Alison’s POV
Darkness wasn’t just the absence of light; it was an endless void. It felt like being submerged in a deep, inky ocean, weightless but suffocating. I had no sense of time, no idea if hours or days had passed. Sometimes, I thought I could hear faint echoes of voices, distorted like sounds traveling through water. They were fragments, disjointed and fleeting, but enough to make me desperate to respond. My mind screamed for my body to move, for my lips to part, but nothing happened. I was trapped in this abyss, locked within myself.
But today, something changed.
A voice cut through the darkness, clear and firm, tethering me to the world I could no longer touch. “Alison,” it said, soft but laced with pain. It was familiar… Katherine, Xander’s mother. Her voice trembled as she continued, her words striking deep into my consciousness. “If you’re still alive in there, wake up. Please, wake up. Xander needs you… or let go. Let him move on. He’s a shadow of himself because of this, because of you.”
A shadow of himself? My heart or whatever tether of existence I had twisted at the thought of Xander suffering. The man who always exuded strength and power had become a ghost? Because of me? No. I wouldn’t let this be my legacy.
I wanted to scream, to tear through the veil of this endless night. “Moon Goddess, please hear me!” I cried out in my mind, desperation clawing at me. “Please, let me out of this darkness! Xander needs me. I can’t leave him right now, not like this.”
For the first time in what felt like an eternity, the darkness stirred. A soft, echoing voice whispered back, each word laced with divine power that sent shivers through my soul.
“You are a special one, Alison,” the Moon Goddess said, her tone both comforting and commanding.
“Special?” I asked, my voice a mere thought in the void. “What does that mean? If so why then am I here? What’s happening to me?”
The voice didn’t answer directly but spoke again, her words reverberating with finality. “The answers you seek are close, but for now, you are free to go.”
A door materialized before me, glowing faintly in the blackness. My pulse quickened, not that I could feel my heart beating, but the sensation was there, a spark of life I hadn’t felt in so long. I didn’t hesitate I wanted so desperately to get out, I wanted to see Xander again. My hands reached for the knob, trembling with anticipation. The moment I turned it, a blinding light flooded my senses, searing away the dark.
Then I felt more awake, it didn’t happen like the stories one usually hear. There wasn’t a sudden gasp of breath or a triumphant and immediate return to clarity. It felt gradual, like rising from the depths of a heavy, dreamless sleep. My body felt alien… heavy, stiff, and unresponsive. All I could feel was my fingers, it twitched first, the movement felt so foreign that it startled me.
“She moved! Her fingers… It just… ” Katherine’s voice, sharp and filled with disbelief, snapped me further into consciousness. “Someone! Get the physician!”
I wanted to open my eyes immediately and say something, but the light pressing against my closed lids was too intense, too overwhelming. My throat felt like sandpaper, raw and dry. I managed to part my lips, but no sound came out.
“Alison, can you hear me?” Katherine’s voice was closer now, trembling but hopeful. I felt her hand on mine, warm and grounding, pulling me further into reality.
I blinked once, then twice, the blinding light finally resolving into a blur of colors and shapes. Katherine’s face hovered above me, her features blurred but unmistakable. She smiled, a smile of relief that made my chest tighten.
“You’re awake,” she whispered, her voice breaking as tears filled her eyes.
I wanted to respond, to say something reassuring, but my throat burned, and the words wouldn’t come. My body still felt disconnected, as though I was merely a passenger in it, watching from the sidelines.
The door to the room burst open, and an elderly man strode in, his presence commanding. He carried a worn leather bag, the kind a physician might have carried centuries ago, and his eyes widened as they landed on me.
“Unbelievable,” he muttered, his voice filled with genuine amazement. He moved to my bedside, setting his bag down with a decisive thud. “I didn’t think we’d see this day.”
He placed a stethoscope to his ears and leaned in, pressing the cold metal disc to my chest. The chill of it jolted me slightly, a reminder that I was alive, that I was here. He listened for a long moment before nodding to himself. Then, he lifted my hand, his thumb pressing firmly against my wrist. He frowned, not in concern but in deep thought, before looking up at Katherine.
“It’s as though the poison has completely dispersed,” he said, his tone incredulous. “This shouldn’t be possible not even if there’s an Alpha’s blood present in her veins”
At the mention of poison, memories flooded back, sharp and vivid. Priya’s cold smile, the acrid taste in my mouth, the way my body had crumpled as darkness claimed me. “Priya…” I croaked, the word barely audible, more a rasp than speech.
“What did you say?” Katherine leaned closer, her brows knitting in concern.
“Water,” the physician interjected. “She needs water first. Her throat should be too dry for proper speech.”
Katherine nodded and disappeared from the room, her urgency palpable. I closed my eyes, exhaustion pulling at me even as my senses gradually sharpened.
When she returned, the cool glass pressed against my lips was a relief beyond words. She tilted it gently, the water soothing my parched throat as I drank. It was like tasting life itself, each sip grounding me further.
When I finally found my voice, it was hoarse but steady enough. “Xander… where is he?”
Katherine’s smile faltered for a moment before she smoothed it over. “He’s attending a meeting at another pack. But I called him, he’s on his way.”
Relief flooded me, but it was tinged with impatience. I needed to see him, to tell him I was okay, to let him know I hadn’t abandoned him in the darkness.
The physician cleared his throat, drawing my attention back to him. “I’ll need to run some tests,” he said, pulling a syringe from his bag. “Whatever happened to you is nothing short of a miracle, but I need to understand how this is possible. Wolfsbane doesn’t simply disappear from the bloodstream.”
I nodded weakly, too tired to argue. He drew a sample of my blood with practiced efficiency, his expression one of focused curiosity.
“I’ll return tomorrow with the results,” he said, packing up his things. “For now, rest. Your body has been through more than you can imagine.”
As he left, Katherine stayed by my side, her presence a comforting anchor. The room was quiet now, save for the soft rustle of fabric as she adjusted my blanket.
“Thank you,” I whispered, my voice still fragile.
“For what?” she asked, her tone light but her eyes heavy with emotion.
“For not giving up on me,” I said, tears pricking the corners of my eyes. “And for reminding me… that Xander needs me.”
She smiled, her own eyes glistening. “I may not really like you but my son does, hence you’re family now, Alison. And we protect our own.”
I closed my eyes, exhaustion finally pulling me under, but this time, the darkness was warm and comforting, a place of healing rather than despair.