Chapter 3

THE WITCH 3

My head pounded, pain running through every inch of my body.

I groaned softly.

“Wake up!” My wolf hissed in irritation. “Now! Come on!”

Wake up? My entire being hurt like a bitch and—-

“Yes, the poor girl is in a coma,” My ears pricked as somebody began to speak from beside me.

Which girl?! My daughter?!

“I pray, she pulls through,” Another voice sighed.

“With the injuries she sustained, she’ll need more than a prayer to save her. I already took samples. We just need to run some tests and—”

My eyes flew open at once. “No!” I growled, my voice a mere rasp as I tried to sit up.

I was in some sort of open hospital room, on a bed with two nurses standing over me. They both looked startled at me.

“Miss, please lay back down, you’re not—” One of the nurses held my arm and tried to guide me back to the bed.

“I’m fine!” I hissed at her and shrugged her hand off.

In truth, I wasn’t fine but I would be in a few hours. My wolf would heal me.

“Where’s the sample?” I demanded as I swung my feet over the bed and glared at the second nurse.

They exchanged puzzled glances. “Ma’am just rest. I promise you’ll be fine. You have nothing to worry about and—”

“WHERE ARE THE SAMPLES YOU TOOK FROM MY DAUGHTER!” I growled. Too irritated to deal with their patronizing.

“I can’t hand them over to you. They’ll go to the lab so we—”

Fear jolted me, propelling me to my feet.

My hands shook as I turned around the room searching for my purse.

“I’m a registered, practicing nurse as well. I don’t want my daughter texted at this facility,” I hissed as I found where they had laid my purse on a chair next to my bed.

I grabbed for my purse to show the lady my license. “My daughter will be fine. She’ll be tested and treated—just not here,”

At the sight of my license, the nurse seemed to visibly relax. “Okay, ma’am. I apologize for any inconvenience. The samples won’t go to the lab, here,”

She still seemed wary but did not comment as I plucked the tube from her hand. If Batya’s or my blood gets to the lab, all I’ve worked to build in the human world would be finished.

They would see the inconsistency immediately and goddess knows what these foolish humans would do.

“And?” I shoved the tube into my purse. “Where’s my daughter?”

The nurses shared a look again and one of them walked to the room door. “Please come with me. But be careful, you just survived a ghastly car accident…”

I toned her out as I tried to recall the last details from my memory.

Me driving, Batya agitated, her magic spiraling out of control, and the man! Goddess the man!

I turned to the nurse by my side quickly. “And the man? The occupant of the other car, the man?”

“Yes ma’am, he’s with his family being questioned by the police. His name is Thomas and he was driving drunk,” The nurse shook her head conspiratorially.

I couldn’t focus on her as we walked past the waiting area. The man sat talking to the police as tears rolled down his cheek.

“He wasn’t drunk,” Nafira whispered softly.

I know. He wasn’t drunk, Batya just lost control.

A woman I presumed to be his wife, stood with two girls, holding their hands as she shook her head. I watched her spit some heated words before walking away with her daughters.

“Ma’am?” The nurse urged me on.

My heart thundered and my steps slowed as we got to Batya’s room. I was scared to look inside. What would I meet? A mere husk of the vibrant little girl I loved? A reduced version?

“Just tell me,” My voice dropped to a whisper, the saltiness of my tears on my tongue, “Did she lose any limbs?”

“No,” The nurse shook her head.

Relief flooded me alongside shame that my concern was for her physical appearance.

The nurse hung back, giving me privacy as I pushed open the door and stepped inside.

Kat whimpered and my heart broke immediately. Batya was almost as white as the sheets she laid on. Her small body looked even more frail with peppered cuts and bruises.

I pushed back a few strands of her hair and wiped at my tears. She would be fine. I would make sure of it.

My hands shook as I retrieved my cell phone from my purse. The screen was broken but it still worked fine.

Five missed calls from Gabriel. Had he somehow figured out we had an accident?

My brain hurt to think of him right now so I dialed for the one person in the human world who could help us. Danica.

I sighed watching quietly as Danica accessed the situation.

She hadn’t asked me the hard questions yet but six years ago on that tumultuous night, we had worked side by side to bring Batya into the world.

If she didn’t recognize my little girl now, then she would, the minute Batya blinked open her blue eyes.

“And?” I asked worriedly.

Danica sighed and turned back to me. “She’ll be fine. Her wolf side is not active so we can’t expect healing from that side but witch-wise, let’s wait and see what her magic will do for her,”

I gave a nod. “Thank you so much, Danica, I–”

She shook her head to cut me off. “Don’t thank me yet. Even I, don’t have the amount of money she needs to heal. She needs private equipment and treatment. If she remains here, the hospital will ask questions neither of us want answered,” Danica gave me a meaningful look. She knew exactly who Batya was.

I gave her a thankful nod. “Gabriel. I want nothing to do with the bastard. But he has money and Batya needs cash,”

Danica raised a brow. “Friend?”

“Husband,” I sighed.

Her brows shot up.

“Well, ex-husband or…” What was he to me really? He had never filed our marriage certificate.

Almost like my thoughts summoned him, my phone rang with Gabriel’s call.

I excused myself and slipped out of the room to answer the call.

“Hello?”

“Baby, what’s this?!” Gabriel hissed from the other end of the line.

I frowned and massaged my temple. “What?”

“Why would you buy Amelie an old edition laptop? Are you trying to maltreat my family?! They’re your family too. Besides, you know you’re only helping out cause my uncle swindled me. Once I get back—”

“Gabriel!” I snapped, too irritated to play along with his nonsense. “I know,”

Kitara, his fiancee, and our supposed family friend chipped into the call. “Herley, you can’t treat them that way. Rosa is—”

“SHUT UP!” Several people turned to stare at me. I dropped my voice in anger. “The gig is up! I know the two of you are engaged,”

Utter silence met my statement.

“I know you’ve been together for a long time now—”

“Herley, wait—” Gabriel’s sheepish voice came through.

“And…” I stressed. “I also know you’re not broke or even poor. You built your company off my life savings for Batya and now, you’re some kind of business mogul,”

They went silent once more—just the sound of their breathing on the phone.

“Listen to me!” I hissed. “Batya and I got into a life-threatening accident. She’s in a coma and I need some money. Please send my money back,”

I let out a breath, my anger still blowing hot.

“No,”

I blinked in surprise at the coldness in Gabriel’s tone.

“No?” I repeated.

“You heard me. No. I don’t have a penny to waste on you and that freak of yours,”

Before I could respond, he hung up the phone.

“Herley, breathe,” Kat, my wolf reminded me softly as the walls of the hospital seemed to close in on me. Shouts from down the hallway, reaching my ears.

Gabriel wasn’t perfect but he had always been kind to me and Batya. Would he really not help out because I knew the truth?

I let out a shaky breath and walked numbly in the direction of the loud voices.

My steps faltered as I recognized the crying man. It was Thomas, the man from the accident.

He was on his knees with his hands dragging his wife’s skirt.

“Honey! Please. I beg of you. I wasn’t drunk. It was that little girl. S..SHE did something! I can’t explain but—”

I stared as his wife kicked off his hands with a firm look on her face. “You claim to be changed, but look at you! A drunk accident on the same day you left rehab! You sent the poor child into a coma! We want nothing to do with you!”

She tugged on the hands of her two little daughters and marched out as the man cried after them.

A tear rolled down my cheek and I wiped at it, feeling terrible for the man but happy no one believed Batya was responsible.

“YOU!”

My heart skipped a beat as Thomas turned to me with his face etched in hatred.

“YOU DID THIS! Your daughter did this! I…I don’t know how but she controlled my car—”

“Can he even hear himself,” A nurse hissed spitefully as more people gathered to watch the spectacle.

“I’LL EXPOSE YOU! I SWEAR IT!”

My heart thundered as our audience stared at us and I shook my head.

“He must still be drunk,” My mouth felt sour as the words left my lips but I had to protect my baby girl. If not for my sake then for Daciana’s.