Chapter 2: The Blind Luna
1043 Words
Chapter 2: The Blind Luna
(Seraphina's POV)
While waiting for Aiden to arrive, several healers surrounded me, conducting various examinations.
I submitted to their probing with practiced patience, my mind already racing ahead to what needed to be done.
My first priority was clear: sever the mate bond and reclaim my children. Everything else could wait.
The mate bond severance would have to be delayed though. After five years of dormancy, both Emily and I were too weak to endure the excruciating pain of the severance. We needed time to rebuild our strength first.
Suddenly, I heard hurried footsteps echoing down the hospital corridor. Emily felt the familiar scent and warned, ‘Aiden is here.’
"Elder Finn," I cried out, letting panic creep into my voice as I turned toward where I sensed the head healer standing. "What's wrong with my eyes? Why can't I see anything?"
My voice trembled with perfectly calculated fear. "And where’s my wolf? Why can't I feel her anymore?"
The words had barely left my lips when Aiden rushed into the room, his face a mask of concern. "Seraphina, you're finally awake," he breathed, reaching for me.
Fighting back waves of nausea, I groped blindly until I found his chest, then pressed myself against him.
The scent of another she-wolf's perfume clung to his clothes - something floral and cheap that made my stomach turn. But I played my role perfectly.
"Aiden," I whispered, my voice small and vulnerable. "I'm so scared. I can't see you..."
His arms came around me, holding me with what anyone watching would think was tender devotion. "Shh, calm down, my love. I'm here now. I'll do whatever it takes to heal you, I promise."
Elder Finn cleared his throat, drawing our attention. His voice was gentle but clinical as he delivered his assessment.
"Luna Seraphina, there's nothing physically wrong with your eyes," he explained carefully. "But your optic nerves may need time to recover from the extended unconsciousness. The timeframe could be anywhere from several months to... indefinite."
He paused, and I could feel his hesitation before continuing. "As for your wolf, the extended dormancy has left her in a deeply weakened state. Although there's always hope for recovery, I can’t guarantee that she will fully awaken."
I felt Aiden's body relax against mine. A blind Luna without her wolf posed no threat to him whatsoever. The relief radiating from him was almost palpable.
Seizing the opportunity, I turned my face toward his voice with desperate hope. "Aiden, I don’t want to stay here. Take me home."
"But…"Aiden hesitated.
"Aiden, please. This place is freaking me out - all these beeping machines and antiseptic smells," I interrupted him.
"That's actually an excellent suggestion," Elder Finn agreed. "Familiar environments often aid in neurological healing."
Aiden nodded. "Of course, my love. Anything you need."
He helped me into a wheelchair, pushing me through the corridors of the medical wing.
I couldn’t help but make a comparison. He could effortlessly lift Evelyn into his arms when she had a simple twisted ankle, but his own mate required wheels.
In the elevator, I caught sight of our reflection in the mirrored walls.
He was still devastatingly handsome, perhaps even more so now that he had fully matured into his Alpha prime. His jaw was stronger, his shoulders broader, his presence more commanding than ever.
But looking at myself in that same reflection was like seeing a ghost. My skin was pale and drawn, and my cheekbones sharp from weight loss.
We reached his car, and I noticed immediately that the passenger seat held a black lace thong.
Evelyn's panties, no doubt.
Aiden stole a glance at me and then quickly snatched it up and shoved it into his jacket pocket before helping me into the vehicle.
The casual way he handled another woman's underwear made bile rise in my throat. But I maintained my helpless facade.
"Aiden," I said softly as he started the engine, "Did any she-wolf ever throw herself at you in the past five years?"
"Of course not," he denied without hesitation, his voice smooth and convincing.
"Who doesn't know that my Luna is the fiercest she-wolf in the territory? Remember when you charged into rogue wolf territory to save me? Which she-wolf would dare approach me after that?"
Fierce.
Seven years ago, shortly after he'd marked me, Aiden had been on border patrol when a pack of rogue wolves ambushed him.
He'd been severely wounded by silver daggers and was bleeding out in the wilderness.
I had been the one to charge into enemy territory alone. I had fought those rogues with nothing but my claws and my determination to save my mate.
I had dragged his bleeding, unconscious body back to safety, and I myself nearly died when fighting against several enemies.
That was what he called fierce.
Suddenly, Aiden turned to look at me. "Sera, how did it feel like to lie there for five years... as a vegetable?"
I kept my expression blank and lifeless. "Nothing," I said flatly. "My world was completely dark. No sound, no sensation. Just... emptiness."
Aiden's shoulders sagged with visible relief. He reached over and patted my hand.
"It's all over, Sera," he said warmly. "We're going home."
I forced a weak smile. "Yep. It's all over."
But in my mind, I was thinking something entirely different. Yes, Aiden. Everything between us is over. Now it's time to settle the score.
Just then, a luxurious Rolls-Royce glided past us in the adjacent lane. The vehicle was so opulent it seemed to command attention from every other car on the road.
Emily suddenly perked up within my consciousness, her senses sharper than my human form could manage.
"Familiar," she whispered urgently. "That scent... It's like Kaelen's."
Emily's words triggered a flood of memories. Kaelen, the Alpha King’s heir. The most powerful wolf in the Northern Territory.
He had tried to convince me not to abandon my promising healing career for Aiden seven years ago, warning me that a good mate shouldn't require such sacrifices.
But I quickly dismissed the thought.
After the way I had rejected him seven years ago, there was no possibility he would come looking for me now.
Emily must be mistaken.
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