TWENTY-NINE. Elijah

POV - Lillia

My hand is vibrating and warm, and comfort washes over my body. I wake later, my stomach growling, but no one in my room. I find the buzzer thing and press it. About five minutes later, a woman I don’t recognise walks in.

“Hello, Lillia, I’m Mary,” she introduces herself. When I think of the name Mary, I think of an older woman who is a bit chubby. This Mary is not like that. She has medium brown skin, high cheekbones, brown slightly slanted eyes, and long black hair, which she wears in a plait.

“How can I help you?”

“Um, I’m hungry,” I reply. Mary smiles and nods at me.

“I’ll call the kitchens to bring you something. Anything else?”

“Um, yeah, sometimes I feel a tingling in my hand… and then it disappears. What is it?” I ask. Mary’s smile grows wider.

“I think that’s your mate. He’s been visiting you since you’ve been here,” Mary replies.

“My… mate?”

“Yes. You shifted a week ago. It must have been your birthday last week, but we didn’t know because… of something. Anyway, he’s been visiting you, which is why you have improved so much since your shift,” Mary continues.

“Oh. Okay,” I reply.

I’m not stupid. I know what a mate is. I just didn’t realise my birthday had happened, and I shifted… how long have I been here for?

Mary returns with a tray of food, and my stomach rumbles as the scent of the food wafts towards me.

“The doctor ordered soft foods to start off with. I hope you like chicken soup and sweet potato,” Mary says, taking the lids off the plates. I don’t care what’s in front of me; I can’t wait to devour it.

“Did Danni tell you where the bathroom is?” Mary then asks. I shake my head in response.

“You have your own bathroom through this door. Call if you need me,” Mary says before she leaves. I look at the door she indicated before taking a spoonful of watery chicken soup into my mouth. I eat so quickly that I end up hiccupping, but I don’t care. I then start on the sweet potato. I’ve never been a fan of this hard pink root. I think because it is really hard to peel and cut, but I’m surprised at how good it tastes.

Gobbling that down I then turn to the slice of bread, which I butter thickly and eat. I have a small poppa of milk, orange juice and red jelly left on my tray, and I eat the jelly next. My stomach feels sore when I finish the last of my milk, and I can feel it dribble out of my mouth. Unlady-like, I know. I wipe the dribble away with the back of my hand and carefully slide my body out of bed.

Taking slow steps, testing the weight on my feet, I venture to the bathroom. I use the wall and door to help support me and am surprised at what I see when the bathroom door opens. I don’t know what I expected, but I didn’t expect to see the room as pretty as it is. I expected a more industrial bathroom. Not the elegant room before me. The room has a separate shower cubical and bathtub, and his and hers sink on the counter. The tiles on the walls are white, and the taps are gold, contrasting nicely with the green marble on the counter and shower floor.

I do what I must in the bathroom, washing my hands thoroughly afterwards. As I pump the soap into my hands, a smell of pinecones and lavender reaches my nose. I sniff my hands to check if it’s the soap, but no, it’s not.

Confused, I walk out the bathroom door and see who I guess is my mate sitting in a chair next to my bed, looking at his phone.

I watch as a strand of his dark red hair escapes from his beanie and across his forehead. His brown eyes are focused on his phone screen, and I notice he uses both thumbs to type something. When done, he looks up, his eyes twinkling and his mouth turning upwards.

“H-Hi,” I awkwardly stutter, looking at my mate.

“Hi. How are you feeling?” Elijah asks. His voice makes my knees feel weak. I can’t believe how enticing he sounds. I go over to the bed and sit on it, crossing my legs and facing him.

“Okay, I guess. What day is it?” I ask.

“Wednesday.”

“And the date? How long was I out for?”

Elijah tells me the date, and I’m a little shocked. My birthday was a week ago. He told me I was in a medically induced coma for three weeks.

“Did I shift?” I ask. It didn’t occur to me to ask this question of Danni or Mary.

“Yeah. I didn’t see it, but I knew…” he begins.

“Because you’re my mate,” I complete. He nods. We sit there, not saying anything, and I can feel the room grow awkward with all my unasked questions.

“I heard you helped me get better,” I say after sitting there silently for a while.

“Yeah, I came and visited every day. I’m sorry for what happened to you,” he smiles sadly. Is he sad because of what happened to me or because he will now have to reject me? I gulp at that thought. I’ve felt unwanted growing up all my life, and this wouldn’t be any different.

“It’s not like you told Olivia to attack me… or did you?” I ask, trying to make a joke out of this awkward situation.

“Of course not. I’d tell her to do it in the woods when I take you on that date,” he smirks, making me raise my eyes.

“Our date, huh? And what date would that be?”

“You know, an overnight sleepout under the stars, sitting around a bonfire, roasting meat….” Elijah says, his eyes drifting off as he imagines it. I can’t help but smile at his cheerful voice.

“Dreams are free,” I can’t help but tease. I think he likes me…

“Lillia, come out for a date with me,” Elijah then asks, surprising me. I don’t say anything for a second, and then a smile forms on my lips.

“I would love that,” I reply.

Elijah grins, taking my hand in his, which sends tingles through my fingers and up my arm. We sit there, looking at each other, and I find it impossible to look away. So… he’s not going to reject me, then?

“So um, uh, that means you want to be my uh, um ma- mate?” I ask like a stuttering fool. Elijah stands from his seat, his grin getting bigger.

“If you’ll have me. Lillia, do you accept me as your mate?” Elijah asks. I nod immediately, making Elijah step forward and cup my face in his hands.

“Mine,” he says, bending down and kissing my lips.

Embarrassingly, I think I sigh. Okay, I lied. I freeze first, not knowing what to do, then follow Elijah’s movement with his lips. And then I sigh. Opening my mouth allows him to put his tongue in my own. Elijah’s kiss deepens, and I feel him press closer. I unwrap my legs and shuffle forward, pushing myself into him.

“Wow,” I can’t help but whisper when Elijah and I finally pull apart. I look into his eyes, and all I see is desire.

“You can say that again,” he whispers, sounding husky.

“Wow,” I reply to his sexy voice. Elijah laughs, and I join him.

//\\///\\\//\\

“Dorian,” I smile when my father enters the room. He smiles at me slightly, but I can see the sadness in his eyes.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

“I’m fine, Lillia; how are you?”

I nod and shrug at the same time. I’m good, I guess. Tired. A little sore. Missing mum.

“I’m okay. How is mum? I ask people, but they act funny,” I admit. And it’s true, I’ve asked after mum, and if I can see her, but they change the topic and don’t answer my questions. Mary did say to ask my father, while Danni looked like she was going to cry. Grandad changed the subject, and so did Elijah. They’re keeping something from me, and I want to know.

“Your mum… passed away while you were in a coma,” my father says, trying to hold his head up high so I can’t read the emotions in his eyes, but I can hear it in his voice. He’s distraught.

“Oh, goddess!” I mumble, tears falling down my face. I knew she was sick and dying, which is why we came here, but I thought she was getting better; I thought we had more time together…

I feel Dorian’s warm arms wrap around me as I cry ugly tears. Mum was my constant, my rock. What I went through at school and at the pack she knew about, she was my support. Now I’m all alone…

//\\///\\\//\\

Dr Wilkins and Dr Parnell came in to talk to me about my injuries and my subsequent recovery. Dr Parnell explained that I was close to dying and that I might just have if it hadn’t been for my wolf and my mate.

They asked me what the last thing I remembered was, and Olivia’s face entered my thoughts. My previous pack beat me up, but to them, it was like a game. With Olivia, she was out for blood.

And everyone's treating me like I was fragile. I wanted to know more about what happened and why, who found me, and how they learned it was Olivia, but everyone I asked was evasive. The only thing that made me smile was my wolf, which I learned is named Penny. She would jump up and down in my head and drool every time Elijah walked into my hospital room, constantly talking in my head and telling me how much she loved our mate and his wolf Blaze. I laughed at her antics.

I’ve been awake for a few days, trying to cope mentally with all the information filling my head. Danni visits me when she can, and Dorian spends his time sitting with me in my room. When he’s not here, Elijah and Grandad are here. I’m rarely by myself.

I sighed loudly, making everyone laugh when Dr Wilkins told me I could finally leave the hospital. I felt like I was constantly being babysat and wanted some alone time.

//\\///\\\//\\

I made myself some weet-bix I found in the cupboard and put the jug on to make myself a cup of tea when I heard a knock on the door. Quickly wiping my hand on my clothes, I walk to the door and open it.

“Elijah,” I say, smiling. I take a step back and let him in.

“How are you coping,” Elijah says, leaning down and kissing my cheek. I feel myself blush.

“It’s been a day, if that,” I reply, walking back to the kitchen.

“Tea?” I ask. He nods, and I make us cups of tea and place them on the kitchen island.

“How are you coping?” Elijah asks again as he watches me take my medicine with my tea.

“I’m not sure,” I reply, shrugging my shoulders.

“I have so many questions and feel like nobody has the answers. Either that, or they don’t want to tell me,” I complain.

“What do you want to know?”

“Well… why did Olivia do what she did? Who found me? Who was she with? How did they find out it was her? What was her punishment? I know she was sent to SilverLock, but what were the details?”

I sigh and eat my weet-bix.

“Olivia confessed that she did it because she was jealous of you. She saw us together, and she was jealous,” Elijah says, looking at the kitchen bench. I want to tease him and say, so it was your fault? But that’s probably not appropriate, and Elijah already looks guilty about it, so I don’t say anything.

“As for your other questions, you were found by an Omega, who wasn’t supposed to be cleaning the area she found you in. She was our first suspect. However, lucky she did find you when she did. We could have lost you. Olivia was helped by her two friends, Erin and Shoshanna, and Shoshanna was the one who confessed.”

I raise my eyebrows at the last statement. Shoshanna never came across as someone who you could trust. I’m surprised she spilled the secret. Obviously trying to save her own skin.

“I guess she got punished less as a result?”

“No. She got the same treatment as her friends. The girls were sent to the Royal Pack and sentenced there. Your dad went. Because of who you are, they were sentenced to three months in SilverLock; they must serve as omega’s for the Royal Pack for the next twenty years.”

I nod and sip my tea. I hope I never have to see the three of them again.

~

Edited with Grammarly