Wolf's Curse

Chapter Fifty-two

My mind was groggy. It was almost as if I was standing somewhere alone and there was mist all around me. I wanted to shout but I couldn't. I felt paralysed. I heard whispers. I wanted to run and call out to the people talking but I stood there stuck in one place, and soon the sky darkened and I couldn't see a thing.

***
I heard whispers again. I didn't know where I was or who was speaking. I concentrated on the voices but they were faint.

"She's waking up." I knew that voice. I moved my fingertips to let me know I could hear them.

"Go call a doctor." I heard footsteps and the swinging of a door being opened too fast. I peeled my eyes open slowly. The room was so bright that I had to blink a few times to adjust to the light.

"Hi Ashley." Jared's face appeared in front of my face. His eyebrows were furrowed as scanned my face. "I know you must have lots of questions and believe me when I saw that every one of them will be answered, but for now I need you trust me okay. Everything is okay. Everyone is safe. Leon is safe."

Immediately I felt a sense of relief but the suddenly I comprehended what he said. Leon was dead. I remember Sarim holding his head. I needed to tell Jared.

"Hey, calm down. Ashley, take deep breathes. Everything is fine," Jared said, noticing the increase in the rate of my heartbeat. The door swung open before he could say anything else.

"Good morning Mam, my name is doctor Jenson and before I give your diagnosis, I just to assure you that you are in a safe environment and in safe hands. As you know Sarim injected you with drugs. Those drugs are lethal is most cases but since you were brought in so quickly after being injected with it we were able to treat it. I am not going to lie to you and say that everything is going to be alright in terms of your body, but I can say that if you follow all the instructions in terms of what to eat and what to avoid then your road to recovery will be much easier and quicker."

The doctor stayed for a few more minutes, speaking to me about the drug and what effect it had on my body. Before he left, he checked that all my vitals were normal. I had only been awake for a few minutes but I was already feeling tired. Though the one thought that was still nagging me was off Leon. I tapped Jared's arm to catch his attention.

"What's wrong?" He immediately was on alert. I opened ,y mouth a gasped for air. I must have looked strange with my mouth that was gaping open, but I was just trying to moisten my mouth.

"Leon is dead." Jared looked at me for a second as if he was trying got figure out if I was fibbing with him.

"He's not dead Ashley. He's alive." His eyebrows were scrunched as he stared at me, as if he was trying to figure out what I was up to.

"Sarim, was holding his head." There were a few beats of silence before he spoke again.

"It wasn't real. She must have used a spell."

"I want to see Leon."

"He's in a meeting right now but he will right on his way. I'm sure he will be quick once he finds out you are awake."

"Please, I just want to see him." Jared looks at me for a few seconds, searching me eyes and sighed deeply.

"I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you."

He left promptly. I sighed and rested my head on the pillow. My eyes slowly closed, exhausted from the short minutes of interactions I had. 

***

"Ashley." I felt someone touch my arm gently. I groggily opened my eyes. When I saw who was standing in front of me, I couldn't believe it. I blinked my eyes a few times, hoping that I wasn't in some sort of twisted dream. 

"You are alive."

"You are alive." We both stared at each other in silence. His eyes bore into mine, as if he too could not believe that I was here.

"Jared, told me about what you saw. The head-- it wasn't me. Clearly," Leon chuckled darkly, "It was some sort of game to her."

"What happened to Sarim and her army?"

"Sarim is dead," Leon stated bluntly. "Now that their main leader is dead, her followers will follow suit, because they know that if they are found conspiring against me, then they will be guilty of treason."

"So it's over."

"The war is over but we still have to recover all the loses from the war. That could take years." Leon's face scrunched up with distress.

"It will be alright. Everything will work out and remember you aren't in this alone. We will fix this. Together." I placed my hand on Leon's arm, as I softly smiled at him.

"Thank you." Leon's voice was hoarse, and for the first time since I had met Leon, I noticed how tired he was because of all the stress.

"What happened to you while I was gone?"

"Sarim, captured me and tortured me. She was hoping for inside information to the werewolf kingdom, things that only a few werewolves in the world know for safety reasons. When she realized she couldn't get through to me via torture, she went after you. She knew you were my weak point."

"Are you okay? I didn't realize you were injured." My eyes scanned over Leon's attire, but everything seemed good to me.

"I heal fast remember?" There was a small smile on Leon's face as he looked down at me. "I just have a few bruises waiting to be healed and then I will be back to my proper shape."

"So you are okay physically, but are you okay psychologically?" There was a short pause, before Leon chose to answer.

"No one has ever asked me that before, and to be honest I don't think I even know the answer to that myself."

"When was the last time you slept?"

"I have not been sleeping that well for the past few days. There was so much to do and I was stressed about you."

"Come here." I motioned to my bed. I knew that my hospital bed wasn't large but I knew that we could fit.

"No, you sleep there. I don't want you to be uncomfortable and then in pain."

"Leon, it would make me feel so much better if you chose to sleep next to me."

"Okay, move over." I scooted gently to the furtherest end of the bed, which frankly speaking was just a couple of inches away. Leon slowly got onto the bed, his movements were slow, trying to prevent the bed from shaking. When he lay down, he put his arm around my shoulders. I scooted over and placed my head on his chest.

"Just for a few minutes." I hummed in response. 

We weren't together for just a few minutes, we ended up staying together for years after that.