[Shout out to arianaganda44 for this amazing chapter cover of Bright and Win!! Blessings to you!!]
Bright Chivaaree
Every inch of me was pumped with adrenaline as I continued to traverse the way back into the Silver Moon's packhouse and it felt like a lifetime. Once we've arrived, Aegon hurriedly ran towards me and noticed that Win was on my back when I continuously whined. Slowly, he untied whatever Sky used to strap Win and took him in his arms before he rushed towards the infirmary.
I shifted into my human form and followed the direction that they went only to be blocked by Maeve with a dress on-hand for me. Quickly, I slipped into it and continued to dash inside as I tore the hallway until my eyes landed on Aegon who was standing outside of the emergency room where Win is.
"Dad, I'll go inside," I announced as soon as I reached the outside of the room, but he shook his head and held me by the shoulder. "Dad, please."
"Let them do their job Bright. Trust me, they'll save him."
"Dad, he will panic if he doesn't see me there inside with him when he wakes up. He needs me, Dad," I sounded like a little child who whined to my father.
"I know, but you need to listen to me and let them do their job for now. Let's just wait, for now, okay?"
"Bright, listen to me. They will save him," he hugged me tight and I hugged him back.
But my eyes were fixed on the door, yearning for my mate.
•••••
My mind was blank and my eyes stared into absolutely nothing against the busy hallway with all the nurses moving around. I sat down on the bench just outside the operating room not knowing what to feel or how to react at the moment. Or what to exactly do in moments like this one. It's been hours since we arrived and we've all been waiting for them to emerge from that door. I held unto my chest and feel his heartbeat - faint but it's still there and I know that he'll survive this.
"Bright?"
I whipped my head in the direction of the voice and saw Rose and Clayton walking towards me in the hallway. I stood up and ran to her to wrap her in an embrace making her cry hysterically while I rubbed her back to at least soother her pain. I failed them again because I wasn't able to prevent this to happen and I am disappointed with myself for letting all of this happen.
"I'm sorry, Mom," was all that I could say to her.
"It's not your fault, son," Rose's sweet voice rang into my ears.
Tears fell down when I stared into her hazel eyes; as I remembered how gorgeous and calming those hazel eyes were from my mate. Will I ever see those hazel eyes from Win again? And with that thought in my mind, I squeezed her just a little bit firmly.
My emotions flooded my whole being and the tears that I tried to suppress now just kept falling and I can't stop it anymore no matter how much I try. They seem to have a mind of their own and I let them slip through my lashes. What's the point of holding it back?
"It should have been me who is in there, not him. This is all my fault, I allowed these things to happen to him. I'm sorry..." I tugged her shirt. Rose pulled me closer and I nuzzled in between her neck and her shoulders - sobbing like a little child.
"Son, it is not your fault please don't blame yourself," Clayton reminded. I contemplated what he said until I found myself caged in his arms as he rubbed my back.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry..." I repeated those words while they held me closer.
Will my sorry be enough to save Win?
Finally, we pulled away from each other and Rose pulled her mate closer to her and continued to shed her tears while Clayton gave me a slow nod. My heart ached from the sight of them and how much I hated this feeling. Why did it get this far?
"Bright..."
Drake, Man, Boss, Fenris, Chase, Sky, Earn, and Pear gathered around me. We rounded and held each other closely while we bawled our eyes out. We were all hurting from what happened. We didn't want to lose him like this. We definitely don't want to lose him at all.
•••••
It was already five hours since Win entered the operating room. Everyone was waiting outside just feeling each other not knowing what to do or what to say. Each one of us was in extreme agony of what just unfolded before our very eyes. I threw my head back and looked at the ceiling without thinking about anything at all - just the mere idea of staring into nothingness as we wait. Wait? How long do we still have to wait now?
"Bright."
I turned my head in the direction of the voice, Pear. She handed me bottled water which I accepted without the intention of drinking it anyway. She sat beside me and leaned her head on my shoulder while giving me gentle pats on my back.
"Thank you for the water."
"Remember that we are always here for you, Bright."
I gave her a pat on her head to let her know that I am okay even if I was not. She gave me a peck on my cheeks before she stood up and sat right next to Fenris who embraced her right away. Earn was with Drake, leaning her head on his shoulder, and Drake gently stroked her hair to calm her down. Chase entwined his fingers with my sister's and his other hand wrapped her shoulders firmly. Man and Boss sat next to each other without talking, just there.
My head turned in the opposite direction and saw Maeve with Rose talking or more like comforting each other. Aegon and Clayton were by the nurses' station with their cups of coffee, talking about something that doesn't concern me. And here I was, sitting and breathing while my mate was still inside fighting for his life.
Finally, after a long wait, the Doctor got out of the room and he scanned his eyes until they landed on me. And like in sync, we all stood up and walked over to the Doctor. I stood in front of him while Win's parents stood on my side and my own parents on the opposite side. The others gathered behind just far enough from us and we all waited in anticipation of whatever he was about to say.
"The dagger that they used was laced with Wolfsbane but we were able to extract it before it reached his heart. It was a good thing that you were able to bring him back here quickly. If it took a little bit later, he could have died from aconitine poisoning."
"Oh." Oh.
"He has a concussion which is the least of my concern right now since it is not as severe as it seems and it isn't life-threatening. Though it would still cause some headaches and problems with concentration, memory, balance, and coordination when he wakes up. But other than that, his brain didn't bleed nor bruise."
"Okay."
"However, we ran some tests earlier and the results showed that he has sepsis from the lacerations on the different parts of his body. It was exposed to viruses and bacteria and it extremely infected the wounds."
"Sepsis?"
"Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition caused by the body's response to an infection. It means that the wounds all over his body released chemicals in the bloodstream to fight the infection but instead of fighting, it triggered an inflammation throughout his body. It became out of balance and is damaging multiple organs."
At some point, his terminologies were a little too complex - or maybe, my mind wasn't processing the facts that he was spouting and I just stood there looking at him intently. Can he tell it to me in a simpler way so we can be on the same level of understanding because I cannot fully wrap my head around these things right now? The doctor looked at me whilst nodding.
"His body is failing."
"Wait, what?"
"We drew some blood samples earlier for evidence of infection, clotting problems, abnormal liver or kidney function, impaired oxygen availability, and electrolyte imbalances. We also did wound secretions earlier to determine the kind of antibiotic that we will administer."
"..."
"We will move him to the ICU for close monitoring and treatment. And then put him on oxygen and intravenous fluids that will go directly into the bloodstream. This will prevent further damage by keeping the organs working and stopping the blood pressure from falling. However, if his blood pressure drops even after receiving the intravenous fluids, we'll introduce vasopressor medication. But for now, his blood pressure had been stabilized but we'll check from time to time."
"Just do whatever you have to do to save him."
"We administered the intravenous broad-spectrum antibiotics which we hope that his body will not reject to avoid complications. We don't want him under a stronger antibiotic right now. We did an ultrasound earlier and thankfully his ovaries were not infected, however, we still need to consult an obstetrician because sepsis can pass from him to the fetus, which is another reason to treat it quickly and efficiently."
"I'm sorry, we need to consult what?"
"Obstetrician. Do you already have one for him from your pack, Bright?" I shook my head.
"We need an obstetrician so they can give you updates on how sepsis will affect your mate and the fetus. They will also be in close contact with you immediately after childbirth so we can make sure that they're safe from sepsis. So, let's hope that his body will continue to accept the antibiotic that we are using for now."
"..."
"And for the electric shocks that he got from the collar. It was a transient unpleasant sensation with no fetus impact. The magnitude of the current and the duration of contact did not travel through his abdomen. But, monitoring should be continued for the risk of complications such as placenta abruption, oligohydramnios, and fetal distress. We'll call an obstetric consultant and a consultant obstetric anesthetist for you."
"I am having an information overload just now. Obstetrician? Fetus? Childbirth?" My eyes focused on the Doctor and he gave me a slight nod before he finally realized what had been going on in my mind since he came out of that door.
"Yes, we ran a complete blood count when he arrived earlier when we draw out blood samples and he can be no further along than about a month."
"What?!!!"
I heard it clearly but my mind couldn't register that information right now. I wasn't sure if I was ready to believe it. I glanced at Win's parents and they gave me a questioning look before I diverted my attention back to the Doctor. Right, they didn't know anything about Win being an Omega because I never told them about it.
"He never told me anything..."
"He probably doesn't know either, so we will do more tests to ensure his safety and the pup. For now, we'll move him to the ICU. Do you have any more questions for us now, Bright?"
"Not for now. Thank you, Doc."
"If you'll excuse me."
The doctor bowed down and I did the same before he made his way into the corridor while talking with one of the nurses. Aegon and Clayton now talked to the doctor once more about Win being transferred to the ICU. Maeve and Rose were staring at each other momentarily before they decided to sit back down on the bench.
My friends were as shocked as I was and I gave them that I don't know what the fuck just happened look and they all nodded before placing their butts back in their seats.
•••••
Hours passed by once more until Win was transferred to the ICU. Doctors were monitoring him more and I was able to have a good conversation with the obstetrician from Drake's pack. Her explanation was simple and straight to the point which made me understand Win's situation better and placed all my full trust in her and the rest of the team who was watching over Win.
"So, it was really true that he's a male Omega?" Sky inquired and I just gave her a nod before colliding my back against the chair. "Are you shocked?"
"Yeah, but I'm more worried about how things will unfold now that there's one more life that we'd have to think about on top of Win's situation. I know that this pup is a blessing to us by the Moon Goddess herself, but I was thinking - what if something serious happens and I have to choose who to save?" I sighed and ducked my head. "I'd choose Win."
"Bright."
"Which would be unfair to that life that just started to develop inside of him," I mumbled and shook my head. "But I need Win in my life, which makes me so upset just thinking about it right now because I know that I'd choose Win over the pup. He is me, he is my half, he is my life, he is my life energy, he is my lifemate. He is an inseparable part of me. I can not leave him, can not live without him."
"..."
"But knowing Win, he'd let me choose the pup over him to live on. My pup is innocent and doesn't deserve in the slightest to have such an end with so much life in front of him. But if I choose the pup, would I be able to raise the pup by myself while also grieving for him? Would I look at my own pup and know it was alive because Win was not, and not love it any less for that? I'm so selfish Sky!"
"Hey..." Sky hushed me before wrapping me in an embrace.
"No matter how much potential that pup has, it is only potential. It's selfish and probably against all the principles that both humans and werewolves have but I don't want the pup if it means I'd lose Win. Losing Win would also mean losing myself, and I don't think I can do it without him," I confided as warm liquid rolled on my cheeks. "I'm disgusting to be thinking such things to that unborn pup inside of him."
"..."
"I'm thinking a lot of things here in my brain and I think I'm losing my mind just trying to dissect the situation that's in front of me. I don't know what to do Sky. I'm so disappointed with myself right now because all that I can think of is to save Win and I can ignore that life inside of him. I...I don't want to lose Win. Not now! Never! I want him beside me for the rest of my life even if it means that I become greedy and selfish."
"Bright," Sky held my face until it was only her that I can see and my tears were streaking against my cheek. "Listen closely. You won't be choosing between your mate and your pup because they'd both survive this. You see those doctors there," she used her hand to make me look inside the ICU.
"They're doing everything that they can to make sure that both of them are safe. Trust them - trust Win - trust that pup inside of Win. They will survive this, okay?"
"Okay," I conceded before she let me go. "I will try."
"You won't try - because you will do it. Bright, please stop thinking of any negative things from now on and think of how you'll aid Win to survive this right now. And please, stop blaming yourself and stop being disappointed with yourself because that would never help you. Okay?" I nodded and we both just crashed against the chair once more. "They will survive this, Win is strong and so is the pup inside of him because it is you and him. So please," she pleaded.
We both fell silent once more as I continued to think about the things happening in front of us right now. I'm stills stuck on the fact that Win's body is failing because of what Frank did to him, and then I'd have to think about the fetus inside of him. I'm walking on thin ice and with one wrong step, that ice would break and come crashing down and I'd drown in the depths of that water underneath the ice. Not knowing what to do or how to work my way up to the surface without struggling or thinking of finally just giving up.
My eyes landed once more on that door, leading to the room where my mate lies and my unborn pup resides, too. And somehow, Sky was right to say that there's no need to choose in between since they'd definitely get out of this situation fit as a fiddle because they both were tough as a rock. For hours, that was the first smile that tugged on my lips as I thought of the fetus floating inside Win's body and soon enough, would be my little pup running around in circles around me.
And with that, I put my mind at ease and shut my eyes close as my mind filled my body with thoughts of Win.