Chapter 21

Amelie

I gasp, and my eyes shoot open! I breathe heavily as I look around the room. I'm in the infirmary again. No one is here this time. "Why do I keep waking up here, damn it!" I say aloud. I try to get up, but I have cords and tubs stuck to me and in me. "How long was I out for? Yeah, that tube has to come out." I was referring to the catheter coming from under my gown. The only thing I can think to do is mind-link, Dad. "Dad, can you get a nurse to come unplug me? I think I'm charged up now." My sarcasm let him know I was OK.

"Amelie! You're awake! I'll have someone right there. We are coming up to see you too. Don't try running off now." He chuckles at the end.

"I'm still plugged in. I can't really run around yet." I chuckle back. He ends the mind link, and a minute later, a nurse and the Doctor come in.

The Doctor looks at all the monitors first, then looks at me. "Well, Miss Amelie, you gave us all quite the scare. I would suggest staying away from silver for a very long time."

I look at him perplexed, "Doc, I know I've been through a lot the last month, but I'm fine now."

He looks at me and purses his lips. I can tell he's contemplating something, "I think it best for the Alpha and Luna to tell you. We'll make you more comfortable for now."

They proceed to untangle me from the mass of tubs and cables, and finally, I can relax again. Then, I hear footsteps coming down the hall. It took them longer than I thought. My father opens the door he is accompanied by James and Celeste.

"Celeste, I thought you were still in Texas for a bit longer?" I look at everyone, confusion written all over my face. Celeste and James look at Dad.

With a calm, soft voice, my father says, "Am, you have been in a coma for 25 days. It's October 15th; we are in the last few days of the Harvest Moon Festival."

"WHAT! Why? Why was I in a coma for that long? I was a little shaky after the ritual, but I was awake." What did my body go through! I was not even aware of how much danger I was in.

"We should have waited longer to perform the ritual. You had only just recovered from the fight with Tate, the wolfsbane, and the silver cuff. You got silver poisoning. You survived because you had small exposers for your jewelry smithing." Dad is blaming himself; I can tell.

I don't even know what to say at this point; I'm just stunned. I quickly reach out to Inari. "Inari, are you awake? Are you OK?"

I can feel her stir in my mind, "Yeah, I am here. I think I am OK. Can you hear me clearly?"

I am smiling, and a tear rolls down my cheek. Finally, I say out loud, "I didn't lose her; Inari is there. I can hear her clear as day." Everyone breathes a sigh of relief.

James looked at me with a huge smile and a tear in his eye, "I glad you're going to be OK. Why didn't you tell me! I would have gone with you?"

"Dad and I thought you would try and stop me. This was something I had to do. I didn't think I would almost die…again, but I'm still here." I reach out and take his hand.

"Well, dear, you should rest. The festival will be over in a few days, and by then, you will be out of this bed and back to normal. I will need your help planning the Blue Winter Moon festival. These two are horrible at planning." Celeste points to dad and James. I know she is trying to make me feel normal again.

I smile in appreciation of the gesture, "It sounds like we need to make it better than last year."

Dad rolled his eyes, "OK, you two, let's let Amelie rest. Bye, kiddo, I'll check on you later."

They all walk out of the room. I am alone again. Well, we are alone. "Inari? I don't think we can shift, but do you think you are fully sealed?"

"I don't know. We can still communicate fine, and I can hear the mind link. I can still see out of your eyes too. Should we try hearing and smell?" I can feel her nervous excitement.

I take a deep breath, "OK, let's try it out! Hearing first." I'm just as nervous and excited.

I close my eyes and focus all my energy on my ears. I am trying to hear what's going on outside the room. Ever so slightly, I can hear people in the hallway. It's muffed at first, but as we focus, it gets clearer. The nurse is talking to one of the housekeepers about the Harvest Moon festival. "I can hear them, can you?"

"I can, and I am not completely sealed. Let's not try increasing our senses of smell. I don't think you have gotten a shower in 25 days. I don't think sponge baths are cutting it."

We both laugh. We may not be able to shift, but Inari was only partially sealed. We had time to look through dad's books and find a possible solution. For now, I just want to rest. Let things get back to normal.

Gideon

It's the same for every festival. My pack works. Other Packs put on grand celebrations and have elaborate traditions. Our duty is to make sure all those celebrations are protected and nothing is interrupted. I take on home base coordinating all the teams. Everyone in the Druit Guard knows how to fight, even the Omegas. Some may not like it or are good at it, but I will not let us be a target.

We still have many ongoing investigations. We have a rash of Rouge attacks still happening, and even a few missing wolves we are tracking down, but the biggest one is finding Tate Cozad and his mother. He's been quiet, laying low too low. Someone is helping him, but who and how? Amelie was never far from my mind. I still had dreams about her—the same one she's naked out in the mountain clearing. Full moon shining down on her as she talks to the plants. Sometimes I can still touch her. I run my hands through her wavy brown hair as it shimmers under the moonlight. I touch her soft cheek and start to trail my hand down her neck, and then I stop at the black scar. I look at her face, and she's dead in my arms. I normally jolt out of bed. What she's been through haunts me. I've only met her a couple of times in passing throughout the years and didn't even notice her until her brother's heir ceremony. It's just this odd feeling like she should be with me.

I shake it off and link with my field team. "I expect reports within the hour. Any call-outs or issues I need to be aware of?"

"No, Alpha." I hear in unison. I close the mind link.

"Alpha." I get an alert through mind-link.

"Yes. Go ahead."

"Alpha, this is Matt stationed at the Ashwood Pack. Miss Amelie Ashwood has awakened from her coma. If I get any more details, I'll send them over."

"Thank you, Matt. You are dismissed."

"She's awake." I can't help the smile that comes with those words. I'm just glad she survived, that's all. She is a fellow Alpha's child; that is the only feeling I have of her. I push it out of my mind and open my laptop, waiting for the reports from my team. It's another typical festival week. It is all work as usual.