Chapter 242: The Tears of a Lover
Moana
Edrick’s hand suddenly fell limp. The smile on his face faded as his eyelids fluttered shut, and at that exact moment, I felt my heart shatter into a million pieces.
“No…” I whispered, my throat closing up already. “Edrick?”
He didn’t answer. I felt a sob catch in my throat.
Without thinking, I pressed my hands into his wounds. I heard the flesh and the blood squelch beneath my touch as my vision became clouded with tears.
“Come on,” I said, my voice shaking violently as I pressed harder and tried to focus my energy.
“It’s no use, Moana,” Mina said, sounding full of regret. “I’m sorry. His wounds were too deep.”
I shook my head in disbelief and just pushed harder on Edrick’s wounds. His body shifted beneath my touch, filling me with a false sense of hope that he was still alive. But he wasn’t — he was dead. When I felt his neck, there was no pulse.
There was no containing my grief anymore. As a keening wail started to rumble in my throat, I felt the tears spill out of my eyes and pour down my cheeks.
“Edrick…” I cried. I threw my arms around him and fell onto him, sobbing hysterically and not caring if I got myself covered in his blood.
My fated mate was dead. There was no greater pain than this.
“I want to go back!” I cried out to Mina. “Let me go back! I don’t want to be here anymore!”
“I can’t,” Mina replied. “You already made the choice to stay in the real world. There’s no way for you to switch with me now.”
Another wail escaped my lips and carried across the wind. The birds, which had just been singing as the end of the storm came, now fell silent. Or maybe I just drowned them out with my sobs.
But then, something happened while I cried onto Edrick’s limp body. I thought it was just in my head at first, but when I suddenly froze and felt it for a second time, I sat up abruptly and wiped my tears away.
I felt Edrick’s heart start to beat in his chest.
“E-Edrick?” I stammered, looking down earnestly at his pale face. “A-Are you alive?”
He didn’t answer. Shakily, I leaned back down and placed my ear on his chest.
Nothing happened for a moment. I started to lose hope; maybe I really was just imagining it, or maybe it was a muscle spasm.
“Moana, I don’t—”
“Shh!” I shushed my wolf and pressed my ear harder into Edrick’s chest. My eyes widened.
There it was: another heartbeat. Edrick was alive.
I suddenly sat up again, and pressed my hands into his chest once more. This time, I focused my healing energy with even more passion and squeezed my eyes shut as I felt the tingling sensation take over my arms, hands, and fingers again.
I focused my energy with all I had left. With my eyes shut, I pictured everything that I loved about Edrick… Everything that I wanted to see again. His smile, his laugh, the feeling of his warm arms around me. His face, red with embarrassment when the kids teased his artwork. The way that his chest rose and fell as I laid my head on it at night.
Suddenly, I felt my power surge. I almost felt sick from it, but I kept focusing.
“M-Moana…”
Edrick’s low voice startled me. My eyes shot open, red with tears. He still looked asleep, but I could see it now; I could see the color returning to his face. I could see his eyes moving slightly beneath his eyelids.
But healing him still was too much. I needed to get him to a point where I could transport him, and then I would need to get him back to the mansion.
Gritting my teeth through the weakness and nausea that took over me from using this much energy to heal him, I pushed a little harder. I could see Edrick’s wounds closing slightly. Fresh blood stopped oozing out and it filled me with hope.
I couldn’t heal him anymore though. I feared that it would hurt the baby.
“Edrick, if you can hear me,” I said, leaning down to him and cupping his face in my hands, “I’m going to take you back to the mansion on my back, in my wolf form. Can you hold on?”
Edrick slowly and painfully nodded his head. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at this miracle that just happened before my eyes, and I leaned down and kissed him deeply on the lips. I felt his lips twitch beneath mine.
I stood then and began to shift. Unlike the first time, it already felt more natural. Despite my dizziness from healing Edrick, I allowed Mina to take over, and within mere moments I was standing on four legs with my golden fur billowing in the breeze.
Crouching down next to Edrick, I nuzzled his hand to get his attention and nearly leaped for joy when I felt his fingers close around a chunk of my fur. I then nudged my large muzzle underneath his back, and helped him roll over and put his leg over me.
“Hold on,” I said. In my wolf form, no physical words came out, but I knew he could hear me because of the way that his grip tightened on me.
Slowly, I stood. His body managed to stay on my back, although I could feel him growing more limp by the moment, and I knew that I would need to hurry.
“We’ll be home in a few minutes,” I said, taking my first few steps forward. “Just hold on until then. We’ll get you some help.”
I felt Edrick’s body move a bit, and felt his fingers tangle through my fur. Filled now with a sense of relief, I started walking toward the mansion.
In my wolf form, and with the mist dissipated, I knew how to find my way back easily. Taking care so as not to drop Edrick or hurt him, I carefully trotted into the woods and let my wolf guide me home.
I kept telling myself that it was over now. Edrick would be okay… Michael was dead, but at least the knife was destroyed and the legacy of the Golden Wolf could continue. Now, I just needed to get Edrick home so that the others could help me heal him the rest of the way.
I felt weak, though, from the whole ordeal. Somehow, I could sense that the baby inside of me was running out of strength. I picked up my pace, praying that the baby would be okay after all of this.
Edrick groaned as I jostled him while leaping over a fallen tree, but he held on tight. Soon enough, I was already reaching the edge of the woods where Kat and I were walking together. Kat, of course, was nowhere to be found; she had likely made a run for it after her little plan came to fruition.
But none of that mattered now, because the mansion finally came into view. I saw the faces of Selina, the maids, and the bodyguards as they ran out of the back door, and I knew that Edrick would be saved.
