Then, it came. While descending the stairs of the pack's clinic, a sudden wave of dizziness hit me. I reached out, gripping the banister tightly, but my vision began to blur. The sounds around me became muffled as if I were submerged underwater. I clung to the railing, my breaths coming in shallow, trying desperately to steady myself.
“Are you okay, Luna?” Lily, a young Omega, noticed my struggle and hurried over, her eyes wide with concern.
“I’m fine, just a bit dizzy,” I forced a smile, though every fiber of my being felt far from fine. I waved Lily off gently, not wanting to alarm anyone else.
Thankfully, one medicinal herb was enough to ease my headache. As the night shift came to an end, I found myself lingering at the clinic. The thought of returning home held no appeal.
However, when I finally arrived at the pack house, my mate had already left for work.
That was when I decided to take a long, hot shower, seeking solace in the warm water, and then collapsed into bed. But just as sleep began to claim me, the persistent sensation of mind link jolted me awake. It was Dane.
“Celeste,” he murmured, sounding pained. “My… my stomach hurts.”
Yet, I was too sleepy. I recalled mumbling something in response, but exhaustion quickly pulled me back into sleep. In my dreams, I thought I heard the Alpha calling my name, but the sound was distant and easy to ignore.
After what seemed like only moments, I was startled awake by the sound of the door opening. And there he was, Dane stood by the bed, his face contorted with pain.
“You didn't care anymore, did you? You used to worry when I was sick. You're the one who heals me every time! What happened now?"
His words stirred memories of a time when I would drop everything to take care of him. Once, when he had a stomachache, I left work early to use my still unstable ability to heal him.
There was also a time when I had gotten caught in the rain, arriving drenched and disheveled just to make sure I could ease his pain. Instead of gratitude, I was met with ridicule from the elders for showing up drenched, and my mate, the ever-prideful Alpha, had just stood there, doing nothing to stop them. Worse still, he told me afterward never to come to his office again, calling me an embarrassment.
“Are you feeling better now?” I asked, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. “We might be out of medicine, though. Maybe you can grab some yourself.”