Dying, that must be the only way to describe the sensations Iâm feeling. Iâm being pulled under in a sea of black nothingness, not being able to escape the feeling of being stuck. Time must be passing, but I have no idea how fast it goes. I canât sense my own body, like my mind is disconnected. At least there is no pain, no heat sensation, and I am happy for it. Iâm scared to wake up, fearful for the pain to come back. I let the daze take over and drown me in unconsciousness, because it feels easy and safe. At least for now.
A voice pierces through the intoxicating peace I am immersed in.
âVi! Violet, wake up!â A manâs voice calls. I donât recognize it, I only know it isnât my mateâs voice. I want my mate, I need him so bad.
I feel myself slipping back into the darkness when I feel my cheek beginning to sting. Did someone hit me?
Swimming to the shore of my consciousness, I hear more voices.
âOliver! Did you slap the Beta female?â Mayaâs voice hisses.
âItâs been days, Iâm just trying to help speed the process.â I feel his shoulders shrug. He must be holding me for me to feel his body react.
âDonât do that again. Next time I will tell Igétas that you hit his mate.â Maya tells him strictly.
âYou wouldnât.â He sounds a little scared.
Feeling my connection with reality establishing again, I smile a little. âShe wouldnât, but I will, Gamma.â
I can feel his body still for a second; âMom, she woke up! You should hit patients more often.â
In a flash, I feel Mayaâs soft hands work her doctorâs magic, checking vitals and making sure everything is fine.
âViolet, my dear, can you open your eyes for me?â
âNo,â My answer is scarce, and I feel Oliverâs chuckle vibrating in my chest.
I donât want to break the spell, fearful the pain will come back.
âPlease, try to open your eyes. It is over, your heat has passed. I need to check you properly.â
âFine.â Reluctantly, I try to open one eye, which makes Oliver laugh. When nothing seems to go wrong, I open the other one.
She continues her examination, and I let her. With my eyes open I am more aware of my surroundings. It seems like I am in a hospital room with only a bed, no bathtub in sight. I am sitting in bed leaning on Oliverâs chest. He is sitting behind me. Machines are hooked into my arms, head and chest, beeping annoyingly.
âI am thirsty.â I croak out. Oliver holds a cup with a straw. Within seconds the cup is empty.
âHow long?â I ask, still not speaking full sentences.
âHow long have you been like this? Almost a week.â Oliver answers his own question.
Igétas?â I want my mate close. As lovely as it feels to have Oliver holding me, I need my mate.
âYes, Igétas,â Oliver sighs. âHe is still being restrained. We wanted to make sure you were alright before we let him lose.â
âWhat?â Did they bound him?
âDonât scare her.â Maya says when one of the machines starts beeping faster.
âHe is still in a cell. We needed to get your, uhm, situation under control.â
âSo, can he get out now?â I want him by my side.
âLetâs wait a little longer, it isnât going to kill him to stay a bit. We need to talk.â Maya turns to Oliver, âCan you get Dr. Brown? Itâs urgent.â
He leaves the room without objecting. Iâm noticing now itâs the same hospital room in which Iâve been before, the brown flower paintings greeting me.
Maya takes a seat on my bedside. We talk a little about how I feel. Better is the word Iâm using a lot. She takes me to the bathroom for a quick sponge bath, and I get to brush my teeth. When we go back to the room, the smell of meat, vegetables and fruits assaults me.
âYou need to eat. You lost a lot of weight and you need to get strong fast.â She doesnât have to tell me twice. I couldnât even stand on my own feet, Maya carried me to the bathroom.
I eat only a little bit, feeling full quickly. Maya explains that my stomach needs to get used to being full or something like that. My mind is with Igétas. He is being locked up. Because of me, because we arenât mated. It sucks.
A knock on the door gets me out of my thoughts. Dr. Brown smiles at me and holds out his hand for me. I shake it, not sure why he needs to be here.
âNice to see you are out of your heat.â I raise my brows at his statement.
âIt is good that you are alive and doing well.â He adds, and I stare at Maya from the corner of my eyes.
âYes, she did pull through, but I need to talk to her and I want you present. Is that okay with you two?â
Maya waits for an answer. I just shrug. I have no problem with him being here, I just want to get away as early as possible. My mate is waiting.
âOkay, letâs dive in.â Maya sits on my bedside and Dr. Brown on the chair.
âMaybe start off slow.â Brown interjects and Maya nods, only wanting to do the best job.
âViolet, your heat was intense. Iit was very strong. We didnât expect you to be able to have heat cycles because of your human body. Now, weâve learned that even a human who is mated can experience heat. It also took us by surprise because it was a long time after you two had met. Most times it comes earlier into the relationship. Stillâ¦â She paused, looking at Dr. Brown and then back at me, âthat doesnât explain why your heat was so powerful.â She takes my hand in hers.
âTell me, Violet, why was your heat astonishingly mighty?â
I have my own theory, but I donât know if I should share it with them. We know Igétas and I already have a target on our backs. The less people knowing about our suspicion of being a gold tier mating, the better.
Maya squeezes my hand. âHoney, I almost lost you three times. Three times your soul was closer to the Moon Goddess than it was to us. If you have any information that will help us understand, we need it.â
Her eyes are pleading for me to tell her.
Should I?