THE KING'S SISTER

The Pack Hospital is brimming with the bodies of the injured and the deceased.

And all of these, regardless of who they are, immediately show spirit when they see the king. When word spreads of his presence, everyone moves aside for him as he marches with his sister in his arms, and I follow timidly, my head bowed low to avoid the eyes that are following us.

One of the pack healers arrives with two assistants to take her away from him, and he eventually gives her up to someone else. They work so cautiously that I am not sure which scares them more: hurting the patient or upsetting the king or both.

They are on their way out when he calls:

"And do not forget her, either."

When I look up, his outstretched hand points at me, and they nod as I consider what he has just said. It was in the way he addressed me as her. When he referred to me, his tone was slight, almost derisive, as if he wanted nothing to do with me, and the sting it left in my chest was undeniable.

You are useless.

You've always known it.

I clench my jaw as the pack healer's assistants approach to take me away, where I join a long queue of casualties, their screams and yells distracting me from my own pain. One man has had his entire arm bitten off. Another is bleeding so profusely that his entire body is covered in blood, and the metallic smell combines with the antiseptic odour of the packed hospital to fill my nostrils. Ugh.

The sound of my name comes from a distance, and I jerk out of my soliloquy.

"Who is Gemma?"

With my hand still on my wounded  shoulder, I stand up and answer the caller-another of the pack healers, made evident by how she's clad in blue.

"Are you Gemma?" She asks.

I nod. The pain makes me want to talk less.

"Come with me."

I follow her without question, and she leads me to a less occupied  room where only the two of us are.

"The Alpha King has ordered that you be specially treated as soon as possible and brought to see him."

As soon as possible...

These four words cause me so much anxiety that my heart begins to beat within my chest, wondering why he wants me treated so quickly. My mind suggests that he is aware of my reason for being here and wishes to question me about it.

Everything begins to feel bleak for me from that point forward, as I try to convince myself that he wants me for another reason. My only distraction is the burning as the pack healer uses spirits to clean out my wound before covering it with a fresh bandage.

"You should go see him right now. Don't keep him waiting," She tells me, packing away the bloodied instruments she's just used to treat me. 

"Wait," I stall her, managing to swallow and get something past my already dry throat. "Did he look angry when he asked you to call for me?"

Her brow furrows at this question. "No. He probably only wants to talk to you. You should also go now before he becomes angry."

He wants to talk to me.

An Omega like me...

The feeling of warm sweat on my skin as I leave the room I was just in demonstrates how nervous I am to see him. I eventually make my way back to the room where his sister is lying, her leg heavily bandaged and hanging in a cast above her bed. When she sees me, she smiles, which helps to make me feel better.

"Come here," she motions with her hand for me to approach. "Your name is Gemma, is it not?"

"Yes, it is."

"I had to ask, and thankfully there are people who know you. Have you been treated well?"

A sense of relief washes over me in torrents as I realise my mission is safe and my purpose has not been revealed. It even appears that his sister, rather than the king, wants to see me.

"Yes," I answer, turning my body so that the clean, white, freshly bandaged shoulder becomes visible to her, and she nods in acknowledgement. "You sustained that wound in trying to save my life and I owe you so much, as that rogue would have gotten me for sure if you weren't there."

The way her smile spreads across her face sends a feeling of solidarity through me. Finally, someone high in a pack acknowledges me as someone more than a worthless Omega.

"Thank you," I reply, bowing deeply.

"I also pleaded with my brother, the king, to speak to you, and made him promise. He has had to leave for some reason, but I trust he will fulfil his promise and speak to you. He agreed when I told him that bravery like yours deserves some reward."

I bow again, and she nods in acknowledgement.

"You can go now. But remain close, just in case the king wants to see you."

With another bow, I make my exit and leave the ward and the hospital entirely, where the pretty streets that pave the way through Suro's capital open up their nightly beauty before me, and I walk about without any particular destination in mind. The only warning I bear in mind is for me to not stray too far that I lose the pack's hospital and any chances of somebody I could return back to the harem with. 

The air. The trees. The people... 

Everything is so beautiful.

I forget the burning in my shoulder and simply immerse myself in the scenes greeting my eyes. The particular path I'm on is paved with stones painted in gold, allowing it to become one long, winding path that makes me think of a snake or a python. All of a sudden...

"HEY! STOP THERE!" A voice yells from the darkness, and I spin about in horror.