window. “Goddess.”
“You’re more important to her than her protection. And she wouldn’t be at my house if she didn’t meet you. I saw that before it happened.”
“What do you mean?”
“I foresaw the future.”
“So you also knew this would happen to her and didn’t warn her?”
“No. Not everything. Only if I am involved.”
“Do you see you wake her up?”
“Just don’t give up.”
“I need more than that, Zarah.”
“I’m a witch, not a god, Alpha.” She turned around and stopped right at the door. “She didn’t tell you why I don’t wanna teach her?”
“No. But I knew something was bothering her when she came back from the visit. My enforcer noticed it, too. What was that all about?”
“She’s after the big picture, protecting her pack and you. A group of powerful people becomes your ally, but there’s a catch.”
“What the catch?” I held onto my last strength to ready myself for what she was about to say.