You Rejected Me. Remember?

Astrea

I was shocked to hear what Natasha did. She tried to kill me and Arnold saved my life. He intercepted the blow and received the silver blade, protecting me from her attack.

“Where is Arnold?” I gasped.

I couldn’t believe that they didn’t tell me about his state earlier. Worried about his safety, I looked at the Queen and then at my parents for answers.

Their lips pulled into a grim line as they exchanged glances. My heart plummeted, fearing for his life. The looks on their faces were dreadful. It gave me the creeps.

A shiver ran down my spine as I glanced at Leo, who seemed to be looking for answers as well.

“He was taken to the infirmary at once. Please tell us that he is fine,” he begged.

The Queen heaved a deep sigh.

“I think you should eat something first. We could…”

“No, please… your Highness. Tell us,” I pleaded.

Nothing should happen to him. He must be fine…

The palpitations of my heart picked its speed.

Please, please be okay.

The seniors’ silence was deafening. Each passing moment boosted my anxiousness. The palms of my hands were sweaty. Attempting to calm my erratic heart, I inhaled a deep breath as I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans.

The Queen glanced at Leo’s mom and then at her husband. Her lips twitched as Sir Elliot intertwined his fingers with hers.

“Please,” I pleaded, sensing hesitancy from them.

“I need to know. He is my friend and he saved my life,” I croaked.

Sighing, the Queen stepped forward and collected my hand in hers. Her face contorted painfully as she ran her tongue over her lower l*p.

“Astrea… I… I don’t know how to tell you…” she trailed off.

No…. No, no, no.

I chanted in my head. This didn’t look good.

“He… he is fighting for his life. The healers are trying everything possible… but…”

She heaved a shaky breath and gulped.

“But what?”

I felt like crying.

“We went there in the morning. We were told that the dagger had punctured one of his lungs and, since the blade was of silver, the wound isn’t healing. On top of that, the dagger was poisoned and it had spread throughout his system within a matter of minutes.”

A gasp of despair escaped my lips.

No.

On shaky knees, I grabbed onto Leo’s arm for support. “No, please no…”

Leo was quick to offer his support. He turned towards me so that I could incline against him.

“We need to go there, now,” he firmly stated.

“But you haven’t eaten anything,” his mom reminded us.

The elders didn’t let us go to the infirmary before we had anything. I forced the food down my throat. Leo, too, seemed to be disturbed. He barely ate anything.

We rushed towards the infirmary as soon as we could. The royal couple and the elders went to check on the news about the lockup where Natasha was detained.

My heart thudded hysterically as I dashed towards the Intensive Care Unit. Rafael and Elena were sitting in the foyer, holding hands as though to support each other.

I had never seen Rafael so miserable. He had always been the goofball in our group. All the life in his face had drained, while Elena, too, didn’t look any good. Her bright eyes were now hollow. They looked as though they hadn’t been happy for a long time.

“Hey,” I wheezed as I took the seat in front of them. “How is he?”

I asked the dreaded question, silently praying to hear something positive.

Forcing a smile, Elena shook her head.

My throat tightened. This can’t be happening…

Soon, Sarah and Alan arrived at the lounge, looking equally crushed.

Was Arnold’s condition that bad?

I glanced at Leo for support, who laced his fingers with mine and squeezed it a bit.

“I… I need to see a healer,” I forced myself to speak.

“They must be at the healers’ lounge,” Rafael sighed.

My heart broke. Seeing the grim faces of my companions spoke volumes. Arnold was on the brink of death. Nonetheless, I couldn’t lose hope.

I refused to relinquish. He couldn’t leave us so soon. Especially not after saving my life. If only we had healing powers.

I stood up to find a nurse, with Leo on my tail. I wished to see him. Perhaps they would allow me to step inside and meet my friend.

Thankfully, they did and soon Leo and I were beside his bed. Pursing my lips, I forced myself to remain strong while I wrapped my arms around me. Leo held my waist. We didn’t know what to say. Our friend showed no signs of life except for the beeping heart rate monitor.

There were tubes connected to his mouth and nose. The cannula on his hand was attached to an IV. His face was drained of colour, and to my dismay, I noticed that his lips had turned blue.

He looked so… lifeless.

I was scared to say anything. Yet, I didn’t want to give up. There should be something we could do.

A healer peeked into the room and smiled when she saw us. I watched as she checked every machine that was connected to him.

“Is he going to make it?” I couldn’t help but ask. When. I received a grim sigh, my heart plummeted to my stomach.

“All I can say is, we are trying everything we can,” she mumbled.

Frowning in worry, I looked at his face, which was now as white as a sheet.

Allan, too, was on the brink of death, but his mate’s mark saved him. Biting my inner lips, I closed my eyes in despair.

Arnold hadn’t found his soulmate yet. I shook my head.

“Isn’t there anything we can do? You know… something… anything,” I knew I sounded despondent, but I didn’t care. I was grieving. I desperately wanted Arnold to come back.

“We have already done the surgery on him. A wolf from his clan who was in your team had volunteered to donate b***d, but nothing seemed to work,” she lowered her gaze and then glanced at Arnold.

“The poison in the dagger seems to be different. It spread fast, attacking all the vital organs all at once. The antidotes we have for well-known poisons are useless,” she gave a tragic glance.

“I’m sorry, but we are trying absolutely everything we can,” she mumbled and left the room, leaving us speechless.

Minutes of silence ticked by until I managed to muster up enough courage to walk up to him. My chest constricted as I scanned his frame. It was painful to watch someone who used to be so full of life lying motionless.

“Arnold… you didn’t have to,” my voice quivered. With a trembling hand, I touched his limp fingers.

Oh, how I wished that he had found his mate. Maybe then, we would have been able to save his life.

Gulping, “are you going to leave us so soon?” I uttered, barely above a whisper.

“Please don’t, we need you.”

A single tear rolled down my cheek as I spoke to him. I saw no response. There was absolutely nothing.

Wrapping his arm around my shoulder, “we should let him rest,” Leo muttered.

“Don’t lose hope,” he added, heaving a sigh.

I wiped my face and nodded.

“I won’t.”

I would never lose faith.

When we returned to where the gang were, we saw that the elders had also arrived at the hospital.

“We have informed Arnold’s pack. His parents and alpha are on their way here,” Sir Elliot informed us.

The silence and the sour mood that hung in the air was hard to handle. While we grieved in silence, my mind drifted to the woman who had caused this damage. I found myself sneering as I thought about her.

Things would have been perfect if it hadn’t been for Natasha and her ridiculous envy.

“Where is Natasha?” I finally asked after sitting silently for a considerable amount of time.

“She is gone and we have dispatched a group of warriors to look for her. It raises a lot of questions nonetheless. She was locked up since we needed to investigate. She had stabbed an innocent wolf, so she had broken the law. Whatever the reason was, it isn’t acceptable. And she wouldn’t have been able to escape if someone didn’t help her. Now the question is, who?” Sir Elliot replied.

I squinted while I thought over the matter. He was right. It did raise a lot of suspicions.

“The nurse did say that the poison used on the dagger was different. The antidotes they had weren’t effective,” I told them what I had learnt.

“That’s strange,” the Queen mumbled. “Where did Natasha get her hands on such a thing? She is young and a new recruit who joined the army recently. I’m wondering where she got that.”

Everyone was shocked. She was right. She couldn’t have gotten her hands on a new kind of poison unless someone gave it to her. A poison that the healers of the lycan kingdom weren’t aware of.

It should be formulated in a place other than the lycan kingdom. Perhaps…

My eyes widened as a crazy thought crossed my mind.

Could it be that she somehow was in contact with Calvin?

Despite my efforts, I couldn’t stop my heart from racing. I shook my head. No, she wouldn’t do that. She may have animosity towards me. Her grudge could be against me, but she would never betray the Throne.

I told myself not wanting to accept the theory.

Staring at my ice-cold fingers, I shifted in my seat uncomfortably.

“Ash,” I finally called my wolf. I needed to get it off my chest.

“Do you think that Natasha might team up with Calvin?”

“I’ll be frank, girl. We don’t know Natasha much. She was just a green-eyed monster who sounded like she might do anything to have what she wanted. I mean, from what we heard, she attempted to kill us, thinking that a lame excuse could get her off the hook. So I don’t know what to say. The poison isn’t a common one that can be easily obtained. It surely sounds like something that’s cultivated by an expert.”

I nodded. Ash was right. Perhaps Calvin wasn’t the only deranged individual we were dealing with. Maybe there was more.

“What are you thinking about?” Leo interrupted my thoughts.

Glancing at him, “Could the poison be a new development… like newly formulated in a place like a… a lab?” I uttered.

“Maybe,” he responded.

“Sounds like the work of an insane genius, so yes. That’s a great possibility,” Sir Elliot replied.

I shuddered. Insane genius.

“Umm… are there labs in the kingdom?” Anxious to hear the reply, I squealed.

Chuckling, “even if there were, they wouldn’t develop such a thing in a local lab. They would do it discreetly,” Leo pointed out.

“He is right. But to be on the safe side, we must survey all the local labs. There are just a few. If none of them has anything suspicious, we have to look for any secret…”

“Calvin has one,” I whispered, and everyone went rigid.

The Queen studied my face, the creases on her forehead deepening.

“So, you mean to say that Natasha could have a connection?”

The atmosphere in the aisle got dense yet I forced myself to face the royals, for the sake of my friend who had saved my life. That was, in addition to the safety of our kind and the protection of the throne.

“I’m not accusing her, since I don’t have solid proof. But I’m telling you, he has a well developed lab. He took me there once,” I winced at the dreadful memory.

“Can you tell us about it?” The queen asked. I felt all the eyes on me.

I shuddered and Leo leaned forward, placing a supportive hand on my back.

I glanced at him. He was also eager to learn what I saw in the lab. He nodded his head, pushing me to tell them what I had seen.

Gulping, “okay,” I whispered.

I forced a smile. Perhaps if they knew that it wasn’t a pleasant memory they wouldn’t be so eager to hear about it.

I glanced at my mom and closed my eyes.

“It’s okay, Astrea. We shouldn’t keep any secrets,” Ash reminded me. Nodding my head, I prepared to tell them what I had seen.