Half an hour passed in agonizing slowness. It seemed as if there had never been such a long half hour before. Garth’s heart was pounding and he almost lost his patience when Scott finally finished examining Usher’s condition.
Reflexively, Garth stepped forward. Passing Mireya, he immediately asked Scott, “How is Alpha?”
“Don’t worry, Garth. Alpha is fine.”
Garth was stunned for a moment and Scott nodded with a smile. Then Scott stepped back so that Garth could approach Usher fully.
Usher sat leaning against the headboard. He looked at Garth with tired eyes, then spoke softly. “Garth.”
“Alpha.”
There were many words Garth wanted to say, but suddenly his tongue was tied. His chest filled with happiness. He was so relieved he could barely breathe.
“You’re finally awake, Alpha. I’m so-”
“Oh, Usher!”
Suddenly, Mireya stepped forward and deliberately pushed Garth. Garth stumbled and quickly regained his balance.
Mireya sat down on the bed. Then she reached for Usher’s hand. Her eyes seemed teary as if she had been touched. “Finally, you’re awake, Usher. Do you know? I was so worried about you.”
“Mi-Mireya.”
“How do you feel now?” Mireya asked again, cupping Usher’s face with one hand. “Do you feel anything?”
Usher furrowed his brow at a similar question directed at himself. His face changed. He tried to search, but he couldn’t find the answer he was looking for.
Something was wrong here. Something was strange. The wrinkles on his forehead deepened, and Usher pushed himself harder to find the cause.
Usher’s groan shook his chest. His head suddenly felt heavy and he grimaced.
“Usher!” Mireya cried in panic. She grabbed Usher’s hand as he tried to grab his hair. “What’s wrong? Are you in pain again?”
Scott immediately stepped forward and examined Usher while Mireya had to step aside. She looked panicked and increasingly worried.
On the other hand, Garth realized that his and Mireya’s worries were different. He was sure that Mireya was worried because Usher had woken up from his long sleep.
“How is it, Scott? What’s happening to Usher?”
Scott sighed. “We should let Alpha rest for a while. Alpha just woke up and his body is still tired.”
“You’re right, Scott. We should give Usher some time to rest,” Mireya said, giving Garth a sharp look. She warned Garth without mincing words. “Including you, Garth. Don’t disturb Usher’s rest.”
Garth stopped himself from arguing. He reminded himself that arguing with Mireya would have a negative effect on him. Whether he liked it or not, he realized that Usher trusted Mireya more for the time being.
“Of course,” Garth nodded. Then he turned to Alpha. “Excuse me, Alpha.”
Garth left. Scott did the same. Leaving Usher and Mireya alone.
Mireya approached Usher again. She gently stroked Usher’s cheek and received a puzzled frown from Usher in return.
“What is it, Usher?”
Usher didn’t answer, but stared at Mireya with a questioning look. As time passed, his expression became more and more confused. Then he asked, “Why are you here, Mireya?”
Mireya was astonished. Her body instantly froze. Her face turned pale and her lips trembled as she asked, “W-what do you mean, Usher?”
“You,” Usher said quietly, his face looking tired. He tried to remember, furrowing his brow. “Shouldn’t you be back with the Nimbria Pack?”
*
In the room, Garth paced. He couldn’t calm down and kept trying to find a way to meet Usher. He needed to talk to Usher alone, but Mireya had already acted.
Usher’s room was heavily guarded. Mireya’s orders were clear: no one was allowed to enter Usher’s room. The reason was the same as always; she wanted Usher to rest completely.
Garth realized that Mireya would do anything to limit Usher’s interaction with others. But he wasn’t going to give up so easily. So he decided to visit Usher’s room again that night.
From a distance, Garth could see four werewolves standing guard. One of them was Greisy, but he wasn’t sure about the other three. Had he seen them before?
Garth stopped in front of Usher’s room door. “Open the door. I want to see Alpha.”
“I’m sorry, but Alpha can’t receive visitors.”
Garth narrowed his eyes at Greisy. “I’m not a stranger here. I’m sure you know me, don’t you?”
“Of course, Beta Garth,” Greisy replied with emphasis on every word. “But Madam Mireya has given orders. No one is to enter Alpha’s room, no exceptions.”
Garth held his breath. His mouth tightened and his fists clenched. He suppressed the emotions that began to boil his blood. He didn’t want to make a scene right in front of Usher’s room.
“Alpha needs rest. Especially since Alpha played with Phillip earlier, so Alpha must be tired now.”
Garth suddenly felt sick. He couldn’t hold back any longer. He had to see Usher, no matter what. So he stepped forward with his hand raised. His intention was to push Greisy aside and open the door, but the door opened first.
Usher appeared. He looked weak and leaned against the IV pole. His presence instantly silenced everyone.
“Garth.”
Garth approached Usher, and now there was nothing Greisy could do. “What is it, Alpha?”
“I want to talk to you, and it’s a good thing you came to my room,” Usher said as he sighed deeply. “Come in.”
Garth nodded. He hurried in and shut the door.
It was just Usher and Garth. They sat on the sofa and at that moment Garth could see the restlessness in Usher’s eyes.
“What’s wrong, Alpha?”
Usher rubbed his head briefly before answering. “I don’t know what’s happening to me. I feel confused and I don’t understand everything.”
“Everything?” Garth repeated the one word carefully. “What do you mean, Alpha?”
“Something has happened, but I don’t know how to explain it to you, Garth. I have been asleep for months and you know what? There are so many memories that fill my head when I wake up and I don’t know where they come from.”
Garth’s body tensed. “What memories, Alpha?”
Usher seemed to hesitate for a moment. But he decided to answer. He knew that Garth would always trust him. “There are so many memories, Garth. One of them is I fought with Storm in the forest.”
“Y-you fought with Storm, Alpha?”
“That doesn’t make sense, does it?” Usher grimaced. He held his head as he tried to remember more, making it throbbing. “I also feel like I took Vione with me, and the freshest memory I have is we fought in the street.”
Garth couldn’t breathe. He was stunned for a moment, and the conviction that something unusual had happened to Usher grew stronger.
“What’s happening to me, Garth? Even Scott said my health was fine.”
The desire to express his suspicions was there, but Garth realized that he was facing Mireya. He couldn’t be careless, or else his position would be threatened, just like what had happened to Ayla.
“I’m sure you’ll be fine, Alpha. You just need to rest.”
Usher seemed hesitant, but finally nodded. “I hope so.”
The conversation between Usher and Garth didn’t last long. Garth decided to say goodbye and quickly went to his own room.
Garth contacted Ayla. He informed her about Usher’s condition and also mentioned the possibility that her suspicions about Mireya might be true.
“So how about it, Ayla? Can we arrange a meeting between Alpha and Rowena as soon as possible? I don’t want Mireya to find out about our plan. This is our only hope.”
“Of course, Garth. Can you bring Alpha to me? I’m not sure I can bring Rowena to The Palace.”
Garth agreed with Ayla. “I will try to bring Alpha tomorrow.”
Later, Garth would think of the right reasons to get Usher out of the Palace. If necessary, he would contact Scott to create a convincing charade. Let’s say Usher needed some fresh air for his recovery.
Hope flashed in Garth’s eyes. He couldn’t wait until tomorrow. A conviction grew in his heart: if Usher recovered, all the turmoil that had happened so far would be resolved, especially regarding the mystery of this man and Mireya’s mysterious guest.
The day changed. Garth was getting ready while Scott was on his way to The Palace. They agreed to meet in the hall and suddenly several guards grabbed Garth.
Garth glared and tried to free himself. “What is this? Why are you arresting me?” he asked emotionally. Then he turned to Berg. “What’s going on?”
Berg approached Garth with a helpless look on his face. “Forgive me, Garth, but I have to place you under arrest.”
“What did you say?” Garth was still trying to free himself from the guards holding him. “I’m being arrested? What did I do wrong, Berg?”
Berg didn’t answer and at the same time Mireya stepped forward. Garth could guess that this was all Mireya’s plan.
Mireya looked at Garth with narrowed eyes. “Your accusation is that you tried to kill Alpha.”
*