Chapter 59

-Pax-

I woke up to sobbing. I didn't know what was going on around me, but my chest hurt with each breath that I took. I was dizzy, and I couldn't tell if my eyes were open or shut. There was nothing in front of me, it was as though there was no light in the rooms that so ever. Seeing nothing was rare for me, and it caused me to panic. My heartbeat quicker and I tried to sit up, but the pain which shot through my chest stopped me, along with the feeling that my head was going to roll off my shoulders.

"He's awake," someone whispered. I felt someone's presence above me, but I couldn't tell who it was. "Pax, you're alright. You're awake. Well, your eyes are shut, but you're awake."

Why wouldn't I be alright? They were shut? It felt like they were open. I tried to raise a hand to feel my eyes, but the tugging on my chest stopped me. It was that moment where I realised that I was in my wolf form. What was I doing in my wolf form? Had I hit my head?

I tried to think back to what happened to cause something so painful. I remembered being in the forest with Kelsey, then being attacked by wolves.

I shot up or tried to at least. I let out a mix between a howl, a whimper, and a moan as I was forced back down. My breathing was heavy and getting heavier. My mind was whirling, and I was on the verge of a panic attack. It was like ice cold and boiling hot water had just been poured over me at the same time.

I tried to get into my paws, to roll to wherever Farley was, and make sure that he was alright. I couldn't. I couldn't do anything but lie where I was and whimper in pain.

"I told you not to move," Aiden said with a sigh. "You're okay. You're healing. You're very lucky to still be alive to be honest."

A hand was stroking my back. It was calming and grounding, I didn't know if it was Aiden or not, but that didn't matter right now.

I whined lowly, trying to open my eyes again. "They're looking Farley over at the moment," Aiden said.

I tried to stop making noises, so that I could hear about how Farley was doing. I wanted to hear that he was alright. I wanted to hear that I could see him, he'd shifted back into his human form and would be here any moment.

"It's not looking good," Aiden whispered. "There's something wrong with his leg."

I whined and tried to curl in on myself. I wanted to cover my ears and escape from the world. I wanted to believe that I'd misheard and that it wasn't happening. He was fine, he had to be.

"You didn't have to tell him," Harlow whispered to his brother. "You could've let him rest for a little while."

I didn't know if Aiden responded, but I didn't care much to listen as to why he told me. I was glad that he did, I would rather the harsh truth. Yet, I still wanted to live in the world where Farley was healthy, there was nothing wrong. Wasn't that normal? To want a world where no loved ones were ill or injured?

"How is he?" Iris asked softly.

"He's awake," Aiden informed her. "I think he's struggling."

Iris sighed and her hand replaced the one which was stroking me. Her hand was warmer and smaller than the other one. She hummed a little as she moved.

"Lana's got some injuries on her back and legs, but she's alright. Her nose is a little bruised, but she's okay. A few from our side didn't make it. Carme's pack is looking for a new alpha." She sighed again. "I guess you know about Farley. He was the one to stop Daphne."

I was relieved to know that Daphne was taken care of, maybe I was safe now? Yet, a part of me wanted to know what happened to Alder. I wanted to know if that little boy was alright. I didn't want him to grow up like I had.

"We found a few humans in the hospital too, three children and two adults. We don't know who they are, but you might."

I was confused, I didn't know who they could possibly be. I only know one child.

"They're being watched though. We still don't know if they were a part of what was going on with the auction."

I nodded and whined again.

Her stroking stopped. "Please, get some rest. We need you to heal, okay? Farley needs you. We can't lose our newest member of the pack."

I let a few tears drip from my eyes. My heart had warmed and evaporated the cold water which had consumed me. I was a part of their pack. I finally belonged somewhere.

I couldn't rest though. I tried to turn, but I couldn't. There was nothing I could do but stare at the nothingness which surrounded me. I listened to the whimpers and the quiet conversations which are happening around me. That was until I heard a howl.

I flinched and tried to cover my ears at the same time as I wanted to jump up and run to the person who howled. It was Farley. I didn't know how I knew, but it was clear as day. I tried to roll over and shuffle to him, but I just ended up rolling into Iris' leg.

"He's okay, it's okay," she told me as she stroked me. "He'll be fine, he'll live." Her voice broke at the end of her sentence. That didn't reassure me. Why was she telling me that he'll live? Of course, he would live. What was going on? Why was he in so much pain?

Somehow, I ended up shifting back into my human form. My chest hurt and became wet, but I didn't care. Iris gasped and a blanket was put around me.

"Pax, you shouldn't be walking," Rowan told me. "You shouldn't be shifting, where are you going?"

I ignored him. The pain in my chest made it impossible to lift my arms, so I awkwardly tried to use all the strength I had in my legs to help me stand. I followed the sound of whimpers, shuffling my feet so I didn't trip over anything. I tripped over a few floorboards which weren't exactly flat, but I moved until I was just outside the room with the whimpers. A few gasps were heard, and some people tried to pull me back. I was assuming they were Iris and Rowan, but I entered.

The whimpers came from the right of the room, so I moved over there.

"Pax? What on earth are you doing standing?" Clementine asked, her voice sounding as though she was choking. "You're bleeding. Pax, go back and lie down. Take him back."

I ignored her and felt along the table where Farley was lying. I moved to his head and started to stroke him. Why was he in so much pain? Couldn't they have numbed it by now?

The pain in my chest dimmed as I concentrated on the pained noises, the warmth of his fur under my hands, the struggling pants which left his mouth gave me reassurance that he was breathing. He was fighting.

Words were uttered around me, some more protests about my presence, but they were then focused back onto the task.

"It's not going to work again," an unfamiliar voice explained. "It severed several nerves. I'm not sure if he'll be able to walk."

Sobs erupted from Lana's chest, and sniffles filled the room. Was he talking about Farley? Of course, he was, there was no other wolf here. He wouldn't be able to walk. He might not be able to walk again in his life. What about turning back? Would he be a wolf forever? What about his job? He couldn't do that if he couldn't walk.

I was placed in a chair next to the table and lay my head down, just behind him. I continued to stroke his back as his breathing evened out and became a slow rhythm.

"Pax, we need to redress your wound," the unfamiliar voice said with a sigh.

I frowned, but I sat up and let him do as he wanted. I was told that I should be lying down, that sitting like this wouldn't do me any good. I wasn't going to leave Farley's side. He needed my support which I couldn't give him earlier.

I tried to not let the guilt eat its way into my brain, but I couldn't help it. This wouldn't have happened if he hadn't met me. Nobody would be hurt, and I would've probably been auctioned off to the highest bidder if Daphne still had her way.

"Where are they?" I asked. My throat was dry, and it hurt to speak. Each word had claimed its own breath. "Children?"

"They're being distracted right now," the unfamiliar voice said. "Abilene is playing with them."

I nodded and continued to sit in silence. Farley whimpered and whined a few times, but I couldn't understand much of what he was trying to tell me. I didn't know if he was doing anything or where he was looking.

Lana and Brin also sat by him most of the time, they talked to him about his childhood and told him stories. They played some games and asked trivia questions back and forth. It was a funny way to distract themselves, but it was interesting. I didn't know half of what they said, but Farley relaxed whenever they were near.

I didn't know how long I stayed there, but I was told to sit up again so that my wound could be checked. I supposed they were healing okay, as I was left only a few moments later.

The next important encounter was when Iris entered. "I brought you some food," she told me as she set something down on the table which Farley was lying on. He hadn't moved in a while, but he was definitely awake. "How's he doing?"

A low whine came from Farley's throat, causing me to chuckle.

"I think he wants to tell you himself," I pointed out. My throat still hurt, I wasn't sure why, but the water which I was handed helped soothe the pain. "What time is it?"

"It's around Seven in the evening, of the day after you first blacked out." I blinked a few times in surprise.

"Oh," was all I managed to say.

Farley seemed to find it amusing as he huffed a laugh before wincing.

"How is everyone? Again?" It was nice to be able to communicate with words.

"Recovering," Iris said with a bitter laugh. "That's about all we can do. Moss hurt his arm pretty badly, and Randall's got a pretty nasty scar. Caspian and Clementine are okay. But they're struggling after hearing the news about..." she trailed off.

I nodded. It was a difficult thing to imagine, a member of your pack being unable to walk. I was certain that they wouldn't kick Farley out. Farley had become part of their family. I wasn't so certain about me, but he would always have a home there.

I supposed that Farley also knew what Iris was talking about as he tried to curl up, but winced and shook.

I tried to stand, but I immediately had to sit back down. I huffed. I wanted to hug and comfort him, but I couldn't do that. I couldn't even stand at the moment.

"They're just in disbelief, that's all," Iris said. "Farley, you're young and have so much ahead of you. Rowan and I think you'll be on your feet soon; you'll be able to do it. Because you are stubborn, too stubborn for your own good."

Farley huffed and laid back down. I wanted to reach over and kiss the top of his head, but I couldn't reach. All I could do was stroke between his ears, finding comfort in his twitching ears.

There was a noise outside of the room, causing me to jerk upwards from my position. I had been falling asleep for about the past hour or so, yet I couldn't bring myself to really settle. The room had gotten much colder, and Farley had been asleep for quite some time. I had been given strict instructions to wake Brin up if I needed anything. He wouldn't leave Farley's side, just in case something bad happened, or something changed.

"What's going on?" Brin asked groggily.

I faced the door, waiting for another noise. Then I heard it open, smashing against the wall. It was so loud that I jumped again, causing a jolt of pain to shoot through my body. I was lucky that wolves had a pretty good healing speed, or else I would still need to be laying down and resting.

"Pacs!" a familiarly adorable voice yelled. I soon had a child on my knee, squeezing me quite painfully. "Pacs, I missed you."

Tears came to my eyes, both from the extreme paint hat he was causing and the emotions which came with finally being able to hug Alder again.

"Hey kiddo," I said with a smile. I wrapped my arms around him and shifted him so that he was leaning against my other side. "You can't squeeze me so tight right now." I lifted a hand and ruffled his hair. "Are you okay?"

His curly hair tickled my cheek. "Yeah, Abilene is really nice. She plays with us and gives us cookies and tells us stories!" he said excitedly. "Are you okay?"

I bit my lip and shook my head. "I'm a bit sore right here," I said as I pointed to my chest. "And my head hurts a little. I'm very sleepy. But I'm glad you're okay." I then remembered how many children I was told there were. "Who are your friends?"

Alder giggled a little. "Bronty and Dell, they're so cool! They let me play cars with them and dinosaurs and they are really good parents when we play pretend." He rested his head on my good shoulder.

I didn't know if Brin was still here, I had been far too focused on Alder. I was sure that Farley would be awake, if he hadn't immediately just tried to go back to sleep.

"Oh? And I suppose that means you were the baby then?" I asked teasingly. "I'm not surprised."

"Hey," he said defensively. "I'm the youngest, so I had to be the baby. It takes a lot to be a parent."

I nodded my head. "Ah, of course, silly me." I ran my hand over his forehead to catch one of his curls which I twirled around my finger. "Why aren't you asleep?" My tone became a bit more serious. "You made quite a noise, even though you know it's bedtime."

"I know," he muttered. "But I wanted to see you. I wanted to make sure it was really you instead of an impasta. Like mam, she went out one day and an impasta came back."

I frowned. "An imposter?"

He hummed in confirmation. "The impasta was so mean, it gave me ouchies. I cried a lot."

My heart ached, but I somehow felt better. She had hurt her own son. She may have hurt me and Farley, but I didn't understand how someone could do that to her own flesh and blood, someone who she cared for so much. That was why he wasn't distressed or bursting into tears. He had already thought that his mother had gone.

I hugged him closer and rocked us a little. "Can you sleep now?" I whispered in his ear.

"I think so," he said with a yawn. His head lay on my shoulder and one of his arms was hugged tightly around me. "Nighty night, Pacs."

"Goodnight Alder." I smiled and ticked his back gently, the way my mother used to when I fell asleep on her knee.

Hello lovelies! I hope that you've had a wonderful weekend :D

The question of the chapter is, do you guys like flying?

I was on a plane for the first and second time within the last two weeks and I think I quite enjoy it! Of course, there's still small anxieties which come with it, but I really enjoyed my time on the plane, I still cna't look out the window though!