Miranda heard him all right, but it felt as if she didn’t hear correctly, she wished then that she would just wake up from this terrible nightmare, pinching herself. Oh goddess! Please let this be a dream, let me wake up from this right now! But if only it were.
The sharp feeling of pain and regret coursed through her as her knees dropped to the ground, she could hear the loud sound of her voice, but it didn’t feel as if she were screaming, as her mind had shut out her surroundings.
“Noooooo!!!!!! Noooooo!!!! It can’t…. it just can’t be!!!! Nooooo!!!!!!” Her voice got louder, to the point where the raging storm sounds from outside seemed so irrelevant.
Damian ran to hold her then, “Miranda please…. Calm down… everything will be fine…”
Of course, nothing will be fine, nothing will ever remain the same for her again, as her daddy, the one who raised her, the one who’d loved and cared for her since she was born, was no more. She’d never see him again, just like that, he was gone. Alpha Jireh and Priya couldn’t do much except persuade her, along with Damian who sat with her on the ground, they tried to comfort her, to the point where her screams turned to racking sobs, as she cried so much.
“Miranda, please… don’t cry, please don’t hurt yourself…” they pleaded, but Miranda didn’t hear them, as she was in her world of thoughts.
This explains everything, her unease earlier, her racing heart, the heavy pouring rain. These were the signs. Daddy was signing out of this world, and she hadn’t even been there to say goodbye. She’d been so caught up in the happenings of her own life, she’d forgotten all about him. He was weak, he was dying, he had little time left, she should have stayed with him, but instead she agreed to go with her husband, leaving him all alone. Miranda knew then that she would live to regret this for the rest of her life.
She aggressively tore away from Damian’s arms as she got up, stomping out of the room.
Damian ran after her, followed by Jireh. “Miranda? Miranda…. stop it! Where are you going?”
She didn’t listen to him, running off to her bedroom and upon reaching there, finding her small suitcase. Damian entered the room, the luggage he met her holding already told him what she was attempting.
“You can’t be serious, Miranda! Don’t tell me you intend on leaving now!!!”
Sniffs, “I have to… I have to… g-go. He’ll be so alone right now, so cold…. It… it hurts.”
Her words reminded him of how it was for him back then, he knows this pain, this familiar pain of losing a loved one. In his case it was three times the pain, losing his whole family on the same day. That pain is what Miranda is feeling now; the same pain that has haunted him for years.
“Miranda…”
“Please Damian, don’t try to stop me. If you’re not coming with me, that’s fine. But please… don’t try to stop me.”
He nodded his head, of course. What kind of husband would he be to leave her to be all alone in the middle of a stormy night?
He came closer to her, taking her hand… “I would never do that to you Miranda. Believe me, I know this pain very. I wont lie to you, it’s going to hurt so much, you’ll feel as if you will never get over it, no matter what happens. But in the end, there’s always a chance of a better future.”
His soft, kind words. She didn’t think of how much it would ease her; it didn’t completely remove the pain she was feeling, but somehow, she felt better.
“Thank you, Damian,” she muttered, before she resumed packing.
Damian turned to meet alpha Jireh, who was standing by the door, watching everything. “I apologize that we will have to be taking our leave at this impromptu time.”
Alpha Jireh shook his head, brushing off his apology, “please do not apologize for what just happened. I understand perfectly. I am glad that the main purpose of your visit here has been accomplished, now you can always come to visit anytime and you will be welcome as one of us.”
“The same goes for you too Jireh. You, and any of your people can always come to the silver pack, you will be welcomed as one of us.”
“I look forward to that soon. May the gods be with you both, and comfort princess Miranda for this great loss.”
**********
“What do you mean he’s dead?” Walden gasped.
“I was shocked by the news too sire. I was the one who ordered his discharge myself. I’d checked him and ensured that he’d recovered, he had no outlying conditions from the torture he went through, so it was really surprising when he suddenly had traumatized aftereffects.”
“How do you know this? Did you perform an autopsy?”
He shook his head, “no sire. Mistress Samara said that there was no need for…”
“Samara?? How did Samara get involved in this?”
“Well, she was the last person who visited omega Raymond before his attack, and she was the only one who’d witnessed his death. She ordered that the body be cremated straight away.”
“And you swear that you checked him properly before discharging him? Perhaps there might have been something you missed.”
“I mean no disregard sire, but being a physician has been my life’s trade. I’ve been in the business for decades and mistakes like this, rarely happen.”
“So, you’re saying that there might have been a chance that you missed something before discharging him?”
“I can’t say sire, since no autopsy was carried out. I can’t make any conclusions.”
Walden knew something was wrong then. Why would Samara stop the healer from examining the corpse of her late assistant? With the investigations, and happenings of the court, Walden had been full to his neck with responsibilities, but he hadn’t forgotten the fact that he still wanted to interrogate Raymond for the last time, as there were still some things out of place regarding Samara’s kidnap, he wanted to leave no stone unturned, that’s why he waited for Raymond to heal properly before interrogating him, and now this.
He nodded, discharging the healer, “you may go now, and please, pay more attention to your patients.”
“Yes sire.”
“Wait… tell Samara that I send for her.”