One Night

Chapter 204

Audrey

“Darling…”

My mother held her arms out to me as I burst into her hospital room. Her skin was so pale it was almost translucent, her cheeks gaunt and her eyes hollow, but…

She was alive. And sitting upright in the hospital bed.

A s**b escaped my throat as I rushed forward, practically throwing myself into her arms. I buried my face in her chest, inhaling her familiar scent beneath the sterile hospital smell. Her arms, though weak, wrapped around me as tightly as she could manage.

“Mom,” I choked out, my tears soaking straight through her thin hospital gown. “I thought I had lost you again.”

Her hand stroked my hair gently. “Shh, it’s okay,” she murmured, her voice h**e from nearly two months of disuse and from having a tube down her throat. “I’m here, Audrey. I’m here”

We stayed like that for a long moment, both of us crying softly. When I finally pulled back, wiping my red-rimmed eyes, my mother cupped my face in her thin hands.

“Oh, my sweet girl,” she murmured roughly. “I heard everything you know. While I was in the coma.”

blinked in surprise and leaned back to look at her. “You… you did?”

She nodded, a small smile playing on her lips. I did. I heard you talking to me, reading to me all those times you came to visit. And…” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “I felt you trying to heal me when it first happened.”

My breath caught in my throat. It had been so long, and I had been in such a haze during that time, that I’d almost completely forgotten about those hours I had spent desperately trying to heal my mother to the point of almost going into a coma myself.

“But it didn’t work,” I said, shaking my head. “I tried, but I couldn’t…”

“It did work, Audrey,” my mother insisted. “I felt my body strengthen in response to your efforts. It might have been small, but it made a difference.”

Before I could respond, the doctor cleared his throat from the doorway. I turned to see him smiling at us.

“Your mother is right, Audrey,” he said, stepping into the room. “We were surprised to see some of Claudia’s test results improve when it seemed she was only getting worse. Whatever you did, it helped.”

I felt like I might pass out from the shock and relief of it all. “Really?” I looked back at my mother, who nodded encouragingly.

“You are more powerful than you know, darling,” she said softly as she gave my hand a squeeze.

The doctor continued, his tone turning more serious. “However, Mrs. Klein will need to stay in the hospital for a while longer. She is still quite weak and needs time to recover fully.”

My heart sank a little at his words. “How long?”

“A few weeks, at the very least,” the doctor explained. “Likely a month. She’ll likely need some physical therapy, and our

1/3

08:49 Tue, Sep 24

Chapter 204

87%1

45

recent tests from this morning indicate that there are still trace amounts of silver in her system that may require dialysis to remove fully.”

Before I could stop myself, I turned to my mother and whimpered, “So…. you won’t be able to attend my thesis presentation?” My cheeks instantly heated as soon as I realized how selfish that sounded. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“Don’t apologize, Audrey,” my mother cut me off. “I’m terribly sorry I won’t be able to go. Trust me, I wish I could.”

I shook my head quickly, blinking rapidly to dispel the tears that were pr**ng at the backs of my eyes. “No, no, it’s okay. All that matters is that you’re alright.” And I meant it. As much as I wanted her there, having her alive and recovering was far more important.

My mother smiled and cupped my face with one hand. “I know you will do great, whether I am there in person or spirit.”

I leaned in and kissed her cheek, feeling overwhelmed with happiness and relief. “I love you, Mom.”

“I love you too, darling,” Claudia replied. Then, her brow furrowed slightly. “Audrey, what about Fiona? Is she alright? She hasn’t visited me.”

My smile faded at the mention of Fiona’s name. That was one thing I hadn’t talked about during my visits-one thing I couldn’t bear to bring up. As far as I knew, Edwin and Peter were still trying to hunt her down and bring her back to Crescent, but I hadn’t heard anything from Edwin about their efforts. I assumed that that meant they hadn’t yet tracked her down.

I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could, a familiar male voice came from the doorway.

“We will find Fiona and bring her to justice, Claudia. Don’t worry.”

My head snapped up, and I felt my face flush as I saw Edwin standing there-looking just as handsome as ever in a crisp white button down tucked into black trousers, his dark hair a bit mussed and his chest heaving as if he’d been running.

My eyes flicked down, and I saw that he was holding a bouquet of flowers, his gray eyes meeting mine for a brief moment before flicking back to Claudia. I looked away quickly, my heart racing.

Edwin stepped into the room, placing the flowers on the bedside table. “I’m glad to see you’re awake, Claudia,” he said warmly, leaning down to kiss my mother on the cheek.

His arm brushed me as he passed, his familiar scent sending a flurry of emotions through me. I stiffened, keeping my face impassive even as I felt my wolf suddenly spring to life inside of me.

“Mate?”

“Not now,” I told her.

Claudia looked between Edwin and me, confusion evident on her face despite her happiness to see Edwin. “Fiona? To justice? What do you mean?”

Edwin’s expression darkened. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Claudia, but… Fiona was the one who poisoned you. She put silver powder in your food.”

“No…” Claudia whispered, shaking her head. “She wouldn’t…”

“She would, Claudia,” Edwin said. “I’m sorry, but as Alpha of Crescent, I have a warrant out for her arrest. I can’t be forgiving anymore. Not after what she did to you.” His eyes flicked to me again. “To both of you.”

I felt a jolt run through me at that glance, although I wasn’t sure if it was the smoldering look in my mate’s eyes-those eyes

08:49 Tue, Sep 24

Chapter 201

I hadn’t seen in so long or if it was the reminder of the night I’d been pushed over the balcony. Likely both.

Claudia seemed to deflate, her shoulders slumping.

3

“I… I see,” she said softly. After a moment, she looked up at us, a small smile forming on her lips. “Well, I’m just glad I have you two. I hope you have been well over the past months.”

Edwin nodded. “We have.”

We.

My mother giggled and held my hand up. “I see I didn’t miss a proposal while I was stuck in this hospital bed.”

Goddess, I felt like I might be sick.

An awkward silence fell over the room at my mother’s attempt at humor. I could feel Edwin’s eyes on the side of my head, and my face burned under his gaze. A proposal…

Unable to bear it any longer, I stood up abruptly. “I… I need some air,” I mumbled. “I’ll be back shortly, Mom.”

“Oh… Okay, honey,” Claudia said. “Don’t be gone for too long. I don’t know when I’ll be whisked away for more testing for hours at a clip, and I’d like to catch up some more before that happens.”

With a stiff nod, I leaned down to kiss my mother’s forehead, then turned and practically fled from the room. As I hurried down the hallway, I heard Edwin’s voice down our bond, thick and gravelly and yearning.

“Wait… Audrey-—”

But I didn’t stop. I couldn’t.