CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED & SEVENTY FIVE
Nolan’s POV
The pain and emotions faded as quickly as it came when we were only a foot away from the hospital. This bothered me more than actually feeling Talia’s pain. What happened?
‘She’s still alive. I can still feel her,’ my wolf reassured me, but I was still panicking.
Della was pacing in the waiting room. Nothing was torn apart or destroyed. There wasn’t the scent of blood in the air, so rogues hadn’t broken through our defenses. Why was Talia in so much pain?
When Della saw us, she walked to us. “What happened?” I asked before Della could speak.
Della swallowed, her voice tight. “We tried a new treatment but it failed. The King got worse. Leslie said there’s nothing more she can do, but Talia wouldn’t accept it. They argued. The healers had to sedate Talia before she completely broke down.”
“Where is she?” Solon asked.
“She is in room 4. She is physically stable, but she donated a lot of blood for Leslie’s treatment, and the breakdown took it out of her,” Della replied.
Soloh was already exiting the waiting room before Della finished talking. I was right behind him. We went to room 4 and carefully opened the door.
Talia was on the bed with a blanket pulled over her. Her face was pale and her face was wet from the tears she had been crying. Her breathing was shallow and uneven.
“I should have been the one here. She shouldn’t have had to deal with this alone,” Solon lamented.
“She’s going to be okay, Solon. I’ll stay with her,” I said. “Why don’t you check on Leslie? Whatever Talia said, it came from a place of distress.”
“Alright,” Solon said. He left without another word, closing the door quietly behind him.
I pulled a chair close to the bed and sat. Talia’s face tightened slightly even in sedation. Her lips moved. I leaned forward to hear what she was muttering.
“Do not leave, father,” she murmured. “Please. You can’t leave me…”
My heart twisted. She was dreaming about her father and begging him to stay. In some ways, I felt that it was merciful that my father died as quickly as he did. Seeing your father deteriorate and there was nothing you can do about it was something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.
“Lie with her,” my wolf urged. “Use the bond to soothe her.”
I moved carefully and lay down beside her on the narrow bed. I pulled her against me and reached for her through the mate bond.
Talia tensed at first, but slowly relaxed. The tightness in her face eased gradually. After a few minutes, Talia seemed to be in a calm and deep sleep.
I began to nod off when I was startled awake when Talia screamed, “Don’t go!”
“Talia, it’s okay. I’m here,” I said, pulling her closer to me.
Talia began to sob as she pressed her face against my chest. I held her and waited until she was ready to speak. I could teel the turmoil through the mate bond.
“He only has a month,” Talia finally said, breaking the silence. Her voice trembled as she was forcing back the sobs. “We tried something new and it made it worse. Now he only has a month.”
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“It wasn’t your fault.”
“It is! A month… It is not enough time.”
Talia pulled back enough to look at me. Her eyes were red and her face was still pale.
“Library! We need to go to the library. There must be methods to save my father,” she said as she started to sit up.
“Talia, you need to rest.”
Talia barely got to her feet before she swayed and almost crashed into the nightstand. I caught her before she fell outright and held her by the shoulders.
“I’m alright. I’m alright, Nolan,” Talia said. “I just…I need to get to the library.”
“No, you’re going to rest,” I said firmly.
Talia glared at me and growled, “Don’t try to control me.”
I could feel her anger rise through the mate bond. Normally, I would back down, but not this time. Talia was acting reckless and I needed to reign her in for her own good.
“I am doing what is best for you as your mate and Alpha,” I responded.
Talia opened her mouth to argue, but I continued. “Due to the rogue attack, you have not eaten or drank anything all day. On top of that, you gave too much blood. You are not going anywhere right now.”
“My father…”
“Your father needs you to be functional,” I pressed. “You are not functional right now. You cannot help him if you collapse on us.”
I kept my hands on her shoulders until she stopped trying to pull away. “Eat something. Rest for one hour. Then we will go to the library together.”
“I told you I don’t need to rest. I am not a child!”
“If you keep arguing with me, we can do this the hard way. I’ll tie you to the bed and you don’t do anything for the rest of the day.”
“You wouldn’t dare!”
“Try me. I’m sure Solon would be okay with it.”
Talia’s brow furrowed and then her face relaxed. “An hour,” she relented.
“An hour,” I confirmed.
Talia let me settle her back against the pillows. I requested one of the omegas to bring fresh bread and soup to her room. Talia ate slowly even though from her grimaces, I could tell she didn’t want to sleep.
When she was done with the soup, Solon knocked on the door and then entered the room. Leslie was right behind him with her arms crossed over her chest.
“I don’t know what happened between you two, but you need to sort it out. I can’t have my mate and my sister angry with each other,” Solon stated.
“I know,” Talia said awkwardly, which caused Leslie to look at her. “Leslie, what I said earlier, I did not mean it. I am sorry. I took my frustration out on you, and I shouldn’t have done that.”
Leslie dropped her arms and walked over to sit in the chair next to Talia’s bed.
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“I am sorry too,” Leslie replied. “I was… too harsh. I just should have said it better.”
Talia nodded. I could tell she was about to start crying and Leslie gave her tissue. “Stop crying. There’s no need for that now.”
“What do you mean?” Talia asked.
“I believe I have found a solution,” Leslie announced.
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