Even though I'm almost losing my mind with worry, I keep telling myself that I have to be patient. She's not dead. She just passed out. She'll be okay, eventually.
I crouch and stretch my hand through the bar hoping I can at least hold her hand from where she's lying on the floor. Maybe that would give her some kind of comfort but my hand couldn't reach her. She's a bit far away from my reach
Being in that position and now closer to the dead body makes me realize the stench in the cell is a bit bearable from when I was standing. I am angry. Boiling with rage, even. Like how could they lock her in a cell with a dead body for hours? If I hadn't shown up would she have spent the night in that same position, beside a decomposing corpse!?
Neal said they were going for breakfast when it happened. That means she's been locked inside that cell for about fifteen hours without food or drink
"Fucking hell! Somebody is going to pay for this!" I unconsiously swear out loud.
I want to know what or who gave them the guts to think they can disobey my orders and get away with it.
Council Yard Penitentiary is built on Silver-moon's territory even though it's owned and controlled by the Council. Could this be the reason why these guards feel they don't owe me respect because they're under the Council's command or is it that they're following Miranda, their supposed Luna's instructions after all?
Even though I would like to know the reason for their disobedience. It really doesn't matter to me one bit. What matters is what I will do to them. I'm going to make their lives so miserable they would wish they never took up employment under the Council.
Waiting helplessly for Neal to return has me climbing the walls in frustration and when he finally shows up, I almost take his head off with the way I angrily growls at him...
"What the fuck took you so long, man!?..."
He freezes. Looking perplexed by my outburst.
"I– I wasn't. I– I made sure I..."
"It doesn't matter just open the fucking door, already! She's unconscious and needs a doctor, right now!" I say through gritted teeth
"Yes! Yes of course..." He says and hands the blanket over to me before hastily unlocking the iron bars.
Immediately the door opens, and I crouch beside Ash. I first drape the blanket over her, then I raise her a bit with her shoulder so the blanket will be able to wrap around her to the back. After I make sure she's decent enough, I lift her in my arms and carry her out of the cell.
I take a deep breath of fresh air after stepping away from the suffocating stench.
"Is there anything like a private cell in this place?– I don't know, somewhere private that she can be alone in?" I ask as we walk down the corridor.
"Yes, but I'm not sure you'll like it?"
"Why do you think I won't like it? Where's the place?"
"It's the psych unit. It's..." I don't allow him to finish before I disagree with his stupid idea
"You're right I don't like it. No way am I gonna put her with the deranged because she's not crazy! If that was why you suggested that."
"No Beta. I suggested the place because it's empty. Does that not make it private? Mentally challenged werewolves are not common and those that are feral are usually kept in the dungeon."
"Oh, Okay," I said when I realized he was right. "Lead the way then, and please get a doctor to meet us as soon as possible, will you?"
"Sure Beta, right away." He replies, immediately opening his phone before putting it to his ear.
The psych unit is in a separate building. Neal leads the way while I follow behind till we enter a large room that looks like a hospital ward. The room has two beds in it and the air smells stale which obviously is because cross ventilation has been restricted for a very long time.
Neal is speaking with someone on the phone and from his side of their conversation that I can hear, the person is a doctor.
I placed Ash on one of the beds before going to the window to open it to let in some fresh air.
"The doctor will soon be here." He says as he lowers the phone in his hand and I nod thankfully at him. Even though I'm grateful for his efforts, he still has some explaining to do about why he didn't order his men to remove the dead body immediately after the incident happened
"Uhh... I should maybe go get the bedding, yes?" He uncomfortably said and hurriedly walked away from me.
I watch him walk away. He's a big
man with the demeanor of a puppy. It's very obvious he's scared of me. No wonder his command doesn't carry any weight among the guards. They must all have known he is a pussy who can't be taken seriously.
He returns with the bedding and immediately starts to lay the empty bed. When he's done, I lift Ash again and lay her on the freshly made bed. I'm surprised when he starts to lay the second bed as if Ash can sleep on two beds at the same time.
He's still on it when the doctor, a female, arrives. Neal abandons what he's doing and we walk toward her.
"Beta, this is Doctor Millicent. She also works in Council Yard. I recommend and trust her with my life because she's my mate" He says and pauses waiting for my reaction. Maybe he thinks I won't like her.
It's after I nod to the doctor with a smile that he continues with the introduction.
"Milli, this is the Silver-moon pack's Beta. And that she-wolf over there is why I called you here..." He continues to explain as we all walk to Ash's bed,
"She is not an inmate here. We only brought her to the psych unit because of privacy. She fell unconscious some minutes ago. Just give her a check-up and see if she's alright please."
The doctor, Millicent, already had her stethoscope out before Neal finished talking
"I need privacy." She says briskly without looking in our direction and we immediately move back, giving her the privacy she needed.
"I should go get her stuff from her former cell," Neal says when we're alone with each other and hurries out of the room.
'What a coward.' I mumbles under my breath. I wonder how he can work among hardened criminals when my presence makes him so uncomfortable. I go to lean on the nearest wall as I watch the doctor work on Ash.
I can't see much from where I'm standing but I can tell when she opens the blanket I wrapped around her to put the stethoscope on her chest. After a while, I push myself off the wall when I see her putting her stethoscope back in her bag.
I meet her halfway as she walks toward me
"How is she? Is she going to be okay?" I ask, hoping for good news.
My heart immediately lightens when she smiles brightly at me.
"Of course, she's going to be fine Beta, relax. And the baby is fine too, so you have nothing to worry about." She says as her grin widens
'Wait, what!?'
Even though I was trained to never show my emotions to outsiders no matter the situation, a voice inside me screams
'A Baby!? What baby!?... What rubbish is the doctor talking about!? How can Ash be pregnant when it's only been three days since she and Thor mated!?...'
While I wonder about the situation, Millicent continues with her explanation, oblivious to my state of mind...
"She collapsed because she was exhausted and severely dehydrated. Right now she urgently needs Infusion therapy which will help provide the vitamins, nutrients, and hydration needed to have a happy and healthy pregnancy. You'll have to excuse me, let me go get the IV bag ready so I can set it for her." She finishes saying with another smile and hurries off.
'Ash is pregnant!? No! That can't be possible. It's only been three days that she and Thor mated...' Those were the only words playing over and over in my mind, even long after the doctor had left.