I'm Dying, Mate

(3) Oh! Hell, With the Donor

Iona turns back towards the restaurant; her steps doesn't falter with only one thing in her mind. She pauses to look at the infuriated five-year-old glaring at her back, saddened by the fact that this is how he grew up. A mother who doesn't seem to care for him

"Doram, she is just troubled but doesn't hate her. I know at some point you will hate her, but she's your mother. Trust me in saying that you should love her now and hate her later when she's gone." Iona says, wiping her tears that keep trailing down her cheeks. "that's why I care for you, not because of redemption of what I have done, but because of love."

"So, it's all your fault."

"It is."

"What use do I have from your so-called 'love'?"

She shrugs, her heart twinging in pain "my devotion and now the truth."

Not knowing where she was able to muster the courage to walk up the steps to the restaurant. She walks closer to the table where her family was seated. They were in deep conversation with Ross in a tight frown and Sarah staring blankly at Fredo's face.

Did he already tell them? Her steps falter at the thought of her dead mother's name being exchanged by her uncles. She could imagine their grief, the sadness that would loom over their heads as it does Fredo.

Then there was a roar of laughter that came from Fredo, he pats Ross's back, and all seems well again. The oppressive atmosphere went while Ross smiles and grits his teeth at his brother's heavy blows. The beautiful Sarah even gave a small grin, but it quickly faded as soon as it came.

Iona breathes in, mustering again the mysterious place where her courage was hiding. She steps into the line of sight of her family, their eyes snapping at the nervous human. They can hear her rapid heartbeat, they can even smell her perspiration that was more than usual.

"Are you okay?" Farah's voice tugged with concern, she stands to her feet to aid Iona if the need arises. "You don't seem to be okay."

Iona's lips move, but no words came out of her mouth. Her courage was gone the moment their eyes met with hers, and she didn't know what to do. Then she thought of the five-year-old kid, just outside those doors. Frustrated and mad at everything, especially himself.

Not if I can help it

"I know what you're doing, Aunt Sarah" Iona meets the cold eyes of the blank-faced Sarah. "I know you're different now after losing a child. But being like this with Doram isn't going to make anything better".

Sarah meets Iona's eyes, amusement, and curiosity flocked together, so evilly in her glinting eye as if daring the human to say anything else out of the ordinary.

"Iona, I don't think this is the right place to be talking about it" Ross's eyes dim at the mention of his lost child. The bane of his life.

But Iona ignores him "I know you hate me, Sarah, I know I killed Greggy but please don't hate Doram, he's your second chance. He's your son".

Sarah's smile that bloomed from her lips is not as comforting as it should. It's the truth she dreaded coming here, dreaded seeing this human. Iona has noticed it; the way Sarah has looked at her. "What do you mean Iona? I love Doram like how a mother should love a child".

"Sarah, stop this! Can't you give the last part of you have to Doram? The old you, hate me all you want but he is still your child. How is he any different from Greggy?" Iona says.

The list of rejection keeps adding, the thought of the little boy hating her feels more painful than Sarah not being able to forgive her. She already lost her mother, and that's what she hated about her mom because her mom made her a promise that she'll never. Still, she left. It was childish to think so, foolish to believe her mother would live forever, but a promise is a promise. A little part of Iona wanted to die in her mother's arms, no matter how selfish it was.

"Iona, honey don't make a scene" Ross makes a sickly smile that looks practised and standoffish. He stands and tries to make her sit by grabbing her shoulders. Her fragile skin bruising from his grasp. Unbeknownst to everyone, the bruises were dark and forming at a fast pace, it made Iona yelp in pain and surprise.

The action made everyone look at her, black pooled under Ross's palm. They watch with confused and horrified expressions at the strange phenomenon. Jared's blood boils, he took his Ross's wrist.

"Don't touch her" he growls the word out through his clenched teeth.

Ross raises his brows at Jared's action, a pup challenging an Alpha who was also his uncle. How hilarious but he looks at his hands again.

"This is not normal" he whispers at awe to himself.

Iona shakes and shivers in pain. Fredo comes up and pulls his brother down and away from Iona. Farah came to her niece, checking her shoulders, but it was bleeding, and the bruise was in the darkest hue she has ever seen. The size more significant than her own hand while she tries to cheer the cringing human. The asshole has let his claws out and punctured her skin, the bleeding dripping down her arm in an unnatural rate.

"Oh. My. God" Farah whispers as she rips the hem of her dress and tries to stop the bleeding.

Sarah looks coldly at Iona, she doesn't want to be in this place, and the chaos that was unfolding is an entertaining distraction. Her cold eyes sweep to the frantic Farah, the mad Alpha Fredo and Fredo's sons, and at Michael who looks like he didn't know what to do or who to side.

"Call a doctor!" Farah growls at Michael beside Sarah.

"Don't involve my son in this" Sarah hisses.

Farah throws her a deathly glare at her "Call a damn doctor".

"Don't move" Sarah's calm voice pierced the tense atmosphere.

Michael looks at Sarah then at Farah whose eyes were turning gold in a fury. "I am not a child anymore" he pulls out his phone.

Sarah, in one swipe of her arm, sent the phone flying across the room. They hear the metal breaking on the marble floor.

"You b***h!" Farah growls, leaving Iona in her rage. Her claws out and hands outstretched, wanting to kill the blonde woman. She was fast enough to be able to get a hold on Sarah's shoulder.

"Let go" Sarah's cold voice growls, her eyes glaring at Farah's golden ones.

"Make me" Farag digs her claws, feeling it hit her bone.

Iona feels dizzy, her eyes wouldn't focus on anything, and suddenly everything tipped to the side. She falls to her side, the momentary pain that came from hitting her cheek on the floor almost sent her into a blackened hazed.

Keith sees this and took himself out of the two Alphas and his brother's fight. He knew he is needed somewhere else. Besides, no one was winning nor losing. They just wanted to keep Ross away from the girl. He kneels beside her; his eyes couldn't believe the blood escaping her small and frail body.

"Hey" Keith whispers, fear to clutch at his heart. He takes out his phone and calls the ambulance. "Please, hold on for me, little girl."

She can hear him in her dizzy haze, so she smiles "Keith" she whispers.

"I'm here" he answers, his hold soft but firm. He really didn't know how to hold her properly, but he was just doing a precautionary turn. "Hold on for me, little one."

She mumbles something incoherent, and Keith leans forward for his forehead to rest against hers. "Please" he whispers, his heartbreaking. "Be okay…for me"

When the ambulance arrived, they immediately pull the limp girl off of Keith's lap. His tears that he unknowingly shed cast aside while he follows his cousin. The individual department of the emergency team pulled their kin while the werewolves pulled theirs. The only one left standing were the feuding families that were at each other's throats.

"I'm coming!" Doram shouts from behind, his small feet carrying him to the ambulance where Iona is being carted away. Keith spots him and pulls him in with one sweep of his arm and to the inside. "what's happened?"

Keith poses to answer but froze when the EMT says "We're losing her"

Doram is confused, for the first time in his life he didn't know what was happening to her and somehow, he's scared of suddenly not knowing. He wants to open a book where he can figure out the answers like he did so many times but came out with nothing. His brain seems to be malfunctioning at the wrong time and place. He just met this girl, and she's the reason for his mother's indifference, but why does he seem to care about her?

IN THE HOSPITAL

Doram and Keith wait in the hallway of the ER, waiting for the surgery to finish. She was rushed inside while no one answered their questions, so they decided to try any semblance of calm. Doram was still in the dark while Keith wasn't able to answer any of his problems due to the shock until they go to the hospital

Keith clench and unclench his jaw, trying to search for his voice. He wanted to tell Doram the truth, but he was just as shocked as he was on what was happening now.

"Do-ram" he said a little bit too hard, and his voice breaking. His mouth was not cooperating in this strange and tense moment.

Doram looks up at him with blank eyes like what his mother often does "what?"

"You want to know the truth?"

"I'm not sure," Doram says, he looks down to his small hands turning into fists on his lap. "Do I have the right to know the truth?"

"Well, I don't know about that, but I think you do. What matters is how you handle the truth not if you have the right to" Keith pats Doram's head.

Doram licks his lips and made a single nod "Okay, fine then tell me."

"Iona...is dying," Keith says. "she has 9 months before she has to die."

"Of what?"

"Cancer"

The two of them were silent, they didn't talk for a while, but they were staring at each other. They didn't know what to think, especially for Keith who had just told a five-year-old about cancer and he expects him to understand. But then again, Doram is not an average five-year-old. Not only is he a werewolf, but he was also a prodigy. His mother was too preoccupied with her coldness and lost to recognize anything from Doram.

Doram's fears were valid, the symptoms of pale skin and easily bruised body was all in his head. The clues were there, and she got the worst one. The paleness and the smell of death that hung around her like a ghost, Iona just has this aura of being sick, and he was right. And for the first time, he hates himself for being right.

They stared at each other and finally stops when the doctor finally came out. Keith stands trying to block Doctor Frederick, Iona's doctor, from running away without an explanation.

Frederick had dull eyes as he looks at Keith. He starts to take off his plastic cap from his blonde hair and his bloody mask and along with his bloody gloves. Keith can smell it was from his little cousin. The amount of it on the doctor made his heart constrict.

"What happened?" Keith asks, nervous about what the result will be or might be or could be. He only wants to believe what should be.

"it's still unknown, we'll wait for your parents and maybe when they come here we will be able to know."

"What?! You're a doctor! you're supposed to know what's happening to her!" Keith shouts, both the exhaustion and frustration fin on his nerves. The not knowing frustrates him. He finally saw her again, she finally went home and then what? She's just going to die.

Frederick remains calm "I already told you, we're not sure only time will tell on what will happen to her"

Keith didn't know what to say next and just grabbed the ageing man's collar close to his face "She better be alright after this or I have your head staked"

He lets go trying to contain every emotion he felt and sits back on the bench with Doram. He wanted to punch something or pull his hair out till his scalp bleeds.

"Can't you at least stabilize her condition? Can't you stop the bleeding and assist the bruising and put antibiotics or something in her system" Doram couldn't control his mouth anymore

Doctor Frederick was surprised at the small child in front of him. How can such a small child know such things? "her white blood cells..." he starts unsure if he should continue telling this information to a child. But he continues, "…is already attacking her red blood cells, the bleeding has stopped, but she lost so much I'm not sure if she can recuperate in time. her BP is low, and we're trying to ease the pain but not too much, and we fear she'll go into a cardiac arrest."

Keith and Doram sit there, stunned, and not sure what to say next. Frederick excused himself and went back to the room that held the dying girl.

"Is it true?" Doram suddenly asks Keith

"What's true?"

"About Iona killing my second brother?"

Keith looks astounded "She told you that? No wonder all of these happened"

Keith sighs "it's true, and we were with her at that time, but it was just an accident. She was young, she was running, but since then Sarah hated her"

"So, she's the reason why my mom treats me so differently than Michael."

Keith nods, no reason to hold the truth from the kid. "Yeah and that's why she was so nervous on coming here, she wanted to have you...understand and not hate your mom."

"what does she expect me to do?"

Keith shrugs his shoulder "Like what a small kid with a big brain should do, Love his mom."

Again, there was silence, and they let each other's walls go down as time passed by with Doram getting sleepier than ever and started to lean on his cousin's shoulder. Keith noticed this and put his head on his lap and pets Doram's head trying to wipe the sweat out of his forehead.

Doram doesn't trust anyone enough to be able to sleep. Everything was a competition for him and in his household. Even Michael made sure Doram was on his toes.

SEVEN HOURS LATER

The healing Sarah and calm Ross came to take Doram, but he refuses to go home. He looks at his mother and hugs her crying.

"Don't hurt I-Iona" Doram sobs, the very first time he ever cried in front of her.

Sarah looks confused, he was never like this in front of her though he did this once, it was nothing but trivial matters. This is the first time she heard her son begging for someone's sake or ever cried at all.

Sarah kneels down to Doram's level with claw marks on her shoulder and blood all over her long dress. She looks deeply in Doram's eyes, her pain out and piercing his young ones "Did you know what she did to me?"

Doram nods "they told me. I know you lost my brother, but she's already paying for it."

"what do you mean?"

"She has cancer, and she's dying" Doram sobs again.

Sarah had a flash of concern, but it flashes back to the unemotional void everyone was used to. "she's dying...she deserves it" she spats and turns away, leaving his husband and son.

Ross follows her, but Doram stopped him by tugging the hem of his shirt "No, dad, let her be."

Ross feels a tug on his heart at the direction of his son. He sighs and carries Doram on his arms "what's happening to her?"

Keith looked up "Don't know. But it's your Goddamn fault."

He pursues his lips in a thin line. Guilt was a new thing for him.

"We were going to tell you and even if you knew, what gives you the right to hurt her like that?" Keith stands almost reaching his uncle by mere inches. "Did you even care for Iona in the past few hours when we're back in that restaurant?"

Ross looks down and sighs "I would be lying if I said no, but I have a mate, and I have a responsibility for her too."

Keith was about to say something when the doctor runs out. He looks at Keith and Ross with anger in his eyes.

Frederick stares at the both of them "her body condition weakened, her life expectancy decreased, and right now I'm having a lot of stress searching for her blood type."

"This is a hospital, where are your blood reserve?" Ross asks

"Might I stress that we need human blood, not werewolf blood, but we've run out from the blood bank" Frederick sighs

"Ca-Can't you do anything for her?" Keith asks

"The ER is using it all, and it'll take hours before new stock from the blood bank can reach here. Frederick thinks about it, and he snaps his fingers as an idea came to him "I'll get back to you."

Keith's mouth pop's open "that doctor is unbelievable."

Ross sighs and sits on the bench and put Doram on his leg. "we'll all we have to do is wait for him and for your father."

"What happened to them?" Keith asks "It's been hours."

"they're coming, they just need to cover some things with the humans, and they'll be coming," Ross says and patting Doram's head "Humans and their whining."

Keith looks longingly at the door of the surgical room "Humans…"

-

Iona was far from the reality she knew. She was now from everything that she called real. She looks around the flourishing fields of beautiful flowers and watches everything move even though there was no wind and they are all untouched. She starts to run, her legs felt amazing, and she wasn't tired of catching her breath on the side.

She runs through the patches of plants and watches as the world revolved around her. She didn't know where she was, and she didn't care at all. all she knows is that her name is Iona and she was here to have fun. Here to be herself and be gone. She suddenly stops in a patch filled with tulips, and suddenly she could smell ash and... Fire.

The field of flowers easily licked by the flames and gaining on her. She runs and screams, but the fire still caught her. Her skin burned, her blood was dried by the first touch of the flames. She crawls on the ground, her nails bleeding as she pulls her burning body. Inch by agonizing inch

Pain, pain, pain, pain she chants.

What is happening?

-

The moment the rest of the family arrived, Keith gave them the answers that worried them. Jared can't help but curse and glare at Ross while Fredo ignored the existence of his brother entirely.

"I swear to the Goddess if something were to happen to her" Farah hisses at Ross "I'd revoke all ties with your f*****g pack."

"That is not your decision to make" Ross reminds her.

"I'd believe her, Ross" Fredo glares at him, his eyes glowing golden again. "She is my other half, we have equal power over the whole of the pack."

Farah glares daggers at Ross. She opens her mouth to say something but Frederick runs out of the surgery room in a hurry. Snapping everyone's gazes at the doctor hoping for answers.

He runs past Iona's family, and that didn't bode well with the standing Alpha. Fredo chases him down the hall and pins him by his throat, having no patience at all "What is happening to her?!"

Frederick chokes, his hands gripping on to Fredo's wrist to relieve the pressure on his airways to talk. Fredo realizes this and loosens his firm grip from his neck.

"I found someone…with the… blood" Frederick struggles to breathe and say the words

"Well, then that's good. How did you find it?" relief relaxes the muscles on his shoulder.

"The right question is who" He coughs, still trying to pry the hands-on his throat off "I contacted her grandmother,"

Fredo froze and swallows the lump on his throat "Did you say, my mother?"

Frederick nods

Fredo turns away, leaving the human to fall on his back on the floor. He walks back with his head hung low and sits beside his loving mate—all of them staring expectantly at him.

"So, what did he say?" Farah is the first to ask him

"He found a donor," Fredo says, shaken.

"That's great! But why are you like that, honey?"

"Why should I be? when our mother is the donor" He almost whispered the words as he put his face in his hands

Ross starts to laugh "That's my brother, even in the heaviest moments he could always tell a joke."

"I'm not joking, Ross. He already called our mother to come."

"MOM?!" Ross shouts a little whimper came out of him. "then I'll take my leave for now."

"Where are you going? This is your fault so take the f*****g responsibility."

"All the more to go, if mom knew this, she would skin me alive. Then I won't be able to make it up to Iona."

Fredo thinks about it "No, stay. You deserve it for doing this to Iona."

"what—"

"Yes, Ross, you deserve this" a voice that filtered in the hall, they were currently in, made the strong men flinch and quiver.

They all see an elderly lady with the perfect posture and silver hair walk with such grace in their direction. "You boys haven't changed at all. Hurting my only Granddaughter who means the world to me and now that her mother is gone, you do this to her."

Ross kept his blank façade stifling the want of cowering from his mother like he was a child again. Fredo freezes not moving at all, his eyes bewildered and didn't know what to do or feel.

Doram hides behind his father while a shell-shocked Michael starts to slide down the wall and fall to the floor as if seeing a ghost. No, a nightmare has come to life, and he couldn't believe he is here.

Jared sits stiffly and erects on his seat, closing his legs, folding his hands neatly on his lap and looking down on the ground. Keith curses out loud at the sight of her, dread and regret when he realized his mistake of cursing out loud.

The males have tucked their tails between their legs while the only one relaxed was Farah. She smiles and hugs Diamond so welcomingly, even glancing at the fear struck men.

"Hello, mother, how are you?" Farah asks

"I was fine" Diamond smiles, but not warmth nor humour came into her eyes. There was only rage and anger while she stares down at the feeble men that were her family "Until I heard my little granddaughter dying. Dying! I rushed to go to this hospital and good thing I live on the outskirts of the town."

Diamond glares at the men on the hall "Well, well, well Keith later I will wash your mouth with soap with that kind of words. Jared, I see you remember what I thought you, straight back, legs closed, hands-on lap and chin up.

Even though your mom argued you're not a girl, but with that kind of hair, I will treat you like a girl. Be a man, Ross! Face your goddamn responsibility. Maybe then I will give you the honour of skinning yourself, and Michael I expect more from you get up on your feet and don't be a coward like your father.

Doram, you are the same as your useless mother who won't move on with her little one's death. When she has sons, she is supposed to love and care for and yet here she is, a useless being. Oh, don't you dare growl at me, Ross? I am your mother, the first woman to hold you, and just because this one has chosen to spread her legs for you doesn't take away that right. I swear I will forget you as being my child and even deny you on the very people we lay eyes upon that I gave birth to you!"

Oh Hell.