Chapter 24
in my own bed.
Finally, night had come and the doctor had informed me I would be discharged. As I signed the sheet and watched him sign it too, I was ready to walk out into the night and make my way back to the pack house, to finally be out of this sterile environment and back But I was surprised at the looming figure waiting for me.
Aurelius stood by the nurses station, hands tucked into his pockets and his shoulders hunched. He gave me an awkward smile as he carefully approached me.
"I'm here to take you home," He said, clearing his throat. I nodded and he hesitated for a second before turning around and leading the way out of the hospital.
There was a sleek black car waiting for us outside the hospital and I watched as he unlocked it, opening a door and gesturing for me to get in.
I kept my surprise to myself, sliding into the leather seats and admiring the interior of the car. I was a little confused as to why we were going to drive to the pack house since it wasn't far off but I brushed it off. Aurelius got into the drivers seat and soon he was driving us silently to the pack house.
The silence was awkward so I stuck to staring out of the window and watching the trees and houses pass by, letting my mind wander.
I was snapped out of my thoughts by him suddenly speaking.
"How are you feeling?" He asked quietly. The low purr of the engine filled the silence as I thought of how to answer him.
"Good." I finally managed. Truthfully speaking, I was reeling from the days events. From using my healing abilities on those patients to Aerin confronting me, all the while trying to mentally devise my escape plan, I was more than exhausted and barely had the energy to talk.
So no, I wasn't good, but he didn't need to know that.
"That's great," he commented.
I did want to ask why he was not only driving me back, but also why he was suddenly so concerned for my well being. Before I could do so however, the pack house came into view and he parked in the garage.
I got out quickly and headed inside the house, intent on making my way to my room. I needed to be alone for a while, but as I walked towards the staircase, it seemed no one was intent on leaving me alone anytime soon. "Artemis! It's so good to see you," Apollo greeted me as I made my way through the foyer. He surprised me with a hug which I slowly reciprocated.
"Hey Apollo, it's nice to see you too?" The words came out more like a question towards the end due to my surprise.
"Yeah, we decided we'd stop by since we heard you were coming home tonight. Come, the rest of us are all in the living room,"
My protest died on my tongue as he all but grabbed my hand and pulled me back in the direction I came. I could hear voices and once we were at the living room, I saw Zayn, Gen, Vaughn and Xania as well as Aurelius, all dotted about on the sofas with snacks and drinks on the coffee table.
They all stood up and greeted me, save for Aurelius.Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.
"Welcome home Luna,"
"It's great to have you back home,"
"We thank the goddess for your recovery,"
It was all a bit overwhelming really, but I greeted them back and thanked them for their kind words. I figured they were all here for a reason so I decided to see what they wanted and took a seat.
"So, how are you feeling Artemis?" Apollo began. I answered it the same way I answered Aurelius' question in the car earlier.
"Today was crazy though. Especially with all those care ward patients just suddenly coming out of their comas," he continued. He peered at me curiously and I had guessed that he was clearly beating around the bush and avoiding the question he so desperately wanted to ask.
Luckily, Xania was far more straightforward and abrupt with her question.
"Luna, are the rumours true? Did you bring them back?" Her tone wasn't rude or accusatory, just neutral and inquisitive.
"I didn't bring them back," I answered, shaking my head. "I just helped them come back,"
I was sure they all thought I was insane, judging by the looks most of them were giving me. Diana had taught me that not everyone shared my powers nor did all of them accept them so I would have to be careful who I exposed myself to. Though I figured the cat was out of the metaphorical bag given my stunt at the hospital earlier so the pack knew there was something odd about me. I saw no harm telling them. Especially since I'd be leaving soon anyways. "What do you mean?" Gen asked.
I wasn't the best at explaining the logistics of such complicated intricacies. I was still pretty new to it myself and had only learned so much more from the books in the library and the book Uncle gave me.
Doing what I did at the hospital had left me drained so I was by no means an expert on the matter either. So I decided the easiest way I could explain my power was by demonstrating it.
I pushed up the sleeve of my hoodie, exposing my tattooed forearm. They all looked down at it. I extended one of my claws and dug it into my exposed forearm in a long deep gash.
Pulling out my claw, they all watched as my skin healed almost instantly, even before the blood could pool at my arm and trickle onto the floor.
"So you have accelerated healing," Vaughn stated.
"Yes. But that's not it. Zayn can I borrow your arm?" The man in question looked at me curiously but leaned forward in his seat as I got up and made my way over to him.
Before he could react, I had quickly clawed a long hash in his arm and he winced, looking surprised. His skin slowly started knitting back together, still at a fast rate, but much slower than mine had been.
Placing my hand on his arm, I close my eyes and focused on sharing my energy with him and healing his wound.
Again, it felt like a ball of light centered in my chest that I was trying to push through my arm and hand and into Zayn to heal him. It was much harder than earlier and I chalked it up to exhaustion and not having practiced in a long time. However, I still seemed to impress everyone and I opened my eyes when I heard a gasp, realising Zayn had been healed.
"Luna that is an incredible power you have," Xania commented. I retook my original seat.
"Thank you,"
"How long have you been able to do that?" Aurelius finally broke his silence and I turned to him.
"Technically since I was born, but I only really discovered it about two years ago," Diana had been the one to notice it in me and brought it up. While I hadn't practiced using my powers with her, she said the tattoos on my arms would help, though I still wasn't sure how. I really missed her.
I was tired all of a sudden and really wanted to be away from everyone. I decided to excuse myself.
"Well, it's that's all, I'm going to retire for the night," I stood up and looked around the room.
"Oh yeah, I just have one more question Luna," I gestured for Zayn to continue on with his question. "How did you stop the rogues at the northern border?"
"I told them what they were looking for wasn't here so they left."
My mind wandered back to the wolves and I wondered if Erica had been reunited with her brother. It was honestly all the more reason to leave this pack and find my friends.
"So you shifted and communicated with each other?"
I snapped back out of my thoughts to raise a brow at Zayn.
"No, I just mind linked them," I said, growing more confused at all of their confusion.
"You mind linked the rogues? Did you know them?" Vaughn asked.
"No, I don't understand the confusion. Can't every wolf mind link other wolves?" I questioned, just wanting this conversation to be over already.
"Actually-," Gen began but was interrupted by Zayn.
"Can you mind link me Luna?" I was about to protest his stupid request but I sighed and did as he asked.
There, are you happy? I asked sarcastically in his head.
Can you hear me? He replied. I rolled my eyes.
Of course I can hear you. Are you satisfied? I repeated. I pulled out of his mind and focused on speaking to everyone in the room all together.
If you guys are done with your questions, I am going to bed. Have a goodnight.
And with that, I left and escaped back into my bedroom.