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Metanoia
(n.) To turn from darkness and face light.

For the longest time I felt like I was floating. My body was numb and my mind was quiet, lost in the gentle feeling of drifting through nothingness. I couldn't remember where I was or why I was floating but I never questioned it and let the calm rivers of darkness wash me away.

Suddenly, the gentle river wasn't so gentle anymore and I felt like a strong current was pushing me forward. I wasn't sure where this sudden rough waters were taking me but slowly, it was bringing things with it.

It started off with an uncomfortable and almost painful sensation in my chest. I couldn't reach out to rub it since the rest of my body chose to stay numb but my ears were picking up voices.

They sounded hushed and quiet, the words too quiet to hear but somehow too loud at the same time. I wanted to tell them to stop, to yell at this river that was trying to wash me away but my mouth remained shut and refused to cooperate.

Ever so slowly, the darkness around me began fading, the pitch black turning a soft grey before a blinding white light hit me. The sudden brightness made my numb body jerk slightly as I tried to shield my eyes with my hand.

The voices turned louder as I blinked in the bright light, my vision eventually coming into focus.

The first thing I saw was white. It took me a while to realise I was looking up at a ceiling. A hospital ceiling. One of my hands was gently squeezed and I turned to my right.

Kieran sat on the chair besides my bed, giving me a gentle and encouraging smile. His hair was longer than I remembered, looking shaggier and he was sporting a full scruffy beard.

"How-," I broke into a coughing fit, my throat feeling dry and scratchy.  A nurse quickly scurried in with a doctor and the bed was put up in a sitting position. I took greedy sips of the water that was offered to me.

"How long was I out?" I asked, turning back to my tired looking mate.

"Three weeks," he muttered, squeezing my hand gently. "I thought you'd never wake up,"

"I'm here," Was all I could say. He leaned over the bed and pressed a kiss to my head, the doctors leaving to give us a moment.

"What happened while I was out?" I asked. There was a tension in the air that I couldn't quite place. I was sure it hadn't been there before so something  must have happened to trigger it.

"More packs across the Americas have been suffering similar attacks. There's also been reports about strange silver arrows being shot from an unknown enemy,"

"Were there a lot of casualties?" I asked.

"There were a reported few but the wolves attacking the packs are weak and easily killed. They don't have any real strategies or technique with their fighting so there's less casualties than expected," he frowned. I let the information sink in my, my mind whirling with all the possibilities. I had a few theories swimming in my head that I didn't want to voice just yet until I saw it myself.

"Can you show me the arrow I was shot with?" I watched as his lips pursed and his eyes widened.

"No Artemis, you should be resting,"

"What do you mean no? There could be answers and clues on that thing that could potentially stop more attacks from happening," I argued, sitting up more and pulling the blanket off me.

"I mean no, you're not leaving this hospital room and you're not getting anywhere near that thing that almost killed you," he growled back.

I felt my irritation grow into full fledged anger. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood up shakily on my feet, ignoring his protests as he strode towards me around the bed.

"I'm a spirit wolf Kieran, you can't stop me from doing my duty. I'm bound the moons goddess herself and I have to protect the lives of the innocent," I hissed at him.

"What about your life? Who's going to protect you?" I was a little startled by the sudden direction he took and was left momentarily speechless. He stepped closer to me, cupping my face with one hand while the other gripped my hip.

"I can't lose you again," my heart melted in my chest at the soft vulnerability in his tone and the raw emotions that swam in his ocean eyes.

"I'm sorry Kieran. But you can't keep smothering me and stopping me from doing my job every time it gets even a little bit dangerous," I argued, this time my voice a lot softer with his fingers stroking my cheek.

"And you can't risk your life at every turn and be ridiculously selfless and responsible," he murmured.

"So what do we do then, since we're caught in this Mexican standoff?" I asked, getting distracted when his lips brushed my cheek.

"Simple. We do this together. You need to let me in," I felt ashamed when he said the last part, knowing that he noticed how I put up a barrier in my mind to prevent him reading my thoughts after we marked each other.

I suppose I thought I was protecting him but in all honesty, I was being a coward. He had let me in his mind, let me see all of him and it would be unfair of me to hide the darker parts of me and my job from him.

I closed my eyes, leaning forward so our foreheads touched.

'Done,' I replied mentally, feeling a lot lighter with the barrier lifted.

"I missed you so much," he groaned, wrapping both arms tightly around my waist and burying his head in my neck. I wrapped my arms tightly around his shoulders in return, my own face buried in his neck.

"Come on now, you need to get some rest," he said, reluctantly pulling back.

"What about the arrow-," he gave me a pointed look, making me pause.

"That can wait till tomorrow," he raised his brow at me, as if daring me to challenge him and I grumbled under my breath, sitting back down on my bed, knowing he had a point.

"Fine, but only if you stay with me for a bit," I patted the space besides me on the bed and felt giddy when he smiled and slowly crawled in.

After a lot of shuffling and squeaking from the bed, we were both finally laying on our sides, facing each other and snuggling comfortably.

Even though I had been unconscious for the three weeks, it still felt like it had been a long time since I'd seen Kieran and enjoyed the simplicity of laying besides him.

My mind thought back to that day, where we had enjoyed such a beautiful morning together and how everything had been happy and simple.

I had a horrible feeling that it would be a long while before we could be as careless and happy as we were back then, so with that thought, I chose to snuggle up closer to my mate and enjoy the moment while it lasted.

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