45–Coma
It was late and all the sound that filled the room was fris slow breathing. I counted each breath, afraid that the previous would be the last,
She had a bandage around her neck where she had been injured. The Deltas had said that she could make a complete recovery only after she opened her eyes. It was good news. But we had received that prognosis three days ago. She had yer to wake up. She was growing thinner and paler with each day that went by.
And once again, I could do absolutely nothing for her. Moonlight was filtering through the curtains as I sat by her bedside, It had become a ritual for me to watch her sleep. I feared this one night I would sleep beside her and when I woke up the next morning, she would be dead. Vorax would have killed her. I would have killed her.
Hlooked down at my hands, they were calloused for the various battles that I had won. I used my hands to rip enemies apart without blinking. Yet, the same hands were useless to Iris who lay unconscious, life slowly sipping out of her fragile body.
1 grabbed a vase in frustration and poised to throw it at the wall.
“Un–uncle,” A sleepy, small voice stopped me right in my tracks.
I turned to meet a pair of big brown eyes looking up at me, vestiges of slumber still clinging to them le rubbed the sleep away.
“Abel,” I said, returning the vase. “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you sleeping?” I asked,
He did not answer. Instead, he looked at Iris, then at me.
Normally, Iris would see him two times or more daily. But it had been three days and he had not seen his sister. lone, after getting her injuries attended to, took care of him so that he would not miss his sister too much. Yet, here he was. I expected tears like any child his age.
“Wow–what is wro wrong with her?” He asked.
I took a deep breath, ready to give a good answer without traumatizing him or stressing him. “She is sleeping,”
He turned to me and his gaze stayed on me. “Yo–you don’t ne–need to–o–o me.” He said before turning to his sister. “Sh–sh–she is hu–hurt.”
“No, she is not,” I was not only trying to lie to him, but I attempted to lie to myself as well.”
“1-1-1 he–he–heard the e–e noi–noise.” He told me as he sat down on the settee not too far from me. He eyed me warily, but his expression was not guarded.
I sighed heavily, succumbing. “She will wake up soon, don’t worry,”
“1-1-1 am not wo–worried. She al–always wakes up.”
I hoped that he would be right. Despite his open positivity, I could see the sadness and apprehension in his eyes. He was scared.
“Tell me about Iris,” I prompted, hoping to shift his mind from the somber atmosphere.
Abel’s face lit up despite the shadows of worry that still lingered in his eyes. “Sh–she is amaz–zing,” he began, his voice gaining a bit more confidence with each word. “She al–always takes care of m–me and mo–mother. When F–father y–yells, she ho–holds me tight. Sh–she pro–protected me fr–fr–from f–father, even if he wo–would hit her in–instead.”
I felt my blood boil at the mention of the bastards, but I nodded, encouraging him to continue. “She sounds like a very brave sister.”
“Y–yes,” Abel agreed. “S–she never lets a–anyone hurt m–me. Sh–she says I’m p–perfect just the way I a–am. Even wh–when I can’t s–speak right.”
Of course, she loved him and treated him well despite his perceived imperfection. Just like she treated me. That was just who she was.
“Sh–she is str–strong too, even w–when sh–e–e was fra–framed…
I straightened, suddenly interested. “Framed?” I echoed, my voice gentle yet urgent. “What happened, Abel?”
Abel looked at me then, glanced at Iris as though wanting a silent approval before continuing. “Our h–half sister, Lyra… sh–she married Alpha Kavriel. H–he was s–supposed to marry Iris. But Iris g–got pregnant first, so Lyra got jealous. Sh–she pretended to be pregnant t–too and then set up a f–fake
poisoning.”
My heart clenched as I listened. “Go on,” I urged softly, feeling rage creep into my veins.
“Ly–lyra pa–paid a maid to lie and say it was Iris w–who t–told her to do it,” Abel continued, his small voice filled with sadness. “Sh–she wanted Iris to
be b–banished or worse.”
I clenched my fists, rage boiling within me. How dare the bitch? And a family member at that? How must have Iris felt at that moment? To be betrayed by the man she would have married. I found that my heart ached for Iris, who had endured so much. I recalled the day that my men had captured her and how I had stripped her after everything that she had gone through. After losing her child.
“And what happened then?” I asked.
Abel looked at Iris, his eyes filled with admiration and deep pain. “To pro–protect me, she li–lied. S–she lied a–and said s–she did it.”
My chest tightened. Some part of me always knew that Iris was not what met the eye, but this… this was beyond anything I had imagined. “And Alpha Kavriel?” I asked with contempt for the man who should have stood by Iris.
Abel’s eyes darkened. “He be–believed L–1–lyra. He–e–e sent h–her to y–you.” Then the boy smiled. “B–but t–that was g–g–good.”
I looked at him in confusion. “What do you mean?”
Setting
21:03
43 Coma
“I–I–its is g–g–good tha–that he sent bi–big sis–sis–ter to you. Be be because you a–a–are a go–good ma–man.” He said with a big grin.
His words caught me off guard, but when I recovered from the initial shock that a werewolf child had called me ‘good‘, I grinned.
“Iris is stronger than anyone I know,” I said, my voice filled with conviction because I meant every word. “And she will wake up. She will fight through this, just as she always has.”
Abel nodded, his eyes watering. “Y–yes, Uncle Cassian.”
Watching the young boy hold back his tears filled me with an emotion that could explain. I wanted to console him and tell him that he was not alone. I wanted to hold him and let him cry in my arms. I shook the thoughts away. I was cursed, all that was thinking was a fantasy.
We both looked at Iris, the silence engulfing the room. I was plotting the murder of all those involved in her misfortune even if I would be on the list
as well.
“Un–uncle,” Abel said, slashing through my thoughts. “1–I–I wi–wish you were no not cursed.” He said.
“Why?” I asked.
“S–so, 1-1-1 co–could gi–gi–give you a hug.” He replied.
“Why would you want to give me a hug?” I asked, genuinely confused and aghast.
“I–I–it wo–would be a th–thank y–you for be–being swe–sweet to bi–big sis–sis–ter,”
