Drawn to the Sea

Chapter 29: Happy Endings

Nathaniel

When I came to, my ears were ringing. I groaned, opening my eyes and holding a hand to my head.

What happened?

I thought back, then swore. I sat up quickly, ignoring the way my head spun and whipped my eyes around to try and find Douglass.

I looked to my side, where Gilly was dozed off in an armchair. I tapped her shoulder. "Gilly."

She snapped awake, looking up in alarm. "What's wrong?"

When she realized I was fine, she sighed in relief. "You scared me."

I smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. Where are we?"

"The pack infirmary. After the battle, you and Douglass passed out. Most of the other wolves' injuries healed due to their supernatural healing, so only a few had to come down here. You and Douglass were beaten up the worst. You've been out for like a day and a half."

I moved my eyes to him. "Is he...?"

"He's okay. He's in the room next to this one."

"Can I go over to him?"

"I don't see why not. Your injuries aren't fatal anymore, from what Mica, the pack doctor, told me, so it should be fine." She stood up, stretching her arms above her head. "Do you need help walking?"

I swung my feet over the edge of the bed, shivering at the cold floor. "Yeah. I don't think my balance is very good right now."

She hooked an arm under mine, helping me keep my balance as we walked. I'd been changed out of my jeans and shirt into a pair of loose sweats. I had bandages wrapped around the wounds that hadn't quite healed yet, including one on my ribs and hurt as I walked.

When we came to the room beside mine, I was relieved to find Douglass sleeping soundly in a bed, a blanket pulled up to the middle of his stomach.

Aeginae was sitting beside him, reading a book. She looked up when we came in. "Ah, you're awake. Glad to see you're alright."

Gilly sat me on the other side of the bed. "I'll leave you three. As the beta, I have to take care of matters in your absence."

She nodded to Aeginae, then walked out and shut the door behind herself. I looked at Aeginae. "What did the doctor say?"

"From what he could tell, Douglass received multiple bruised ribs, and other small cuts and bruises. He fractured the bones in his hands at some point. And, of course, the hole in his stomach... Luckily, he cauterized it while fighting the demon. There was some major blood loss, though." She paused. "He'll be okay. Witches are hard to kill, but they heal as humans do."

I slid my hand into his, surprised to find it cold, even though the bandages. "Isn't there a healing potion he can use to heal faster?"

"Witches don't have such a thing. I don't know enough about sirens to attempt to make one. We'll have to wait until he wakes."

I nodded, finally taking a chance to really look at him. There were bandages wrapped around his stomach, where Max had ripped into him, and on his hands and wrists. He had bruises everywhere, and a split lip, but there was no more blood and grime covering him. He had a few bandaids here and there, and a gauze pad taped to a cut on his face. It even looked like some of his scales had been torn up, some even completely ripped off.

I couldn't complain, though. He was alive, and that was what mattered.

I sighed, raising his hand and kissing it lightly.