THE HYBRID ALPHA'S GEM

DYING

A series of mutterings from familiar voices rang in my head as I struggled to keep my eyes open. I couldn’t lift both my hands and legs no matter how hard I tried. My head kept processing various questions about where I was, what was happening and the people talking into my head but found answers to none. I fought hard against the pressure on my eyelids and, finally, I was able to open my eyes.

“I think she’s awake! Call the doctor” Angel, my sister-in-law called out to Maria, who raced out of the room.

What was she doing in the room? It had been a while I saw her, and I was glad she didn’t appear in my face until now. Her presence never brought peace, she always had one thing or the other to accuse me of whenever she came around. Her attitude was the opposite of her name because there was nothing angelic about her.

“What are you..?” I tried to ask, but she only shut me up with a sharp yell.

“Will you keep your mouth shut? Are you trying to kill yourself just like you killed your baby?” she growled at me and my mouth hung open.

What was she talking about? Kill which baby? Her words were unclear. She couldn’t be talking about my baby, I thought, as I stared at her without a word coming out of my open mouth.

With a scoff, she continued “What? Do you want to act surprised now? I have always known that you are an evil creature, because what mother will allow the baby inside her at that stage? You were freaking several months gone, yet you couldn’t keep yourself out of trouble? You couldn’t protect yourself? How did you end up killing the baby while you were hale and hearty?”

Those words were too much for me to bear. I just woke up and the last memory I could remember was my husband pushing me to the wall over some roasted meat. Whatever she was yapping about a baby, I couldn’t comprehend.

“What are you talking about? Which baby?” I managed to find my voice, and she scoffed, again

This time, her scoff was backed up with wicked laughter.

“Do you really not understand or are you trying to pretend here?” she roared, and the doctor came in at that point.

“Princess, you shouldn’t be doing this to her now. Her condition can worsen if she’s subjected to extreme stress”, he cautioned, and she finally shifted back, of course, with a roll of her eyes.

The doctor checked me up in several places and I kept mute on the bed waiting for his report because I couldn’t comprehend a thing my sister-in-law was talking about.

He told me I was responding to treatment and if I rested well, I could be discharged soon and wrote some things on his chart.

“Bu..but please, what is it about my baby? She’s fine, right?” I managed to ask, and his face went blank.I waited for more than a minute, but he didn’t respond, he just kept glancing at me and the chart he was holding.

“Do you not hear me? How about my baby?” I yelled loudly this time and a sharp pain kicked in my lower belly.

He rushed forward to help me back to the lying position before sighing “I am sorry to break this to you Mrs. Briggs, you went into forced labor and your pulse was extremely weak to deliver the baby on your own. We tried to bring the baby out through surgery, but she was already dead by the time we were done. The pressure and shock of your accident must have been too much for her”, he revealed.

Silence filled my entire world as I tried to process what I had just heard. Whatever the doctor just said didn’t seem real to me. It was too tragic and dramatic to happen to anyone. Why would I lose my baby? I had already gotten her things and was just waiting for her arrival, so what was the doctor saying?

“I know you are just trying to joke with me, but that joke is too expensive?” I chuckled, but his silence and straight face proved that he was indeed not joking.

I didn’t know when a shocking scream ran out of my chest. My ribs constricted hard as pain rumbled through my entire cells. Never in my dreams have I ever thought of losing my child. I was going insane. The time of my life stopped at that moment, nothing made sense. My hands flew to my stomach and rubbed it, but something was indeed strange, it was silent.

I could feel my baby kick before I passed out, so why was it silent now? My life crumbled right in front of me as realization dawned on me.

“Do you understand me now? You were busy fighting for your life and losing your baby? I have never seen someone as selfish as you.”

Angel snapped at me from nowhere. Her sharp tongue kept cutting me everywhere as she blamed me for the death of the baby which her brother caused. I wanted to scream, bite, beat and punch her at that moment, but I couldn’t bring myself to sit properly. My body was in pain. The doctor informed me of the surgery I had and how I have to be careful of a tear until I am completely healed, because it could be very dangerous.

I couldn’t do anything but sleep there and hear my sister-in-law rain several insults on me. Tears streamed down my face continuously and my whole life got bleak. Nothing made sense anymore. I had endured everything for my child, but it was all in vain. My wolf kept growling in my head several times, but my mouth wouldn’t part for the growl to come out.

Twenty minutes later, the door flew open and my mother-in-law, Luna Diva, barged into the hospital room with my husband behind her. She was fuming mad with her pink beaded bag hanging down her right arm.

“I have always known that she was a witch. Nothing is going right with her! Ever since she stepped her legs in our household, it was either one problem or another! How dare you kill my own granddaughter?” she fired continuously.

Not like she cared much about the baby. I was almost chewed to pieces when they found out that it was a baby girl. All they wanted from me was a mini Prince. I was called a w***e for not giving my husband what they wanted, a useless space filler and unworthy investment. My husband even called me a pig in wolf form because I was getting big during pregnancy, he treated me like a smelly s**t.

Fresh tears flowed down my face as I slept there silently, absorbing every vile insult from my husband’s family while he stood there watching me take the hit. He must have given them a different side of the story because no sane human would hear of what happened and still blame me but then, none of them were sane to begin with.

I kept wondering why my family hadn’t visited or whether they hadn’t heard the news, but then I remembered Maria telling me that she personally made a call through to them, and they promised to be at the hospital soon.

They finally got to the hospital and the first thing my mother said was “You are such a disgrace to the family. Can you not do anything properly?”

The remaining hope in me died right that instant. I couldn’t believe such a line was coming from my mother to me who was in such a state. Anguish engulfed my soul, her words were sharper than knives, it hurt like crazy.

“We did everything we could to raise you to support your husband and his family, but you ended up killing the child that should seal your position in the family? How am I supposed to keep my head high in society? How come you never do anything right?” she lashed out at me, shattering me to pieces.

“You are just bad luck to everyone” my father added, his nose fuming under his round glasses as his brows furrowed into a frown.

“How could you say this to your daughter? How could you even think of saying all this to someone who just lost her child? You raised me to be this way? Yes, you didn’t lie about that. You raised me to be miserable, to live my life as if it was not mine, and yes, this is the end result. I regret having you as my mother and being born as your daughter”. I finally opened my mouth and ran out of the room even though I was in severe pain.

How come nobody around me ever loved me? I was surrounded by vicious vipers all my life. Everyone was tearing into my wounded heart one way or the other and I didn’t have any reason to live anymore.

“Can you please take me to my baby? I want to touch her at least once”, I begged the doctor, who finally granted my request, seeing my desperation.

I marched into the morgue with heavy legs as the cold tray was dragged out to show me my sleeping baby. My heart broke into a million pieces, no pain in the world mattered at that point, my child was lying cold in front of me.

“Oh God!.. I am ver.. so.. very .. ssooo.. sorry that you didn’t have a bett.. better mother. You didn’t even get to see the light of the earth because you met an unfortunate mother. This place must have been so cold and lonely while you waited for me” I wailed as I held the small creature close to my heart and wept loudly.

I had never felt so much sorrow in my life. Not even the mean words that were said to me pierced my heart this deep. The lifeless baby in my hand was the only thing I was proud of, the only thing that made me open my eyes every morning with the hope of getting through it. Now that hope had drowned, I had no cause for living. The only star that made my life shine in the storm just dipped, in the cruelest way.

“Can you please help me dress her prettily before sending her off? Please consider this as my last request”, I pleaded with Maria before I walked out of the hospital with my bare legs. I turned to take the stairs by the side and walked till I got to the rooftop in bruises. I stared at the city from above, it was bright and loud.

“How come the world is brighter and louder than my life? My life has always been still and dark like the deep ocean. Let no angel take me as I perish, I want to be forgotten” I stated as I fished out the silver knife I had managed to obtain from the convenience store right beside the hospital.

I didn’t think twice before I lodged the silver object right into my heart. A very sharp pain swept through me and my whole body responded to the poison I introduced to it. It was useless to jump from the roof since I wouldn’t die from it and I made sure to shut my wolf out before I carried out my plan. I didn’t need anyone to make me think twice. Dying and being forgotten was better than the hellhole I was in the name of living.