Got bloodier
The soft hue of light wafting through the blinds indicated it was already morning. Hours had passed and I didn't even notice.
I was seated, holding Claire's hand and praying to the moon goddess all night. Not a wink of sleep; I stayed awake bawling my eyes out and muttering pleas to whichever deity cared enough to listen.
My daughter's hands were beginning to feel lifeless. Her skin was getting paler. I'm not sure how much longer she can hold on. I fear she might be gone before Vince gets that antidote however he plans to.
And if she leaves me, if she dîes, I might not know how to handle that pain. I might end up hating him for it and I don't want that. I don't want us to go through the traumatizing phase of hating and blaming each other again.
I just wanna be happy and live with him and our daughter. That's all I want now, so please, save my daughter. Please keep her safe for us. For our love. For our sanity. Please.
And of course, I didn't fail to pray for my family. Father, Uncle Leonardo, Aunt Cheryl, her baby, my baby, Vince, and me.
We've all been through so much, it feels like the years we used to be genuinely happy and at peace never happened.
I'd give anything to go back to those years. But we can't go back. I can only pray and hope happiness lies ahead for us somewhere. I can only pray that these events don't ruin us forever. I really hope so.
The door opened and quiet footsteps stepped into the room. Dr. Drake peeped at me from behind the wall, then grinned as he saw me staring back at him.
“I feared you might be asleep,” he said calmly, coming closer.
“I couldn't sleep,” I replied, drying my tears and dropping Claire's hand.
He touched Claire's forehead and I didn't miss the panic in his eyes. I knew what it meant. He didn't need to tell me anything.
I knew what her condition was like.
“Uh, Alpha Vince's men are outside, guarding this room,” he said, like he wanted to avoid talking about Claire's condition.
“Yes.” But my heart was breaking badly. Even Dr. Drake knew that Claire's case was hopeless. It would be, if I don't get that antidote sooner.
He chuckled lightly. “I don't mean to pry but are you two fighting? Why is he keeping you locked here?”
“He doesn't want me to go to Trent.”
“Why would you wanna go to Alpha Trent?”
“For the antidote?” His brows arched in confusion. I exhaled and explained further. “Trent wants me in exchange for the antidote and Vince doesn't like the idea of that. So he's keeping me imprisoned here to make sure I don't go to meet Trent.”
“Oh,” Dr. Drake nodded. “But you do understand where he's coming from, right? He can't afford to lose you. And also, Alpha Trent's a psycho. There's no guarantee he's really gonna hand over that antidote even if you surrender your freedom to him.”
“I think he will. Trent might be a psycho but he's also smart. He wouldn't play Vince like that because then, Vince would lose his mind, get more beastly, and come for him. Not even the sorcerers guarding the entry will be able to stop him. Trent wouldn't wanna unleash that beastly mood in Vince so he'll have to stick to his end of the bargain.”
Dr. Drake thought for seconds and nodded. “Yeah, I see some sense in that. Still, Luna Elena, don't go. Really. It might end ugly and Alpha Vince won't be able to take that well. He's already worrying about so much right now. It'd be great if you don't add to his worries.”
“I can't go even if I wanted to. You said it yourself. His men are standing outside.” I huffed weakly, looking at my baby girl.
“If they weren't standing outside, would you go?”
“Of course, I'll go. I'd do anything to save my daughter.”
Dr. Drake rubbed my shoulder gently. “I’m sure Alpha Vince is working on getting the antidote. I'm pretty sure he'll come up with something. So just trust him.”
“Tell me the truth, Dr. Drake…” I turned to him with appealing eyes.
He smiled. “Sure.”
“Is there really another way of getting the antidote aside from my freedom?”
“Uh, I can't think of any other way, well, except Alpha Vince wants to launch a full attack on Trent,” he added a bit casually, which left me even more bewildered.
“In other words, war? Like literally?”
“Yes.”
“But…” Tears were already running down my face. I was never such a crybaby. I was never this emotional. What's happening to me? I gulped down my tears, struggling to speak. “...Trent uses dark magic. If…if Vince fights him headlong, he'll be at a great disadvantage. He knows nothing about dark magic.”
Dr. Drake's coordinated and unperturbed professional demeanor dropped instantly, and was replaced by his natural, panicky side.
“Honestly? I'm scared for him too. He can't beat those rogues, and even if he does, he'll be badly injured. Those rogues are deadly, protected with the nastiest powers you could ever imagine.”
“So it's wise to prevent Vince from going to war?”
“It is. But we know how he is. He's never gonna back out of this. Not after Trent hurt Alpha Leonardo and even your Father. Alpha Vince is driven by a boiling need for revenge. It'd be hard, almost impossible, to change his mind.”
I couldn't put a leash on my tears so I let them do their thing. It seems like Vince, going to war is inevitable. But it can be delayed, right?
Fuck. What am I thinking? The ideas are hilariously dangerous. He's definitely gonna freak out if he peeks into my head right now and sees the thoughts that lie in there.
The sudden earthshaking uproar startled both of us. I sprang to my feet and ran to the window. Dr. Drake was behind me.
My eyes widened in shock. The roads were filled with soldiers, dressed completely differently from Vince's army. They had guns of weird designs, and even armored vehicles.
“Who…are they?” I asked. I could barely hear my voice.
“From the foreign Packs. No doubt Alpha Vince contacted Alpha Luke or any other of the foreign Alphas for their assistance.”
“What…does that mean?”
“It means things just got even bloodier, Luna Elena. All we gotta do is pray.” He said with a resigned tone and left.
I watched the army heading towards the route that could only lead to one place…Vince's Packhouse.
Watching them was making my heart drum harder in fear. I've never witnessed wars. Never. This was the first and I'm almost melting in fear. The possibility that Vince could die in the middle of this had me almost hyperventilating.
If I can't stop him, I might as well delay his demise or whatever tragic outcome could come from this.
I went for my phone in my purse, took a deep breath, and then dialed Tracy's number.
It rang for seconds and then connected.
“He…llo.” My voice was shaking really badly.
“Hello, love. Been a while.”
Trent.