Chapter 34 Chapter 34
ADRIANA'S POV
I woke up to the sound of beeping machines and the smell of antiseptic. My head was heavy and my body weak, like I was between life and death. I tried to move, but I couldn't even lift a finger. Panic set in as I realized I was completely paralyzed. My limbs felt too heavy, the only thing seeming to move was my eyes. I forced my mouth open and let out a groan, thankful that I could at least move it too. The door to my hospital room opened and Daciana rushed in. her face was etched in worry, her steps tentative as she moved to my bedside. "Adriana, how are you feeling?" she asked, her voice trembling with worry. I tried to speak, but my throat was dry and the words wouldn't come out, only a small moan of pain. Daciana, seeing my struggle, quickly grabbed a cup of water from the bedside table and brought it to my lips. "Here, open up." she said, her tone a soft command.
I nodded my thanks as I took greedy gulps of the water, when my throat felt wet and not like sandpaper, I moved away little, causing the water to spill on me before she caught on and kept it back on the table she'd picked it from.
"Thank you." My voice sounded hoarse and dry, I didn't care much, just grateful that I could speak.
"You're welcome. Tell me, how do you feel? Are you hurt anywhere? Should I call the doctor to check on you again, or get you something eat?" she fired off the questions, not giving me room to reply, she didn't even breathe in between sentences.
I tried to shake my head no but my neck felt too stiff so I settled for speaking since I seemed to be able to do that. "I feel terrible," I managed to croak out, telling her the truth. There was no use lying. "What happened to me?" I asked, needing know desperately. My memories were hazy. Daciana looked away before I could gauge the expression on her face. "The last thing I remember is the doctor checking me and then I fell asleep. What happened, what am I doing here?" I added, hoping she would tell me. Talking was becoming easier the more I did.
Daciana's face fell and she took my hand in hers. "You've been in the hospital for some time now," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "You were sick and after the surgery your condition worsened. They had to put you in a medically induced coma to try and save you."
I found it very hard to believe what I was hearing. Coma? Tears pricked the corners of my eyes as my brain registered her words. I was familiar with the word coma but I mostly thought people died from it. I wasn't as strong as normal wolves, probably the reason it even happened in the first place.
"But I'm alive, right?" I asked, my voice cracked. I didn't care that it sounded like a stupid question "I'm going to be okay?"
Daciana smiled and squeezed my hand. "Yes, you're alive and you're doing much better." She said, "The doctors are optimistic you'll make a full recovery. But it's going to take time."
I let out a sigh of relief and closed my eyes for some time. "Are you okay?" She asked again. I nodded, my brows arching. Daciana's expression suddenly changed, and she quickly got up from her seat. "I'm going to call the doctor," she said, her voice shaking with urgency. "I think something's wrong."
She rushed out of the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts. My heart was racing, and my head seemed to be spinning.
Just when I felt like I was losing it, she returned to the room with the doctor, she looked familiar, but different at the same time. I noticed the lack of white and mentally nodded to myself. She was no longer wearing her white lab coat and scrubs, but rather a casual shirt and jeans.
"Adriana, how are you feeling?" the doctor asked with a kind smile, coming to my bedside.
"I feel terrible," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. I would have lied and said I was better, that was what I usually did with the pack doctor at my old pack. Not that she mostly cared what happened to me, they all held their Luna's death over my head, and I knew she mostly only asked because it was protocol. This doctor was different, her eyes were welcoming and I felt like I could tell her the truth. "My head is spinning, and my chest feels tight."
The doctor nodded and began to check my vitals, she used a few different medical equipment after that and called in for a nurse. She listened to my heart with a stethoscope, took my blood pressure and checked my oxygen levels. The nurse left after that, leaving only the doctor, Daciana and I.
"Everything seems to be fine," she said, a hint of a smile in her voice. "In fact, I think you're ready to be released."
I was shocked. "Released?" I repeated, trying to hold down the joy I felt at the sound of that. The smell of antiseptic and everything in the hospital reminded me of the days I used to spend there after receiving beatings from my brothers and sometimes father, or when they let the pack members bully me and use me as their punching bag.
The doctor nodded. "Yes, you are stable now and everything is looking good. With a few more days of sleep, you should be back to your old self in no time."
Daciana let out a sigh of relief and hugged the doctor. "Thank you so much," she said, her voice trembling with emotion. The doctor smiled and patted her on the back. "It's my pleasure," she said. "I'll leave you two to talk. Adriana, I'll see you in a few days during your follow-up appointment." She turned to Daciana. "I'll send the information to the alpha, your grace." Daciana nodded in appreciation and with that, the doctor left. Daciana looked like she had something to say so she pointed to the door and excused herself, following the doctor out.
Now alone, the only thing I had for company were my thoughts. I was shocked to hear that I had been in a coma for a week, maybe a few days, I wasn't sure which she said, and now I was being released. It all seemed too good to be true. Not that I wasn't happy about it.
As I lay there, I realized something else. My brows furrowed in confusion and I looked up to make sure what I was hearing was right. I peeped through the blinds that were raised, lifting myself up as much as I could off the bed and saw they weren't very close to the door, but I could hear Daciana and the doctor talking.
I was taken aback by my sudden sharp hearing, because from the hushed way their voices came, it seemed like they were talking in whispers. How was I hearing them? I knew my auricular nerves were well above a human's but they were nowhere near a wolves and definitely not this sharp.
I focused more on what they were saying after hearing my name come up, "I still can't get my head around how Donovan had that done? Things would have taken a turn for the worse if not for him. In all my years as a doctor, I haven't seen anything like that. It's like a miracle"
Daciana smiled and shook her head. "It's not a miracle. I was surprised as well, considering how unserious he was throughout the whole process." I peeked a little more, ignoring the way my back protested.
"But still, it's amazing how quickly she recovered," Daciana said in amazement. There was something in her tone that I couldn't make out, but it made me curious to find out more. "Yes, it is," the doctor agreed.
Daciana returned to the room after bidding the doctor goodbye, she had said her shift was over, and sat beside me. We both stayed there in silence as I racked my brain trying to figure out how everything came to be in this state. I tried to sit up, but my head was spinning and my body felt utterly weak.
"No, you're still very weak, Adriana. Don't get up yet." She said,
"Daciana, what's wrong?" I asked, the fact that I couldn't remember everything was frustrating, I felt lost and I didn't like it. "What happened? Please explain to me how all this came about." What did Donovan do that they were surprised worked? Did he have a hand in my getting better, or me getting worse? The questions were just coming and I had no answer for them, it made me feel worse. Daciana hesitated for a moment before taking a deep breath and speaking, "I have to tell you something but I don't think this is the right time. I don't want you to go through any emotional stress because you have already been through a lot lately." She finished with a small sad shake of her head. I watched how her face looked crestfallen and it made my anxiety skyrocket.
"A lot lately" I repeated, my voice pleading, "What do you mean by that? Come on, please tell me," I urged, steering my body toward her. "Spill it, I want to hear it. I can't seem to remember what happened before I saw the doctor. I can remember her checking me but then that was just it and then now. Is it because of the coma?"
Daciana looked like she didn't want to have this conversation, or perhaps she didn't want me hearing whatever she had to say from her. I saw the look of resolution in her eyes and that made me push harder. I called her name lowly, my voice breaking toward the end. That made her shake her head and sigh, giving up. She walked closer and stood by the bedside, then on second thought she dragged the Visitor's chair that was on the other end and sat on it. She sighed again and gave my hand a small reassuring squeeze. "I found you in your room, almost dying." Her voice broke and she shook her head, she looked like she was reminiscing about what happened. I could tell from the haunted look in her eyes.
"You know things would have gotten really bad if I didn't come to see you at that point." She shook her head again then closed her eyes for a brief moment. When she opened them back, I noticed they were glistening with tears.
The words hit me like a ton of bricks as the memory returned, but it was vague. I wanted to try and make sense of my emotions but they were all over the place, I pushed down the bitter feeling in my throat when memories of how it had felt to be locked gripped me. My hands trembled, I tried to move it but I couldn't and it added to my frustrated feelings. The tears rolled down my face before I could think to stop them.
"Yes, I think I remember now." the words were still unsure, the memory was clouded for the most part, I couldn't tell if all of it was accurate. But one thing stood out, and that I was sure of. "Xander locked me up and left me to die." I said more to myself than her, but she heard clearly because she nodded, a disapproving look on her face.
"I'm so sorry, Adriana. I should have forced him to let you out the moment I realized he wasn't taking care of you. I didn't think he was capable of something like this." She said, her anger barely contained by the tightness of her voice. I had no idea what to say or do so I just sat there, staring at the blank wall in front of me, my tears drying on my cheeks as she went on.
"I should have checked up on you more, and made sure you were being properly taken care of. I know that I let you down and I feel terrible, I'm so sorry." Daciana's voice broke when she said that.
The part of me that took my father's beatings and brother's abuses and insults wanted to tell her it was fine, that I understood she did the best she could. It wasn't her fault her brother was the way he was, and she has been trying her best to be good to me. She was the only person in this whole place that didn't look at me like I was less deserving because I wasn't a lycan.
I turned to her, my neck cracked with the movement though I didn't pay it any mind.
"'ll try and do better," she gave my hand another reassuring squeeze. "I don't want you to think about now. Just get better, and I'll do my best to get whatever you want that'll make you more comfortable. I promise."
All the things I wanted to say to her stuck in my throat, how her brother was a controlling jerk, and how his jealousy and his possessiveness were suffocating if nothing. I had been in a state of denial, being the naïve little fool that I was, I wanted to see the good in him, to believe that he would treat me like a wife just because I was arranged to marry him. That naïve part of me had almost cost me my life, I needed to do away with her.
As soon as possible.