Ava
My eyes are not working. My body is not working. What is happening?
The last I remember was being at the pack dinner with Braiden. And I was actually having a good time.
A murmuring reaches me from a long distance away, muffled like I am underwater.
Concentrate, Ava.
“Why isn’t she awake yet? You said three days. It’s been five.” Braiden.
And he is frustrated, the edge in his voice evident even while still slightly muffled.
“It was an estimation. We have never had a wolf survive this amount of wolfsbane, along with all the other things
in the concoction. She has been infected with the worst viruses known to man. Viruses that have not been tested on
our kind. We don’t know how she will react. It’s like someone was testing our species' resistance to the viruses that
kill humans the most, all in one go. If she survives, she will have immunity to them all. Making her very valuable to
the humans.” I think it is Dr. Adams, but I haven’t heard his voice enough to be sure.
“Fuck!” Braiden roars, followed by items clattering to the floor.
“My King, you must calm down. Losing control will not help Ava.”
Samuel. If he is here, then Nick must be, too.
“Look, her eyes are fluttering,” Nick whispers, his voice louder than the rest. He must be nearby.
“Ava?” Tingles. I can feel tingles on my face.
I try to open my eyes again, but they are so heavy. Dammit.
Also, where is my wolf? I can’t feel her.
“Ava, it’s time to come back to me. I need you.” Braiden. He sounds so broken. It tugs at my heartstrings.
I can do this. Come on, Ava. My wolf stirs weakly in the recesses of my mind, giving me the little energy she has.
Slowly, my eyes peel open, the light so bright.
“Hit the lights,” Braiden says loudly, his scent overwhelming me as my senses return.
The room dims, making it easier for me to focus.
I open my mouth to talk, but it feels desert dry, like I have been sucking on cotton wool.
“Here. This will help.” Nick is wearing a mask and has gloves on his hands. Samuel is similarly protected. It must
be bad. Wolves have an unusually high immune system.
He brings an ice cube to my lips, the moisture hitting my tongue the most fantastic thing I have ever tasted. Ever.
Who would have thought water would be this good.
My eyes meet with Braiden’s, his usually grey eyes pitch black. He is not wearing any protection. No gloves, no
mask. Revealing lips set in a firm line.
“They have remained like that since your episode in the hall,” Nick says, pointing at Braiden.
“Leave. I need a minute.” Braiden’s tone leaves little room for argument.
“And get Dr. Adams back here.”
Nick squeezes my hand and then leaves with Samuel.
“Ava, I’m glad you are back. I’ve been so worried.” Braiden sits on the edge of my hospital bed, holding my hand
up to kiss the knuckles. There is a drip in the top of my hand and another in my other arm.
I am definitely in a hospital, though it must be a private room as it is enormous, and my bed is the only one here. It
is also filled with flowers, balloons, chocolates, and cards, lining the windowsill and side table.
Children have made some, the writing I glimpse indicating as much.
Braiden must follow my eyes as he explains.
“The pack. They have been very worried about you. They have been sending gifts non-stop. The hospital
eventually said they cannot acc ept any more on your behalf.” Wow, tears well in my eyes. They cared enough to
send me all of this?
“Even if you can’t see it, they love you, Ava.” Braiden waits for my eyes to circle the room and meet with his.
“I love you, Ava. I am in love with you. So much that I cannot properly vocalize it. You are under my skin, in every
cell, embedded in my heart. I should have told you sooner. When I thought you might not wake up... well, I know
this isn’t ideal, but I want you to know. I don’t expect anything more than for you to know how I feel.”
A tear es capes my eyelid, trailing down my cheek. Captured by a large thumb before it can go anywhere else.
I nod, and then take a de ep breath. Did I feel the same? I needed time to figure it out. But did I have time? The
doctor's words from earlier come back to me. On top of the toxicity from the silver, this is the last thing my body
needs. Has this shortened my life span?
“What happened, Braiden?” My voice doesn’t sound like my own. It is hoarse and scratchy.
“You were poisoned and infected. The bottle of water.” My mind goes back to that moment, but the water tasted
fine. It dawns on me.
“That means it was someone in the pack,” I voice out loud. Who would want me dead?
“I have my suspicions, but the camera footage isn’t telling us anything. It arrived with our regular supply delivery,
and only your bottle was contaminated, so it must have been someone on the inside.”
“Who do you think did this?” The only people who have openly shown their hostility towards me are his mother
and Selene. Surely, they wouldn’t go to these lengths?
“It’s probably the same people popping into your head—my mother and Selene. I wish I could say I don’t think my
mother would do something like this, but I can after her behavior the last couple of weeks. And Selene has already
openly snubbed you, so she seems like an obvious suspect.”
“But we don’t know for sure. Don’t ruin your relationship with your mother on a whim.”
Before he can respond, Dr. Adams interrupts by walking into the room, followed by Nick and Samuel.
“My Queen, it is good to see you awake. Don’t let the masks and gloves alarm you. It is precautionary only. How
are you feeling?” Dr. Adams asks me while assessing the numbers on the machine I am hooked up to, jotting them
down on his clipboard.
“Weak.” That about sums up how I feel. Aside from that, nothing else seems to be the problem. I don’t even have a
headache.
“I heard you speaking before I woke up. It was wolfsbane and some human viruses? Am I going to be okay?”
“Well, that is just what I wanted to discuss. We got your latest test results back, and it’s good news, considering.
Your body seems to have neutralized all the viruses. You will have to stay in quarantine for the next week just to be
sure, but you seem to be over the worst. It’s truly remarkable. I have never seen anything like this. You should be
dead by all accounts, but your body, even as a wolf, is stronger than any I have seen. Aside from My King,” he
quickly says, baring his neck to Braiden while I stifle a giggle.
Braiden just eyes him before looking back at me. If it weren’t for the fact that I was a white wolf, I would be dead
long ago. The doctor's words sink in, and I gasp out, remembering what was supposed to be just days away.
“The mate and crowning ceremony. It’s in a couple of days.” My eyes fly around the room before landing back on
Braiden’s. Everyone looks uncomfortable, while Braiden looks... hurt. Sad?
But it isn’t him who speaks. It is Dr. Adams. And what he says has my eyes matching Braiden’s.
“I’m sorry, My Queen. But for the foreseeable future, you and the King cannot complete the mating process. It is
too dangerous. Your blood contains too many... contaminants. We cannot risk the King becoming infected. I’m
very sorry.”
His words lodge into my heart heavier than I thought they would. I didn’t want to be Queen. I didn’t want a mate.
But that was before. Before, I knew what it was like to have someone care for me. Love me. And now it was all I
wanted. And it was ripped away. Once again, out of my control. Tears I cannot hold back stream down my face as
Braiden pulls me toward him.
What did this mean for us? Where did this leave us?