Their Mate And Luna

Chapter 8

The Sleeping Wolf

Nicole was rushed to the pack's hospital. Her pulse was weak and she wasn't responding to anyone.

"What happened to her?" Doctor Mel, the Pack's head doctor, asked. He was on his way home when they brought her in. "Let's get her into a room."

He hurried after Tim, who was holding Nicole in his arms. Once inside, he started checking her vitals. "Her pulse is weak," he said, alarmed by her weakened and non-responsive state. Nurses joined, him and one of them ushered the family outside.

"Did you know?" Savvy asked Tim, in a teary voice, when they were outside in the waiting room.

Her mother was enveloped in her father's arms, weeping.

Tim's dark eyes widened as he shook his head in shock. "I didn't know. Honestly, I am as shocked as you all are."

"Those bastards!" Savvy exploded, bitting her finger between her teeth, her face contorting in pain at the memory of her cousin being rejected just as her wolf was coming. "She didn't get the chance to even shift."

Tim pulled her into his chest, feeling her emotions through the mate bond, but he couldn't find the words to comfort his mate.

"Why did they do it?!" Savvy sobbed. "She's not responding, Tim."

"I am sure she will be fine. Let's have hope," he comforted her.

Savyy remembered their shopping spree the day before and the anticipation in Nicole's eyes when they spoke about mates. "She was looking forward to meeting her mate. Why would they do this to her!" She yelled.

"How could they? What did she even do to them?" Her mother cried into her father's chest. "She's been through a lot."

"I will speak to the alpha in the morning about this. Calm down, honey." Oscar soothed her, clenching his jaw at the wickedness of the twins.

Hours later, Doctor Mel came out from the room, looking silently from one to another.

"How is she doctor?" Savannah asked.

He took a deep breath, gazing at the floor. "Just before she slipped into a coma..."

"No!" Savvy jerked in pain in Tim's arms. Her wolf growling.

Her mother tightened her arms around her mate, weeping harder.

"...she asked that no one should know what happened to her. She wants it to be kept a secret."

The sobs of the women filled the corridor.

"I am sorry, there's nothing we can do for her now. May I also ask what happened to her?"

"She got rejected," Tim answered him. "She turned eighteen today and was shifting when she found her mate and was rejected.

He stared at the four people in front of him. "What? Who is this person that did this? He must be reported to the Alpha immediately." Anger coursed through his veins. "Because, he just made her her lose her wolf!"

Four gasps filled the place. The crying women looking up to him, freezing and then breaking into sobs again.

"How long do you think she will be in this coma?" Savvy's father, Oscar, asked.

"A month or more. It could be less if she had her mate with her, but with what happened, I don't see that happening any sooner." He couldn't believe a mate could do such a thing like this.

"Thank you doctor."

"My pleasure. I will tell the nurse to let you see her," he said, nodding at them as he started to leave. "But before you do, I need you all to be strong." Seeing their looks, he took a deep breath. "She looks very different from when you brought her in. Let your wolves know that going haywire won't solve anything."

The four exchanged glances, looking lost at what could be wrong with Nicole.

"We will do so. Thanks, Mel." Tim spoke for all four of them.

When they entered her room, Savvy's mom screamed and ran out, sobbing loudly, a palm over her mouth, unable to look at her niece's sleeping form.

Savvy collapsed, numb with pain and shock at the sight before her. Her breath seized in her chest, she felt her whole world turn upside down, repeating itself over and over. Only Tim's strong arms kept her from falling on her feet. "That's not Nikki," she whispered as if seeing a ghost. "That can't be her."

If Tim hadn't helped transport Nicole here, he would have said this person wasn't her.

Oscar growled, his eyes flashing gold and continued doing so, fighting his wolf not to come out.

The person on the bed seemed to have aged from the time she had been rejected to when they brought her in. Her eyes were sunken with dark circles underneath. Her cheek bones jutted out, sinking her cheeks deep into her mouth. Once plump lips were now chapped and dry, slightly opened as her chest rose and fell softly. The once bouncy and glossy brown hair fell around her like dead leaves, lifeless and ashen, like her skin, which used to be glowing.

If they had told them that a witch had hexed her, they would believe. She looked like someone whose life was gradually being sucked out of her. Like she was dying.

"Nikki." Savvy croaked, unable to find the words to say. "Nikki..." Tears pooled in her eyes as she compared the person before her to who she had seen just yesterday. That person had been full of life, with cheeks swelling as she smiled and laughed, hair bouncing around her shoulders, and her laughter surrounding everyone. Her skin glowed with vitality, unlike the person on the person now connected to various machines and IV sets on the bed.

Savvy struggled in her mate's arms, desperate to run out of the room like her mother. His strong arms still refused to let her go. "Let me go!" She groaned, fighting his embrace. "Tim, let me go!"

"Savvy, stop," Tim whispered in her ear. "You have to be strong for her. She needs you now more than ever." His voice was raw with emotion, as he felt her emotions rush into him through their bond.

"I can't. I can't!" She sobbed against him. Even she needed the strength to be there for Nicole. "I am not strong enough."

"Yes, you are. You have to be. I am here for you." He tucked hee head under his chin, soothing her with his touch as she sobbed loudly against him. Her sobs filled the room as he rocked her in his arms. "You can do this." He poured relief and comfort into their bond for her.

"We all are going to be there for her, Savvy," Oscar confirmed. "She needs us."

Mira burst into the room. "What happened to Nic...?" She stopped when she saw her friend, or what used to be her friend on the bed. She had woken up to an empty house and called everyone, but only Mabel did. Nothing could have prepared her for what she was seeing.

A wild scream escaped her lips, her eyes widening, almost popping them out of their sockets. "Who is that?!" She cowered away, landing against a wall, pointing to Nicole. "That's not her... that's not her...What happened?!" She kept screaming until she passed out on the floor.

"Mira!" Savvy cried out, pushing off her mate to tend to the girl on the floor. "Call a nurse, Tim."