-:Cecelia's POV:-

I came around a little disoriented. I was feeling dizzy and uncomfortable. My body was aching and my arm was paining. I took in the environment and realized that I was admitted in the medical wing of the Packhouse.

"Nurse?" I rasped, my voice throaty. I winced at myself, feeling my throat itch.

A stout lady rushed in. I recognized her as Julia. She used to babysit me when I was younger. She had also patched me up a few times when I was too battered from training since I'd come back.

"Oh, you're awake," she said to herself. I rolled my eyes.

Yes, no shit, Sherlock.

"Water?" She offered, ignoring my eye roll. I nodded. She swept out and came back with a bottle. She opened placed it on my bedside table and fixed my bed to help me sit. Then she opened the bottle and helped me drink. The water soothed my itching throat.

"Thanks," I sighed, wiping my mouth.

"How are you feeling, honey?" She asked me. 

Doesn't she have to go get a doctor to check on me? 

"Fine," I said, laying my head back on the mattress. "How long was I out?"

"The entire day," she said nonchalantly. I pressed my eyes together. I survived it, that's what should matter. It was a miracle.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"Dinner time," she replied. That explained why there was no doctor.

"You're lucky, you know," she said. I looked at her like she was crazy.

"Yup, because being assaulted with silver and wolfsbane in a span of minutes is every wolf's ultimate fantasy," I said sarcastically. 

"Cecelia," she said chidingly. "That's not what I meant."

"So?" I looked at her quizzically. 'Wait." I stopped her. "Did you tell my family that I'm awake?"

She cringed back guiltily.

"I'm on it," she said. Her eyes glazed over as she mind-linked. "Alpha's link was closed because of the meeting so I had to link the Luna," she said. I nodded. Good enough.

"Yeah, you were saying?" I prompted, wanting to fill the silence. I was tired, yes, but I was restless too. Like my breaths were short and my palms were sweaty.

"Hmm . . . so you were in a very bad shape when they brought you in. If it wasn't for-"

The door burst open as a haggard-looking Ashton stumbled in. His eyes sought mine and his features visibly relaxed. He speed-walked towards me and Julia slipped out quietly with a wink. 

He didn't seem to see her at all, though.

As soon as he was in touching proximity, his hands flew out and he engulfed me in a bear hug. As if the shock of seeing him wasn't great enough for me to lose my wits, the job definitely did itself when he hugged the fuck out of me. He nuzzled in the crook of my neck and breathed in my scent. I was frozen. 

Enjoying the feeling of faint feeling of sparks, but frozen.

"You're okay," he kept repeating. I couldn't deny that his touch chased away all my aches and discomfort, that his embrace drove away my uneasiness, that he calmed my restlessness. 

I blamed it on the wolfsbane residue in my system.

"Xav?" I whispered, finally hugging him back. Holy shit. I realized he was shirtless. I shivered with the feeling. He shook her head against my shoulder, the motion tickling me slightly, plausibly covering my shiver.

"Ashton," he corrected in a whisper, pulling me closer. I was confused, a lot, but I liked the feel of being in his arms and in a moment of weakness I let him. I closed my eyes and just savored the feeling. 

I didn't understand why we were fighting the bond. I wished I could talk to Sera but the wolfsbane had sealed her out of my reach for a while. The moon goddess had given us a gift and we were refusing it. In his arms, surrounded by his scent, I couldn't fathom our ridiculousness. There was a person who was made just for me and I for him, but we were pushing each other away. So many people spend all their lives finding 'the one' and still don't succeed. We had each other right there and we weren't willing to try.

We really needed to talk.

We jumped apart a little when we heard a cough. My shirt felt warm and wet. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Ashton discreetly wiping his eyes. Aww.

Julian was standing in the doorway with a fucking smirk on his face.

"What?" I asked him, annoyed. Ashton turned around to see who it was and I didn't miss the way his shoulders stiffened. I wanted to tell him to relax but then restrained myself. Not until we cleared a few things up.

"I see you're well," he said in a teasing tone. "And here I was worried for nothing."

"Well, I am awesome," I flipped my tangled hair back dramatically.

"Good to see the wolfsbane didn't damage your humor and personality," he laughed.

"As if," I scoffed with a smile.

"I . . . will get going," Ashton got up. "Excuse me." He went away before we could say anything.

Weird.

"Why weren't you here when I woke up?" I pouted at Julian. He shrugged.

"Meetings," he answered vaguely, sitting at the foot of my bed.

"Got any leads on Tasha?" I asked.

"No," he said curtly.

"Geez, chill," I raised my hands in defense, releasing a yawn. "I was just asking."

"Sleep," he told me, furrowing his brows.

"I was sleeping the whole day," I shook my head.

"Lia," he scowled.

"Jules," I mocked.

"You're impossible."

"One of my most charming attributes, I agree," I nodded. He chuckled.

"Talk to Liana then," he said, smiling mischievously.

"You told her?" I asked horrified.

"Of course," he said as if I were stupid for even asking such a question. 

I wasn't.

"You can't keep anything from her to save your life," I grumbled, dreading an emotional phone call. He shrugged.

"I can't help it," he grinned.

"Fuck off," I groaned. He laughed.

"Cecelia!" My mom cried, bursting through the door and running to me, dad not too close behind. 

Yeah, why not? After all the door was just for decorative purposes. What functionality did it have? Knocking? What is that? Privacy? Never heard of it.

They hugged me together, crushing me. My arm protested but I heroically kept quiet.

Yippee.

When they finally let me go, mom looked around the room and frowned.

"Where is Ashton?" She questioned me. I forced a shrug.

"Why would I know?" I asked. Her eyes narrowed.

"Cecelia Adele Rivers!" She raised her voice and I cringed. "Where is your mate?"

My eyes bulged out of my sockets and I was sure that if I were drinking something I would have definitely spewed it across the room.

"Excuse me?" I sputtered.

"You are in huge trouble, young lady!" She declared.

"Umm . . . I was poisoned and . . . umm . . . I almost uhh . . . died! Yeah!" I tried desperately, not liking the look in her eyes. "I'm sure we can get past this, right, mom?" I pleaded.

"No," she huffed. Julian finally cracked out a laugh. I swore. 

Give me a week tops and I'll be whooping his butt on the field in front of everyone. Just you wait. 

In the meanwhile, I made with glaring at him.

"How did you even find out?" I addressed mom. I saw Julian slip out of the room. 

Yeah boy, you better start running.

"I'm your mother," she acted as if she were offended. I quirked an eyebrow as if to ask, 'Seriously?'

She sighed.

"Fine," she said petulantly. "I may or may not have seen how smitten that boy is for you and made an educated guess."

I shook my head. Typical of her. And so incredibly stupid of Ashton.

"What?" She defended, "It's not my fault he made it too easy to guess!" She protested. "Trust me, Cecelia, that boy went batshit crazy," she giggled. "He almost shifted outside your room. His wolf took control and was snapping his teeth and growling. It was so amusing." 

"So, in turn for your entertainment, I can be forgiven, right?" I smiled hopefully.

"You are not getting out of this," she stated.

"Dad!" I whined.

"I'm with your mother on this one," he grunted. "You should've told us."

"How was I supposed to know that you'll be okay with it!" I protested.

"Why wouldn't we be?" He asked.

"He's the future Alpha of Silver Moon!" I exclaimed. "The pack we are at constant odds with. Silver Moon. Ring a bell?"

"That doesn't matter as much as the fact that he's your mate, sweetheart," my mother smiled.

"Hun?" I said dumbly, surprised.

"What? You expected a modern version of the Romeo and Juliet play?" She laughed and even my father chuckled. I gaped. Okay, I definitely did not expect that.

"Yeah?" I said truthfully.

"Of course not, sweetheart!" She said. "Mates are a gift from Selene. You don't disrespect that. She doesn't make mistakes."

My heart warmed at that. I opened my mouth to speak but was intercepted by the doctor storming in.

Of course. I hated them. Why didn't they fucking throw the door away, hun? That would've solved everything.

"Alpha, Luna," he acknowledged my parents. Then he turned to me, "I'm doctor Zeus," he introduced himself.

"Cecelia," I smiled forcefully.

"How are we doing, Ms. Cecelia?" He asked.

"Good," I nodded. 

"How long have you been talking?" He queried, checking my vitals and the reading of the machined they hooked me upon.

"Since I woke up, I guess," I said. He frowned.

"That won't do," he shook his head. "It's hard to believe you're sitting and talking here with me right now. You definitely have a lot of recovery to do. You need to rest. Unfortunately, that means that you have to stop talking and exerting yourself." He shot a pointed look at my parents who smiled sheepishly. 

Ha! Everyone respects the pack doctor. Even the Alpha and Luna. Dr. Zeus was probably the only person who got to boss them around. I guessed I could learn to like him.

"I suggest you let her rest," he said more forcefully when they didn't budge. They reluctantly said their goodbyes with promises to visit in the morning and left. Dr. Zeus lowered my bed again. He made me lay down.

"Call one of us if you need anything," he said before leaving. "Do not get up unless it's to use the washroom, okay?"

"Yes sir," I gave him a mock salute. He smiled, expecting sass from me, and then left. I sighed, snuggling into my blankets. They weren't very comfortable. I missed my own bed. Not to mention being alone wasn't helping.

I let out a huge yawn.

Well, I could use some sleep. I used the switch panel near the bed and switched off the lights. I closed my eyes and it wasn't long before a peaceful slumber overtook me.

*********************************

A/N:-

Heyy. It's a short update, I know and I'm sorry. I didn't have a lot of time. We had unexpected guests over and I had to be social. Result? No time to write. Not to mention I am not feeling well today. Half dead, actually🤦‍♀️😭 Pray for me😂 

Next, I think I'll write Ashton's POV. I have an idea for that. It should be up tomorrow by 10:30 pm IST. 

*sigh*

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