Betrothed

Chapter 13: The Wake Up Call

Brayden

Willow was in the hospital for about three days. She had not woken up for longer than a split second to flutter her eyes open enough to see me sitting there by her side holding her hand. Willow's parents were getting frustrated especially after I told them they would have to wait to hear anything until Willow was awake and willing to tell them. I did not know half as much about Romellow that Willow knew. I only know what she told me about what he said if we were to get married and bear pups. I sat there in silence as Willow slept soundly. She looks so perfect with her sweet angel face. I love this woman! She is mine, and I am glad I killed that mutt that tried to kill my Willow. Why would anyone come at her like that? Of course, I believe it has everything to do with Romellow and him taking back his place in the royal pack. He is the one that was telling her false things to get her worked up and scared of me. Overall, he was trying to get under her skin so that he could make her an easy target. How would Romellow know how many pups we were going to have?

As I sat next to Willow, in the pack hospital all tense and upset, I realized something. Willow was just now starting to get her strength back after three days. Our werewolf is supposed to heal us as fast as possible. Is her wolf fighting her? Is she fighting her wolf? I looked at Willow intensely trying to figure out what could be wrong for that to be happening. She is strong, her wolf is strong so why isn't she healing as fast as normal werewolves do? I couldn't help but worry. What happened before I got to her? I looked at Willow in her hospital gown in the pack hospital how hopeless she looks. I am not leaving her side until they figure out what is wrong, or she wakes up. I wanted to just curl up next to her, but the doctor wouldn't allow it.

After watching and waiting a couple hours went by, the doctor came in to inform me that Willow is stable and that she would hopefully recover soon. "Doctor, why isn't Willow healing as fast as the rest of us if we were to get attacked as she did?" The doctor turned back around and re-entered the room and shut the door behind himself. The doctor was a tall dark-haired forty-year-old royal pack doctor that specializes in attacks. He paced around the room as if I had said something tragic. The doctor started to respond to me quietly but enough that I could hear him as he paced around the room, "Now Brayden, you do bring up a good point but unfortunately I cannot give you that answer without consent from Willow. I have not even told her parents. If you would excuse me, I better be getting on my way to the lab." The doctor left the room quietly and abruptly as fast as he could.

Willow has been laying on her back too long. She needed a position change before she got bedsores. I grabbed extra pillows from the closet of her room and set them close by. I wanted to turn her so she could lay on her side. I slowly turned her onto her right side and tucked a pillow behind her back so she could rest herself on that instead of falling back over. Then I put a pillow between her arms to help her arms from not touching. After I placed that pillow, to make it look like she is holding it and cuddling it, I wished I was that pillow. I wanted to be close to her and touch her. But I can't' because she is sick and heals.

I placed the last pillow between her knees to keep them from putting pressure on each other. Then I made sure her blankets were straight and pulled up, but when I started pulling her blanket up by her shoulders, I noticed something odd. Her right shoulder where the rouge slashed her was dark purple with red streaks and had pus bubbles forming around it. What the hell is wrong with her shoulder that it is like that? I cannot believe that the doctor wouldn't tell anyone what is going on until Willow wakes up. What happened to Willow is so bad that the doctor won't even tell her parents. I covered Willow up the rest of the way to her neck where the mark had disappeared already from being pinned down by the rouge. I then sat on the couch in her room and got comfortable. I started resting my eyes and passed out watching Willow's face.

Willow

I heard snoring and it was a new type of snoring that I didn't seem to be familiar with, but it did not annoy me at all; it was actually quite soothing and comforting. Was it Brayden? All I can remember is a sharp pain in my right shoulder. It feels like it is burning, and it keeps getting hotter. I felt awake but I couldn't find the energy to open my eyes or even move a finger. I just kept trying to think my way out of this coma. The peaceful snoring suddenly stopped. I began to worry. Did he leave me? Am I alone? I want to wake up. I want to talk to Brayden, had he told my parents the truth about my twin and my future? I hope he did not budge. If he had they could have a search party out for that rogue any second. If they kill my twin what would happen? Would it alter my future, or would it hold the same result? "Brayden, where are you," I wanted to shout but nothing came out. I kept trying to move my finger, but nothing was working.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps growing louder. Has my hearing been starting to come back stronger? Did that mean I was getting better? "Doctor, may I have a word with you?" I heard Brayden say in a serious tone. Then I heard lighter footsteps, and the door shutting. "What is it?" The doctor exclaimed. "Have you been hiding information about Willow's condition?" Brayden said furiously. I could hear how upset he was in his tone of voice. What did he mean? Was there more going on to my condition than I thought? "I don't know what you are implying, boy." The doctor said hurriedly, trying to get out of this situation as soon as he could. "You know exactly what I mean. Why is her wound looking more infected than it was earlier?" Brayden said promptly. I heard footsteps pacing around the room. Was it the doctor or Brayden who was pacing around the room? "I can't disclose that information with you, Brayden. Her mother and father don't want the word spreading about her condition." The doctor exclaimed.

What about my condition did they not want anyone to know? I wish I could yell at the doctor and Brayden for that matter, but I couldn't even move a muscle. "You and I both know that she should have been awake by now," Brayden exclaimed to the doctor. I heard someone clicking their pen again and again. I could only assume it was the doctor acting nervously. "She-," the doctor started saying nervously, "Has been-." "Spit it out, Doctor!" Brayden was getting impatient. The doctor took a deep breath, "She is in a wolfs bane induced coma. The rogue that bit her shoulder was in fact trying to mark her. You see, if a rogue wolf marks himself a mate out of the royal pack, then he can become part of it because the Alpha has no other choice but to accept him. We think this rogue was trying to mark Willow to serve as the next alpha alongside her." Brayden was pacing around the room now, "So what does that mean was he successful or not?"

"He was partially successful in his mark, but it grew infected because this isn't a normal rogue that attacked Willow." Doctor sighed and clicked his pen again. "She was bitten by a rogue wolf that comes from an older pack called the Warriors.

These Warriors were immune to wolfs bane, so they decided to survive off wolfsbane and while they consumed it the compound of the wolfs bane stayed in their teeth and eventually became a part of their saliva as well. So, when this rogue bit Willow he not only partially marked her, but he also put her in a coma from all the wolf's bane." Brayden interrupted the Dr. again, "Is that all or is there more that I should know about?" "With her being partially marked and in a coma, Willow will not be able to be marked again unless it is in the same spot to replace the scent from the rogue wolf. Have that being said, Brayden, we need to draw the wolf's bane out of her system." Brayden started tapping his foot, "How do we do that?"

"It's not a we. It has to be you. You are the only one that can help her. You have to mark her in the same spot as the rogue did. Which will recreate the same puncture wounds and then and only then can I cure and draw out the wolf's bane." Great, now all I needed was to be told that they were going to give me pain medication for this procedure, but as a werewolf you are assumed to be strong enough to withstand a lot of pain. If not then you are weak, so I already knew my answer. This was going to hurt.