Chapter 176

Chapter 176
A year went by and Mercedes was still the same. After holding on for so long, Felix found himself unable to see her in that state anymore. She was frozen in time and Felix couldn't bear to keep seeing her like that, so he stopped going into their room. He spent his nights sleeping in his study. It was cold and lonely but he endured it. Felix drowned himself in pack matters and paper work, he hardly came out of his office anymore. He was like a working corpse and wasn't taking care of himself. When it was time to spend some quality time with his son, only then would he make an effort to look alive. Horace was the only thing keeping him sane. He was growing so fast. Too fast for his liking. He had even said his first word. One day he said the word mama. He picked that word up from Alison, who would always follow her mother around yelling out ‘mama’.

Felix picked him up and cried with him in his arms. He repeated that word, ripping Felix's heart apart. His heart shattered because he was feeling bad that Horace had gone so long without receiving the love and affection of his own mother. He was not doing enough to feel the void in his little heart. The guilt was eating him up. Even though he felt that way, he had no means to help his mother.

“ Oh, my dear son,” he said, his voice hoarse,“ What do I do? Even though I miss your mother, there is nothing I can do about it. Forgive me, will you?”

He hugged him even tighter. The warmth of his small body was providing him with the comfort he needed. He held him for a little while and then let go of him. He was afraid if he kept him in his arms any longer, he would end up embracing him tightly.

He discreetly wiped his tears so that Horace would not see them and noticed that something was off. Horace once caught Felix crying, and he ended up crying as well. Felix had a hard time trying to pacify him before he finally calmed down. Felix promised himself to never let Horace see him sad and upset.

To distract himself and Horace, he started playing with him. His office was full of Horace’s toys. Everything he needed was in his study since he would come there to spend some time with his father. The ones who looked after Horace when Felix was busy or upset were the Beta couple. Crystal and Jake were good with the kids. Alison and Horace were as close as siblings. They were quite a handful together but Crystal and Jake enjoyed the hassle of parenthood. It was exhausting at times, but it was all worth it. As Horace's God parents, they made sure to take card of Horace like their own. They never left him out of anything, and they tried not to make him feel the absence of his mother.

They were upset about the situation with their Luna, but they had to be strong for the kids. If everyone mopped around, it would eventually affect the kids.

When Felix was one playing with Horace, the little guy was exhausted, so Felix put him to sleep. He put him in the crib that was in his study so that he could watch him sleep. He made sure that he was properly covered, and he leaned closer to his face and pressed a kiss on his soft forehead. He brushed his hair out of his face.

“ Don't worry, my child. We will get through this. I promise you that.” When those words left his mouth, even he was not confident that what he said was even true. He sighed, trying to push all the negative thoughts that were trying to flood his mind. As he was about to move away from Horace, he noticed something on his forehead. There was something glowing on it. It was only a flicker and Felix could not make out what it was. As soon as he saw it, it disappeared. That was strange, he thought. He touched his forehead to check but nothing happened. He didn't know what he had seen, but since it was no longer there, he dismissed it.

Later that day, Crystal went into Mercedes's room. It was time for her to maintain her appearance. Her hair had grown a little longer since the last time she cut it. So did her nails. Without saying a word, she sat beside her and started working on her hair, giving it a trim. She looked at her face that was pale as a ghost. She had lost all the color. She was even skin and bones. Crystal had said everything she could to try and get her to wake up. She simply didn't know what more to say.

Crystal sighed, holding her skinny hand in hers. She clipped her fingernails.

“ Look at you. You have lost too much. This is not good,” she said.

“ For how long are you planning to stay asleep? Isn't it time you woke up? You have been asleep for so long, there is a lot you missed out on. The food is good, Horace is growing up quickly. He will soon be a man if you don't wake up quickly. The Alpha is drowning in misery because of you. Don't you care about that?”

Silence. The same old silence. Crystal knew that people in a coma would usually be able to hear people talking, but she was not sure that Mercedes could hear them. They have been telling her so many things, yet she has never reacted, not even once, to any of it. Maybe she wasn't even in a coma at all. After all, they didn't even know what was going on with her. She might have not heard everything they had been saying and that is why she didn't have any desire or a sign to wake. Crystal started to wonder if Mercedes was placed under some sort of spell or curse they didn't know about. Nothing made sense anymore. How could she remain unconscious for so long? What would it take to bring her back to life?