Forbidden Lies

2

The doctor gave the girl a warming smile and walked several steps closer to her. The girl instinctively inched her body back in a protective gesture. The doctor crossed his arms and sighed empathetically, then he stepped back. " Your name is Selena Winters and you are 19 years old. We were able to confirm this because of the identification you carried and your finger prints." He took a brief break before he continued, " We tried to contact your relatives but we were informed you're parents passed away a couple of years ago and you have no siblings or extended family." The doctor stood still and let his words sink into the girl.

"Who's been keeping me alive? This must have been costly and I have never known hospitals to save lives for free." The girl pulled herself upright and relaxed into the many pillows stacked behind her.

"Yes darling, it has been expensive to keep you alive but, as I mentioned before, you are a very lucky girl. The man who found you felt compassion and volunteered to cover all of your costs." The doctor stepped forward again and this time the girl did not recoil. "Please let the nurse put the IV in you, its imperative for your survival. We will give you medicine to relax you as well. Please let us help you." The doctor motioned for the nurse to move forward. Without any more convincing, the girl let the nurse probe her sticky skin with the IV and in seconds she felt more at ease.

"Selena Winters huh? Doesn't sound right, it doesn't ring a bell." The girl whispered more to herself than her audience.

"Memory loss is such a terrible side effect of coma patients, but over time most of your memory should come back. Your brain has been in survival mode for the past year and side affects are common. We will run tests on you and some scans to make sure that memory and loss of motor function are your only side effects. In the mean time, please try to relax. I know this is overwhelming but your body needs to recover." The doctor placed a hand on her shoulder and the warmth of his skin oddly comforted her. When was the last time anyone touched her? Comforted her?

"Some of these tests will be invasive and we will need your body fully relaxed. We will need to put you to sleep for a few hours, but trust me, you will wake up again!" The nurse chimed in.

"I have slept long enough!" The girl shouted.

"Selena, I have worked with coma patients for over a decade, so believe me when I say I know how shocking and frustrating this must be for you. Be grateful you were only in a coma for one year and not more, some patients never wake up." The doctor sighed heavily and gave her another warm smile.

"I need to get my bearings. Give me a few minutes alone to compose myself." Selena said, not because she thought the doctor was right, but because she truly needed to get herself together.

"We will give you ten minutes only because your vital signs are healthy, but they could change. However, I understand. We will be back soon." The doctor motioned for the nurse to walk out first before he followed behind her.

Selena let out a loud frustrated grunt. None of this was true, she wasn't a hiker and she didn't remember a fall. Her head hurt and she felt like she was going crazy. She took a few deep breaths before focusing on her legs, begging them to move. But her legs didn't budge and she became desperate.

She wanted to leave, to runaway from this, but Selena didn't have much of a choice. She had absolutely no memory of who she was or how she got there. She did know that hospitals helped people and right now she needed help. Her mind struggled to keep her thinking rational. She struggled between accepting help from the medical staff, to running away and then to the silver-haired woman in her dream.

The door slowly opened and the doctor walked in with the nurse following in suit. "Are you ready?" The nurse asked softly. Selena waited a few tense seconds before she nodded and gave her permission to be put to sleep once again.

In her sleep Selena began to dream. The silver-haired woman appeared once again, her hair was wet and she dragged muddy boots along the marbled floor. Two dark-haired men followed behind the woman and, like her, both men had scowls on their faces. They came to a large arched oak door.

"We shouldn't bother your father with this until we have more information. He has other affairs to tend to." One of the dark-haired men whispered to the woman. The woman ignored the man and pounded on the door.

"You don't have to be here if you don't want to, Azriel." The woman stepped back as the large door was opened. Azriel sighed and went inside with her. The woman bowed down and kneeled as she approached her father, who sat on his throne.

"Father." She addressed her father softly and cautiously.

" What is the meaning of this late visit?" Despite his fearsome reputation and cold demeanor, he smiled tenderly at her. Above all, he loved her the most. In truth, she was the only thing he loved nowadays.

"The werewolves, they walk in plain sight. They appear to have lost any fear they previously had for us. They disrespect us and I fear they are doing so because they are conspiring against us. I sent a team out to the tunnels a few days ago and they were attacked. The beasts have no shame and their leader has acquired more reinforcements. Father, I believe they are preparing for war." The women stood tensed, she had no proof but she knew this must be the reason for the wolves brazen behavior.

"There is no proof of this, my lord, but I also believe this must be the case. The werewolves have always stuck to the shadows, their leader Caden is up to something." The second man stepped forward. Azriel stood back in silence.

"What war can they possibly wage? Their numbers are less than 300 and they are at the brink of extinction. Perhaps Caden has lost control of his feral dogs who apparently have a death wish." The woman's father had a dismissive tone. Out of all the vampires in the world, it was he who hated the werewolves the most. His personal vendetta with Caden extended a few centuries back. Caden was the leader of the werewolves and the most powerful of them all. He always seemed to be out of grasp and evaded the vampires like the plague for hundreds of years.

"Even so, we must investigate this further. We need to find Caden, there are repercussions for such insubordination!" The woman insisted.

"The last time anyone saw Caden was two centuries ago. He is probably dead by now. I wouldn't put it past those dogs to not announce his death or a new leader. Cowards". Her father stood up and crossed his arms behind his back. He stepped out of the shadows to look closer at his daughter and the moonlight behind her.

"But an attack on our kind by them is forbidden. For as many men as they attacked, they will pay twice more. I will send a team to the tunnels and we shall be recompensed." He walked closer into the moonlight, "But you, my dear, will not go with them."