Chapter 6

All through the next day, I keep drifting in and out of sleep. The first time I try to wake up, I feel a headache so painful that my body instinctively knocks me out again.

I wake up around dusk and find Bri beside me. It takes me a minute to remember that I'm in the infirmary.

Bri runs out to call the doctor as soon as I wake up, and I don't even try to stop her because I need to be alone.

Everything around me is in a perpetual state of black and white, with an occasional splash of grey. I can't perceive anything with my nose, and my mouth tastes like... nothing.

I try to remember what made me end up here and why I feel the way I do, but I can't remember anything.

My headache is still there, but my head feels quiet.

Too quiet.

Like something vital is missing.

I try to reach for my wolf, but nothing is there.

I try again.

Still nothing.

I try for the third time, and that's when I'm hit with a cascade of memories from the previous night.

My chest feels like it's going to cave in on itself from the sheer force of the pain lodged in it, and I feel an emptiness that leaves me gasping for air.

And before I can stop myself, the tears start to flow.

I just let them.

Just then, Bri walks in with a doctor hot on her heels. She runs straight to me and hugs me.

“I'm so sorry, Dawg. Jax is such an asshole, and I hope he pays for everything he did to you.” Bri says into my hair.

The mention of his name makes my chest squeeze even tighter.

I look up at the doctor, and his eyes hold a deep well of sympathy for me, along with a little pity.

He taps Bri to give him some space. He does a check-up, which involves asking me a few questions and taking a few vitals. I only answer with nods and a few shakes of my head, my mind everywhere and nowhere at once.

“Ms Vee, I'm sorry for what you went through. But I'll come out and say it, even though you might already know what I'm about to say. You have all the classical signs of a Lunar Rejection.”

Hearing him say it makes it even more real.

A fresh flood of tears starts to fall, but I'm too tired to care or even stop them.

“As you know, your wolf is gone, and so are a few of your senses. For you, it's your sense of smell, your ability to perceive color, and your sense of taste.”

He takes a breath to make sure I absorb what he said before continuing.

“A few of these might come back as time goes on, but we can't guarantee that. But as for your wolf...”

He pauses.

“That is gone. Forever.”

I nod to acknowledge what he said.

Bri is standing in the corner with tears falling down her face. The mascara from last night is running down her cheek, giving her a more ghoulish look.

The doctor nods back at me and reaches for my hand.

“I'm sorry once again.”

He lets go and then turns to Bri.

“Please, get her something to eat, and if you guys need anything, reach out to the nurses on duty. If it's an emergency, they'll contact me.”

With that, he walks away.

Not before I notice the insignia on his ward coat. It's from a sister pack, but I don't know which one because I can't identify the color.

Bri leaves to get me something to eat, and I drift back to sleep.

“Wake up, Dawg. You gotta eat something.” Bri says while tapping me awake.

I take tiny bites of the muffin and small sips of the coffee she got.

It all tastes like cardboard and nothing.

I push it aside and just stare off into space. I keep trying to make sense of everything that has happened so far.

How could he reject me?

I mean, he loved me.

Or at least he claimed to.

With each thought, I can feel my chest get heavier, and nothing makes sense at all.

“So, wanna talk about what happened? I know it's too early, but I heard that it's good to talk about these kinds of things. It helps you process it and stuff.”

I just shake my head and try to snuggle deeper into the bed.

Just then, the door bursts open.

It's Professor Claude, two elders from my pack, and the one person I don't want to see.

Jax.