Chapter 47

Winter POV I watched him walk away, feeling nothing but regret. I knew he wasn’t happy that he’d kissed me, but it wasn’t like I forced him too. I feel indignant now. My mind is still spinning from his kiss and the feel of his hands on me. The tingles and the sparks that flew between us and my body already craves more. Still, even though I’m sure he had felt the same things I did, he almost ran out of the room like a bat out of hell. That stung like crazy. Was the kiss that bad?

It’s less than an hour later and I feel the most excruciating pain in my chest, one that has me doubling over and wheezing. I can’t scream for help and I feel helpless, tears running down my face.. I’d never felt this pain before, clawing at my chest as shouts rang out from the corridor, nurses and the doctor racing in, mystified for a moment and then I hear the doctor, order the nurses to leave.

Sabriel, what’s going on? What is this horrendous pain?

It’s because of our mate she tells me sadly and I can feel her anguish and despair. I’m confused though, by what she means. How is the pain linked to Kai? How is he managing to hurt me from far away? It didn’t make sense.

Mate is sleeping with someone else. Now that we’ve met him and he hasn’t rejected us, we’ll feel this every time he sleeps with another.

Asshole, he literally kissed me and then went and slept with Candice? God, what a bastard, I thought furiously, trying to take deep breaths in the hope that the pain would go away. Nothing seems to help. I notice the doctor is setting up something on the iv and look at him questioningly. Please let it help the pain. I’d take anything to make it go away.

“It’s morphine” he said quietly, “it will dull the pain but won’t take it away completely” he said, looking upset. Part of me is suspicious he knows exactly what the pain is and where it’s coming from. He looks grim. “It will help with your injuries as well” he adds.

gave him a thankful smile and he nodded. He looks at me regretfully.

“There’s nothing more I can do, but the morphine is strong and may even put you to sleep. That would be a small mercy in itself” he murmured to himself, looking away.

He leaves the room and sure enough, within a few minutes, the pain has subsided to a dull pain. It stings and the knowledge of my mate being with another has me in tears. Why can’t he just reject me and let me move on? How would he feel, if I chose to go and sleep with another? It was humiliating.

Sabriel was lost in the midst of her own despair. All we could do was try and comfort each other, the best way we could.

I feel sleepy and settle back in bed. The pain might not be completely gone, but it’s tolerable. I know they can’t give me too much morphine but at the moment I’m thankful to have it at all. It’s even helping with the pain of my wounds. My eyes feel heavy and I feel like I’m floating in the air. It’s surreal. Like an out of body experience. I gratefully go to sleep and feel no more pain as I do so.

I can’t say what woke me up. It could have been hunger. My stomach was growling rather loudly. Or it could have been, due to the change in lighting and realizing it was now late at night. I’m still dazed and confused from the morphine and my body is feeling strange. The pain of Kai being with someone else is gone, at least for now. I’m not so naive as to believe it won’t happen again. But I can also swear I just saw a shadow move around in the room and why would the nurses have been doing their job in the darkness? Why not just turn the light on and wake me up? It seems silly to not disturb me, especially since it seems I’ve been out of it for most of the day and a portion of the nighttime. Why make their job harder?

Why do I feel so uneasy? Like something is majorly wrong? I’m in a hospital, for heaven’s sake, one of the safest places I can possibly be. I know it wasn’t Kai in the room, I would have smelt his scent. In fact, I’m not really familiar with the scent in the room at all and I’m sure that it must belong to a nurse.

They must have been doing some observations or something, But my body won’t respond to any of my commands, feeling much like I’m paralyzed and my limbs refuse to move at all.

That wasn’t a nurse. Something’s wrong Winter you have to move I can’. My body won’t do anything / want it to.

if you don’t we will die. Your morphine is way too high. Rip the iv out if you have to.

I can’t make my arms move! Or my legs Sabriel! It’s hard to feel anything!

Do something and make it quick!

What the hell did Sabriel want me to do? I can’t frigging call out, I can’t move. No one knows what’s just happened and by the time someone comes in it’s going to be too late. As it is, I can feel my body becoming more languid and loose. I’m starting to panic now. Sabriel’s just as concerned. I could barely take a breath and I gathered up all of my courage and all of my strength, rolling over and falling to the ground with a large thud. The iv rips out in the process and blood pours out onto the floor. Ouch. But at least I’ve managed to make one hell of a racket. That should send the nurses to my room.

Thank god, I’ve managed to do even that, but I’m still incredibly weak. Luckily, there’s the sound of running footsteps and the doctor comes racing into the room, his hair disheveled and dark circles beneath his eyes. He looks like he’s woken from a deep sleep. Was he watching over me or worried something would happen? Or was it because was the Alpha’s mate and he didn’t want to have to explain that something bad had happened? I don’t care, right now all I want is for him to give me some medical attention.

He takes one look at me and the iv and a fierce expression comes on his face. He knows instantly what’s happened. He slowly bends over and picks me up, placing me onto the bed tenderly and ordering a nurse to fetch some bandages. The other nurses come pouring in and he turns on them, anger clear in his voice.

“Who messed with the morphine dosage” he roars, and even iflinch from how loud he is. It’s a far cry from the quiet, gentle doctor I met earlier.

The nurses looked confused. All of them are shaking their heads.

“Someone had to or are you telling me that a stranger made their way into the room and did it while she was sleeping? Because Winter was asleep the last time I checked and I very much doubt she tried to kill herself” he roars, I’m shaking my head. No way, even with how messed up my situation is, would I try and kill myself. He has that right. But how did someone sneak in and out, without attracting any attention?

Still, none of the nurses come forward and the doctor, James, looks exasperated. “Untill find out who the culprit is, no one is allowed to enter this room under any circumstances.”

The nurses look annoyed but have no other option than to assent. He orders them out and turns to me, bandages in his hands.

“Alright Winter, let’s take a look at that arm” he says.

I’m shaking as I hold it out, finally getting feeling coming back into my limbs and body. He wraps the wounds and sighs. “I’m going to have to inform Alpha kai of what’s happened.”

I look at him pleadingly, but he’s stern. Great. Why does he even have to know? I think a little bitterly, it’s not like Kai would care. Hell, if I’d died, I’d have been doing him a massive favour.

“It looks like you managed to rip the morphine drip out just in time” Dr James says quietly, “but I’m no longer comfortable, leaving you in this room by yourself.”

Sabriel agrees.

He takes a key out of his coat and glances at me apologetically. “If anything happens to you, Alpha Kai will have my head. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but he does actually care for you, in his own misguided, stupid way” he adds, and I deflate.

I disagree but watch anyway as Dr James locks the hospital room. Now it makes sense as to why I’ve been put in a room with glass doors. At the time, I hadn’t even considered there might have been a reason for it.

“I’m going to stay here with you, until morning, and then I’m going to speak to Alpha Kai about discharging you”

he mutters, “somewhere safe and away from here.”

He settles himself in the chair. “Go back to sleep” he says, and I hesitate. But I know it wasn’t him in the room earlier, his scent is far too different. “Rest is what your body needs right now to recuperate, and you’re safe for now. Don’t worry. I’ve already mind-linked Alpha Kai” he adds reluctantly.

I tentatively closed my eyes, still feeling quite sedated from the morphine. Knowing Dr James is with me makes me feel a lot more secure and it’s not long until I feel darkness surrounding me and fall into a deep sleep.