My body aches all over, and I feel so tired... I can’t even find the strength to move or open my eyes. I just lay here, listening to the regular beeping of a machine, and those unknown voices.
“... consciousness already. We just grabbed her and ran here. She was so... He would have killed her. Too bad we lost him.”
“How did you know that was her?”
“We didn’t...”
I hear a growl, and someone’s agitating the soft sheets around me. So, I’m in bed... A real, comfy bed. I can feel someone’s breathing close to me.
“Well, she’s better. That shouldn’t take too long for her to wake up, now.”
“She’d better. Our brother is making everyone freak out since that girl’s here. Looks like he’s about to murder someone or something...”
I’ve heard that voice before. Where was that? I can’t remember.
Why am I so tired? I feel like going back to sleep...
I’m half-awake again. This is such a weird sensation... My body is too tired to fully wake up, yet too tired to go back to sleep. I find the strength to open my eyes, but I’m in the dark. No, wait... It’s nighttime. I can figure out some furniture in the room. Some small lights are blinking on a machine next to me, too.
A large window lets the weakly gleaming moonlight in.
The sky is cloudless, and I can see a bit of the moon and stars. I feel a cold breeze coming through. Oh, that fresh air feels so good... But, more important, a tall silhouette stands alone against the window frame.
Two cold silver eyes are staring right at me. I’m mesmerized. Those eyes are scary and... attractive.
What is this? I can feel it stirring me up inside like something’s suddenly blooming. What is this sensation? It’s nothing like I’ve ever felt before. I can hear my wolf, she’s... crying? Her voice is so faint, I don’t know what’s going on.
I’m too tired, too weak. I can’t hear her. So sleepy...
I slowly open my eyes.
Such a high ceiling... Where am I? I turn my head. I’m in the biggest bed I’ve ever seen. I’m surrounded by medical monitors, and it looks like a hospital bed, but... Brick red walls, wood flooring, and fancy furniture? The room is so huge, thirty people could fit in. But there’s only three. A man and a woman are chatting on the sofa. There’s one younger guy too, playing with his smartphone.
“Oh, I think she’s awake!”
A tall woman gets up from the sofa and comes to me once she realizes I’m awake. She has honey-colored skin and two very long, dark braids. Her fingers gently examine me, although she doesn’t look like a doctor at all. She looks young,maybe twenty-five or so. She’s a bit muscular, wearing a sports bra, tight leather pants, and high heeled boots.
“Okay, her blood pressure’s still a bit too slow, but at least she’s awake for good. Can you hear me, baby girl? How do you feel? Drowsy?”
I shake my head and try to answer her.
Gosh, my throat hurts! Breathing’s so painful, let alone uttering a word. Even while breathing from my nose, I almost tear up just from the pain. There is no way I can talk right now. I try to touch my neck and feel a thick bandage around it.
“Oh yeah, sorry about that. Your throat is damaged, so it might be difficult for you to talk for a while. Don’t force it, okay? It will get better, don’t worry. You think you can sit?”
I nod, still a bit shaken up by everything that is going on. That woman helps me sit up and puts some big cushions behind me for support. It feels unreal. I don’t know these people, or where we are. I look down. I’m perfused and linked to several medical machines. Someone even put me in a hospital gown. Seeing me so confused, she starts explaining.
“It’s okay. This is the General Hospital. You were in a coma for about five days. We found you in the eastern district, and someone was attacking you. My brother and I intervened, but you collapsed right away.”
I realize there is one more person in the room I hadn’t noticed before. A huge golden-brown wolf is lying at her feet against my bed. I can only see him now that I am sitting up. But still, I have never seen such an imposing beast before–he looks like a bear rather than a wolf!
“Yes, that’s my baby brother, Bobo. I’m Tonia, by the way.”
Bobo? Is that his actual name? Tonia gives me a reassuring smile but won’t introduce the two other peoplein the room. One of them suddenly gets up from his chair, looking irritated. He’s most likely in his teens, with dark, messy hair and a dozen piercings in his ears. He grabs a backpack and puts his hands in his pockets, looking annoyed and ready to leave.
“Great, can I go now that she’s awake?”
He is not asking Tonia, but the last person in the room. A man in his twenties, wearing a very elegant black suit, waits a few seconds and nods.
