Chapter 57

Chapter 57: Chapter 57

Chapter 57

KAI’S POV

How quickly could a night turn sour?

Mine shifted within seconds. I couldn’t believe it. It was a horrifying feeling to behold, and it was my reality. My reality.

On the floor was my beloved, and there was nothing I could do. I felt our bond fading away, telling me he was losing consciousness and his heartbeat was slowing down.

"What did you give him?" I questioned the lad who looked too stunned to speak. Eyes wide and mouth agape, he couldn’t save himself.

I wanted to cross over the counter, my wolf ready to tear him apart in the rage now coursing through my veins, but Clawface arrived just in time.

"Luna needs you right now, Alpha. Please."

The glow in my eyes darkened but softened, settling upon Alex again. The ballroom had turned nearly quiescent with silent hushes and much confusion. The Court and other royal subjects and bloodlines whispered to one another, a few bewildered, the majority intrigued.

I carried Alex in my arms, and Clawface strode next to me. Then Father stopped before me.

"I’m taking Alex to the infirmary, Father. Please step aside."

"You’ve already delayed your coronation, Kai. Use your head for once. If you leave right now, you’d forfeit your title."

Father was a joker. Truly, he was. And here I thought they all understood me by now. If Alex was not here, all of this meant nothing to me. He’s the only reason I’d even accept this power and title.

"Father, nothing matters more to me than Alex."

"He wouldn’t want you to waste all his trouble either. I’ve come to respect your bride, and I know if he were conscious and well, he’d want you to finish what you started. Leaving your Court means you’re insulting the rituals, and hence, the Coronation would end," Father explained.

When did he become the type who wanted me to stay Alpha King?

He’d always been against it, so why was he helping me with reasons I didn’t ask for?

Clawface grasped my shoulder.

"Let me take care of the Luna for you, Sire."

His eyes bled with a silent plea.

The air felt like it was watching me. It waited to see what I would choose. Two dark choices, really. I felt every eye on me, burning my skin with their stares. They all awaited my next words, and the tension shadowed my airflow.

Finally, I blinked.

"Take him and keep me updated. He must be fine. His pulse is weakening, so be fast."

I clutched onto Clawface’s collar, my eyes glowing with my wolf’s essence. He nodded and hurried out of the room.

Tonight would be a long one spent in hell.

Alex’s POV

Sleeping through an apocalypse would be an understatement of how I felt. My entire structure, bones and muscles alike, felt limp and sore. My skin felt like it needed bathing and the pores freed to the air.

Yet from within, I felt cold while I sweated on the outside.

My fingers hurt when I tried to move my hand, so I calmed and simply opened my eyes.

To a blinding light.

My groan caught the attention of a presence who muttered,

"Sorry, Luna.

"I need a nurse," the presence completed, and I heard someone else rush out of the room with hurried footsteps.

Eventually, the light was turned away, and finally my sight could accommodate my surroundings.

I was in a clinic. The smell of sickness and medicine was pronounced, lingering with certainty.

"Why am I here?"

To my left was Clawface. There were three nurses whose faces hovered above mine. While one was reporting my vitals, another monitored details on the computer, and the last was checking me over.

She asked a few questions that I could barely answer before they all left.

"What’s all of this?"

"You’ve been comatose for thirty hours."

"What?"

My head throbbed when I bolted upright, only to land back onto the pillow. I couldn’t even sit halfway up. It felt as though I’d been in a car accident, then passed through fifty surgeries just before waking.

Terrific and hellish, in all honesty.

"Kai?"

"He’s still at the Castle. He’s continuing the ritual."

"Oh, crap. I wanted to be there with him," I complained. I wished to offer him all the motivation he needed.

"To ease your worries, he’s doing well."

Clawface smirked. He barely smirked. At me, that was.

"But I’m sure he’d be proud to hear your voice. I shall let him know right away that you’re awake."

Clawface stood and left the room.

My observation led to the realization that I was on a drip and that many things were being fed into my veins, and my skin felt far too sore.

I was still perplexed. A million and one questions roamed my mind.

Was I poisoned?

Was it the drink?

More thoughts spilled through my mind. Clawface wasn’t the type I’d ask questions, so I’d rather he came back here with a phone so I could speak with Kai. I feared I’d cry when I talked to him.

I felt so sorry I couldn’t be there for him, and although I hadn’t heard the reports of whatever happened to me, I believed it must have been the drink. And if truly it was, then I was stupid.

Countless times Kai had warned me to be careful of who I spoke to, yet I had easily trusted that lad. His innocence, I had fallen for.

I should be more careful, and I needed to learn better.

"Ugh, this headache..."

"Don’t worry. It’ll lessen." An unfamiliar, hefty voice spoke.

My eyes snapped open, but my heart calmed when I saw the outfit. He was the doctor, no less.

"Oh, good. Please, I need someone to tell me what’s wrong with me?" I said to the man who stopped beside me.

As he placed the stethoscope upon my chest, my brows furrowed slightly, but I said nothing.

"We need more of your blood samples to be sure you’re perfectly fine."

"You didn’t answer my question," I pressed, and my heart thundered.

I had heard doctors only hid your illness if it were something serious and devastating.

Was I dying?

And then he spoke as though he heard my unspoken whining.

"Oh, you’re fine, Luna. It’s good news."

"Which is?"

I dripped with curiosity.

He took his time, killing me with suspense...

"You’re pregnant, and you’re carrying the heir."