Chapter 24: 24- Alive and Healthy
Phoenix/Aurora:
Beta Brian’s boots were heavy against the floor, as he paced the room like a caged wolf, "How could this happen?" he roared, his gaze cutting through me like a razor.
I was sitting in the chair with a stiff back, waiting for him to put on me. Jai was in the worst condition. The fear of losing him was taking over my senses.
For the umpteenth time, I tried to rub my palms together. This strange kind of irritation wasn’t letting me sit still. All I wanted to do was run to my friend who was in the hospital emergency at the same floor where we were.
Beta Brian slapped his hands on the desk and leaned over to look at me, "You are a warrior, Phoenix... and someone ran away after attacking him... right under your nose!"
He was right. All I did was stand there frozen while my friend bled. Alpha Blake was sitting in Jai’s seat, with a bored look, flipping the paperweight casually from one hand to another.
He was the one who allowed me to join warrior training, and now he must be regretting his decision.
Against the wall, Kiara stood with her arms crossed, a smug smile dancing on her lips. She didn’t even try to hide it.
"Well," She drawled, tossing her back, "Maybe if some people had focused more on their fighting skills instead of giving speeches in the meetings...then maybe this wouldn’t have happened."
It hit me hard. This was not the time for this verbal judo when my friend was lying in that hospital bed, fighting for his life.
"Say that again, Kiara," My voice was dangerously low, but she only smirked wider. The bitch was enjoying all this.
"Enough!" Beta Brian snapped, running a hand through his hair, "This is serious. Whoever attacked him was from our pack."
I shot him a look. He was right.
Maybe that was why I was relaxed, as I never expected anyone to attack him in those warriors’ quarters.
I tried to rub my palms, trying to ignore the weird itch. I looked down at my red palms. Nobody knew that my friend used to clean up the worms that were born every week under my cheek tissues.
I leaned back and let out a slow, bitter breath, "The attack was not on him," I mumbled, looking down, "Whoever he was, he came for me."
For a moment, there was silence until Kiara spoke in a sugary sweet voice, "Yeah. Or maybe you are making things up. There was no one in the room after all," she finished with a shrug.
I felt rage slowly rising in my chest, "What do you mean?" I got up, causing the chair to scrape against the floor, "You mean I attacked him?"
She rolled her eyes and started inspecting the walls and ceiling, "Whatever. Our pack needs someone who can handle pressure. We can’t make someone the warrior head if she can’t even smell the enemy. You couldn’t protect your friend. How can we expect you to keep this pack safe?"
This time, the bitch did make sense. Becoming a head warrior was my dream, but nothing mattered more than Jai.
The itching in my palms was getting out of control. I hoped that the worms hadn’t reached my hands.
"I need to go to Jai. Maybe you’re right. I am not fit to be a leader," I laughed under my breath, "The one who is smirking and enjoying the situation deserves this designation."
Alpha Blake’s hand froze mid-toss, the paperweight thudding softly on the desk.
Beta Brian stopped pacing around, "Phoenix," his voice had gotten softer, "I’m not blaming you. It isn’t just about one attack. It’s about the future of the warriors and the pack."
I swallowed hard, pushing the hurt deep down. This was not the time to fight my case, I needed to be with Jai.
I could see in their eyes that they had made their decision. Fu*ck with them. I needed to see Jai.
The burning in my palms had gotten intense.
According to the doctors, the injury was so deep that his wolf wasn’t able to heal it. I went inside the emergency room and sat down on a nearby stool.
"Hey, big guy. Come back to me. I promise I’ll watch action movies with you. And I swear I won’t say a word against John Rambo."
He lay still, surrounded by the tubes and monitors.
Hot tears started running down my face, and then I winced in pain, "Moon Goddess. Please save him," I mumbled while crying, and spread my palms, only to see a white light emitting from them.
My eyes widened in shock as I looked at my hands in disbelief. I had stopped crying, and the rays had a cooling effect.
Am I dreaming?
I wanted to pinch myself.
Not knowing what got into me, I stood up and went near him, where a large bandage was tied around his head.
It was soaked in blood because it took time for doctors to stop it from bleeding.
Without thinking, I placed my hands on his head. A gasp escaped my lips when I heard the monitors around me beeping wildly.
I tried removing my hands, but it seemed that they were now glued there. The sounds of running and talking echoed outside the room. Doctors were coming here to check if everything was alright.
I made a last attempt to pull away my hands, but it didn’t work. When they entered the room, one of the monitors caught fire after beeping loudly.
"What the hell is going on?" A doctor shouted. Beta Brian also came inside when he heard the noise.
A doctor gave me a confused glance until his eyes went wide in terror. They all had gone still. I followed their gaze and looked down.
Jai was looking at me as if I had gone nuts. He was holding my wrist, asking me silently to remove it. That was when I was able to lift my hands and step back in horror.
What the fu*ck just happened?
I again looked at my palms. The white light was gone, and my friend, who had been on the verge of death, was not only alive but also looked remarkably healthy.