Lucy’s POV
After the fight ended, and Vladimir was confirmed dead, Shaun, Scott, and I made our way back to the palace. I dragged Finn’s unconscious body along with me, allowing it to make deep grooves into the grass. It seemed that the blow to the head I had given him was far more serious than originally thought. Or, maybe he was just that weak of a wolf. Either way, he was going to be judged for his hand in the poisoning of the pack members, and for helping his father and sister with their nefarious plans.
We took Seth to Katrina, who merely took one look at him and shook her head. “This doesn’t look good.” She checked his face, lifting his eyelids to see if he was responsive.
But he just remained on the bed, still, bleeding, and too quiet. He was the very person with the most charisma amongst his brothers, able to talk down even a raging storm, and now, he was on a hospital bed fighting for his life. When we had first picked up his body, the sheer weight of it all-the fighting, the kidnapping, everything-had just emptied into my chest and made it increasingly difficult to take one full breath. Though I didn’t think of him in the way I had come to think of Shaun-in fact, there was no one who I had ever thought of in the way I did Shaun-seeing him in that state altered my mind.
As for Shaun, he was heartbroken, and he didn’t even hide it. After Katrina and her team of nurses and other doctors had tried their best to stabilise Seth’s condition, he sat by his brother’s bed, holding his hand. Things had moved so fast in the twinkle of an eye, and here we were, hoping with as much strength as we could that a miracle would happen, and that we wouldn’t lose Seth.
Seth’s face was pale-almost grey. Katrina had explained that the stabs that had been inflicted on him were incredibly severe, and had been aimed at places that were going to indeed be difficult to heal or treat.
Her shoulders had sagged as she spoke. She had even taken off her wire-rimmed glasses, allowing her eyes to carefully convey her message.
“His odds are slim,” Katrina had said, voice heavy with the news. “The wounds inflicted on him are so severe. The knife pierced his heart, his liver, and his lungs. If they hadn’t, things would have been easier. But whoever stabbed him planned for him to actually die from these strategic wounds. I’m sorry. We’ll continue to do our best.”
“Your best, would be to keep my brother alive!” Shaun had snapped, growling at Katrina. “That is why we keep you here. If you can’t save my brother, then exactly what kind of doctor are you?”
“I’m a doctor, Shaun,” Katrina said calmly, unfazed by Shaun’s anger. “But even you know that there are cases that even we cannot salvage. I’m not writing your brother off yet-I want him to recover as well-you need to understand that, Shaun. I’m not your enemy here. But, it would be incredibly cruel for me to not tell you things as they are.”
Through the whole ordeal, Scott had been quiet and as still as a statue, simply looking at his brother. He had reverted to his suffocating silence. We hadn’t even exchanged words at all, and I understood that he was likely also grieving in his own way-with silence.
And so, we all hoped for the best regarding Seth.
–
Since we no longer needed to be cautious about how we spent the night anymore, I was excited to see Tessa ans and Rosa again. I paid them a brief visit, before retiring to my bedroom and taking a hot steaming bath to wash off all the dirt on my body and get ready to sleep.
However, the moment I slipped underneath the sheets, my mind went to Shaun again. I thought about what he could have been doing that night. Now that he no longer needed to come to stay with me, it was time I wanted him by my side. I had felt his hurt in full force, and I wanted to comfort him and make him feel better. Knowing Shaun, he had probably been distraught at his brother’s condition, and maybe even blamed himself for what happened.
After minutes of tossing, I got out of bed and out in my night robes to ward off some of the chilly night air and stepped out of my room. I wanted to see him and I knew that until I did, I would find no rest.
My feet pitter-pattered gently across the hall as I moved, following the faint but sure tugging deep within me that I was certain would lead me to him. I had always had this inkling that being mates bound us in ways that couldn’t be explained, but this night was going to test out the theory.
He wasn’t in his room-I didn’t feel his presence there, so I went forward, heading outside. I went to the back of the palace, where the gardens were, and finally found him seated on a bench with his head in his hands.
As I approached him, he didn’t lift his head, but I was sure that he was aware of my presence.
I sat down by his side, desperate to touch him and let him know that I shared in his pain.
He released a great, deep sigh, and shifted close, before putting his head on my thighs, shuddering.
I placed my hand on his head, and started to gently stroke it, feeling a great peace well up inside of me now that I had found him at last.
“It’s going to be alright, Shaun,” I said gently.
“How do you know that?” he asked, not harshly or in a bid to make me feel like I had said the wrong thing, but because he was genuinely curious.
I shrugged. “I just . . . don’t want to believe anything else. Seth has to survive. He must. He’s strong, so I believe he will.”
After a brief silence, Shaun asked, “Do you . . . feel the same way towards him?”
I knew he was referring to the mate bond. “I am bound to you three. But . . . I feel nothing more towards him and Scott.” He gently took my hand, and it emboldened me. “I care about all of you. But . . . I don’t feel about them, what I feel about you, Shaun.”
He lifted his head to look at me. The surprise in his eyes made me understand that indeed, despite all the moments we shared together, he still hadn’t believed up to this point that the full extent of my affections were reserved for him. Only him.
Leaning in, his eyes dropped to my lips. “I think I’m a bad brother.”
I remained where I was, fighting against the urge to close the distance. “Why?”
“Back there, in that basement . . . When I saw you, tied up and ramming your head against that window,” we chuckled together, “I felt so relieved. For a moment . . . you were all that mattered to me. No one else. Not even them.”
“That doesn’t make you a bad brother. You’re thinking about them right now.”
He shook his head. “No, I’m thinking about you.”
And finally, he kissed me.