Chapter 62: Chapter Sixty-Two: Hers

"Stop moving, you dummy!" I pressed in on the wound as Finn scrambled to sit up. It wasn't easy with his arms cuffed behind his back. I nearly screamed in sad frustration as more blood oozed out of the biggest hole. "I thought Lycan could heal faster; all the fantasy book I've ever read says so." 

Finn chuckled and winced simultaneously, "Yeah, lore isn't always the most reliable. We do heal faster than a normal human. Based on the way that this wound is burning, though, I'm pretty sure that your peach of a mother injected some wolfsbane along with whatever knock-out drug she used." 

"I can't believe Mother and Chad are working with Cal. It makes more sense now, though." I mumbled, ripping off some of the fabric from the hem of my dress with my arrowhead pendant. I was grateful the material was wool because it helped absorb most of the blood, but it also meant I had a minimal supply without obliterating my dress and leaving me naked. I was surprised to see my necklace still clutched tightly in my broken hand when I awoke earlier. You would think Chad would have taken it as I had used it as a weapon. Maybe he was so confident I was too weak to fight back to care. My entire body hurt, especially my cheekbone where Chad's heel had landed. Luckily, he hadn't punched my eyes hard enough for them to swell shut, but My mouth wasn't so lucky. My lip was split and swollen. My brace had taken the brunt of most of the punches, so my hand was swollen and throbbing. My back and sides cramped and protested when I moved too much. 

"I can't believe they stuck us in a padded room." Finn looked around, pulling me from the pain evaluation cycle. The more I thought about it, the more pain I felt. Finn's legs were limp as he tried to adjust his body. I shot a daggered look at him until his face scrunched in apology. 

"Please, Finn, don't talk about it. I'm trying really hard not to panic because I need my mind and body sharp. So while we are here, please do not talk about it." I pressed the bandage to his shoulder and began to wrap it tightly against his body. I possessed no medical knowledge, but stopping the bleeding with pressure was what they did in every movie, TV show, or book I've consumed, so it had to have some validity. 

"I know of a few ways to keep our minds sharp." Finn raised his eyebrow suggestively. With his swollen face, pale skin, and shallow breathing, the gesture was far from appealing, seeming more comedic than anything else.  

I giggled while rolling my eyes, "Come on, none of that. I know you only have hots for one person." 

His eyes cut to mine as his forehead scrunched again, "What's that supposed to mean?" 

"You and Hugo have this weird tension between the two of you. Sometimes, when I see you standing next to one another, this spider string floats between you two." I shrugged, tying off the last of the bandage. "There, that will at least lessen the bleeding for now." 

Finn grew silent. He watched me closely with a glimpse of disbelief. "No one knows how I feel, not even Hugo. I've hidden it for so long." 

I scooted my butt up against the wall to sit next to him and looked directly at him. "Take it from someone who has been hiding myself in rooms like this for years to appease the people around me; don't hide it. Your family will accept you, I promise." I let him process that for a few minutes before adding, "Or I will make them accept you."  

Finn gave me a watery yet boyish grin, then in a raspy, broken voice, said, "I've only told one other person about my crush." 

I gave him a teasing smile, "Yeah? Let me guess, Aurora?"

He shook his head, "No, my sister Caitlín. She was like a mother to me and saw my crush before I even understood it myself. My eldest sister was the most amazing person in the world." 

"I haven't met her yet. From what Ollie told me, you guys have a whole litter of siblings. I only know you, Aurora, and of course *Callum*." My voice dripped with hatred on the last name. 

Finn's face fell. "Yeah, there are a lot of Conri siblings. You won't ever get to meet her, though. After Theo died, she went nuts. They locked Caitlín in something like this for two years. One night, she escaped and jumped off the top of the Cunningham Institute's building. She didn't survive." 

I stared at him, "Did Caitlín know my father?" 

Finn stiffened, "Theo was your father?" 

I nodded slowly, confused by the question, "Did Ollie and Neal not tell everyone? Theo is my father." 

Finn shook his head, "His Majesty usually doesn't tell me much. I think he believes I will try to take the throne from him, like Cal. But that explains why my brother is head over heels for you." 

I blushed, "I haven't told him I love him." 

A sad chuckle escapes Finn's lips, and his eyes start to droop, "We all know you love him, Luna." 

Tears burned my eyes as I pressed my hand to my stomach. I had begun cramping, and no amount of ignoring the pain would change anything. "I haven't told him that I think I'm pregnant." 

Sobs choked and slurred my words, but Finn's eyes dropped to my belly. Finn guarded his emotions by blanking his expression, but he put his head on my shoulder. I took a shaky breath, "I lied to him, Finn. I told him I didn't want kids, knowing that I could be pregnant right now. I was taking a test when Cal showed up, so I don't know for sure."

Finn's forehead pressed tighter into my shoulder, his eyes sealed shut, and we sat there in silence. My opposite shoulder burned, so I closed my eyes and concentrated on the burning feeling. The shame I felt at revealing all of this to Finn, whose brother I was betraying, was too much. The mark on my shoulder was warm and felt like home. The more I let my mind wander into that warmth, the darker everything became until I could feel the dark flames burning through my veins. I was floating in that darkness again. Would I dream of my father? I missed him so much, but somewhere along the way, Ollie had helped heal the hurt that came with that longing feeling. I lay in the warmth of the pitch black. 

*I miss you, Ollie. I need you, Ollie. I'm so scared, and Finn isn't doing well. I will escape as soon as possible, but I might not make it. Ollie, I love you.*

Even inside the depths of my mind my voice trembled with fear and sadness. A flicker of heat caught my attention as if a late summer wind whooshed by. Turning in circles, I tried to find it again. I followed the heat like a turtle followed a current. I felt my power, but it wasn't my alone anymore. If it didn't fully belong to me, there was only one other person who it could be. 

*Ollie! Ollie!*

The black flames that instantly appeared danced at my voice. I continued to call out to it, pulling it toward me. A tiny thought formed before me as if Ollie was thinking deeply. 

*"Cunningham Institute? Foxglove property? Callum's estates? Warehouse B? The old Sanatorium?" *

A flash of light burst out of that name, and I knew that's where we were. I screamed that name, and Ollie's over and over directly into the heated light as property names continued to pour into the abyss. 

*Hear me! Ollie, please!*

I was suddenly yanked from my warmth and into the blinding light of the padded room by ice-cold water clogging my eyes, mouth, and nose. The frigid liquid stole my breath. 

"Wake up, Stupid Bitch!" Chad snarled, standing over us with an empty bucket.