Chapter 46 A Camera

Chapter 46 A Camera
Laura
I was speechless all the time Blade hugged me. I felt super comfortable that I just stood there enjoying it. I could feel his sincerity, something I learned just from looking at Julian. —I felt safe in this man's hands. Blade pulled away from me and took deep breaths. "Thank God we caught you before you disappeared. Mack was right in guessing you would pass here." "Trust me, I wanted to take the parking lot exit, I don't know why I changed my mind. You are just lucky." I teased him and he laughed at my small joke. Mack stood beside me. "Why the hell did you leave your room?" "I had to see my father before I left. My father is very important to me," I said. "Your father?" He asked. "Yeah." "More than your health?" Mack cut in. "You know me very well, father comes first—" I tried to smile but Mack wasn't having it. "Your mother was around. She went back home to take her bath, she's coming back to see you," she informed me. I thought about Felicity and a small smile formed on my face. "Oh shit!" Mack hissed, glancing at her watch. "Alright. I will leave you two here, something just came up. I will see y'all later." She waved as she walked away. "Blade! Don't let her try anything stupid!" Blade smiled and held my hands. "Your father is here right? Can I see him?" He asked. I smiled at him. It was so sweet of him to meet my father. "Alright, let's see him. I left him with the doctor, but he will be happy to see the man that has been taking care of me." A slight blush appeared on Blade's cheeks but he shrugged it off. I took the lift and my hand drifted centimeters from him. I wanted to hold his hand and he was also thinking the same. But we both killed the idea because now it wasn't the perfect time for it. "That's the room." I pointed at it as we approached it. Blade followed close behind me. The nurses had already left and my father was still awake. I knocked once and entered the room first. "Dad, I want you to meet someone—" My father's eyes drifted to the door as he saw Blade's tall figure enter. "This is Blade and he—" Father's eyes flew wide open and he started trembling profusely. He lifted his hands up, and fumed but I couldn't understand what he was going on about. "Dad! What's wrong?" I rushed to his side but his eyes were peeled on Blade which was very strange. Blade was surprised and he quickly looked around the room for something. "Father, talk to me. What's wrong?" I was scared he was convulsing and I checked his airway, but nothing was there. His eyes flew wide open. "Shit! Doctor! I need to get his doctor!" I screamed loudly. Blade suddenly administered an injection on my father and he calmed down. His eyes became drowsy and he fell asleep. "That's a sedative I just gave him. He must have had an allergy to something..." He touched his neck. "He should be fine when he wakes up." I threw my hands through my hair in worry. "Gosh, why would that happen now? Does that mean that he has relapsed? Does it—" "No, he is a 100% fine. I can assure you that, it's normal in his condition. They tend to have one or two episodes and they will be back to normal." He covered him in a blanket. I looked after my father for a long time because I was really worried about him. "You know, I have to clear his name. I owe him that, I have to prove that he was framed before I die..." I started. Blade sat down in one of the chairs and stared at me. "Why are you hellbent on clearing his name?" He eventually asked. "Because that's my life's goal. He was framed for something he didn't do, I have to prove it." "But at this point, you need to let it be. You can't keep on looking for this proof of yours in your condition." I stood up. "Look, I brought him into this mess when I married Julian. I shouldn't have done that at all, maybe the people of my pack would have still been alive. I ended up giving Julian the chance to commit genocide in my pack. So I at least owe it to the people that died that day." Blade slowly got up and nodded. "I see, and I can't stop you right?" "You can't stop someone that has nothing to lose, Blade. I'm going to prove it, even if I have to go all the way," I said it with full of resolve. "Alright, I will help you." "Really?" My eyes went wide. "Yeah, but first you need to take your medicines. You need to be strong for the journey ahead." I glanced at my father and smiled. "Yes, I will do that," I accepted. Blade and I remained in my father's room for a while until I decided it was time to go. I took my medicines and he took me away in his car. "So where are we going?" He asked me as he drove. "To the outskirts of town. I thought I should check up on something. My Father's cabin in the outskirts to be precise— but shit!" I cussed. "What's wrong?" "Julian blocked the border. He stopped me the last time I tried to go there," I explained. "Don't worry, I have that sorted out. But wait, your father has a cabin that far from his own pack?" Blade looked at me. "Yeah, he has one. He used to hunt in the forest when he was on holidays. He liked sleeping in the forest," I whispered, a distant smile playing on my lips. "Interesting person your father is." He mumbled as he drove on... We came upon the border and I was surprised they let us through as soon as they saw Blade's face. We stopped at the beginning of the forest and we had to continue on foot because it was a little deep within the dense vegetation. I led the way with Blade keeping me company and we reached there in less than five minutes. It was a place only my father and I knew. We used to sneak here when work was less for him and I was on holiday. The grass had grown heavily in front of the cabin since it hadn't been maintained in a long time. But still, it looked very good. Blade gave me the freedom to stare for a long time before he eventually joined me at my side. "Now that you are done reminiscing, can you tell me what we are looking for?" He asked. My smile slowly faded and I looked ahead. "I don't really know, I guess it has to be something very important. Something that can be used." "Alright. I will take the lower level, you take the upper level. That way we will cover more ground before dark." We started our search for "something" and it got more intense as the sun was slowly disappearing from sight. "Any sign, Blade?" I called after I heard something break downstairs. "No! Nothing here, I think I just broke your dad's favourite mug!" He replied from below and I chuckled. "You are already making an enemy of him! You sure Mr Raphael would like that?" "Well I have some charm, I will win him over!" Blade bantered with me. It was not until the sun had completely set that Blade and I took a break in the lower levels. We couldn't find anything that could be useful, it looked like a waste. We found an emergency lamp and turned it on in the dining room. I sat on the floor and held my knees with my hands. Blade cleared his throat and looked at me. "You know, I can understand why you are doing this." Blade started. "I'm also doing this for my father too." I leaned forward, my brows rising in surprise. "Your father is alive too? What happened?" "No, my father is dead. Long dead." There was a hint of bitterness in his voice. "I'm so sorry." "No need." He scoffed. "My father killed himself a long time ago, it was because my grandfather chose Julian's father, Logan as the alpha and Lycan king—" He picked up a stone and threw it away. And I felt his pain in that one act more than his words. "—He said it should have been him, he couldn't get over it and ended it. Blade looked at the ceiling and the air around us shifted. "That's why I'm working very hard, to give him what he couldn't have in his lifetime." I frowned. "You want to become king?" "No." He turned to me. "I am a doctor. Being a doctor is already enough, I get to save people's lives and in a way, save his." he explained but his eyes still carried the pain and something else. "Oh, I see. I'm glad you never gave up. Now that you are a doctor, you have all the respect you need." "Yeah right? I saved people's life day in day out, carrying patients from the floor to the hospital." I chuckled and then suddenly the word clicked. Floor— "Yes! That's it! The floor! The secret hiding place on the floor!" "Floor? What are you talking about?" I jumped. "I will be right back Blade, I just remembered something." "Yeah, I will be waiting outside for you." I turned into the kitchen and felt the floor. One of the wooden floorboards felt unnatural and I picked it out. A large space revealed itself on the floor and my eyes widened. There was a small camera within this space, with some money. I lifted the camera out and examined it. The battery was dead, but I knew it had to be something. I turned to the living room to show Blade. "Hey! Blade, I found something!" He looked at the camera and cocked his head at me. "What's that?" I walked to him. "A camera! I found it in one of the—" Something hard and compact suddenly hit me in the centre of my head. I barely felt the pain, but I lost consciousness quickly. I hit the floorboard hard and my vision darkened into nothingness.