Chapter 45: Chapter 45

Doctor Zayla barged into the room. “You are excused.” She waved her hand at the other doctor without giving him eye contact.

“Who do you think you are just coming in here and-”

She stopped and looked at the man curiously. She tilted her head ever so tightly. “I’m the doctor taking over this case. Do you really think you are more competent in this matter? If you do, please prove it to me. If you are not confident, I suggest you leave so I don’t make you cry.”

Doctor Zayla’s words weren’t harsh, but she was very blunt with the way she spoke. She oozed confidence out of her pores, and I knew I would never go against her unless I was absolutely confident in my abilities.

The other doctor opened his mouth to say something, but then he thought better of it and scurried out. His nurses followed him, leaving Doctor Zayla, Rie, Scythe, Mark, and myself in the room.

“Excellent. Now I can make sure Alpha gets the proper treatment.” Doctor Zayla instantly got to work. She pulled out various items from her bag and started checking Mark’s vitals and other indicators.

Mark was hooked up to a heart monitor, and the steady rhythm of his heartbeat was soothing. It was a constant reminder that he was still alive. His face was pale and still as stone. I couldn’t break my eyes away from him, anticipating his eyes opening and him smiling at me again. My whole body ached for that smile of his.

“Please hand me the bag with the yellow liquid in it,” Doctor Zayla ordered.

I looked at Rie and Scythe, unsure who Doctor Zayla was talking to, but Scythe was already digging through the bag for the item requested. I imagined the two of them were much more accustomed to the way Doctor Zayla worked. I took a step back, afraid of getting in the way.

Doctor Zayla started hooking up the liquid to an IV. She skillfully put the IV in Mark’s arm. She quickly continued her work, undoing the bandages the other doctor had dressed and re-doing them to her standard. She went over every inch of his body, and when she pulled back the blankets to check on his torso, I winced from the dark purple and blue bruises covering his body.

Mark was tortured. That was clear to me. Theron didn’t have Mark for a long time, but he didn’t hesitate to use it to hurt him. I wondered how many bones were broken and how much pain Mark had been in. With his wolf suppressed, the pain would have been much worse and lasted much longer. My stomach was in knots thinking about it. I felt responsible for the pain he was in, and I wished I could do something more to alleviate the pain.

After a few moments, Doctor Zayla took a step back from Mark and looked at the three of us. “He will get through this. He will likely be out for at least another day, if not longer. Once the wolfsbane has worked its way through his system, his body will be able to start repairing itself more efficiently. For now, I’ve given him pain medication and fluids to help his body heal to the best of its ability in his current state.”

“Is he going to have any lasting damage?” I asked.

“Unlikely. Although if there is a drug in his system I’m unfamiliar with, it’s possible. I have taken a b***d sample and will need to analyze it to be sure.” Doctor Zayla turned to pack the b***d sample in her bag.

“Thank you for coming on such short notice, Zayla,” Scythe said. He looked over at Mark, his eyes glassy.

“No need to thank me. I would do whatever Alpha needed. I will stick around here for a few more days to continue to monitor his condition, but I hope we can all return home soon.” Doctor Zayla turned and looked at me. “He would recover faster if you marked him.”

My mouth went dry at the suggestion. I was not prepared for her to say something like that. “I, uh. Well.” I didn’t know what to say.

“Zay,” Rie said in a cautionary tone. “That’s not really our business.”

Doctor Zayla shrugged. “I’m just letting her know. Marking your mate makes them stronger. The bond with a mate is very powerful, and it can even increase the healing process.”

I shook my head. “I can’t mark him without his permission.” I looked at Mark. I wanted him awake sooner, but with everything that happened, I could not mark him without a conversation with him.

“He loves you. He would not be upset with you, if that’s your concern,” Doctor Zayla said.

“He what? He told you he loves me?” My mouth was dry again, and my heart was racing. He hadn’t said that word to me yet, and it was terrifying to think about.

“No. It is obvious by his actions that he loves you.” Doctor Zayla spoke so confidently, which threw me off.

“Come on, let’s go find something to eat. We should give Adira a moment alone with Mark.” Rie stepped up and grabbed Doctor Zayla’s hand, pulling her out of the room.

“You act as if I have done something wrong. I am just speaking the truth,” Doctor Zayla protested.

“I know. There’s just a time and a place to say something like that.”

The two of them disappeared out of the room. Scythe stuck around, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

Suddenly, he locked eyes with me. “She’s not wrong, you know. Maybe a little blunt, but not wrong. Mark cares very deeply for you. I don’t think it’s just the mate bond, either.”

My lips pulled into a tight smile. “I care about him, too. I know I haven’t been the best to him, but-”

“Hey, you’re doing the best you can, especially given your circumstances. Sometimes the choices you make aren’t the best for your mate, even if you’re doing the best for you.” Scythe put his hand on my shoulder.

“Is that what happened with you and Percy?” The words slipped out of my mouth without thinking. Normally, I tried to avoid prying into personal things like that, letting the person reach out to me if they wanted to talk about it. “Sorry, you don’t have to answer that.”

Scythe’s hand fell to his side. His eyes fell to the floor before meeting mine again. “No, it’s okay. It’s about time I talked about it.”

“You really don’t have to.” I clasped my hands together, squeezing tightly to try to push down my nerves.

Scythe gave me a small smile. “It’s really okay. I think I’m ready to talk about it. I think you might understand more than others the struggle I had to deal with.”

He motioned towards a few chairs. I turned one of the chairs so it was facing the other, and we sat next to Mark.

“How much do you know about what happened between Mark and Jori?” Scythe asked, after settling into his chair.

I frowned. “Not as much as I would like to. I have heard Jori’s side of it, but I still haven’t had a chance to ask Mark for his. No one else has really explained it.”

Scythe nodded. “I will leave the details for you and Mark to talk about. You won’t really need those for my story.”

I tried to hide my disappointment. I would have loved to hear Scythe’s point of view of what went down. He clearly took Mark’s side in everything, but I felt like he would be a more neutral source of information than Jori or Mark.

“Well, after Mark decided to leave, the rest of the pack had a choice of what they wanted to do,” Scythe continued. “Mark didn’t ask any of us to leave with him. He made his announcement, letting everyone know when he would be going, saying it was best for him to leave.”

“He didn’t ask you to come?” I said. This was a little surprising, especially after Jori’s explanation. He had made it seem like Mark tried to lead a rebellion against him and the pack.

Scythe shook his head. “No, but I had been with Mark through everything. He was trying to do what was right, even if he didn’t always succeed with doing the best thing. I don’t blame him, though. It’s hard to do the right thing all of the time, even if you are trying your best.”

I knew that feeling all too well. I wanted to do what was best for everyone else, but it seemed like I kept making mistakes and someone was getting hurt because of me. I swallowed hard, trying to push the guilt bubbling up inside of me back down.

“So how did you end up going with him?” I asked.

Scythe looked down at his hands. “Mark saved my life, in more ways than one. I nearly drowned in a river when we were younger. I was trying to act brave in front of some kids, but the current was strong, too strong for me. I didn’t have my wolf yet either. I nearly drowned, but Mark didn’t hesitate to jump in after me. He was older and already had his wolf, so he was stronger. He pulled me out of the water. He became my friend after that. I didn’t have any friends before that. I didn’t fit in with other kids.”

I reached forward and grabbed Scythe’s hand, my heart reaching out to him. I used to think I was fine being alone, but I had been lying to myself for the past few years. It was Mark and Scythe and even Rie who made me realize the truth. They gave me something invaluable that I couldn’t imagine living without now.

“He helped me with my identity. I struggled with it for a long time, thinking I had to be someone I’m not. Mark helped me realize that I am perfect just the way I am. Which is why I knew no matter what happened with the pack, I would follow Mark to the end.” Scythe squeezed my hand and the small smile on his face faded.

“Did Percy know this?” I asked. I could tell the next part was the hardest part.

“I turned eighteen a few days before Mark left,” Scythe began. “I didn’t know Percy was my mate until my birthday. When we found each other, that was the best night of my life. I felt like life was this whirlwind of laughter and love and pleasure. I wanted to keep breathing in that beautiful whirlwind, but when Mark said he was leaving, I told Percy I had to go with Mark. Percy didn’t want to go. I begged him, but he said I was being stupid and ignorant for leaving with an alpha who didn’t even have a pack. He told me I was giving up a good life for a stupid reason.”

“So you left and he stayed.” I felt like I couldn’t breathe at that thought. Finding a mate was supposed to be beautiful, but it was rare for people to talk about the tragedy that could come with it.

Scythe nodded and let go of my hand. “Yes. I tried to hate him for not coming with me, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t hate someone I loved so deeply.”

“Did you guys patch things up? You two looked like you were getting along.”

Scythe’s face shifted again, tightening in ways I didn’t even know it could. “Yeah, we started talking, and it was like I never left. Things have been great, but we aren’t going to stay here. Eventually, Mark will leave, and I will go with him. I don’t want to go through that again.”

“Have you talked to Percy about all of this?”

Scythe shook his head. “I’m afraid to break the bubble. I know it will pop on its own sooner than later, but I don’t want to do it sooner than I have to.”

I looked to the ground. I wanted Scythe to be happy, but there was nothing I could do to change the circumstances. “I’m sorry.”

Scythe stood up, taking my hand with him. He kissed the back of my hand, and then patted it with his other hand. “There is nothing for you to apologize for, dear. Thank you for listening to my story.”

I stood up and pulled Scythe into a hug. “Any time. If there’s ever anything you need me to do or if you just need an ear, I’m here for you.”

Scythe parted from the hug. He touched my chin, giving me an older brother vibe. “You too. You’re not in this alone. We are here for you. Now why don’t I get out of your hair, so you can spend some alone time with Alpha?”