Chapter 5

Charde’s POV

I slowly opened my eyes as I felt something cold on my forehead.

"He's running temperature again," a feminine voice said, "get me another towel."

I slowly opened my eyes to see who it was. My lids felt so heavy and my vision was blurry for a few seconds before I was able to fully open my eyes.

"He's awake!" The nurse who stood before me yelled out loud.

Marcus, the leader of the guards, came rushing into the room.

"Alpha Charde!" He called out the moment our eyes met.

I tried to speak, but my lips felt like they were tied down to a heavy stone. That same heaviness weighed my limbs down as I made a vile effort to sit up.

"Take it easy, Alpha Charde. You're not strong enough to move just yet," the nurse advised.

I turned towards her and, on her palm, she held a tray of three syringes and four bottles of antidote.

My lips were forced to open, "don't tell me those things are for me!"

Everyone who knew me well was aware that I hated medications so much. I could consider swallowing pills, but I never let a syringe get under my skin.

"You need them. You're low on stamina, blood and vitamins. And that's too expensive a joke with your health," she advised. Of course, I didn't expect her to say something different. She was only concerned about doing her duty. How I felt about it didn't matter to her.

"Fuck!" I growled.

"I'll go call Elder Richard," Marcus said, smiling happily, and then rushed out of the room.

†***†

"I thought we'd lost you, nephew," Elder Richard said after minutes of watching the nurse administer drugs to me. The last one was to help boost my stamina, so I'd be able to stand on my feet in no time.

"What happened to me, uncle?" I asked, hearing the confusion in my own voice.

"I came into your room and found you on the floor, writhing in pain, before you suddenly passed out," he answered, "no one knows the cause of that. Even the nurses can't tell what caused it."

"How long have I been out?" I muttered with dismay, knowing his response wasn't going to be nice.

"It's been seven days---"

At the mention of "seven days", my mind exploded.

"A whole week?! A whole fucking week?"

"Sit back," he advised, noticing another faint effort I made to get up, "everything is under control. I've been running the pack since then. It's all been going well. The Imperial Alpha has finally responded to our negotiation. The letter is sealed and waiting for you to open it."

"What about Tristan? Is he back yet?" I asked.

"That Beta of yours is as irresponsible as his father. I suggest you replace him soon enough," Uncle said, "I sent scouts to investigate what he's doing in the South. Turns out he's already conquered the area and has stayed back to enjoy the loot he and his men gathered from battle."

"How dare he?" I snarled, "I'll make him pay when he gets back."

At a crucial point like this, he should have been the one running the pack, not my uncle. Aside from his combat power, which was still weaker than mine, even when my wolf was dormant, there was nothing special about him.

Speaking of a dormant wolf, a rumbling sound echoed from my stomach all of sudden, loud enough that my uncle and the nurse heard it.

They glanced at me with surprise.

"I'll send for food immediately," Uncle rose to his feet.

"No!" I stopped him instantly, my eyes fixed on my stomach and my ears keenly waiting to hear that sound again, "This… It's not hunger, uncle."

Uncle's eyes went wide, "You don't mean—"

The sound repeated itself, this time, clearly distinct from the rumbling of an empty stomach.

“Linga!” I yelled the name of my wolf, “Linga is back!”

My wolf was back. After five years of dormancy. I'd feared the pack members would vote against a wolfless person being made their Alpha. I guess I was just lucky.

"Charde," my wolf called my name for the first time in a very long time.

"Linga," I cried out, excited.

He sounded tired and I knew it was just because I was low on stamina. I couldn't wait till I regained my stamina and get to experience the joy of shifting again. Every cell in my body was excited about it.

Uncle stood up and, with his hands behind his back, he walked to the door. Pulling it open, he came to a stop and said without turning around, "I'll go roundup some inspections. Do you mind if I extend the good news to your soldiers?"

I thought hard, "um… I'd rather keep it a secret at the moment."— turning to the nurse who was in the room with us —"between the three of us."

She nodded and uncle muttered, "understood."

By evening, the antidotes had completely rejuvenated my whole body. Right after supper, I strolled off to the woods to shift and know if there had been any changes in my shifting all that while my wolf had been dormant.

"I'm quite disappointed in you," my wolf announced.

"Huh? What? Waking you was beyond my power. Why would I take the blame for it?"

"Far off from the point," he snarled.

"Then what are you trying to say?"

"Have you sat back to think…why you've been in a coma for seven days?" My wolf asked.

I paused for a second, my brows twitched and I shook my head.

"Well, the last thing I remember is the dark lord leaving the pack with—" I paused, "Sabrina! Holy shit! Don't tell me—"

My wolf gritted his teeth angrily, "How could you be so foolish, Charde? How dare you sell your mate, Charde, even when she's pregnant with your child?"

My eyes went wide with shock. My mate? My child? What was he talking about?