The Moon Queen

03 - Love is ...

03 - Love is ...

Zino’s POV:

Killian walks towards us with a tray full of coffee as my father and I exit Hailey’s room.

“Are you leaving already?” He asks with surprise.

Dad nods briefly, his thoughts likely focused on what’s happening with Hailey. Although she knew us, her outburst made it clear she’s not feeling like herself.

What would happen if the coma caused her to forget the past year? Is that even possible? Could an accident cause you to lose memory of a certain period of your life completely?

“She’s not herself,” my father mumbled, and the words stick with me.

“Yes, you can say that. She’s never spoken to me that way before.” He honestly confesses.

“We’ll freshen up, too, since Aiden went to shower with her.” I give him a brief explanation of why we’re leaving.

“He’s obsessed with it once more. He’s taking advantage of the situation.”

“You’re fully aware that he doesn’t. Over the past two weeks, we’ve had this conversation many times. This is not his fold.”

“Me neither!” he reacts defensively.

“Nobody says that either!” I’m exhausted from having this discussion repeatedly over the last few weeks and snap back at him.

“Our fighting won’t be of any help to Hailey.” My father attempts to plead.

“I’m going take a look at Mila. Theo’s condition might have changed with Hailey’s awakening.” I don’t wait for a response and head straight to Theo’s room, two doors down.

In here, four people are present as well. All we’ve been doing is this for the past two weeks. Both always had a number of people present. Mila, Jared, Julie and Theo’s mother are present in Theo’s room.

It’s hard to separate Mila and Hellen from Theo’s bed. You can tell Julie is going through a tough time, but she’s not ready to admit it. Hailey says the girl has already endured so much.

I make eye contact with Jared as I enter the room. Hellen is sleeping in her chair while Mila is somewhere between awake and asleep. Despite her open eyes, there’s no response to my arrival.

Theo’s hand serves as a resting place for Julie’s head. If Theo were to move his hand, she would immediately be shocked by the touch. Even if her belly is insignificant, I don’t think lying forward like that can be comfortable.

“She’s up, with her eyes open, and has spoken already. She was a little panicked, but now she’s showering with Aiden. The doctor will arrive later, and after the last check, Aiden will tell her everything.” I utter succinctly.

Julie lifts her head off the bed and turns to face me.

Jared rises to his feet after a satisfying stretch. “That’s good to hear!”

“Is there any improvement here? I hoped that...” my words hang in the room. We’ve been hoping for improvement for days. With Hailey’s sudden change last night, I got distracted, but now that she’s awake, walking and talking, it won’t be long before she starts asking about Theo.

“No, nothing. No change whatsoever.” Mila mutters. Fatigue starts playing tricks on her.

Only a few times has Mila left the rooms since Theo and Hailey were hospitalized. They made a plan, Mila and Hailey. That night after Mila’s first shift, they would save the third Moon sister. I unintentionally involved Theo with that plan by ordering him to watch Mila. Later that night, the three arrived together, and Theo chased after Mila when she tried to free the third Moon triplet. Mila feels responsible for what happened to Theo there.

It’s not, it’s not Mila’s fault. If there’s someone to blame, it’s me. I directed Theo to keep a close watch on Mila while I believed we were going to engage in a fight. Hailey’s capacity to come up with her own plan was something I should have taken into mind, but I was too preoccupied with my sweet little mate.

A mate who has had to deal with so much in the past three weeks. She gained a mother figure and a twin brother, lost her father, and discovered she is half human, half werewolf. She has her own werewolf and an important one, that is! Adding to that, she was in the hospital a few weeks ago with a significant concussion due to the rejection by that sucker of a first mate. Though, maybe I shouldn’t be too hard on the lad. His loss is the best thing that ever happened to me. I may not mate and mark Mila yet, but that’s just the circumstances. I won’t make the mistake of letting her go.

I quietly stroll over to Mila. I don’t want to wake anyone up. These chairs are not the most comfortable place to sleep.

“Mila, darling, shall we take a shower too?” She replies with a single hum. I carefully lift her from the chair, taking her response as a yes.

“Julie, can you give your dad and Chris a heads-up that Hailey is awake?” I ask before heading towards the door.

“Yes, I will do that.”

“Did you know everything right away when you woke up?” I ask Mila. The panicked look on Hailey’s face still lingers in my mind. Hailey has only looked that way a few times in her life. Misery is always involved. The first time, she woke up after Kelvin tried to strangle her. The second time was when she found out Bella’s pregnancy was terminated. The last time it happened was when Mom was murdered in a treatment room next to hers.

“Z, either search for it or ask the doctor,” Mila answers, leaning back against my chest.

“There was something about the look in her eyes, Mila. I can’t explain it, but the way she snapped at Killian. The questions she asked. Something isn’t right.” My worries are building up, and I have to let them out.

“She was in a coma for two weeks. You were there when they brought her in. If Killian’s suspicions are correct, she must also have noticed that Theo went into cardiac arrest several times. Give her some time; it’s all been a lot for her too.” Offers Mila as comfort.

“You’re probably right,” I tell her, kissing her head. To take my mind off things a bit, I focus on her. “Did you get some sleep?”

“A little. I think I’ve seen The Moon Goddess.” She says it with doubt; she doesn’t need to be. Her wolf was one of the three daughters of the first Luna. If she thinks she’s seen The Moon Goddess, she has.

“Did you just see, or have you spoken to?”

“Only seen, as if she came to check on us,”

“Hailey said she had spoken to Selena, so she probably visited you too.” We are now in front of a shower room. Chris has arranged for us to use the shower of the hospital staff—obviously very kind of him. Otherwise, we would have to drive half an hour before we could shower in the hotel full of warriors.

“How about we hop in the shower, and then you get back into bed? Hailey is awake. This will give us a chance to unwind.”

“You’re not leaving me alone, are you?”

“You bet. I’ll stay with you. You might not get it now, but you’re stuck with me, babe. You’re the one for me!”

We silently strip off our clothes and get into the shower together. I have seen Mila naked several times now, but I can never get enough of her. Every day, I find it a little more challenging; we haven’t had a moment for the two of us yet.

It may sound selfish, but it’s in our blood. When we find our mate, we always mate and mark each other almost immediately. With Mila, her father’s death, the delay of her wolf emerging, and now everything with that vampire king, Hailey and Theo. I feel it’s not the right moment to express my love for Mila. In my view, that may be the most significant thing before we officially complete our band. She knows that my love for her is unconditional and that I will cherish and adore her daily as if it were our last.

“Mila, I’m totally in love with you!”

“I love you just as much!” Mila always makes sure to let me know that she loves me equally. This is why we’ve managed to maintain our relationship for three weeks without marking and mating. Because we love each other. The bond only accelerates and amplifies it. No matter how different we grew up, even though we have a twelve-year age difference. We love each other, we feel each other, and we accept each other just as we are. Because no one is perfect, but we are perfect for each other.