You Rejected Me. Remember?

Astrea

Just as we scampered towards the cubicle, Xander came rushing towards the unit where Arnold was kept.

“I… I just finished my classes. How is he now?” he gasped for breath. Leo, and Rafael went with him towards his cubicle with the rest of us in tow. When Xander saw the hysterical healers rushing about, he glanced at us. A mixture of confusion and fear was evident on his face.

“He…” Xander trailed off.

Our solemn faces seemed to have answered his question before he asked it. Gulping, he turned around to watch the healers work.

Since none of us were allowed inside, we helplessly watched them through the window as they struggled hard to revive him. The healers did everything they could, yet he showed no signs of life. Feeling despaired, I leaned against the cool glass. No one uttered a word. Everyone was dead silent. The atmosphere was dense with fear and suspense.

My heart pounded in my chest. I didn’t take my eyes off him. I couldn’t. Sarah squeezed my right shoulder in anticipation while Elena hung onto my left arm. All three of us clung to each other while the rest of us huddled close, eager to see the outcome.

Arnold, you got to come back.

I didn’t voice my thoughts, yet held on to the tiniest ray of hope that he would make it. However, that hope diminished completely when the healers suddenly stopped working. All of them glanced at the heart rate monitor which was constantly beeping a while ago.

I held my breath as I glanced at the screen of the monitor. My lips parted as I stared, dismayed at the blank line it displayed. I blinked a couple of times, just to make sure that I wasn’t seeing things. Sarah’s grasp on my shoulder tightened while Elena whimpered painfully. My vision started to get blurry as tears of sorrow gathered in my eyes.

I shook my head. I didn’t want to believe that we lost him. However, when the healers lowered their gazes in defeat and covered his face with the white sheet, a gasp of despair escaped my lips.

I felt as though the earth shook underneath my feet. He was gone. He was truly gone. Trying my best to hold my sniffles back, I glanced at my friends. Sarah was already weeping silent tears and Elena’s eyes were puffy and red.

Rafael was stunned. He didn’t cry, nor did he show any emotion. He kept solemnly staring at our friend’s motionless corpse that was covered with the sheet.

“He… he is gone….” Ash whimpered in my head. She sounded broken-hearted.

“He saved our life and now he is gone,” Ash’s painful whimper resounded in my head.

It was the bitter truth. He had sacrificed himself for me. He had chosen death over life… for me. Perhaps he didn’t assume that the blow would result in his death. I suppose no one did. Yet, that was the unfortunate consequence of his heroic deed.

I could no longer hold back my tears. They streamed down my cheeks. I covered my mouth, as the girls huddled close to me. From the corner of my eye, I saw Allan standing on one side with his head lowered. His lips were pulled into a grim line as he remained silent.

Our parents and the royal couple were gazing through the glass window, their faces filled with sorrow. A healer walked out of the room, her head hung low, dejected.

“We’re sorry. We tried our best,” she whispered.

Nodding her head, “you tried,” the Queen responded.

While we remained outside the cubicle, mourning our loss in silence, an employee walked up to us and bowed down to his Queen.

“Your Highness. The alpha of the Silver Moon pack is in the lobby. He is saying that he was informed that one of his pack members is injured and that you had requested his presence.”

It was evident that the queen was trying her best to remain strong as she faced the worker. After sucking in a shaky breath she nodded.

“Is anyone accompanying him?”

“Yes, your highness. A male and a female from his pack,” he answered.

“They must be Arnold’s parents. Bring them here,” she instructed.

Soon enough, the worker returned with them. The one leading them was buff and tall. His countenance was solemn and the aura that surrounded him told us that he was the alpha. Behind him were a man and a woman. The man was well-built, yet not as buff as his alpha. His posture reminded me of Arnold while the woman’s features reminded us of him.

They were undoubtedly Arnold’s parents. How were we going to tell them that he was no more? My heart plummeted as I forced a smile.

“Your highness,” the worker bowed down, and so did the alpha and Arnold’s parents.

The Queen waved her hands, dismissing the worker. Pursing her lips, she strolled up to them and licked her lips.

“Alpha Tyler,” she addressed the alpha.

“Your Majesty, this is Jon and Helena, Arnold’s parents,” Alpha Tyler introduced them.

“Where is he?” Helena stepped forward followed by her mate. “He is gone, isn’t he? I… I can feel it…” her voice reduced to a mere whisper as tears streamed down her cheek.

Jon instantly wrapped his arms around her, while he visibly battled against his emotions and persisted. He gulped a couple of times, holding his mate close to him.

“Umm… maybe that pain is something else…” he whispered, trying to comfort his mate.

I tried to gulp down the discomfort in my throat but in vain. Did his parents feel it?

“Ash. Can a parent feel the death of their pup?” I consulted my wolf. She might know more than I do since the wolf spirits live for a long time. Once we die, the wolf spirit is reborn in another body.

“Yes, they could. When your own pup dies they would sense the pain of that bond breaking. Even when a mate rejects their soulmate, a bond breaks and it is painful as hell. Similarly, the bond we share with our children and parents is unbreakable. However, death separates us and it is agonising. Which means that they must have felt the pain of losing him,” Ash whispered in my head.

The Queen glanced at Sir Elliot who nodded.

“Please come with me,” she led them towards the entrance of the cubicle where Arnold’s corpse lay.

I covered my mouth as I watched through the window. I didn’t know if I could handle it. I was about to witness a mother and a father confirm the death of their pup. I felt Leo hold me from behind. His presence gave me a sense of comfort. Perhaps he also was looking for solace. I turned around and wrapped my arms around him. I saw that Sarah and Elena also had their mates beside them, holding them in their arms, caressing their hair, and offering support for each other.

Heaving a shaky breath, I glanced at the scene unfolding in front of us.

The Queen and her husband took them inside. At first, they followed without any hesitation.

However, Arnold’s parents froze at a distance when they saw the body was covered with the sheet. Their alpha walked forward and halted beside the bed.

Sir Elliot slowly removed it to show them his face. Alpha Tyler’s face remained rock hard. He didn’t counter while he waited for the parents to respond.

Minutes ticked by and his parents persisted in their stunned state for a while. They glanced at each other. Their sorrow was evident on their faces. It took a moment for them to acknowledge that the body truly belonged to their son.

Trembling, his mother hobbled towards her son’s dead body and started to caress his face with tears streaming down her face. His father looked as though he was completely destroyed. Yet, he approached his son and saluted, as a warrior would.

Perhaps Arnold came from a family of warriors. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that he was gone.

***

His parents walked, no, staggered out of the room. Undoubtedly they were shattered. Nonetheless, their resilience was commendable. His mother, though broken-hearted, didn’t complain about her loss. Tears were shed, yet, only words of wisdom were uttered from her lips.

“I’m proud of him,” his father commented. “When he was little, he used to say that he wanted to be like me – a fearless warrior. I used to tell him that he would be better than me,” he inhaled a shaky breath.

“Indeed he is better than me. He is a martyr. What is better than dying while protecting others? If only I could attain that rank,” his voice trembled as he spoke.

My throat tightened. “He… he saved my life,” I couldn’t hold back my tears, and honestly, I no longer had the desire to fight against it.

His father held his chin high and sighed. “That’s my boy,” he whispered, smiling as though he was proud of his son and turned towards the Queen.

“Your majesty. We would like to take him to our pack to hold his funeral procession with the rest of our family and pack members,” he humbly requested.

Smiling sadly, she nodded. “Of course, you can,” she permitted

“Can we… can we see him… one last time?” I stammered as I forced myself to speak.

“Sure,” Sir Elliot nodded.

I stepped inside with the others and took my time to pay my last respects to him.

Leo wrapped his hand around my shoulders and gave me a little squeeze. He most probably was trying to support me and I needed every bit of it.

Losing a friend was one thing, but knowing that he lost his battle for life after saving mine, was just something else.

“I’ll never forget you,” I swore.

“Me neither,” Sarah and Elena agreed.

“I’ll dye my hair pink for you, dude,” Rafael mumbled. It was a comical statement, yet none of us laughed. All of us were hurting. Nevertheless, Rafael could be affected the most.

Among the guys, he and Arnold had been the closest. Though they weren’t related, they were more like brothers. Hence, he must be mourning the loss of a brother from another mother.

“At least he seems to be at peace,” Allan commented.

He was right. Arnold seemed to be peacefully sleeping. I smiled. Perhaps he would want us to. He surely wouldn’t want us to grieve for him forever.

As I walked out of the room, I thought about Natasha. I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists. She was now a murderer. Her blow had killed Arnold. If he didnt intercept that attack, it would have been me who lay dead on that bed.

Her prey wasn’t Arnold and most probably, she would never intend to kill him. However the circumstances had changed drastically.

“That murderer!” I growled under my breath.

“We must get her!” Leo agreed with me.

“We will,” Sarah conceded.

“I wonder if the warriors Sir Elliot sent had found anything,” I commented.

“I don’t care if they don’t find that bítch. If they don’t, I’ll find her and detach that pathetic head off her body,” Rafael was agitated.

“We can’t do that. We can’t do anything that might cause a dilemma,” I pointed out.

“But you’re right. We will make her pay,” I vowed.

Days passed. The gloomy mood among us slowly declined. Yet, we felt a part of us was missing. A part called Arnold.

The surprising thing was Natasha couldn’t be traced. She had disappeared into the thin air.

“She couldn’t have just vanished,” Leo scratched his head.

“She sure wouldn’t. But she could be hidden using magic,” I mumbled, remembering how Calvin concealed their lair.

I squinted. My notions were getting worse. The more I thought about the situation, the more I was convinced about the possibility of a connection between her and Calvin.

Still, the question was, would she truly betray the throne?