Veritas

Chapter 46

Aislinn tried to speak, to ask about the man who she had tried so desperately to protect. All that came out was a painful, raspy croak as her sandpaper throat made a valiant effort to voice her thoughts. Immediately, tears sprang to her eyes at the unnatural sensation.

Instantly, Ryan was beside her with a cup of water. He and Rei realized it was probably best for her to be sitting up a bit to drink, so they helped to ease her back up into a sitting position while doing their best to avoid hurting her. Once they were satisfied, Ryan held the cup to her lips the help her drink small sips.

Irritated that they wouldn't let her gulp down the water she was dying for, Aislinn reached up to grab the cup from Ryan.

"Ah-ah, don't do that, dummy. You have a broken wrist and wires all over you" Ryan chastised, pulling the cup from her reach. "Not to mention you should be taking slow sips until your throat feels better. You might choke yourself if you're too fast!"

Aislinn let out a grunt of acknowledgement, despite being annoyed that they were right. She impatiently sipped her water, when Ryan's amused voice popped into her head.

"I know you don't like mind-link, Ash; but, in this case, it's probably better than unintentionally drowning yourself" he teased.

Aislinn gave him an annoyed look. "I didn't think of it, okay?" She grumbled, causing Ryan to let out a relieved chuckle.

Rei, too, who was also open to their conversation, gave a relieved smile. "We were worried, sweety. The doctor said you had a bad concussion. What happened? They're not telling us much aside from your status" she explained.

"I'll tell you, if you tell me where the man I was with is. Did he survive? Is he okay?" She demanded, looking from Ryan to Rei for any indication they knew something and were hiding it from her.

The mother and son exchanged confused glances, both shaking their heads. "Sorry, love, they didn't tell us anything. Like I said, they won't even tell us how you got hurt" Rei said, patting Aislinn's hand gently. "Will you tell us what happened?"

Aislinn nodded, settling back into the hospital bed once her thirst was quenched. Although she thought she might be able to speak now, and despite her hatred of mind-link, she decided to continue speaking that way. If "they" wouldn't tell Ryan and Rei about the vampire and the drunk, then odds were they wouldn't want her saying anything either.

"I went to the first safe-house I could find after you guys left, and they turned me away because they didn't believe I didn't have my wolf. They called me a coward" she began, temporarily interrupted by Ryan's growl. A look from his mother silenced him, though, and she patted Aislinn's hand in encouragement to continue.

"I kept running to try to find another safe-house, and happened to see this guy slouched over a counter. He looked like he was asleep or something...I went to go check on him, and...Well, long story short, he was asleep and very drunk" she explained, pausing to let them ask the question she had asked herself.

"A drunk werewolf? How?" Ryan demanded in confusion.

"It's uncommon" Rei said, then continued with "but not impossible. Our wolves burn through the alcohol before it can really impair us the way it does a human. If we drink an exorbitant amount, it may be able to make us drunk; however...If we inject ourselves with wolf's bane, it weakens our wolf enough to let the alcohol take hold."

"Why would anyone do that?" Ryan asked with a frown, not able to imagine why someone would want to limit their own awareness.

"Who knows?" Rei asked with a shrug. "Most often the cause is depression. Someone losing their mate is one of the most painful experiences in the world...Many turn to drugs or alcohol before succumbing to their vices, if they have nothing else to live for" she explained, her tone taking on a heavy sadness.

A silence followed, wherein Ryan and Aislinn looked at Rei curiously. They had both noticed the sadness in her voice, and were awaiting further explanation. Once Rei caught the way the two were looking at her, she shook her head as if to snap herself from a memory.

"Anyways, what happened with him? Did he hurt you?" Rei demanded, her sadness changing to anger at the idea of someone hurting her pup.

"No, it wasn't him!" Aislinn began; but, after a brief pause, she corrected herself. "Well, not all him. He's probably the reason for my concussion...But the rest was the vampire!"

Ryan's posture stiffened, while Rei took a shocked step back. "A vampire?!" They demanded in unison.

Aislinn nodded, closing her eyes when the motion made her a little dizzy. "Yes. I was able to wake the guy at the bar up; but, he was too drunk to even fully shift. I had to fight the vampire myself...You can guess it was a pretty quick beating for me" she said flatly.

"So what happened?! How are you alive after facing a vampire?!" Rei asked eagerly, back to the bedside and gripping the bedrail tightly.

Aislinn looked between Rei and Ryan, not sure how to explain what happened without sounding entirely crazy. Fortunately, she gained more time to consider it when a knock sounded on the door. The doctor walked in immediately after, bobbing his head in greeting.

"Ah! I see he's awake" he said with a big smile. "That is exciting news! I was concerned he'd miss his esteemed guest!"

"Esteemed guest?" Ryan asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Yes, his majesty, King Darius has shown an interest in the three of you. He has asked to meet you, and will be here shortly!" The doctor exclaimed excitedly, clearly expecting the trio to be honoured and astounded by such news.

Astounded was right, since all three of the wolves gaped at him in disbelief. Honoured wasn't exactly the other feeling that came to mind for any of them, though.

Unfortunately, they didn't have time to consider their feelings for long before the door flew open and a man stepped in the room. His loud voice echoed through the small-but-spacious hospital room as he called out: "Now entering, his Royal Majesty, King Darius!"