Chapter 140: Chapter 34

LEXI

“Are you sure you can handle yourself?” Dad asks as we pull up to the hospital.

“I can handle myself. I know she’s not going to tell me anything anyway.”

Dad looks me over then nods. We walk to Mom’s room just in time to meet the doctor.

“Mr. Drake. I just looked your wife over. We have no explanation for her state, but I’m afraid she’s getting worse. We’re doing everything we can, but I just don’t have answers.”

Dad pats the doctor’s arm. “It’s all right. I trust you’re doing your best. I’m afraid Danielle has just given up and there’s nothing any of us can do to change it.”

“I’m very sorry, Mr. Drake. It shouldn’t be much longer. She refused to eat anything last night and she hasn’t had anything today. I may need to insert a feeding tube.”

“No. No feeding tube. She wouldn’t want that.”

“Are you sure, Mr. Drake? She’s only going to get weaker.”

“I’m sure. She’s been through enough.”

“I strongly advise against it, but it’s your call.” The doctor checks once more. My dad nods and the doctor leaves us.

Dad pulls up the chair beside my mom and gingerly holds her hand. He lets out a heavy breath.

“Dad? Are you okay?” I touch his shoulder to give him a little comfort.

“I already knew what the doctor was telling us. I feel her slipping away slowly.”

“Can I get you anything, Dad?”

He shakes his head.

“What can I do to help you through your bond separating?”

“You’re already doing it, princess. You’re giving me a reason to fight. I never thought I would be in the same room and having a conversation with you.” He weakly smiles at me.

Dad and I stay by my mom’s side all day. She wakes up once and I keep my mouth shut while Dad speaks to her gently.

Once she’s back to sleep, I rush to get lunch for us. Dad is hunched over with his head on the bed when I return.

“Dad?” I whisper.

He hums but doesn’t move. I set everything on the table then move to his side.

“Did I make her worse? I feel like it’s my fault because of yesterday.”

“No, princess. She’s dying either way.”

“But I made her worse.”

Dad sits up and takes my hand. “No. You’re strengthening me so I can share my strength with her. You needed to get that off your chest.”

“Are you always so laid back?”

Dad softly chuckles. “I guess so. My dad used to get after me for it. He said my pack is going to walk all over me. I think he was relieved that I gave up the pack to Cooper. Cooper has always been more assertive.”

I smile, trying to picture a younger version of my dad and my uncle. “I brought us lunch. Come and eat, keep up your strength.”

Dad drags himself to the table and chokes down as much as he can, which isn’t much. Once he’s finished, he returns to my mom’s side.

I hold both my parents’ hands as time continues to tick by. The light fades, and Dad suddenly rises from his seat.

“Watch over your mother, princess. I’ll be right back.”

I nod, and Dad leaves the room.

Not five minutes later, Dad returns with Ethan and Rosalie in tow.

“Ethan!” I rush to hug my brother, then Rosalie.

“How is she?”

I shake my head.

“Not much longer,” Dad answers.

Ethan’s jaw clenches, then he lets out a breath. “Don’t expect me to call you Dad. Haley showed me things, but I’m not quite there yet.”

“Wyatt is fine, Ethan. As long as you’re willing to be in the same room with me, that’s better than it was.”

Ethan tilts his head toward Rosalie. “This is my mate, Rosalie.”

Rosalie steps forward and offers her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Dad takes her hand. “Likewise. I’m Wyatt.” He waves toward the bed. “This is my mate Danielle. Ethan, she stopped eating a while ago. If you have something to say, now would be the time.”

A knock sounds at the hospital door before it’s immediately opened, and in walks Dara.

“Excuse the interruption, but if you would all close your eyes momentarily.”

Rosalie and Ethan turn away and cover their eyes. Dad and I both look to each other, and Dara’s light begins to fill the room. We both hurry to close our eyes.

“Goddess. You have come to take me,” my mom’s weak voice whispers.

“No. I have come to give you enough strength to let your family say goodbye. You are a stubborn woman, but the Moon Goddess is understanding.”

Mom begins to weep.

“You may open your eyes now.” Dara’s eyes catch mine. I nod to her, and she leaves the room without another word.

“Mom,” Ethan begins as he sits beside her.

“Ethan, my boy. Did they turn you into a monster?”

He shakes his head. “No, Mom. The monsters are all gone. Wyatt and the alpha king killed them. You don’t have to be afraid anymore. I know you’ve been scared, and that’s why you pushed me and Wyatt away.”

“The monsters are everywhere,” she whispers.

Ethan shakes his head, then touches a moonstone to her forehead. “No, Mom. The Oracle promises. Your monsters are gone.”

Mom’s eyes close, and her lips tilt up into a light smile.

“Be at peace, Mom. For the first time in your life.” Ethan bends over and kisses her forehead.

“No. Please, Danielle, not yet,” Dad begins to tear up, and he hugs her frail body to his. He sobs and rocks her back and forth.

“Not yet, darling. I love you. Please forgive me.”

Mom coos into Dad’s neck, then her arms go limp, and Dad starts to shake her.

“Please! Danielle! Not yet, love, not yet.”

I fight to pull Dad away from Mom’s body and lay her gently into the bed. I turn back around, and he’s on his knees holding his abdomen while he weeps.

“Dad.” I hold him, and he rests his head into my shoulder as his sobs rack over his body.

A nurse comes in to cover Mom’s body and declare time of death, but no one sees nor listens to her. We’re all busy wailing our sorrow at the loss of our loved one.

A firm hand presses to my back, and I flinch, looking up to a pair of silvery eyes. My chin trembles, and he pulls me to my feet and into his arms.

“Cole. My mom.”

“I know, Lexi. I’m so sorry. Let’s get your dad out of here so he can let his wolf out.”

I nod, and Cole hoists my dad up, draping one of Dad’s arms over his shoulder. Rosalie holds the door open, and I lead him to the passenger’s door of Dad’s truck.

“Lexi, you lead the way. Rosalie will take the Toyota. Ethan and I will be right behind you. We’ll come back tomorrow to make arrangements.”

Dad is silent the whole drive back to his house. Once I stop the truck, he opens the door and shifts into his wolf faster than when I saw Cole shift. I’m startled at first, then I remember that we’re all wolves.

Cole opens my door, and he pulls me to him. I grip his shirt as more tears begin to fall.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t in the room when she passed,” he says. “Your dad told me my power would frighten her.”

“Did you ask Dara to come in?”

He shakes his head, his brows knit together. “I didn’t even know she was here.”

A howl sounds behind me, and I jump but quickly relax at the sound of deep-felt sorrow.

“Is that my dad?”

“Yeah. I feel bad. I had to alpha command him not to shift until he got here. We don’t usually deal with human hospitals, but I couldn’t have him frightening anyone.”

I continue to look for the source of the sound. “Is he going to die?”

“We’ll know by morning. Want to go for a run? Ethan and Rosalie have already left. Alpha Drake and a pretty large group are with your dad.”

I look up into his sincere eyes. “I would love that more than anything right now.”

“I want to try something to bring your wolf out. It might not work, though. If it doesn’t, we’ll try something else.”

I nod.

“ALEXIS RICHARDSON, SHIFT.”

Waves of power wash over me, and I want to do as Cole commands, but I can’t. I feel a stirring inside of me, but it quickly passes.

Cole runs his fingers through his hair. “Damn. I was hoping that would work. I put a lot of power into that command too.”

He lets out a frustrated breath. “You can ride on me for now. It’s not like riding a horse. Actually, I have no idea what it’s like, I’ve never done it before. Have you ever had a dog?”

I shake my head. “No, but I know the anatomy of one.”

Cole runs a hand down his face. “Yeah, I’m an idiot. I forgot about your schooling. You’re going to have to lay on my back. Sit just above my rear hackles. Hold on to my scruff and try to keep your legs out of the way, but not under me. Got it?”

“I’ll try.”

Cole pulls his shirt over his head, and my eyes drink in his beautifully sculpted body.

“While I’m flattered, I am getting naked. Last chance to hide your eyes.”

“Oh.”

I cover my eyes, then decide to peek, but I’m too late. He’s already a wolf. Damn, I missed my chance. I swear he chuckles, but still turns and waits for me to get on him.

His fur is soft, and his body is strong, but there are no handles. I get into the position he described, and he adjusts his muscles a little. I tuck my feet to his sides, but he turns around, and my feet slip.

I try again, this time hooking my feet over his rear haunches. “Is this better?” I ask.

Cole spins in a circle then takes off running.

“Holy shit!”

The words slip out of my mouth, then I open my eyes and watch the woods slip past me. Cole holds his nose up to sniff then adjusts his trajectory. I hold on tight as he sprints through the trees.

The ride is short-lived, and we converge with the pack that’s huddled together around what I think is my dad’s wolf. Cole stops beside my dad, and I climb off of him.

I sit beside my dad’s wolf and stroke his beautiful gray, black, and white fur. “Dad. I’m here. Please stay with me.”

Dad’s wolf howls and stomps his paws back and forth. He spins a circle then lays with his head in my lap.

Cole’s wolf curls up behind me, and the rest of the pack follow suit. A wolf that looks like dad’s sandwiches my hand between his paws then lays beside me.

“Ethan?”

The wolf snorts and shakes its head as if saying ‘duh’. I smile then lean back into Cole’s warm fur. I fall asleep surrounded by wolves, and it’s the most comforted I’ve ever felt in my life.