Chapter 61

For the first week, the doctors kept Arthur in a medically induced coma so that he could heal. I never left his bedside. Visitors came and went, but I didn't. I practically lived in the hospital. I wanted to be there whenever he woke up.

Today was the day that the doctors took the IV out of his arm. Arthur could wake up at any point. The doctors had said it was basically up to him. They couldn’t really determine when he would wake up, just that he would eventually do so.

I had freshened up in the bathroom and was sitting by his side, waiting. Exhaustion was pulling at me so I laid my head down on his bed, closing my eyes. I must have drifted off to sleep because the next thing I knew, someone was stroking my hair.

I sat straight up, making myself dizzy in the process. I gripped the bed railing, steadying myself. I lifted my eyes and was met with the forest green that I had missed so much.

“Arthur!” I cried and lunged at him, forgetting for a moment about his injuries. Arthur grunted in pain, but wouldn’t let me pull away. Instead, he dragged me into the bed with him, wrapping himself around me.

I breathed in his familiar pine and campfire smell. His heart beat strongly beneath my hand. He was here. He was alive. I don’t think I had let myself actually believe that until he had woken up.

Tears poured down my cheeks, drenching his hospital gown. Arthur didn’t seem to mind though. He stroked my hair, murmuring comforting words as he held me. I clung to him, worried that he might disappear again.

When the tears finally subsided, I pulled away enough so that I could look into his face. “Are you really okay?”

Arthur smiled at me. “I’m okay, little wolf. Are you okay? Were you hurt? Was the baby hurt?”

I shook my head and Arthur heaved out a sigh. “Thank the Moon Goddess. I had worried that I might have pushed you too hard.”

A surprised laugh burst from my lips. Of course he had been worried about that. Not the fact that he was going to be hit by a car, but that he might have pushed me too hard.

“Goddess, I’ve missed that sound,” Arthur muttered before claiming my lips with his. I surrendered myself to the kiss, pushing the rehearsal from my mind. We could talk about that later. Right now, I just wanted to be with him.

When Arthur pulled away, he cupped my cheek with his hand. “I should have told you this sooner. If I had, we could have avoided all this. I love you, Almara. With all my heart, I love you.”

I stared up at him wide eyed. He couldn’t mean that. It had to be because of the accident. He couldn’t possibly be in love with me. He had left me with Sofia, hadn’t he? I mean, why wouldn’t he have left me for her? She was his great love. Not me.

Almara, look above his head. Tell me what you see, Lily commanded and I did as she asked. The cloud floating over Arthur was gray, rimmed in black. He was in physical pain and it was affecting his emotions. That had to be it. That was why he was saying those things.

NO, YOU IDIOT! Lily snapped and raked a claw down my insides. I winced, but she wasn’t done yet. Close your eyes. I’ll show you what you’re too blind to see.

I did what she said, not wanting her to slice and dice my insides to shred. When I opened my eyes again, everything was sharper, clearer. Lily was letting me see through her eyes.

Look at it again! She commanded and so I looked over Arthur’s head again and was surprised to see that the colors in his cloud had changed drastically.

Instead of gray and black, it was a deep red mixed with bright yellows. Love and happiness.

I don’t understand, I told her as her eyes faded away. The cloud stayed the same colors. I blinked, thinking that maybe it was leftovers, but nothing changed.

Lily huffed in annoyance. I’ve been trying to tell you. You are completely blinded when it comes to men. You let your own insecurities get in the way so you didn’t see his real emotions when it came to you. If you had, you would not have seen red on your rehearsal day when he hugged Sofia. You would have seen what I saw, which was a light blue-gray. He pitied her. He didn’t love her.

I was speechless. I couldn’t deny the colors I was seeing now. I couldn’t deny that Arthur was telling me the truth. He really did love me.

Throughout the whole exchange with Lily, Arthur had watched me, patiently waiting. I turned my attention back to him, breaking into a huge grin. “You love me.”

“I love you,” he repeated. “I. Love. You. And if I have to spend the rest of my life saying nothing else, I will. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” I whispered and it was Arthur’s turn to grin. He captured my lips in a searing kiss, proving once again that he loved me.

“But I have to ask,” Arthur said breathlessly in between kisses, “why did you look at me with Lily’s eyes earlier?”

I froze, not sure what to do. I had never told a single soul about my gift. And I wasn’t sure if I should now.

Go ahead, Lily said and I let out a shuddering breath.

“Ever since I was little,” I began and Arthur nodded, encouraging me to continue. “I’ve been able to see everyone’s true emotions, floating around their heads like their own personal clouds. But apparently it’s not always accurate. Lily was showing me what I had been missing when it came to your true emotions.” It came out so fast that I wasn’t sure he had understood me.

“That kind of power is very rare among wolves,” Arthur started slowly and I wondered if I had made a mistake. Had I just signed my own death warrant?

“What do you see over my head now?” Arthur asked and his tone was merely curious, not accusatory, so I told him. His green eyes danced with delight before furrowing in confusion. “Then, what did you see when I hugged Sofia at the rehearsal? What made you run away from me?”

“I saw a deep red. A deep love…but Lily said that wasn’t right. That you felt pity for her, not love,” I answered, blushing in shame and his confusion cleared.

Arthur was quiet for a second, letting my answer sink in. He stroked a finger down the side of my face, causing my lips to part.

“I can understand why you ran away now. Well, I’m glad that you can see the truth now. I guess I have Lily to thank for that,” Arthur said, eyes twinkling with amusement as they trailed down to my lips. The amusement quickly darkened and I watched in fascination as a deep pink cut through his cloud. What else had I missed from him?

Lily practically purred in response. I told him that too and he laughed.

“Well, regardless if you can see my true emotions or not, I’m still going to say it. I love you.”