The doctor came running through the door within seconds. Maria, Johnathan, Alex came in immediately after.
"Doctor, you're here! Please help my mate."
"Did you check that she has a pulse?"
"Yeah, she's still breathing. I think she might've fainted."
"I'll check on her with your permission, of course."
"Go for it, doctor. Please help her."
He sat down on the bed and opened his medical bag. He took out his stethoscope and placed it on her heart a few times. Then, he nodded and took it off.
"Well? How is she, doctor?"
"She has a pulse, so there's nothing to worry about. She's weak from using up too much magic power. I'm just gonna give her a cotton wad with alcohol to smell. Once she smells it, she'll wake up."
I nodded.
He opened his medical bag and took out a cotton wad and alcohol. He poured a little bit of the alcohol onto the cotton wad and put it under her nose.
Immediately, she woke up.
I opened my eyes and saw a doctor in front of me.
"She's awake," he said.
"Thank you so much, Dr. Phillips," Johnathan responded.
"Yes, thank you for helping my daughter," my mom added.
The doctor nodded. Then, he looked at me.
"Melody, you must get some rest so your strength can be restored. Try to avoid any difficult, or tiring physical activity for a few days. Also, try to limit the amount of magic you use so that this can be avoided over time. Other than that, it's nothing serious. I hope you feel better."
He smiled.
I smiled back at him.
"Thank you, doctor. I'll make sure to take care of her," Max responded.
"I'll take my leave now. Have a nice night."
"You too."
"How are you feeling, Mel?" Alex asked.
"I'm okay, really. I guess I just used too much power."
"We need to be more careful next time," Johnathan said.
"Try to get some rest, okay honey?" my mom asked.
"I will. Thanks, mom. Thanks, guys."
"We'll leave you now. Sleep well," Alex said.
"Feel better, Mel," Johnathan said.
I smiled at them one last time before they shut the door.
The minute they left, Max looked at me. I could tell he was worried.
"Max, it's okay. You heard the doctor. It's nothing serious. I just need to relax and learn to limit my power usage that's all. Come here."
I patted his side of the bed.
He took a deep breath and walked over, sitting down on the bed.
He didn't meet my eyes.
"This is all my fault. I'm so sorry, Mel."
I cupped his face with my hands, making him look at me.
"It's not your fault. I should've been more careful. You've literally done everything for me and I can't thank you enough."
I kissed his cheek and hugged him.
He hugged me back, rubbing little circles on my back.
I smiled.
"I love you, Max," I whispered in his ear.
"I love you, too, Mel," he whispered back.
We stayed like that for a while. I started to fall asleep and I guess Max noticed.
He pulled away from our hug.
"You're tired. Let's go inside the bed. You need to get some rest, okay?"
"Okay."
We opened up the covers and went inside. Max turned off the lamplight on the nightstand and turned to face me. He kissed my forehead.
"Goodnight, Mel," he whispered.
I smiled.
"Goodnight."
I opened my eyes to see Max's beautiful, blue eyes staring back at me.
"Good morning, beautiful."
I smiled.
"Good morning."
"How are you feeling, Mel?"
"I'm a lot better now."
He ran his fingers through his hair. He looked like he was deep in thought.
"Max? What's wrong?"
"I think we need to talk about what happened."
I started telling him everything.
"Alex and I searched everywhere for you. We told Johnathan what happened, too. Eventually, Destiny told us what was going on. She gave Alex and I powers to defeat Veronica and save you. I ended up teleporting the three of us across the labyrinth and through the "escape room". We found you and then Veronica decided she wanted an actual fight. She put a complete mind-control spell on you. Your eyes turned black and you only listened to her. I-"
He interrupted.
"Mel, please let me explain."
I took a deep breath before letting him explain.
"I could see everything that was going on. I just couldn't move or speak freely. It was like I was her little puppet. I still had my own thoughts on the inside but the outside was being controlled. I saw you defeat her, I saw when you came back for me, and I heard what you told me before I woke up. After listening to your words, I realized I had to escape. I had to do it... for you. There was no way I was giving up, not after everything we've been through. I tried pushing my way out, trying to break out of what seemed like a box that looked like me and I was able to escape. When I looked into your beautiful eyes, I knew I had made it."
I was speechless. My body trembled.
"Y-you heard everything?"
I thought about my talk of marriage and prepared myself for the worst. Most guys leave whenever someone mentions the word marriage because it scares them off. I couldn't imagine my life without Max.
He took my hands in his.
"I heard it all. That's the main reason why I wanted to talk. Mel, I've told you before, I can wait as long as you need me to. I love you so much. All I want is to make you happy and I completely understand you. The last thing I want is you to feel like you're being pressured or forced into anything. The next step will only be when you're ready. I'm willing to wait no matter how long it takes, babe."
He's so sweet. I can't believe he's my mate. I'm the luckiest girl in the world.
"Oh, Max."
I pulled his hands forward so they were around me and hugged him tightly. He hugged me back and passed his fingers through my hair.
I pulled away slightly to look at him.
"You're the best mate in the world."
He smiled.
"No, you are."
He started to slowly lean in until our noses touched. I smiled. I put my hands around his neck and kissed him. He kissed me back.
First, the kiss started off gentle and sweet. Eventually, it got rough and full of want. I had missed him so much. He made it so hard to control myself.
I pulled away out of breath.
"Don't ever... leave me... like that... again. That's... an order."
He smirked.
"I promise it won't happen ever again, Mel. Though, I love it when you order me around. It's pretty hot."
I blushed. I needed to control myself. I took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me."
"Don't be. You should do that more often. Jeez, you have no idea how much I've missed you," he said, caressing my cheek.
I blushed.
"I've missed you too, Max. I literally went crazy looking for you."
"I know, Mel. I'm just glad we're together again."
"Me too."
We looked into each other's eyes for a while, not saying anything. After a while, he put a strand of hair behind my ear.
"Let's go get some breakfast. I'm sure everyone's probably waiting."
I smiled.
"Yeah, everyone always wakes up earlier than us for some reason. I'm such a sloth," I said, shaking my head.
"You're my little sloth," Max responded with a smile.
I laughed and shook my head.
"Come on, let's go before they barge in here and disturb the peace."
He smiled and we both got out of bed. We held hands as we walked over to the living room.
We saw Alex, Johnathan, my mom, and Cassandra, Johanthan's mom, sitting at the table.
"Look it's Mel!" my mom exclaimed, running over to hug me.
I laughed and hugged her back.
"Well, well, well. Look who finally showed up?" Alex teased.
"Oh, stop it. You guys wake up way too early," I replied, laughing.
"Sorry about that, Mel. Ever since he was a pup, I've always trained Johnathan to wake up early and take care of his duties. I guess it just stuck with him," Cassandra said.
"We don't need to talk about little me," Johnathan groaned.
We all laughed. Max and I sat with them.
"So anyway, how are you feeling, Mel?" Johnathan asked.
I smiled.
"I'm feeling way better now. No need to worry."
"Well, that's great because guess what?" asked Alex.
I looked at her in confusion.
"Oh no, what do you have up your sleeve?"
She smiled.
"We have to practice for your big show jumping competition, silly!"
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