Chapter 49

Darkness; the only thing I could see. Silence; the only thing I could hear. Nothing; all that surrounded me...

Where are we? I asked my wolf; squinting to see if I could actually find anything to study. I don't know. My wolf mumbled in return. Slowly, I began to hear a faraway beeping gradually penetrating the silence.

My eyelids were so heavy, but I fought to force them open, the light blinding me as I regained the feeling in my fingers. I squinted, as the world finally came into focus, my back resting against something soft.

It felt like my ears were blocked by cotton wads, all the sounds around me muffled as I struggled to assess my body for any pain; finding none as the last memory I had before blacking out, made me panic. Was I taken again?! I thought to myself, looking around. I was in a sterile white room, my body clad in a large, oversized shirt, multiple tubes connected to my hand.

A tube had been put down my throat as well, forcing air into my lungs. Chords clung to my skin everywhere, connected to machinery I couldn’t comprehend. I pulled the breathing pipe out as quickly as I could; trying my best to understand what was going on. I pulled the tubes from my hand and the wires off as well, the monitors beside my bed, from which the beeping had been coming from giving a shrill whine as I watched the line on its screen go flat.

Sitting up, I finally noticed how thirsty I was, reaching for the cup of water on the bedside table. I placed the empty cup back, wiping my lips with the back of my hand as I took a deep breath. We’re alive? I asked slowly, worried that I had assumed so too quickly. I think so, came my wolf’s timid response.

How could that be? I thought to myself; throwing the thin blanket off of my body as I got to my feet, rather unsteadily might I add, as my muscles strained to move after such a long time of immobility. I pulled the collar of my shirt down, my eyes widening as I found the skin of my chest and stomach smooth, not even a scar left from my wounds.

My senses began to return to their usual condition, my nose noticing my mate’s scent on the cloth of the shirt I was wearing. Logan. At the thought of him, my heart swelled with so many emotions that I struggled to understand how that mere name made me feel so much at once.

My heart hammered in my chest as the door to the room flew open, revealing the pack doctor and a whole squad of nurses. His eyes widened with disbelief as he saw me standing there in the middle of the room, the nurses gasping behind him. “Luna?” He mumbled, completely dumbfounded.

“I lived?!” I exclaimed, only waiting long enough to see him nod before I took off running, my wolf leading me to our mate, both of us needing to see him so badly that it hurt. I did my best to keep my bare feet from slipping on the smooth floor of, what I slowly realised, were the hallways of the pack infirmary; passing rooms of injured shifters as I ran to the exit.

I emerged from the building onto a dirt path, the earth slick with mud as if it had just finished raining. The pack members that saw me running shot out of my way with their mouths hanging open in disbelief as they let me pass. I managed to smile at each of them as I passed, forcing my legs to go faster.

***

I was panting by the time I arrived at the door of the building that had very quickly become my home. I went around back, entering through the kitchen on my tiptoes so that I wouldn’t get too much mud on the floor. I washed my feet in one of the downstairs bathrooms before making my way to the living room, the black jacket thrown over the back of the sofa gaining my attention.

I picked it up, holding it to my chest as I slowly made my way to the stairs, still tracking Logan’s scent. “Logan?” I called, desperate to hear his voice. I found him upstairs in bed, alarm surging through me as I noticed the syringe on his bedside table. Some of my panic ebbed, though not by much, when his gorgeous face scrunched up in pain as he struggled in his sleep.

My heart wrenched at the thought of him having one of his horrible nightmares. I left the jacket in my hands by the foot of the bed, quickly getting in beside him. I stroked his cheek once. I’ll make the pain go away. I promised, slipping my thoughts into his mind. I paid no mind to the nightmare currently playing in his thoughts, doing my best to force another image to take its place.

I chose the day we met, the memory slowly coming into focus around us. I began to walk towards him from across the dream meadow of my old pack territory, watching my mate study the dream with awe. His gaze was glued to mine when he finally noticed my presence, my feet coming to a halt barely a breath away from him. My eyes drank in the sight of him before I reached out to stroke the side of his face.

He tugged me forwards by my waist, his face disappearing into the crook of my neck, breathing in my scent as his hold tightened. I felt my heart began to hammer in my chest, happiness filling me from just having my mate so close. “I wish this was real.” He whispered desperately, sounding so heartbroken I was compelled to just hold him forever.

“I’m here, see? I’m fine.” I reassured him.

He pulled away. “I missed you so much.”

I grasped his face. “I missed you.”

“I love you, Chelsea.” He mumbled, my heart skipping a beat as my wolf howled with happiness.

I brushed my lips against his before replying. “I love you too.” I admitted, my lips unconsciously turning up in a smile. “But we can’t stay here forever.” I told him, wanting so badly to actually talk to him in real life, letting the world crumble around us as I compelled him to wake up.

“No! Please don’t go. Not again!” He pleaded.

I smiled as I thought of how silly he would find this whole situation if he knew that I was beside him in the bed right at that moment. “It’s okay Logan, I’m here. I’m right here.” I managed to say, before he woke up.

***

His eyes flew open, seeming distracted as he studied the ceiling. I ran the back of my fingers along his jaw, needing to tell him that I was still there. I was taken by surprise as he grabbed my wrists, pinning me down to the mattress with his body. I couldn’t help but smile at his reaction, my eyes pricking with tears as the happiness practically poured out of me at the sight of my mate above me.

“I told you I was right here.” I repeated, my mate pulling me into his arms. He sat up, positioning me on his lap as he refused to release me. I threw my arms around his neck, breathing in his scent as I lay my cheek on his chest, the beating of his heart calming my own.

When we finally pulled away, he grabbed the sides of my face, his expression one of utter disbelief. “Please tell me I’m not dreaming.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle, the happiness making me giddy as I shook my head. “I’m really here Logan.” I got up to my knees, straddling his waist as I stroked his cheek, leaning in as my other hand came to rest on the nape of his neck. “With you.” I finished, before pressing my lips to his.

He grabbed my waist as he leaned back to lie on the bed once more, bringing me with him. When I pulled away, his eyes were glowing with happiness. “I missed you so much.” He repeated, pressing a kiss to my forehead.

“I missed you too.” I muttered, holding him tighter. We stayed that way for a while, the silence filled with unasked question. I was the one to break it. “What happened? How did I survive? I’m not complaining, but how?”

He sighed, burying his fingers in my hair as he tipped my head back so I was looking at him. “After you were stabbed,” he said that word with disdain, my wolf growling at the reminder of Jackson’s actions, “the pack doctor revived you. You were dead for a minute or two but thank God he managed to get your heart beating again. It was barely functioning, but he managed to do it.”

“After that, he worked for hours to stitch you back up. Once he managed to close all your wounds, he had to do blood transfusions, put you on life support and dozens of other surgeries I can’t keep track of. He kept you breathing, your heart beating and your body nourished. Your healing did the rest. Even so, you were out for days, in something like a coma.” I nodded as I took that in. The doctor brought me back... I thought to myself, making a mental note to thank him later.

“We were all so worried you would never wake up, Chels, especially me. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat, I could barely function without you.” He admitted; his expression crumpling in pain at the thought of it. He looked down apologetically at me. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to see you when you woke up.”

I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. You’re here now.” My hand drifted down to my stomach, as I thought of my wounds. My heart beat began to speed up as I asked my next question. “W-what about our pup?” I asked quietly. His anguished expression was enough of an answer.

He hugged me tighter as a tear made its way down my cheek, followed by another and another until I was sobbing into my mate’s chest. He didn’t need to say a word to tell me that he felt the same way I did, the bond the proof of that. My heart wrenched in pain as I thought of my little whiner, our poor baby that wasn’t given a chance to live.

The beautiful little miracle that had been made from a piece of me and a piece of my mate, one that I knew I hadn’t been ready for, despite how much I wanted to convince myself otherwise. We may have lost one pup but now, we are free to have so many more. My wolf told me, her voice reassuring, not tainted by even a shred of grief.

At least our pup didn’t suffer; he knew his mother and father loved him. He was as happy as he could be when he passed and to have our child happy until his last moments is all we can wish for, isn’t it? I couldn’t help but see the reason behind her words, her comforting ideology lifting some of my pain.

If there was one thing I’d learned through all that had happened, it was that I had to let go of the past. Forgetting the pain of the past few months wouldn’t be easy and it definitely couldn’t be done in a day, but I knew that with my mate by my side, we could overcome this. He would be there to help me along as I was there to do the same for him.

We stayed in that position; my mate just holding me as I clung to him for support, both of us feeding each other comfort as we grieved for all we had lost. At that moment, I truly realised what it meant to be mates. We were given mates to support us when we were at our lowest, to accept us even if we have inner demons, to forgive us when we made mistakes and to love us unconditionally.

That was what I planned to do for the man before me. Despite everything he had put me through and all the pain he’d been plagued with for so long, I wouldn’t have wanted him any other way, because this was who he was and as I sat there with him, I realised that I loved and accepted every part of him even his dark side. He was, after all, mine; my very own dark mate.

So everyone...that's it. All that's left is the epilogue which will be published for you ASAP :) Hope you enjoyed the chapter! -Roxy