Chapter 27
-Nathan’s POV-
“I heard you’re awake. About time.” A familiar voice said cockily. I looked up from my phone and a familiar face with untamed white bed hair. I blinked twice, making sure that it wasn’t an illusion of any sort. Sure enough, I don’t think this is a joke that he would play on me. My mouth just dropped open as I tried to comprehend this ridiculous sight.
“Ray?” I asked, unconvinced by my own judgement. A smile stretched across his face, and he burst out laughing like a maniac.
“You should have seen your face! Oh my god, that was so good.” Ray cackled, eyes tearing up from laughing so hard. I scowled and threw my pillow at him, which caused him to roll on the floor laughing. A nurse finally came over and shush him up, scooting him into my room before shutting the door on us. “Oh, come on, you have to admit that it was funny. I had almost thought you forgot about me after 3 days of coma.”
“Is this some prank you’re pulling on me?” I asked suspiciously, gesturing to his hair. Ray shook his head.
“Nope. Actually, I’ve been trying to dye it to any other colour, both physically and magically but neither seems to work.” He frowned while playing with his hair. “Well, my theory is because I was charged with your mana.”
“What do you mean?”
“Mana is special for every individual. There won’t be any two individuals with the exact same kind of mana.” Ray explained with a serious look on his face. “Mana transfusion works by taking a person’s mana and shaping it into a form that the recipient can handle.”
“In my case, because I emptied my own mana, there was no present form to act as a guide to be transferred to me. Hence, we needed to find someone with mana that was as similar as possible to my own.” He further explained.
“Which is me,” I answered
“Yes. Karl has the ability to look at a person’s mana and he determined that your mana looked the most similar to mine.” He concluded, not explaining about his white hair yet. “But, what we didn’t know or even noticed was that your mana has divinity.”
“Divinity?” I asked. Now I’m confused.
“Yes. You’re a white wolf, which is believed to have received blessings from the Moon Goddess. Am I right?” I nodded, remembering what I have been told by Alpha Christopher Southwind. “Well, it seems that that thinking was wrong. You’re closer to being a divine being, or even part of the Moon Goddess herself.”
Being told that I was part of the Moon Goddess was a huge shock already but being told that I may be a divine being just terrified me. Anxiety clutched me at my throat, making it hard to even breathe. Ray quickly sat me up and ran his hand along my back trying to calm me down but to no avail.
“Is something wrong?!” Alex exclaimed, dashing in and cradling me to his chest. While my ear was pressed against his chest, I could hear his heart thumping fast. The quick rise and drop of his chest while he try to catch his breath as if he had run all the way here. Did he notice that I was panicking and ran all the way here?
“Ray, is what you said true?” I asked slowly, still terrified of the idea but it feels somewhat better with Alex here. Alex, after being convinced I was fine, took a seat in a chair nearby.
“Well, it is not confirmed and purely my assumption.” Ray shrugged. “Because I basically emptied my mana, when you’re mana is transferred to me it would only make sense that my hair turned white after absorbing the divinity that came along with your mana. After all, Mana is the energy that comes from our souls.”
“Does that mean you took his divinity?” Alex asked, just as puzzled as I was.
“That is not the case. Normally, divinity would not be transferred so easily. I think that it is because our mana form is extremely similar to each other and that we share a connection, coupled with Nathan’s want to save me. That may be why he was able to share some of his divinity with me. Or somewhere along the lines.” Ray shrugged. “These are just speculations. For all we know, it may not even be the case. It could very well just be the fact that the purity of his mana caused my hair to turn white. Or that now I have the Goddess’s blessing as well now.”
“Well, let’s not think about that since it doesn’t seem to have any other side effect?” Alex suggested and Ray nodded to confirm. A knock on a door interrupted our conversation. The door slowly crept open.
“Mr. Nathan, you’re up!” Karl exclaimed when he walked into the room. “I need to report this!” And with that, he was gone a fast as the wind. Alex sighed and Ray giggled, leaving me absolutely bewildered about what just happened.
Footsteps were heard racing down the hallway and for a moment, I hoped Kalen would be the one to burst into the room. Instead, it was her husband.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry for putting you through all this. I never thought that it would be this bad.” Milo apologized frantically while trying to catch his breath. I didn’t stop him, but rather, just let him continue because who knows, that man looked like he needed to get it off his chest or he’ll never rest in peace.
“By the way, what’s with Karl rushing around just now?” I asked Ray while he was trying to watch his father apologizing profusely.
“Oh, that? My mum made all the wizards run around the pack ground 10 times a day.” Ray said.
“…that’s it?”
“I don’t think you know this. But Cresent Moon has one of the biggest pack grounds in this country. Not to mention now that Darkvale Pack is gone, we are going to claim some grounds for ourselves. As will Southwind park. Currently, we are looking at 70 square kilometers, of course, it includes some hunting ground.” Alex interjected, with a somewhat boasting face.
70 Square kilometers?! 10 times of that? I don't think they can run that much in a day!
“Well, wizards aren’t really the most fit. Being able to use magic and all.” Ray lamented, shuddering from the thought of running around just because his mum was in a bad mood.
“But what happened?”
“Well, Hallie and Hastie found the luna of Darkvale chased her into the tunnel. Her team of wizards stood outside instead of helping. The leader claimed that it was too dangerous to use magic inside the tunnel, in fear of collapsing the tunnel.” Ray explained. At first, the decision sounded reasonable. But when he explained further, about the decision to collapse the tunnel even though the twins were not out, something started to sound suspicious. Although no one else said anything out loud, the look on their faces told me what I needed to know. It was suspicious and sounded like there was something bigger, something nastier lurking within the rank of wizards.
When everyone was about to leave, I had asked for Alex to stay. After all, we have to discuss where we stand. Ray and his dad left the room, not before giving me a wink which made me sigh nervously. Alex took a seat nearer and looked at me with puppy eyes. God, I feel so bad about myself.
“Alex, I want to apologise about that time with Kelly.” I started, watching his expression closely. First came the surprise, then confusion, and then a look of understanding took over his face.
“Please, don’t apologise. Kelly told me everything before she passed away.” Alex said with a pained look in his eyes. “Despite everything that happened, she actually learnt to care about your well-being.”
“She passed away?” I had not heard of it.
“Yes, the breaking of her curse and the sudden change in her body caused a negative reaction. But she had told me some things in the few days she had left. She told me not to blame you, that it was your wolf who forcibly dispelled the curse. She told me about your past and she told me to help you if you’re ever in need.” Alex explained with a loving smile. I bit my lips and held back the tears that were threatening to form. Even though things happened, I had always thought of Kelly as my best friend. She has been with me through thick and thin and if there was a chance, I would forgive her in a heartbeat. "Kelly had wanted to apologise to you. For not being able to help you when you went through all those horrible things."
Losing my memories and getting them back, I learnt that she had never done anything wrong to me. She had always been supportive when I needed it and I should have never robbed Alex of his own mate. He should hate me, he should want to hurt me. Yet, all I could see now was a look of concern.
“Why don’t you hate me? I took your mate away from you. Why aren’t you disgusted by me? If she told you my past, you should know how filthy I am.” I blurted out as tears started to fall. Alex looked shocked and guilty. He pursed his lips and locked his eyes into mine.
“I did hate you for it. But after Kelly explained what the curse was meant to do, I can’t continue hating you for it, neither would Kelly want me to.” He softly explained. But there was more. “Moreover, I feel ashamed that even though I knew about some of your past, I had wanted to take revenge. When Kelly revealed to me your full past, I felt so disgusted at myself for even wishing you ill. If anyone should be scorned at, it should be me. But even so, I was overjoyed to learnt that you are my mate. Will you be willing to be with me?”
It was too much to take in. My feelings were at war with each other. But there was one question left on my mind.
“Why?”
“Because you deserve a chance at happiness. I’m not asking because I feel guilty or that I need your forgiveness. I was blessed enough to have you as a second chance mate, and I want to make you happy. I hope to be able to give you what you deserve.”
My mind was made up.