XILLON
As Annalise drifted off to sleep, I continued to run my fingers through her long, silky hair. I could hear the gentle rhythm of her breathing and the soft rustle of the sheets as she shifted. The scent of her shampoo filled my nostrils, a soothing aroma that made me feel relaxed. As I continued to stroke her hair, I felt the soft strands slip between my fingers, like silk. Eventually, my eyes grew heavy, and I too fell into a peaceful slumber.
I’m not sure how long I dozed off for, as it felt like a mere moment ago I had fallen asleep. As I stretch my arms, I frown in confusion, trying to figure out the time. I grab my phone from the nightstand, and the screen reveals that we’ve been asleep for over an hour. The smell of lavender coming from Annalise’s diffuser fills the air along with her tantalizing scent that drives me crazy. My shaft stiffens and I wish we had time to have a quickie, but we didn’t. The softness of the cotton sheets against my skin and the warmth of Annalise’s body next to mine, makes my need for her even stronger. But we need to hurry and take a shower before Jarek and the guys come knocking on her door.
Although a simple suckling on the mate’s mark would usually arouse Annalise, it’s not working this time. In fact, not a single twitch comes from her.
“Annalise? Sweetness, it’s time to wake up,” I whispered, nudging her shoulder. However, my attempt to rouse her seemed to be unsuccessful. I rolled her over gently and observed her eyes twitching under her closed eyelids, which showed that she was still in a dreamlike state. We had overslept, and I wasn’t sure how to get her up and moving.
As I rolled her over onto her back, I crawled on top of her and smoothed my hands over her face. “I’m sorry to disturb that amazing dream you must be having,” I said, kissing her lips. “But it’s time to wake up and get ready, baby.” Despite my efforts, there were still no signs of her waking.
I know she’ll probably wake up angry, but I don’t care right now. I tickle her ribs and ease her head from side to side, hoping to rouse her from her slumber. However, despite my efforts, she remains completely still and unresponsive. There are no signs of irritation, no frustrated sighs or grumbles, not even a twitch of her eyebrows. Nothing.
I yelled out Annalise’s name, trying to wake her up. “Baby, wake up! You’re scaring me,” I continued, jostling her body from side to side. Despite my efforts, there was no response from her. It was a bit on the harsh side, but I was worried and didn’t know what else to do.
I stilled myself and focused on listening to her heart rate. It was slow and steady, as if she were sleeping peacefully. Despite my attempts to reach her through a mindlink, I couldn’t get through to either her or Larissa.
‘Xavier, see if you can reach Larissa. Something isn’t right.’
‘I’ve already tried. They are both unresponsive. It’s as if they are gone.’
‘What the hell is going on?!’
‘Normally, I could tell you. But not in this case. I’m sorry.’
As soon as I heard his words, I knew I had to act fast. I immediately sent out a mindlink to Jarek and Alpha Maximilian, urgently requesting their presence. Something was wrong with Annalise, and I needed their help. Without wasting a moment, I quickly clothed Annalise in my shirt and put on my boxer briefs and gym shorts.
***
For eight agonizing months, Annalise has remained in a peaceful slumber since that fateful day. Throughout this time, I have stayed by her side, only leaving to attend school or let Xavier out to hunt. I often cuddle up with her in her bed, providing comfort in her unresponsive state. After two months, Cadence decided Annalise would be more comfortable at home, so we moved her from the hospital bed to her own bed.
To ensure constant nourishment, they have placed an IV for fluids and a feeding tube. Luna Celestia helps with baths while Cadance help change clothes and replacing the urine and fecal bag in my absence. To prevent muscle atrophy, Finley and I take turns stretching and working out Annalise’s limbs. Lorna has also been a source of comfort for us during the wait for Annalise to wake up. However, they have left at night while I remain by her side.
I wasn’t sure how long I had been asleep when I noticed a change in Annalise’s heart rate, which slowly made its way into my subconscious. I thought I was dreaming until I woke up and realized that she was still sleeping. However, her heart rate was increasing, returning to a more normal rhythm. Not wanting to startle her awake, I buried my nose in the crook of her neck and drifted back to sleep. But a sudden, shrill gasp that escaped from her lips interrupted my slumber.
As she woke up, she gasped, “Oh my goddess! What the hell is going on?!” Her voice trembled as she struggled to speak, barely whispering. If she hadn’t been in a deep slumber for eight months, her reaction would have been a shrill scream, I’m sure of it.
As I approach her, she thrashes about and attempting to remove the IV from her arm. Overwhelmed by emotions, she sobs uncontrollably. I act quickly and straddle her, pinning her arms down with my knees. I grasp her face with my hands and urge her to breathe. “You’re going to be okay,” I reassure her. “Let me mindlink Cadance so she can take out the IV and feeding tube.”
As she whimpers and nods her head in agreement, I close my eyes and concentrate on sending a message to Cadance through the mindlink.
As I crawl to her side and rest my head at the crook of her neck, she whispers, “Please tell me what’s going on? I was only with Selene for a couple of hours.”
“Do you mean Selene, the moon goddess? It’s been quite some time since you left, baby. Perhaps we should wait for Cadance and your parents to arrive before we explain everything that’s happened. I’m concerned that you may have suffered some damage to your brain or something else, and I don’t want to frighten you.”
“I’m not crazy,” she insists, frustration lacing her voice. “You have to believe me. Selene came to me in a dream and took me to another realm. It only lasted a few hours, but she showed me so much. She told me you are my fated mate and there’s so much I need to tell you.” She pauses, her words trailing off as she uncovers herself and notices a colostomy bag and urine bag attached to her. “What the bloody hell,” she screeches, her voice strained from the tubes down her nose and throat. “Please don’t dismiss me as having brain damage. Aside from these tubes, there’s nothing wrong with me.” I quickly cover her back up, unsure of what to say or do.
Annalise didn’t have enough time to explain what she wanted to tell me. Her parents and Candace arrived only a few minutes after I contacted Candace.
Upon learning that she had been in a coma for eight months, Annalise had a massive panic attack. Cadance had to administer tranquilizers to put her back to sleep, as she was on the verge of shifting. Larissa wasn’t taking the news any better than Annalise. Fortunately, everything worked out fine as Cadance was going to need to put Annalise under anyway to remove the feeding tube, as well as the tubes collecting her urine and other bile.
After Cadance and Alpha Max shooed me away, they transported her back to Cadance’s residence for minor surgeries and a wash-up. Finley, Lorna, and I have been waiting patiently in my room for updates, but time seems to be at a standstill. Although it feels like several minutes have passed, my cell phone tells me that only a minute has gone by.
As I spoke, I couldn’t help but cringe and shake my head. “Annalise claimed she was with Selene and that she had taken her to another realm, or something,” I recounted, my voice heavy with concern. “I just hope that whatever caused her to fall into this coma has left permanent brain damage.” The thought made me wince with sadness.
My mind raced back to when Annalise had spoken incoherently, her words nonsensical and erratic. “Annalise wasn’t making any sense,” I continued, “and then she started flipping out. It’s understandable, really. I mean, I would probably lose it too if I were in her position.”
“We all have a direct line with Selene as ancients, except for the newly born ancient shifters. The older ones, like Alpha Gabriel, are in constant contact with her. Therefore, it’s possible that Annalise has spent some time with Selene, especially since she was in a coma for a long time. Time passes faster on earth than in the Celestial realm, so it would make sense.” As Finley speaks, he pulls Lorna closer to him, possibly to protect her from outside forces or because he still has issues with us getting too close to each other.
“If that’s true, then why hasn’t Alpha Gabriel spoken up about it?” I ask. Finley doesn’t respond and simply shrugs, his eyes darting towards the door in anticipation of an update.
As we all waited in anxious anticipation for someone to arrive and shed some light on the situation, Lorna finally broke the silence. “Maybe,” she began, “we should wait until she wakes up and talk to her. There’s no point in putting blame on anyone. Even if Annalise was in the presence of Selene in the Celestial realm, there wouldn’t have been anything that anyone could have done to prevent her from falling into a coma. It’s not something anyone could have predicted or controlled.”
Lorna’s words were comforting, and she embraced Finley’s side as she spoke. Blaming Alpha Gabriel would only cause more stress and anxiety.
***
Annalisa whispered, “So, do you finally understand that I’m not crazy? Selene took me to the Celestial realm and showed me something that I cannot simply explain to you. Seeing is believing, after all. But what I can tell you is that Xillon is indeed my fated mate, and I also discovered that you two are fated mates as well. Selene gave us a choice to be with our twin souls, but we’ve all decided to stay with our fated mates, right? So, there’s no need to have this conversation for a third time.” Not only has her voice still not come back completely, but she didn’t want anyone else listening in on what she had to say.
“As Finley has already turned eighteen and Lorna is nearing the same age, I don’t see any issue with the two of you marking and mating each other now that we have some answers,” I said, gently holding Annalise’s head in my lap.
Annalise looked at Lorna and Finley and said, “According to Selene, our wolves won’t turn on each other if we stay with our fated mates. She explained that this is usually the case, but we don’t have to worry about it in our situation.”
Finley planted a soft kiss on Lorna’s forehead and said, “We’ll perform the mating ritual once she turns eighteen in a couple of weeks. Although we could do it now, I believe we’ve waited this long, so why not wait a little longer and do things right?”
“Are we all on the same page now? Wait, what month is it? Did I already turn seventeen? I feel completely disoriented. Why couldn’t she just tell me who my fated mate was from the beginning? I would have preferred being in a coma for a couple of months instead of eight. It’s possible that she had more to say, but she broke off the conversation with, ‘I’ve kept you too long,’ and then I woke up. This is driving me crazy!”
“Baby, you’ve got an entire month left before you turn seventeen. Don’t worry, you didn’t miss your birthday.”
“Xillon, let’s consider having our mating ceremony at the same time as Lorna and Finley. After all, we are all connected.”
“I don’t think your father or Alpha Gabriel would agree with that, Annalise. It will be quite a challenge to persuade them to let us proceed before you turn eighteen.”
Lorna interjects, casting doubt on the previous statement. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” she says. “According to the rules, Calissa and Jarek are not supposed to be mated until Jarek turns nineteen. However, they are allowing them to proceed with the ceremony since they already know they are mates. The twins are also set to be mated to Xena and Zariah. Perhaps we could plan a grand ceremony that includes all of them, but we should wait until Annalise is at least seventeen years old.”
“We’ll wait until Annalise is feeling better before speaking with both Alpha and Luna. There’s no need to rush, babe. Your voice is still recovering, and we can take our time.”
After chatting for a few more minutes, Finley and Lorna took their leave, giving Annalise and me some much-needed alone time before dinner. Despite having been asleep for eight months, Annalise dozed off quickly in my embrace. However, I stayed awake, fearful that she might slip away from me once more.