บท 16: Nightfang's Plight
"Matteo?" I called out when he shook his head. Matteo's eyes fluttered open, and almost immediately, he attempted to get up on the white hospital bed, inadvertently tugging at the IV drip that had been inserted into his hand. The heart rate monitor suddenly started beeping loudly and wildly, and I could tell he was trying to shift.
"Calm down!" I exclaimed, pushing him back onto the bed.
"What is going on?" Zane asked, entering the room from where he had been waiting outside. Ever since we arrived here, he had refused to say a word or leave my side. His behavior was erratic, friendly one moment, hostile the next, and I couldn't stand it.
"Nothing, go back outside." I snapped, still struggling with Matteo. He was much stronger than me normally, but the wolfsbane had significantly weakened him.
With a huff, Zane went back out like I asked him to, jamming the door like a childish brat.
"Where am I? Where am I?!" Matteo screamed, his voice filled with hysteria as he pushed me down, causing my head to collide with a stool and I let out a loud yelp in pain. Ignoring his own injuries and the blood gushing from his wrist, Matteo managed to scramble off the bed and make a frantic dash for the door. However, his escape was abruptly halted when Zane reentered the room.
A sickening crack echoed through the room as Zane's punch connected with Matteo's body, sending him crashing to the floor in a lifeless heap.
"What did you just do?!" I screamed at Zane, my voice filled with a mixture of anger and fear as I scrambled to my feet. A nurse dressed in sky blue rushed into the room, her eyes widening at the chaotic scene before her. She hurriedly assisted me in lifting Matteo back onto the bed, carefully reattaching his drip.
She then muttered a quiet 'Alpha' before quickly exiting the room, leaving me and Zane alone amidst the tension and chaos.
"Are you hurt?" Zane asked, his voice now filled with genuine concern as he turned his attention to me.
"Don't you dare ask that!" I roared at him, anger coursing through me like a tsunamis. He was unfazed, and instead walked to me, stretching his hand to stroke my hair.
"Don't touch me!" I shrieked again, and pushed him back. This was enough to tilt him over the edge as his eyes clouded with hatred. Familiar hatred.
"Do you think I know how to deal with this?!" He roared, emitting such a pure energy of rage and fury that I flinched involuntarily, observing that his Lycan threatened to come forth.
"You clearly don't!" I fired back.
"I have been fine all these years, I have protected my pack without the help of any mate, any Luna," he began, his voice seething with anger.
"And the first time I meet my mate, the first time I decide to give in to the goddess's desires, it turns out she's not a full werewolf! Do you know how disrespectful that is?! To me?! The most powerful wolf! You-"
"I didn't ask to be born this way, you nut job!" I screamed, my voice breaking as I held back tears.
"I don't expect you to understand anyways. How could a cold hearted bastard like you grasp an inkling of what I've been exposed to. That throbbing ache of mine you have continuously plunged your disgusting claws into since I got here!" I continued, noticing a crack in his resolve.
He said nothing, bowing his head in a defeated motion.
"Then leave."
"What?" I asked, just to be sure I heard him correctly. His eyes filled with contempt as he turned around and opened the door.
"When he's recovered, go. Don't ever show your face here again or I'll kill you myself," he concluded with a menacing threat, and then closed the door gently.
I stood there, rooted to the spot, pinching myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. He had just told me I could leave... with a threat.
But he did say I could leave.
I didn't know whether to feel relieved or conflicted. On one hand, I had won my freedom from this situation, our mate bond, but on the other, despite Zane's volatile demeanor, this pack had grown on me.
Jakayla and her sister had been bright and welcoming spots in the past week, and they had accepted me as one of their own.
I settled into the rocking chair, its gentle back-and-forth motion a soothing movement and my eyes remained fixed on Matteo. He was already breathing, and it was slow and steady. He appeared to be in a more stable condition now.
Various thoughts ran amok in my head, and my mind became a battleground where those same thoughts engaged relentlessly in a struggle for dominance.
At the forefront laid the question of why and how Matteo had wandered into Bloodmoon territory.
~
"Una?" Matteo whispered, his eyes widening once he took in the sight of me. I smiled a little, happy he was much more relaxed in contrast to earlier this evening.
"What are you doing here? We thought you were dead," He croaked, fixing his gaze on me.
"I could ask you the same question," I chuckled, placing a palm on his forehead. His fever had gone down, and his body was cooler which meant the effects of the wolfsbane was wearing out.
"What pack is this? I've never experienced an Alpha's authority as intensely as his," He observed, clearly referring to Zane.
I let out a heavy sigh, deliberating whether to tell him the truth or not. Matteo and I weren't enemies, but we weren't friends either, and he had never cared to stop Giovanni and their friends from assaulting me.
"Why are you here?" I asked, intentionally avoiding his question.
Matteo's face bore the weight of recent anguish, his eyes carrying a storm of emotions. He hesitated for a moment, as if struggling to find the words to convey the gravity of his situation.
"You don't know?" he muttered, his voice tinged with sorrow, as if the words themselves were painful to say.
"Know what?" I trembled, my heart pounding with apprehension and the room seemed to grow colder.
"Nightfang was attacked by an entire coven of Malefica," Matteo finally revealed, and my lips quivered with shock at the revelation. Nightfang had been attacked? Oh no.
The weight of his words settled heavily upon me. Nightfang had been breached by the very creatures we feared most, creatures that had attacked Bloodmoon some days ago. Panic welled up inside me, and I clutched the edge of the bed for support.
"I was one of the few who managed to escape," he continued.
"What happened to Ravenna?" I hurriedly asked, unable to contain my concern as I moved closer to Matteo.
Matteo's expression grew somber, his eyes dimmed with sorrow.
"She didn't make it."
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