Chapter Sixty-Five-Jessica

I woke to the sound of machines beeping. Sunlight hit my eyes and I squinted from the brightness.

My mind worked to figure out where on Earth I was.

This didn’t feel like the estate or the pack house. Not even my house back in Denver. In fact, it didn’t feel like anything from my memory.

I blinked back the sunlight and took in a hospital room. How did I end up here? I searched my brain for something that made sense. For something that would trigger the reason why I was here.

Slowly, I ran my palms down my body to see if I’d been hurt.

Nothing felt out of whack. Nothing felt wrong other than my current setting. I wasn't missing any appendages.

I blinked again, this time noticing food sitting on a table beside me. My stomach growled, so I pulled it over and uncovered the food. There was pot roast and

mashed potatoes staring up at me.

I opened the silverware and took a giant bite. I moaned loudly. Thank the Heavens, this is delicious.

My cracked hospital door opened, and a young nurse walked inside. “I’m your nurse, Bianca. How do you feel?”

“Why am I here?” I asked over a mouthful of food.

Bianca fiddled with the machine hooked to my IV. “You came in severely dehydrated and weak. We don’t know exactly what happened to be honest. The boys

that brought you in said you fainted.”

The boys…

Reality smacked me in the head. I’d been tossed into the water with no life jacket. The boys. The pack. Where was my head? I went to reach for my IV and

Bianca stopped me. “Wait. Wait. Not yet. The doctor has to discharge you.”

“Where is Mason? Where is my dad?”

She put her palms on my forearm. “Calm down. Mason, Jacob, and your father are downstairs in the cafeteria eating lunch. You’re fine. I’ll go tell them that

you’re up. Can you keep that IV in until I come back with the doctor?”

I nodded.

She left me in the bed, and I sighed in relief. I’d been searching for lycans in the field with the police department and the boys when someone mistaken

Mason for a lycan.

I’d never felt so much pain in my chest. It took me twice as long to get to him because of the pain radiating through my body. Shoving it down was the

hardest thing I’d ever done in my life.

Then there was getting to him. As he lay there dying, he looked so brave. As if he wasn’t afraid of death. Tears coated my eyes at the memories. Then my

wolf told me to do something crazy. To save him.

It felt like a fever dream now that it was over. I’d placed my hands on his chest and pleaded with God to let me take his pain. Maybe it was the royalty in my

blood, but either way, I’d retracted the bullet.

Now I was sitting on a hospital bed. How would the hospital help a werewolf?

I wasn’t sure. Hopefully, I’d find out when everyone made it back to the room.

Minutes slowly ticked by after I finished eating. I perked up at each person who passed my room until Mason stepped through the doorway.

He looked a disheveled mess. His ebony hair was smashed, and he had heavy circles hanging from each eye. “Baby,” he whispered.

Ushered tears streaked down my face as Mason walked over to me. He reached down, grabbed my face, and kissed me deeply. I felt his warmth and our bond

tightened immediately.

“What happened?” I asked. “Why did you bring me here?”

Mason kissed my forehead and bent down beside the bed. “We panicked. We didn’t know what to do when you passed out. You saved me, Jessica.”

I blinked at him. “I would do it again.”

More footsteps entered the room. Jacob stopped beside Mason and slid his palm over my head. “You’re alive,” he said.

I chuckled. “I’m alive. How am I alive? No, how is Mason alive?”

Jacob looked over his shoulder. “We think that your bloodline allowed you to save Mason.”

I sighed heavily. Being of royal blood was coming with more and more perks. Maybe I did like this.

“What does that even mean?” I mumbled. “I can save anyone? And what does it do to me?”

“It weakened your body. You were dehydrated when you came in. Your blood sugar was extremely low. But honestly, I think rest would have helped all of it.

Your wolf would have balanced everything back out.”

Mason squeezed my hand.

“Where’s my dad?” I asked.

“He’s talking with the doctor outside. He’ll be here soon,” Mason said.

“Can the doctor tell that anything is different?”

Jacob shook his head. “No, it’s nature’s way of keeping us hidden. He thinks you’re just an average girl.”

I sighed in relief. I didn’t need to add to any of our stresses. The hospital door opened. Dad and whom I assumed was the doctor walked inside. Dad stopped by the bed and kissed my forehead. “Are you ok? How do you feel?”

“I feel fine,” I said.

The doctor held his clipboard behind him. “Looks like you need to take better care of yourself. Your blood sugar was low, and several other things.

Please make sure to keep hydrated and eat, even when you are not necessarily hungry. I want you to come back in a week to check you out. Besides that, I’m

letting you go today.”

“Thank you,” I said.

The doctor spoke with the nurse in the doorway, who then took the IV out of me. “You can get dressed. Your clothing is on the bathroom sink. I’ll bring the

discharge papers around shortly.”

“Thank you.”

I swung my feet to the floor, feeling better than ever, and looked up at everyone. “Let me get dressed and we can be on our way.”

Mason helped me to the bathroom, though I didn’t need it, and slipped inside with me. He pressed me against the counter and caught my face between his

hands. “Thank you for saving me, Jess. I was so afraid that I would die and leave you here alone.”

I smiled and covered his hands with mine. “I was scared of that, too. I felt your pain. I can’t explain it.”

“How did you know to do what you did?”

I shrugged. “My wolf told me to do it. I can’t believe it worked.”

“Me either,” he laughed, lowering his forehead to mine. “I’m so glad you’re coming home today.”

“You look tired,” I said. “You should probably rest when we get there.”

“I think that’s a good idea. Do you need help getting dressed?”

“No,” I said, grabbing my clothes.

I dressed quickly. The nurse was ready with my discharge papers when I got out.

Walking out of the hospital, I felt the sunlight warm my skin. I sighed into the warmth, feeling my wolf stir inside of me. She hadn’t moved since this

happened.

Mason laced his fingers with mine.

Jacob and Dad waited for us by Dad’s truck. “Do you need anything from town before we go home?” Dad asked.

“Not that I can think of. Did the sheriff find any lycans?”

“Two,” Jacob said. “There should be more. The boys are going to keep hunting them at night.”

“Which gives them a chance to turn more people,” I said.

“The sheriff’s department put a curfew on the town until we figure it out. They blamed it on wild animals.”

“Which isn’t too far off,” I said.

“But we think you should rest for a few more nights before joining us. We don’t know enough about what you did to allow you to run.”

My wolf was pissed about that, but I understood. At least, I was coming back to the pack house alive with my mate. There was no way to read the future and

see what lay ahead.

A few days of rest wouldn’t hurt.

Mason helped me into his truck, jogged around to the driver’s side, and started the engine. The feeling of going home surged me.

There was nothing like home. No matter what your house looked like, home was home.

Mason snaked his fingers through mine. “I’m so glad to have you home.”

“Things look a lot different,” I said.

“Different can be good,” Mason said. “I’ll take different over a lifetime without you any day.”

I looked over at his handsome face. “Yeah, me, too.”