Ethan’s POV

Pain…Agonizing pain filled me to my core, and I wanted it to go away…It hurt too much!

I didn’t want to go through it anymore!

My whole body felt like it was heavy and melting! My skin, my bones…Everything was making me go insane!

Make it stop! Please, someone make it stop!

Letting out a scream, I put my hands up to rip at my skin around my back but could not do it easily.

Sobbing, I pulled my hands back and grabbed onto something, biting onto it hard…Then, having something fill my mouth, I frowned through the pain.

“Precious…I’m so sorry!”

Through the pain, I was now able to sense that Damien was here, and his scent helped me slightly.

“Dam…Ien…”

I heard a sob and then felt my body get tugged and squashed. “Why…Why did you do that! You silly, silly King. You silly Omega! Never…Never do that again!”

Filled with tingles and my mates’ scent, I was able to open my eyes and see a number of people standing around.

“What happened?”

Seeing the Beta of Alpha Satel stand closer, he said, “We have placed Alpha Satel in a cell, waiting upon Your Majesty’s judgement.”

I couldn’t make out heads or tails upon what was going on…The pain was the most thing on my mind and it was rather hard to concentrate…

I looked up at Damien and leaned into him, no longer able to keep my eyes opened.

“Is there really nothing else we can do?”

Hearing Damien’s plea, I frowned.

“It’s…It’s because he’s an Omega that it is taking longer for the silver to dissolve. But we told you earlier, Alpha Rendall, that even an Alpha could take up to a whole day of not being able to move…”

“Dammit!”

“…Since you have seen that His Majesty is fine then you should come with us now, Alpha Rendall!”

That got my attention!

Why did Damien have to leave!? I wanted him here with me!

“What?” I finally got out. Although my voice was not that of a King’s, it was the best I could let out at the moment.

“Ah! Your Majesty, Beta Owen has stated that Alpha Rendall has caused problems and should be detained until further notice.”

Opening my eyes, to look at whoever spoke, I found a strength in me and my voice directly and firmly stated, “You will not detain Damien! The orders of Damien being detained is not my own and I will overpower it by stating that I demand to have him by my side until further notice! Quick, let me write this down!”

I didn’t feel strong at all! But I needed to make sure that when I lose consciousness next, that Damien was going to be safe!

Who knows what would happen while I would be asleep! And…I could only trust him, my mate!

In no time at all, I was spent with making a note stained with my blood, that it was indeed something I had written myself to state Damien was to stay by myside.

Even if Damien had done something terribly bad, nothing could be done now to my clear statement.

And if these clear words by a King was not taken seriously, then punishment could be done!

Dare they try something then!?

But…I could no longer think further into this problem…

Now that I had finished something so important, the pain came back to me two-fold, like it was making up for the time that I was able to control not feeling it too much…

“Ethan…”

Damien’s voice made me sad. I could feel that he wasn’t doing so well.

I wanted to tell him that I was ok, but…I wasn’t…

The pain was not something I’d give to my worst enemy, as it was scorching and something I’d never forget!

From my back, I felt it go up and down my body like it was taking over and it was like my soul was getting ripped to shreds…What I started to figure out though, was that the pain in the lower half of my body was different to that to my upper part…

“Alpha Rendall…”

“Just leave! Only come back when the plane has been refuelled!”

Wishing that I could concentrate, I instead found myself go into a black oblivion once again, unable to cope with the pain going through me.

***

“…Yes, as you know, the back is very important.”

“Then…Then it will take longer to recuperate from?”

“Yes, Alpha Rendall.”

“…I get it. You may leave.”

With heavy eyelids, I tried to turn my head, because my neck was sore, but found it too tiring.

“Dammit! Why, why do this for me, you silly fool!”

“Dam…Ien?”

“Ethan!”

Feeling hands around me, and then my neck being put in a better position, I finally figured out that I must have been on my stomach.

“Ethan, Ethan…I’m so sorry!”

Hearing Damien’s sad words, I tried to smile, “You…”

“It’s ok, you don’t have to talk. Just get better…Get better!”

Finally able to open my heavy eyelids, I see him looking at me in a grieving matter, “Silly…”

“Yes, you were…You were very silly!”

I went to chuckle, but my throat was sore, and I coughed again, “No…You…You are silly!”

“Me!?”

“Mmm.” I responded, closing my eyes again.

I couldn’t move my body very much at all, it was like my consciousness was stuck inside a cell.

“I think…You might have hit your head or something.”

Feeling a hand over my forehead, I coughed again because I had attempted to laugh, “No. I’ll be ok.”

The pain had indeed subsided a bit, as it wasn’t raging through my body so much anymore, but it seemed that another effect had taken place and that was not being able to move easily…Actually, at the moment, I couldn’t feel my legs…I must be to relaxed…

“They…They say that you…”

Hearing a sob from Damien, I opened my eyes and found him wiping a tear away.

He took me closer into his embrace and muffled some more words, making me more frustrated. “What…Tell me!”

Feeling him shake his head into my neck, I was at a loss for words…

I’ve never seen him, or any Alpha for that matter, look so much like a cry baby!

“What’s going on! Tell me Damien!” I could only use my King authority here to get him to talk to me!

Seeing Damien pull back from me slowly, his eyes red and his face full of sadness, I frowned.

He looked at me, his eyes bearing into my soul, and he suddenly said, “They say you might not ever walk again.”

In a stunned silence, my mind went blank…

Blinking a few times, still finding myself staring back at Damien, I let the words repeat in my head…And then looked away. “…Oh…”

Closing my eyes, I leaned my head away from Damien and squeezed my eyes shut even more.

“The place that Alpha Satel had hit you, was right into your spinal cord…It…”

Damien took me into his embrace tighter and shook his head in my neck again.

Having a silent Damien tightly embracing me, with such bad news, I suddenly felt like I was getting pitied…

Hasn’t he already apologized twice now? Was he sorry that I was now a vegetable?

…I was now someone who couldn’t even run from being buried alive…

…Was my live going to be over soon?

Unless I was to stay in the palace forever…

Feeling an emotional numbness take place in my heart, I take a deep breath, and say, “What happened to Alpha Satel?”

Damien too took in a deep breath, “He’s still in a cell for shooting you. If there’s one thing Beta Owen is good for, he has not attempted to try and save him, instead he has giving all the power of Alpha Satel’s future to you.”

I tried to move, finding it hard to do so, with my legs feeling like they are in the way, since I can’t even feel them anymore. “…Oh…”

“What do you plan to do with him?” Damien asked me, grabbing me tighter.

I shrugged, I had no idea…

At the moment, I didn’t not want to be a King and try to figure out what was best. I just…Well, I didn’t want to care…

“We are still here? I thought we would be off by now.” I asked, my voice completely void of any type of happiness. Perhaps it would be good if the Elementalist came right now to bury me…

“…You got shot two hours ago, how is your pain? Can you endure it now? Austorious had tried to take the pain away from you, but silver isn’t something that he was able to handle very well…”

I shrugged again, “It still hurts…”

Actually, I already knew that a certain amount of pain will always linger from now on…

Silver was not something one should have to endure through, I knew we rarely used it and that it does give effects to whomever gets shot with it. I still don’t regret saving my mate from enduring this but…I really don’t know where my life was going to head now, that I was basically becoming so weak.

Dissolving the silver didn’t completely get rid of the effects from it, it didn’t get rid of it at all! In fact, one is better without it dissolving into the bloodstream…Just, it seems that I wasn’t one that they could stop it, probably because I was shot into my spinal cord…

…I will now forever have silver in my system, and I will be weaker than I was before…

It seems my life has become even more unfortunate…

I know I was being very negative at the moment…But I couldn’t help it…I couldn’t stop feeling like I’ve fallen into the dark abyss and no longer had the heart to find the way out of it…

I really didn’t need this…I didn’t need this type of future…I might as well just give up everything to Owen now!

“Where’s Owen?”

“He made sure you were still alive but left…I think he is trying to obtain what The History Pack was to give to you.”

I laughed in my head.

Of course…It would make a lot of sense if he were to obtain that!

Since he wants the throne so much, “Let him have it.”

Feeling Damien pull back from me, I looked at him too.

“Ethan?”

“He can have it.” I stated once again.

“Ethan?”

Turning away from Damien, I see a cup of water and was glad to have a reason not to look at him. “Water.”

“…Oh. Here.”

I didn’t want to feel anything anymore. I didn’t want to fight for something that I shouldn’t have had in the first place anymore. I didn’t want to selfishly have someone by my side either, when they were probably better off elsewhere.

What I needed right now, was some space.

“Ethan! Have you forgotten that we are mates now! Complete mates, I know what you are feeling and stop it! Please just stop it! I know you aren’t happy but please…Please…”

Damien’s yell startled me.

Water dripped from the cup and I nearly dropped it, from being so weak.

Damien took the cup and not only did my hands drop, my head did too…I felt utterly hopeless…

Closing my eyes, I couldn’t stop the numbness from disappearing and feelings started to overwhelm me.

“Precious…”

Tear after tear slowly left my face and I watched as they disappeared into the sheet that covered my body…My body that I couldn’t really feel anymore…It wasn’t because I was too relaxed…It was because I could no longer feel it!

Finally, I let out a louder sob and felt Damien get behind me and cuddle me. I could feel that he felt as I did…And that made me cry louder.

Why did it turn out like this?

Didn’t everything go sour when Owen had wanted me to talk to him alone?

Why had I felt fine to do so?

Why hadn’t I just stayed with Damien?

Look at me now…I was a sorry excuse for a Shifter!

A Shifter that couldn’t walk…A King…

I cried, I cried out all my stupid feelings and let Damien wipe them away.

When I finished crying, I was exhausted…Completely exhausted…

“If I knew Chance would be ok…I’d want to…Run away…”

Falling asleep, a picture of Chance stayed in my mind…

***