Bookstore princess

Chapter 30

Nadia

The ambulance got us to the hospital in less time than it would take me and my heavy foot. James held my hand while they tried to assess the damage. When we got to the hospital, they separated us and James was sent to triage, while I was taken to surgery. Within a couple of minutes with the anesthesiologist and a few questions, and my health card provided, I was out like a light.
Waking up now, it feels like I lost time. My eyes hurt, but so does my entire body. I slowly open my eyes to see my mom sitting beside my bed and her eyes are red.
"Oh thank God" she says, brushing some of the grey hair out of her blue eyes. She takes my left hand, while the other has an IV sticking out of it. I grimace in pain, and try to sit up. "No Nadia, not yet. What happened to you?" she demands and I have good reason to flush. I hear the machine beside me saying my pulse rate is spiking and a male nurse comes in.
"Good evening" the nurse is a tall man, in his twenties maybe. He has sandy brown hair and brown eyes. He's got a muscular figure, and I wouldn't be surprised if he's a werewolf. Now that I know for sure, everyone is a suspect to me. "I'm your nurse, my name is Luke. You've been out for a while" he says in his deep voice. He starts looking at the IV drip, and the monitor. He pulls out a stethoscope and listens to my heart. My wrists are covered in gauze, and my shoulder has a lot of gauze as well. There's blood coming through on all three spots. I can see bandaging on visible parts of my body, and feel it in places that are not so visible. "Hows the pain?" he asks.
"Hurts like a bitch" I admit, grinding my teeth in pain.
"I'll get you an injection of morphine" he tells us. "You have quite the crowd out there in the waiting room."
"I better go tell them you're awake. You should have told me you've made so many friends. That boyfriend of yours is pretty handsome too" mom gives a wink. Her name is Micheline, but most people just call her by her nickname "Ducky". She's curvy like me, but shorter. She has a fiery attitude, that I'll always be grateful for. She's taught me a lot of important things in my lifetime.
"I've made a few" I whisper, not sure how much I can say or who all really came. The only ones I can think of would be James, Jacob and Jenny.
"I'll be right back, Nadia" Luke says and my mom squeezes my hand again.
"The hospital called me, then while I was driving Jenny and Jacob called me. No one can tell me anything except you got shot" mom says with tears in her eyes.
"We've been having issues with vandals at the store. James and I heard some glass breaking and we ran downstairs, and there was gasoline poured on the floor by Potions and the window was gone. James went after one guy that was holding a match, and two guys grabbed me and threw me in the back of a van. James came after the van and I jumped out the back of I got shot while I was landing I guess" I explain. "James carried me most of the way back" I say, trying not to smile at that part of the memory.
"I hope they catch them. Maybe you should come stay with me for a bit" she says, but I already know my answer.
"I can't mom. Someone needs to watch the shop, and honestly, Sheriff Morgan's got the kidnappers handled" I try to reassure her, but I can tell it's not working.
"I'll be right back, and you're not changing my mind" she sighs and gets up. I settle back in my bed and sigh. I have a thousand questions for Jenny and Jacob. I want to know if James is okay, he had some bad looking scratches and bruises on him when I last saw him. Luke comes back in and injects something into my IV line.
"Thank you" I said a little shyly.
"No problem, I'd keep an eye out. The waiting room on this floor is almost full of visitors just for you" he chuckles.
"I didn't think I knew that many people" I groaned, thinking of how much of a mess I must look right now.
"Well, they must know you" he chuckles and puts the needle in the disposal bin. "The pain will go away soon, but you'll probably fall back asleep. Don't fight it, your body needs to heal. You've been through a lot," Luke frowns a little. I nod, already starting to feel tired.
"Nadia!" James comes running into the room and runs to me. He's wearing a pair of gray sweatpants and a white t-shirt that looks new, and a pair of white running shoes. Also new. "Are you okay baby?" he demands, looking me over carefully.
"I just gave her a shot for the pain" Luke says and bows his head a little.
"You can't just run in here" mom comes back into the room, trying to hide a smile. I know she likes him already.

James

The moment Micheline came into the waiting room and said Nadia had woken up, I couldn't help myself. Steve was on one side of me, with Sam and Maria on the other side. I launched myself out of the chair and ran down to her room. Thanks to Maria, I have fresh clothes and the jeans I wore were put into evidence. I made sure plenty of both my blood and the rogues were all over them.
I'm currently in Tony's territory, but he stopped by earlier to check in and see if everything was okay. The man seems to miss nothing. He was there for my first meeting with my mates mom, and it went a little awkwardly. She knew that Nadia was seeing someone, and then Jenny advised we had decided to move in together which made her size me up a little more. She asked me basic questions, and I was honest to a point. She asked me what happened, and I was as honest as I could dare. There was only one person allowed in the room while she was resting, and I had to give it up to her mom.
Looking at my mate, sleeping so soundly with all the bruises and scratches on her skin makes my heart break. There's blood on the gauze and I want to ask Luke, one of Tony's pack, to change them. I know I shouldn't though, that might be considered as crossing the line. He's been respectful and allowed me to stay, even when I was pacing the halls waiting for Nadia to wake up. See her now she still looks pale, and I yearn for the moments that her cheeks turn pink.
"I'm okay, my James" Nadia finally answers me. Her voice sounds more like a croak so I get her some water. "Who's watching the store?" she asks, of course she's only thinking about the store and not her personal well being.
"Sheriff Morgan has been there almost all day getting the evidence. I sent a few of my... security team to go in and watch the store and make sure nothing else goes amiss. I also hired a clean up crew to come in once the Sheriff is done, and we will have a new window put in of course" I tell her, having had too much time on my hands earlier.
"James, the insurance will pay for that" she looks shocked.
"So you can get them to pay me back" I shrug. "Or you can pocket the money for lost revenue because it's going to take some time to get the store opened again. And before you ask, Melody is fine. She's staying at Jacobs place for now" I squeeze her hand..
"She needs her wet food in the morning, and she needs her treats" Nadia starts listing off the things I already went over with Jacob who had told me that he already knew her habits.
"I told him, baby doll," I reached up and touched her cheek and she leaned into me. "I'm also not leaving you, just like I promised. I'm just down the hall" I whisper.
"I trust you" she gazes into my eyes, but they are getting glassy and I can see a bit of a droop.
"I love you, little one" I say with no hesitation and she smiles at me. I know she's being careful not to say it too soon. There's no doubt in my mind, and I'll prove it every day until the day I am gone from this world, that I'll love her no matter what.
"I adore you" she whispers and a small bit of pink goes into her cheeks. I feel proud that even at her worst, she still reacts to me.
"Steve and Sam are here with Maria. There's also Jenny, Jacob, and Rieta. The kids are with Lar from what I understand. You might be here a few days, if not more" I tell her, and she frowns again.
"I don't wanna" she says, her speech slurred.
"No, none of that, young lady. The doctor said you were lucky and you lost a lot of blood. You'll be here several days, if not a few weeks" Nadia's mom says and I grimace. If Nadia gave me permission and accepted me as her mate, I could change her now and she would be out of this mess in a few days. She hasn't yet, and there hasn't been time to discuss it. We got caught up in each other, and then the mess that happened. I just need that reassurance.
"Mom!" she complains to her.
"It's going to be okay, baby doll. Jacob and Jenny accepted the help at the store already. We are all more worried about you. Your mom even donated some blood to help out" I point at the blood bag currently feeding into her.
"Mom, you didn't have to do that," Nadia looks close to tears. "You don't even like needles."
"Don't be silly. Of course I'd do it" Micheline scoffs. "Now you're supposed to be resting" she sasses.
"We will talk more later" I tell Nadia meaningfully. She reaches out and squeezes my hand and pulls slightly. I move in and kiss her gently on the forehead and she smiles up at me like there's nothing wrong at all. "I won't leave" I promise, and I vow to keep that promise. I have to check in with my pack anyways, I'd like to know if they caught the rogues, or if Sheriff Morgan has caught them yet. I need to know if I'm sending out more of my men or women to look for them. If they aren't in jail come nightfall, I want them taken care of and buried deep in the woods in a twelve foot grave with an animal carcass on top at six feet so the police don't keep digging. Not my first rodeo, but I'll make sure it's their last. No one messes with my Luna and gets away with it.