“You’re lying,” I retort right back.
Damian has to wake up. I can’t imagine, for a second, that he will stay like this. I gasp, trying to catch my breath. I just can’t understand, I can’t believe there is a world where Damian would die like that.
“He’s right there, Bobo, he’s alive.”
“Nora, his body is... They did their best with the surgery, but his wounds are too great. He... he didn’t wake up after they operated on him. He’s in a deep coma, and all those machines are keeping him alive, but...” His voice breaks.
I don’t get it... I can’t process what he’s saying. All I can think of is this horrible, insufferable sensation in my chest, ripping my heart apart. I close my eyes, leaving my tears to flow out because I need to break right now; I can’t contain it. What’s going on? What is this nightmare I woke up into?
“Nora?”
Liam just woke up. Moon Goddess, he looks so miserable... His messy hair, the dark circles under his puffy eyes... He bites his lip and breathes in. “Good to see you up... How do you feel?” All the while, he doesn’t let go of Damian’s hand.
I shake my head. I don’t feel anything but terrible right now.
He frowns. “It’s... it’s going to be okay, Nora. He... he will make it, I’m sure of it.”
His voice sounds so weak and sorrowful, I know he wants to believe it. I want it, too, so I just nod. I can’t imagine... So, I try to keep it together.
I breathe in, take time to calm down my tears. Bobo is caressing my hair gently. He pushes a button, and my bed gets me on a sitting position. Now that I can look around, I notice I really am back in the hospital’s VIP room... Only that there’s an additional bed and lots of flowers.
“What... what happened? What’s going on right now? Bobo, you said... four days?”
“Four days and a half, actually,” says Liam. “It took us a while to find you. You remember?”
I do, or just enough, I think. The cabin, Marcus... Right, he’s finally dead. It’s a blurry memory, but I’m sure of that, at least.
“Alec...” I whisper, suddenly remembering I saw my brother... Or I thought I saw him.
Liam sighs. “We found you with your brother Alec, in the woods... He was carrying you here; we found him half-way. You were taken in surgery right away. It took hours... You had a bullet lodged in your left leg and internal bleeding.”
I look down at my leg. Indeed, I have a thick bandage all around my leg, and a strap holding it up. I vaguely remember that, too... But I can still feel the pain a bit. It doesn’t really matter for now. I ignore it and turn to Liam again.
“What... what happened then? And Alec?”
He shrugs. “Your brother disappeared right after he brought you here, so I’m not sure. We tried to look for him, but honestly, you were our top priority... We did our best. Once you were out of surgery, they said it would take you a while to come back, so Bobo, Tonia, Sylviana, and I took turnswatching you two. Somehow, I think your new... look helps Damian, so...”
My new look? I look down and finally notice white, curly hair. What happened to my hair? It went from jet black to a silvery-white. It looks totally unnatural...
“Yeah, it shocked us, too. No idea how you pulled that one off.”
“That’s the only change we noticed about you,” adds Bobo.
“Sylviana said you’re all charged up with Moon Power if that makes any sense to you,” says Liam. “Anyway, you and Damian were out, so Nate and William somewhat took over. With the Gold Moon out, everyone started working together.”
“What happened? Back at the stadium. I saw... bodies...”
I’m sure of that. People died—a lot of werewolves. Everyone was fighting, some were fleeing the scene, but I can’t forget the sight of dead bodies I came across. No face I recognized, but I can’t imagine they were only the Gold Moon Clan’s people.
Liam sighs and massages his neck, looking tired. “Yeah, it was a mess... Most of the Gold Moon people died, but all the packs had casualties. We lost people, too. Andrew Jones was killed, and Vincent Greene, too.”
“Marcus shot Vincent. I remember now... I was trying to run away, and I ran into Vincent...”
He shot him dead right in front of me. How could I forget that?
Liam slowly nods. “So, I guess now we know who killed him... Taaron King probably killed Andrew Jones. People saw them fighting right before. Greene’s new Beta died, too, by the way. And... Old Man Seaver passed away, too. Two days ago.”
Oh, Moon Goddess...
