Chapter 12 - Recovery

MAXINE

The sound of whispers is the first thing when I gain consciousness. I try to slowly open my eyes, but my body feels too weak to respond to such a command. However, seconds earlier, I managed to move my hand slightly which caused a shock to the person standing close to me, letting a sigh of excitement.

More noise fills the room as I hear footsteps running, a door opening and more footsteps coming in. More whispers follow but I'm a mess right now and I cannot understand what they say.

I make one more attempt to open my eyes. Sunlight hits them and I feel my head ready to explode. I let a groan of pain, but I keep trying to open them fully. Three figures appear, standing by the bed. But I cannot see their features.

They come closer and I can distinguish their voices. One woman and two men.

A warm hand lands over mine, taking it within its grasp, making my skin tickle. The scent of boy and body wash caresses my nose and feels so relaxing. Another hand gently touches my forehead, the scent is getting stronger.

"Where am I?" I manage to whisper nearly audible to me, but the person next to me seems to hear it.

"You're safe. Get some rest." A deep voice echoes from close. His thumb runs circles on the inside of my palm. It makes me feel calm.

"Give her some water. She must be dehydrated." A woman speaks.

The hand is taken away from my forehead and now is gently touching the base of my neck, helping me lift my head. I open my mouth and take a few sips of water he offers me before I'm placed back on the pillow.

"I did some more tests on her, no internal bleeding, thankfully. But she needs more rest. Her body is still weak." The woman speaks again. "You may go, I'll stay with her." She adds.

I make one more effort to clear my sight, but I don't succeed. Exhausted from trying, I close my eyes again and drift off to sleep.

When I woke up is already dark. My body responds better to my commands, so my eyes open up straight away. There's light in the room, painting it a faint yellow. I lift my head a bit more up and see a woman sitting on a chair next to me, sleeping.

Placing my elbows on the mattress I push myself to a sitting position, trying to be as silent as possible. This woman must have stayed with me the whole time I was passed out, it's a pity to wake her up.

As I sit up a pain strikes my ribs. I let out a groan and the woman jolts up awake.

"I'm sorry." I say faintly.

"No, no it's fine." She replies suppressing a yawn. "Here, have some water. You need it." She grabs a glass from the night table and gives it to me.

I take the glass with both trembling hands and bring it to my face, drinking it almost in one go. My throat is dessert dry. Holding the glass between my hands, I take a better look at the person opposite me.

She's tall, with olive skin and a big set of hazel eyes looking at me with kindness and curiosity. Her hair is curly, standing around her like little auburn springs. She smiles at me, exposing a set of white teeth.

"You're very lucky to survive this." She comments. "Do you remember anything from that night?"

I push myself to remember how I found myself here, but the pain in my head gets in the way.

"I went to Floresit castle… a party… then…" I squeeze my brain to remember. "Sorry."

"That's good. Don't push yourself too hard." She smiles. "It is common in such cases to be a temporary memory loss but I'm sure you will regain it, with time. Let me ask you, do you remember your name?"

"Yes, it's Maxine."

"Very good." She speaks. "Nice to meet you, Maxine, I'm Lila."

Her voice is so calm, assuring me that I'm in good hands.

She stands up and takes a motherly look at me. "I'm glad you made it. I'll be right back. Rest."

REY

A wave of relief went through my body when we walked in and saw her responding. Although not to a full extent, it's a good sign.

I spend the night in the office, dealing with the matters of the pack. The door's gentle knock makes me recognize immediately who's behind it. I let her come and smile when I see Lila's face.

"You look a mess, Rey; did you get some rest?" she asks with worry in her voice.

"I tried but I cannot sleep." Then I realise. "How comes you left the room? Something happened?" I tense.

"Relax. Everything is fine. She woke up and I asked her a few things."

Lila tells me everything they talked about. She needs time until her memory is back. I will let her stay here, however, remembering Julia's reaction, it may be dangerous for her.

"The good thing she remembers her name, so only the last events are unclear." Lila settles more comfortable on the chair.

"What is her name?" I ask eagerly. I get the look she throws at me. Have I been exposed?

"It's Maxine." She replies suspiciously. The name sounds like music to my ears. It suits her.

Silence falls into the room for a few seconds until she finally breaks it.

"Is there something you need to tell me?" she adds giving me one of her looks like she knows what I'm about to tell her. "You show much interest in her for a reason, and I bet it's not only because she's wounded."

I stand up and take a few steps circling the office until I settle on the other chair at the front of my desk.

"Yes. I need to talk to you." I reply getting a long breath out.

***

After I explained to her the situation and everything that happened since that night I first saw her, I lay back in the chair feeling a bit better I confessed all this to someone I trust.

Lila, on the other hand, was shocked. But soon her expression changed, taking her familiar calm face.

"Now everything makes sense... Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." she says. "However, rejecting your mate is a very dangerous thing. Have you thought well of this?"

"I don't know. I was on a good path all this time away from her, but now I don't know how to deal with it. I don't do it for me, I do it for the pack. You know very well, that they won't accept a human to be a Luna, and my priority is the good of the pack." I say placing my hands into my jeans' pockets.

"Your priority should be yourself Rey. It's not every day someone meets their mate. Some never do in their lifetime." She comments.

A part of me knows she's right. This will benefit also the pack but having a human as Luna will make many of them change their behaviour for the worse.

Our conversation is suddenly interrupted by another knock on the door. I order them in and see Ben and Kai stepping in.

"Alpha, you need to see this." Kai states and we all rush outside. I don't like his tone.

They lead us to the watching post, taking the outer stairs of the house. When we reach the very top, we all stand still, looking to the northwest, where giant flames swallow the Floresit castle.