305 Mother’s Pride
The ride back to the palace was excruciating and got even more so when the queen and king refused to drop her at the hospital.
After Honour’s display on the phone, Lina soon realised her parents were sulking. Beta Alpha Jackson drove through the palace gates at painstakingly slow speed.
Thankfully, the werewolves did not swarm the royal convoy when they got in, however, Lina was stopped when she reached the door. Her mother’s voice was both calm and steeled in a tone she knew all too well.
“Do clean yourself up first, dear. We wouldn’t want some of that filth to infect our delta patient,” the woman would not meet her eyes, but Lina was sure she was being very serious at the moment.
Gritting her teeth in frustration, Lina exited the car and rushed to her room, ignoring most of the people that stopped to show their respect for the passing royal.
She was in a hurry to get to the hospital, it simply could not wait. Right when she was rounding a corner to get to her room, she caught a glimpse of prince Drake at the end of the hall. The man’s face beamed at her, “Little sister, I have something to tell you,” Drake yelled out right before she dashed into her room and slammed the door behind her, locking it before he could enter, “That’s rude.”
“Stay out of my room. I’m going to have a bath, change and go straight to the infirmary,” the girl yelled from the inside of her room, working as fast as she could through her actions.
“Well, I do have something to tell you, and like the hospital, it cannot wait,” Drake replied, placing his ear to the door of the girl’s room. The girl did not respond, but he could pick up the different sounds that came from her bustling about the room.
With the sound of objects falling and furniture tumbling, the prince frowned in worry, ‘She’s going to hurt herself at this rate. Though she should heal just fine.’ Soon enough, he heard another door slam shut, signifying she’d entered the bathroom.
.....
“What am I supposed to call this?” a voice drew his attention from the door. Slowly, the prince turned to see one of Alpha Jackson standing there with his arms crossed.
The prince felt his cheeks heat up and realised what this looked like. He had his hands propped up against the door and his ear pinned to the thick wood. ‘Oh, dear!’
“I am trying to make sure my sister doesn’t hurt herself. You saw how she rushed out of the car like accidents were beyond royalty,” he smiled nervously.
“I see. Well, considering you have no powers that can make that possible through you listening to whatever it is you think you are listening to, I would advise you to give the girl her privacy,” the man spoke slowly and clearly.
“Very well,” Drake awkwardly stepped away from the door.
......
When Lina was fresh and done dressing, she stepped out of her room and took a breath. Her mind was finally clear, and she broke into a sprint.
Enhanced by her werewolf’s abilities and her particular innate aptitude for speed, she sped through the palace before anyone could acknowledge her presence.
As the fastest wolf in existence, a fact that she clearly forgot, the girl was tearing through the halls, leaving everyone barely a chance to get out of the way while she rushed through the halls, ‘Please be fine, Crysta,’ she silently prayed.
The royal hospital was not far from the palace. In fact, for the safety of the werewolves in the palace, this structure had been joined to the palace at the farthest point of the West Wing. The hospital was also built into the fence that went around the royal grounds, giving the citizens that chose to use it a way to access it without entering the palace grounds.
The doors to the hospital were finally in sight when a feminine voice resounded within her mind, ‘Lina, is that you who’s causing a commotion in the palace?’ Queen Martha was not amused.
“I’m at the infirmary, mother. You don’t have to worry about that now, okay?” the girl replied.
'
“Lina Jeanie Sirius, who are you talking to?” the woman bellowed through the mind link. The girl cringed at the voice in her head and the weight of anger behind it. It was rarely that the royal family used her unofficial middle name. Lina was reminded of it only when she was about to completely forget it.
“I’m sorry, mum. I didn’t mean to... I have to see her, mum. Can I go now?” the woman sighed, allowing the two minds to meld closer with each other. Lina felt her mother’s consciousness get more pronounced within her own in a way that was less of an intrusion and more of a warm embrace. Her warmth was always the same, but each time she felt it... It was a new sensation. Her mother was worried and curious.
“Where have you been hiding this worry, my daughter?” the queen’s loving voice came through this time. Lina stopped at the doors of the hospital and rested her head on the cold hardwood of the entrance, breathing lightly from the exertion.
The answer was difficult for the girl to convey, but against her nerves, she spoke up, “Before we left for the Golden Moon Pack, I knew something was wrong with Crysta. I suspected she was missing, but...” the girl broke.
“You were taking care of Madeline, Lina. If you hadn’t been with us, that girl would never have said anything about what happened to her that night,” the queen tried.
“I know that mum, but now Crysta is lying in a hospital bed, Ginger is dead and I wasn’t even here. I could have rushed Ginger to the hospital. You know I’m fast enough to do that,” the girl argued through the link. Tears threatened to break loose from the looming well, but she blinked them back.
The queen was silent for a while before speaking up, “You’re so much like Katie. I guess you’re both my daughters after all...” Queen Martha lingered, “You should go see Crysta now.”
Before the queen’s consciousness withdrew from her own, she got the sense of something unexpected...
Was it... pride!!!