"Thank you," she whispered softly.
She was exhausted and her eyelids closed once more.
"Sleep, Crys," I murmured as I gently caressed her cheek.
Hours passed but I didn't move. She seemed to be sleeping peacefully but I was too scared. Her breathing remained even and her vitals seemed good. Curtis checked on her every thirty minutes.
He gave her an additional dose of wolfsbane a few hours later to ensure she didn't run out. Her body had been pushed to its limit and Curtis was worried that any additional trauma could stop her heart again.
I was exhausted as I sat beside her and watched her every breath. Every small rise of her chest gave me hope.
"I'm okay," she assured me, pulling me out of my memories.
"I know," I said, pressing her hand to my lips, feeling like an emotional mess.
She reached out and touched my face with her hand.
"You can't ever do that to me again," I told her, my voice hoarse with the emotions that I was still working through.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"It's not your fault." But it didn't soften the experience of thinking she had died.
"I thought the worst thing was not knowing where you were or wondering why you were running away from me." I paused for a moment. "But that was nothing compared to watching you take your last…breath."
I swallowed the emotion in my throat.
"I'm here," she assured me, her eyes greener than before. More intense.
I nodded my head. Hearing her words made me feel a little better but the reality was that life and death were beyond our control. I would always carry the fear of loss I had experienced even if she lived a long life and died of old age.
"How long was I out?" she asked, looking around.
"Two days." There had been times I had wondered if it would ever end but it was hard to wrap my mind around the fact it had lasted two days.
Curtis entered the room and smiled at Crystal.
"It's good to see you up and awake," he said, sounding chirpy.
"Thank you," she said to him, giving him a weak smile.
"You're welcome. I just wanted to check on you," he said as he looked through her chart.
"I feel a little tired but okay."
Curtis and I shared a look. That wasn't normal. Usually when female werewolves woke up after the change, they felt stronger. It was like they were able to tap into their power as werewolves. This didn't seem to be the case with Crystal. I wasn't going to blow the whole thing out of proportion. The Keeper part of her could explain the difference.
"You get as much rest as you need," Curtis told her before he left.
"I just need a word with Curtis," I told Crystal before leaving the room.
I caught him in the hallway giving an update to James.
"What do you think?" I asked Curtis.
He gave me a pensive look. "I'm not sure. It could be the fact that her change was longer and more intense. That could explain her extended recovery period. But the truth is we really don't have any idea. All we can do is monitor her."
I hated there were no answers. Helplessness wasn't a feeling I liked at all. Being a man of action, it went against my nature to be patient and wait.
