The One He Claimed

Chapter 162: Recovery Begins

Sophie

When Dr. Caspian told me that Jocelyn was out of surgery, I informed the warriors closest to Zahn who was still out running, then I went to find Hunter.

“I’m heading over to the hospital. Jocelyn is coming out of surgery.”

“How’s Dr. Caspian?”

“He sounded exhausted, but I want to go talk to him before he calls it a night.”

“Zahn?”

“On his way, I’m guessing.”

Hunter looks at his desk then stands. “Okay, I’m coming with you. I want to see how Zahn is feeling after burning off energy for the last few hours.”

“You don’t have to convince me, Hunter. I’m always happy to spend time with you,” I say, smiling at him.

“I didn’t want you to think that I don’t trust you to take care of yourself. You are a strong, Alpha female and I respect that.”

“But I’m carrying your pup, which know makes you even more protective of me and I’ve already agreed to let you handle Zahn. That hasn’t changed.”

He kisses me then takes my hand. As we begin to make our way toward the hospital, he asks me about going to Owen’s pack with him. “I know that you probably don’t want to leave Jocelyn, but if we only go for a day and a half or two days…”

“Let me see how she is once she wakes up. If she’s doing okay, then I’d be comfortable leaving her in Penny’s care. I trust her and Jaime to protect Jocelyn and this pack while we’re away.”

“I do too. I’m glad we’re in agreement. I didn’t like the idea of leaving you, even for a few hours, much less overnight.”

Hunter, Zahn, and I stayed with Jocelyn until midnight. During that time, she never woke up. I spoke to Dr. Caspian before he went to sleep, and he said he didn’t expect her to wake up until the next morning.

When Robin and Nikki came to relieve us, Zahn finally decided to go shower, recognizing that Jocelyn truly wasn’t going to wake up.

“How’s he doing?” Robin asks Hunter when he leaves.

“He’s behaving,” Hunter says as Nikki walks over to the bed to look at Jocelyn.

“How’s she doing?”

I shrug. “Her vitals are fine. She just seems to be resting. I know that the next couple of days will be tough for her, but I’m hoping that if she can rest and heal, she’ll be feeling better soon. The nurses come in to check on her periodically and I believe that they’re giving her pain medications on a pretty steady basis. Dr. Caspian didn’t expect her to wake up until later this morning.”

“Okay, we’ll look after her.”

Hunter had carried me back to our room. We’d passed Zahn on his way back, but he seemed deep in thought. Hunter had tucked me into bed and curled up around me before I fell into a deep sleep.

It was morning before I got to enjoy all the images Hunter sent me yesterday and while I was tired, it was a fantastic wake up. Hunter went to warrior training, and I got ready for the day before meeting him for breakfast. When we finished, we headed over to the hospital together to check on Jocelyn. I’m relieving Allison so she can go back to sleep before they have to leave this morning. Both of my friends wanted to get home and talk to their packs before we meet at Owen’s old pack.

When we walked in, Zahn was hunched over the bed, his head on Jocelyn’s hand, holding it in his as he slept. I smile at a sleepy Allison who has a fresh steaming mug of coffee beside her and then turn to Jocelyn, whose eyes flutter open.

“Hey, good morning,” I say softly, walking over to her. Zahn’s head pops up and he sees that her eyes are open.

“You’re awake! Oh, thank the goddess!” he says, jumping up and leaning over to kiss her.

“Alpha Zahn, your mate just woke up. How about giving her a moment to gain her senses,” Hunter says.

I watch as Zahn’s jaw clenches, but he does back off a bit.

“How are you feeling?” I ask her.

“Like shit,” she murmurs.

“I thought she was on pain medication! Where are those nurses!” Zahn demands his Alpha aura, whether intentionally or unintentionally, pushes out. It’s irritating for me, but I imagine it’ s uncomfortable or even detrimental to Jocelyn’s recovery.

“Alpha Zahn, you need to rein yourself in,” I say strongly. I watch as his face contorts into what looks like he’s going to growl before he looks at Hunter and catches himself.

“I’m just worried about my mate,” he snaps.

“If you’re so worried about her, then pay attention to your aura, Alpha Zahn. Spreading your frustration and anger into the air of this room will impede her recovery which will mean that you will be removed,” Hunter says sternly, coming to stand beside me. The warriors in the room step up behind Zahn, ready to forcibly remove him is necessary.Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

He takes a deep breath, but I can tell he’s not happy about me and Hunter keeping him in check.

“She needs to be checked. She’s in pain,” he insists.

Hunter looks at one of the warriors and they turn and walk out, presumably to get a nurse. I turn back to Jocelyn, who is my primary concern, knowing that Hunter will handle Zahn.

“Dr. Caspian said your surgery went well. I know that may not help at the moment…”

“No, it does. I’m glad to know it went well. How long did it take.”

“All day,” Zahn says, taking her hand again.

“Ten hours,” I clarify. “But he was able to reset every bone from our right hip to your toes.”

“Well, if it works, that will be worth it,” she says. “Can I have some water?”

I turn, looking around the room.

“Here you go,” Allison says, handing me a glass of water with a straw in it. I hold the straw to Jocelyn’s mouth and watch her eyes close as she drinks deeply.

The door opens and Dr. Caspian walks in with the warrior.

“Good morning, Jocelyn,” he says then looks around the room. “Lunas, Alphas,” he greets us.

“I’m going to go find Kayce, Sophie, unless you need me,” Allison says.

“I’m good, thank you. I’ll be back before you leave.”

She leans over Jocelyn’s bed. “Take care of yourself and let yourself heal. If you need anything at all, let me know.”

“Thank you, Luna,” Jocelyn says before Allison moves out of the now overly crowded room. Hunter nods, letting the warriors know they can step out as well.

Dr. Caspian talks to Jocelyn, asking her about how she’s feeling, about her pain level, and checking her vitals from this morning and overnight. “I’d like to take another x-ray of your leg this morning. I took them at each point yesterday, but I’d like to make sure that everything is still in place so it can heal properly.”

Jocelyn nods in agreement.

“Alright, I’m going to take our patient for a bit and get those x- rays, then I’ll bring her back in here.”

“Will you come with me, Sophie?” Jocelyn asks.

“I’d like to come,” Zahn says, still holding her hand.

“Just Sophie please,” Jocelyn says.

I wait, watching Zahn struggle with Jocelyn’s decision, but he finally releases her hand and steps back.

I follow Dr. Caspian to the x-ray room and reach out to hold Jocelyn’s hand.

“He’s very overwhelming. I didn’t realize how overwhelming until you made him back off,” she says.

“If you want him out of the room, all you have to do is say so,” I tell her nods. “I don’t think that he’ll let me kick him out completely, some time without him there would be nice.”

“It’s your decision, not his. I’ll ask him to leave when we get back,” I tell her.

“Thank you, Sophie,” she says just as Dr. Caspian has me step out of the room.

He takes the x-rays and while they process, I go back into the room, quietly sitting beside Jocelyn while she rests.

When Dr. Caspian comes back in, he puts the x-ray screens up on an x-ray box and turns on the light.

He looks them over before smiling and turning to look at Jocelyn. “We have some good news.”

He points to the first x-ray. I recognize it immediately as her original x-ray from two days ago. “This was your first x-ray. Let’s focus on your right leg. You can see the multiple breaks from hip to toes,” he says, using his finger to point to the shattered mess that was her leg.

He then points to the next x-ray on the screen and Jocelyn gasps as we see the difference immediately. The shattered mess of her leg is now straight, like it’s supposed to look. “This is your leg now.”

“Wow,” she says. “That’s amazing,” she whispers.

“What’s even more amazing is this right here,” he says, moving to a third x-ray. “This is your hip. It’s where I started your surgery yesterday. Notice that there are no fracture lines in your bones.”

“What does that mean?” I ask him.

He turns to look at us, smiling. “It means, Jocelyn, that while your wolf may be silent, I believe that she’s alive and well, and already starting to heal you.”