Alpha Female | COMPLETED

40| Taint

-:Ashton's POV:-

Two weeks. It had been two weeks since she had collapsed. She lay there lifelessly. Her pale skin was marred by several burns and bruises. She looked more fragile than ever. Her heart beat steadily, but she hadn't opened her eyes.

And I hadn't properly closed mine.

I tried, but every time I did, I heard her scream. That heart-wrenching scream full of agony. I saw her lying on the ground, lifeless. Her lips kissed by blood, eyes haunted, and her contused body.

They said she was stable, she was okay. But she was under the influence of a lot of heavy sedatives. Her body had been too frangible so the doctors had to do that. Put her to sleep and give her body time to recover.

Vincent and Andromeda, those fucking bastards used silver and wolfsbane on her again. Then that stupid spell that Andromeda did. All in all, Cecelia was beat up. In the doctor's words, she was trying to regain her lost energy because her body was completely spent.

Our marks were gone. I couldn't hear her thoughts. Xavier had been radio silent since then. I just felt the mate bond weaken back to its dull hum, sort of like it was before we had marked each other. That was making me even more angsty. I couldn't hear her voice, I couldn't feel her physically and I couldn't feel her through the bond.

I felt lost. 

They had stopped giving her the sedatives last night. That was my ray of sunshine. That she could open her eyes today. Any time. The doctors said it would help if I talked to her. Wake her up sooner. But every time I tried, I would end up choking. Her unresponsive self was a stake to the chest every time. 

When I held her hand, I felt the dull sparks. They, the steady beep of the heart monitor, and her regular breathing were the only indication that she was not gone. That she was here. Right there, in front of me.

But she still felt so fucking far away, it tore my heart.

Her family visited multiple times even in the time she had been there. Technically, I should have left and given them privacy to be with her alone but the most I had done was retreat into the corner of the room and stay mum. If they were bothered by my constant presence, they didn't show it. They would talk to her for a while and then leave with grief leaden faces.

Noel and Hayden would come twice a day. They had wanted to stay but between pack duties and school, it was impossible. They brought flowers for her with them each time. Julian had told them that her favorite was gardenias. They were rather fragrant. They also brought me a set of fresh clothes every day. They were very supportive.

The girls had been here the entire day the first day. But ultimately, they had school and they had to leave. They visited with Noel and Hayden every morning before school and evening after dinner.

Julian spent most of his free time sitting like me at her bedside. We would just sit like we had nothing better to do. He had told his mate and family about Cecelia's condition. I was awed by their solicitude. They all were devastated when they first heard about it. Liana broke down and had to be hauled away because she was disconcerted and stressing too much. That wouldn't have been good for the twins.

With the Vincent threat neutralized, Julian had booked his ticket to fly out next week. He had tried to put it off till Cecelia got better but it was getting too late. It was high time he went back to his mate. Liana needed him. She seemed to be relatively happy when he broke the news to her today morning. She talked to me too. I probably washed away the first good impression I had made on her with all the black circles around my eyes and monosyllabic answers I gave her that day. She was kind enough to bear with me and did not hang up. In the end, Julian was the one who got frustrated, took the phone away, and walked out.