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“What’s wrong with me?” I ask. I need to know, even if it’s too much for me. I know that the evil witch threw me around with her powers after I gave her the magic blocker, but I don’t know how much damage she did yet.
Jaxon’s eyes do get darker, but he is able to calmly tell me what the doctor said.
“Three broken ribs on your left side, a concussion, bruises on your back and neck, and other minor injuries.” By the time he finishes listing my injuries, I can see his teeth peeking out of his gums. “It’s all my fault.”
I shouldn’t be surprised that he finds a way to blame himself for my injuries, but I am upset that he feels responsible when he couldn’t have done anything to stop it. We all knew the risks when we went into that house, but it was worth it so I could keep Maisie safe again. I’m heartbroken that Felix had to die… I wish it was me instead.
“Jaxon, it’s not your fault, so don’t even try to spin this,” I tell him to stop saying stupid things. He has to know how dumb he sounds.
“It’s completely my fault. As your friend, it’s my job to love you, protect you, and keep you safe. I’m failing.” He suddenly gets up and walks to the other side of the room.
I hate seeing and feeling his pain. He feels so bad, and I don’t know how to help him.
“I don’t want you to be the only one angry about all of this—”
“Oh, trust me, it’s not all aimed at me,” he says, now glaring at me.
I point at myself hesitantly because I’m surprised by how quickly his mood changes.
“Are you mad at me?”
He huffs and crosses his arms. He sits on the edge of the bed again.
“We’ll talk about this later when there aren’t any people around.”
My eyes move around the room, taking in all the empty space, and then they move to the empty doorway. Then I turn my body a little too quickly toward the bed next to mine, which makes me wince a little, but I try to hide it by coughing. My mom is still lying down, but her eyes are open and she’s watching Jaxon and me. As she slowly pulls away from Maisie, she gives me a guilty smile.
“Sorry. I—” She stops talking, probably because she’s trying to think of the best lie she can tell to explain why she was listening to us. I’m not mad at her; I would do the same thing if my daughter was hurt and talking to her supernatural boyfriend, whom I didn’t completely trust.
“How did you know I was awake? Your back was to me,” my mom asks instead, but she does so carefully. At least she didn’t try to trick him. He would be able to tell, anyway.
“Your heartbeat sped up and your breathing changed,” he says.
“You can…? This is crazy, all of this!” Just like mother, just like daughter. She basically reacted the same way I did.
She walks to the side of my bed that Jaxon isn’t on and leans over to look at my injuries again. Jaxon doesn’t move back to give my mom and me some space. He just holds my hand and keeps an eye on my mom. He doesn’t seem to have forgotten the last time I saw her when she accidentally hurt my wrist, and Felix healed it. When I think of his name, I hold back the tears.
“Sweetheart,” my mom whispers, and then she runs her fingers over the bruises on my body. Her eyes get cloudy with tears, but she doesn’t cry. “I’m so sorry you’re hurt. I’m sorry for how I acted when your mate shifted,” she says, looking at Jaxon.
She laughs and then gently touches my head. “I’ve been working on learning all the slang.”
That makes me smile a little.
“Most importantly, I’m so proud of you. You’ve been going through this supernatural stuff all by yourself, while still getting A’s in school, working at Steamy Bean Cafe, and spending time at home with Maisie.
Her smile, which is a little shaky, gives me strength. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside, like when a parent tells a child they’re proud of them. I’ve been through a lot, but I haven’t been alone in it.
“You’re so brave to have gone after Maisie. If I had half a brain at the time, I would have made you stay back so you wouldn’t have to hurt like this,” she says.
Jaxon’s hand gets a little bit tighter around mine. I squeeze it back.
“I know you were scared, Mom. I didn’t handle it very well either,” I say with a laugh. When Jaxon grumbles a little, my mom’s posture stiffens right away, and she starts to smile. She slowly leans back on the bed and looks at the Alpha werewolf in front of her.
I give Jaxon a light slap on the chest.
“Don’t be afraid of him. He’s just upset because I didn’t talk to him all weekend and didn’t answer any of his calls after I found out.”
He pouts, “I just wanted a simple text, Calla.”
I roll my eyes and smile at him. When he pouts, he looks so cute.
“You can’t expect me to react well when you turn into a wolf and pull a vampire off of me!”
“Did a vampire attack you?” my mom asks in a panic.
“Uh… That was a long time ago. A long time before the sleeping spell mess.”
“What?!”
Oh no. This is going to take some time to explain…
**********
I think my mom is completely overloaded with supernatural information after I spent an hour or so talking about my history with Jaxon and how the pack works. She looks completely calm on the outside, but I don’t know how much chaos is going on in her head. That’s just how strong moms are.
My mom seems to be getting more comfortable around Jaxon the more Jaxon and I talk about our past. I know they still have a long way to go before they’re as close as I know they can be, but the progress makes me feel better than I thought I could at a time like this.
Maisie sleeps through it all; her small, cute body twisted up in the sheets as she snores softly. When I see her, it reminds me that she’s safe and far away from a coven that I hope doesn’t exist anymore.
I’ve already had two cups of water and gone to the bathroom once, which was a lot of fun. My mom helped me walk to the bathroom, but Jaxon picked me up and carried me the rest of the way there. It seemed like we were taking too long, which would “cause unnecessary strain on my broken ribs.” Damn overprotective Alpha.
I just looked at myself in the mirror. The normal Calla that usually looked back at me was gone. But a bruised and battered version stayed. I had a new neck accessory: purple bruises from when I almost died from being choked. I also had a bright bruise on my cheek. I look like one of those tough girls from movies who barely made it out of a fight alive.
I wish I could feel that way…
My mom seemed to like it when Jaxon and I would argue a little bit when we disagreed on something in the story.
I was a little teary-eyed when we finally got to the present. It was hard to talk about Felix, and I don’t think it will ever be easy. I wish I knew where Elise took him. I want to pay my respects.
I ask to go to Skyler’s room, but Jaxon says I can’t because I shouldn’t be walking. After I yell at him about how I need to see my hurt best friend and “how dare he tell me I can’t check on him,” he finally agrees to get me a wheelchair. It was totally dramatic of him, but I won’t fight him on it as long as I get to see Skyler.
I think he was very close to death when they brought him in, and he’s lucky to be alive. He has already woken up, but Jaxon says he will sleep a lot.
That’s where I am now, outside of Skyler’s hospital room. It’s really just another room in the pack house with medical equipment, but I’ll call it a hospital room because that’s what it is.
My mom chose to stay behind and watch Maisie. I don’t think she’ll let Maisie out of her sight for a while.
Jaxon pushes me into Skyler’s room, and the first thing I see is Ezra. He looks terrible right now. His blonde hair is sticking up in strange ways, and he has dark circles under his green eyes that are very similar to the ones under Jaxon’s. He doesn’t seem to care at all about how he looks. His shirt and shorts are very wrinkled.
Ezra’s eyes move from Skyler to me. His eyes soften a little, but he doesn’t smile. He doesn’t seem like the type to smile, though.
I whisper, “Hey, how is he doing?” so I don’t wake up Skyler.
“He wouldn’t say it, but I know he was in a lot of pain earlier. He’s been sleeping on and off for a while now.” Ezra looks back at his friend. “I’m just glad he’s getting some rest.”
I nod and then take Ezra’s hand. He looks a little surprised by what I did, but I still squeeze his hand and smile at him.
“He’s going to be fine, right?”
He sighs and looks at our hands together. He holds it tight for a moment and then lets go.
“The doctors say he’ll be fine, but you never know with magic. It’s dark and twisted and can do all kinds of damage that we can’t see coming—”
Ezra stops moving when the heart monitor stops working.
When Skyler’s heart stops beating, Ezra jumps into action. I don’t have time to blink before he leans over his dying friend, eyes like a wolf. It’s hard for him to talk because he’s breathing heavily and has long canines, but he can still shout orders.
He screamed, “WE NEED A DOCTOR!” in a panic and real fear. I don’t need any extra senses to know that his heart has dropped to the bottom of his stomach, just like mine.
In just a few seconds, all of this happens, and my weak human self finally catches up to his panic. Jaxon has already gone to get a doctor, so I use all my strength to get out of the heavy wheelchair and run to Skyler’s side.
I don’t pay attention to the pain in my ribs as I run to him. I don’t know what I can do in a situation like this, but all I can think about is getting closer to him to try to help.
He has to be fine.
Ezra keeps shaking Skyler’s body and lightly slapping his cheek to wake him up.
He has to be fine.
A moment later, the doctors rush in, confused and scared when they hear the monitor’s flatline.
He has to be fine.