A Fated Pair - SasaMiya

Chapter 32: Amygdala

A/N: This chapter is heavy in lore I've been working on, so I hope everyone enjoys it. The end note will explain more for those interested.

Chapter Includes: Lots of medical science with a touch of fantasy, gods/goddesses, some self-loathing and self-blame. (Take care of yourselves with some self love! <3)

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Chapter 32: Amygdala

He was able to stay by his mate's side the whole way through, as Dr. Minamoto instructed that Sasaki not leave Miyano's side.

Sasaki trusted him. He had to. He held Miyano's life in his hands, and the alpha witnessed firsthand how determined he was in running tests and stabilizing his mate. After hours of this, they were finally settled in a large room. Sasaki didn't feel like this was real. Miyano was hooked up to machines, and there were tubes and wires in different places in his body. They took the oxygen mask off him when his breathing and heart rate stabilized.

This all had to be a nightmare. A nightmare that Sasaki couldn't even fathom because it played on all his worst fears. He could still lose him.

The rest of the pack and Miyano's parents came in, and he realized why they were given such a large room. Dr. Minamoto and a nurse followed in, and they both wore tight expressions that didn't give anything away.

Miyano's mom and dad rushed to their son's side, crying and holding whatever part they could. Sasaki was in too much shock to react like them. He just held on to his mate's hand, willing him to wake up and be all right.

"Is he... is he going to be okay?" Tashiro's small voice cut through, and Sasaki glanced over at his pack members. They were all distraught, it was clearly seen and felt.

The doctor cleared his throat, and he revealed a clipboard. He stared at it for a moment before he spoke, "We ran all the tests we could, and have come to the conclusion that he's suffered severe damage to his amygdala. The amygdala is an almond-shaped structure in the brain that specializes in processing emotions. Good and bad emotions. Things like fear or stress goes through it and can trigger the fight-or-flight response. Good emotions create the right pheromones to be produced, and so on. What appears to have happened is something I've seen in only one other case, and he was a command-type omega."

Dr. Minamoto showed a picture of what looked like a center point and attached to this center point were lines resembling veins. The red veins spread out around the center and it closely resembled a flower. "Pack leaders often visualize something like this when mediating their pack bonds. It's all in their mind, but it's intricately a part of their brain. The center point is them, and  each vein represents a pack member." He pointed at the darker red and slightly bigger veins spreading out from the center. "They're able to sense strong emotions from their packmates, and can even help calm them using their own emotions. The stronger the influence, the more strain that is caused for the pack leader."

The pure beta flipped the page behind the next one, and this one showed the same picture, only the center grew bigger and the veins casting out from it grew smaller, looking as if they were wilting away. The flower symbolism seemed to have lost its appeal in this stage. "This is what it looks like when a pack leader becomes stressed. Stressed over feeling the pack's stress, and it amplifies and piles on the pack leader. There's also the inner self's anxiety at not being able to hold the pack together. For command-type omegas, this is something we never want to see happen. It means they're at the brink of shutting down, and this has happened to Miyano-san."

Sasaki's eyes burned, but tears didn't come to him like the rest of the room. How long had this been going on? Why had he not sensed it? Why had Miyano not told him how he was feeling? Sasaki would have made it right in a heartbeat. No matter what it took, he would always, always put Miyano first.