Chapter 80-A Troubled Soul

Athena P.O.V
I sob uncontrollably as I listen to everything I did today. I don’t understand what’s happened. Am I going crazy?
“You don’t remember any of this, Alpha?” Doc Apollo asks.
‘None of it. What’s wrong with me?’ I ask.
“We don’t know. But I promise we will sort this out,” he says. But his tone sounds shaky and unconvincing.
‘How were you able to break through the barrier, Enyo?’ I ask.
‘Mother came to me,’ she says excitedly, and everyone gasps.
“The… The Goddess, Selina, appeared to you?” Doc asks.
‘She told me to roar to break through the barrier. So, I did,’ she says proudly.
But Doc and Andreas look more concerned than before.
‘What is it?’ I ask.
“Well, with Enyo hearing the first voice after you blacked out, and then hearing what she thought was the Goddess…” Doc Apollo trails off.
“You think it’s all a hallucination?” Andreas asks.
“What if Enyo is the one having them?” Doc says worriedly.
‘You think I hallucinated both voices? But I had no control over anything! Mother came through to help me break the barrier between Athena and me!’
“What else did the voice say?” Andreas asks.
‘To trust in ourselves and those around us. That we will save all her children if we work together and have faith that we will find the answers together!’
Doc and Andreas share another look, unconvinced.
‘I believe you, Enyo,’ I tell her, comforting her slightly. ‘What about our mate bond?’ I then ask.
“I can sense your emotions again, and I can sense the bond. But I didn’t feel the usual sparks when our skin touched…” Andreas explains.
‘Then we need to shift so that we can see if they’re back.’
Enyo shifts uncomfortably on her paws, and Andreas looks unsure.
“Athena… What if you lose control again? None of us could do anything against you earlier. You were too powerful…”
‘The doc can keep an extra-large dose of the tranquilizer on hand just in case. But I feel in control. There’s no nausea, no coldness. I feel groggy still, but otherwise, I feel fine.’
“I don’t know, Alpha,” Doc says. “I’m not sure I’m comfortable with this.”
‘Enyo knows how to break through now. But if I feel the same thing happening, she can take over before anything happens.’
Andreas sighs. “Okay, but if you feel anything happening, you have to say something.”
‘I promise. Enyo? Do you agree?’
I feel her relax slightly, and she barks her approval.
“I’ll get the tranquilizer then,” Doc says, sounding unhappy.
When the Doc is ready, we start to shift. It’s unusually painful, reminding me of our first shift, and I scream as our bones break and change. When I’m finally me again, I fall to the floor, gasping from the pain. When I feel a familiar hand and our sparks on my back, I sigh with relief.
“It’s there,” I say quietly, still feeling the pain of the shift.
“It’s still there,” Andreas says happily, bringing me into his arms and holding me close. The sparks coming from his hands on my body start to move as he rubs my back, and the pain slowly lessens. There’s a knock on the door, and a nurse cracks the door, popping her head inside. “I’m sorry to interrupt,” she starts to say as Andreas growls and covers me protectively.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Alpha,” the nurse blushes and closes the door.
Doc Apollo passes me some scrubs to get dressed in, and when I’m done, I call the nurse back in.
“I’m so sorry, Alpha,” she says again, bowing her head and looking at the floor.
“It’s fine, Angela. What can I do for you?” I ask her with a smile.
“It’s Jack Ryan, Alpha. He’s been quite upset since your roar ripped through the hospital. He wants to see you,” she explains.
“Where’s Doctor Andrews?” Doc Apollo asks. “He should sedate Jack if he’s upset. The Alpha isn’t ready for visitors.”
“It’s fine, Doc. I’ll see him,” I say.
“But, Alpha, you’re very weak, and Jack has had the most problems of the chosen rescued from Alpha Costa’s territory,” Doc Apollo explains, but I put my hand up to stop him.
“I’ll be fine, Doc. I haven’t seen them since we rescued them, and I’d like to see how they’re doing,” I tell him.
He sighs in frustration. “Okay fine. But I’m bringing this,” he says, holding up the tranquilizer.
“Agreed,” I say, and turn back to nurse Angela. “Please show me to his room.”
She nods and leads us out into the hallway and towards the back of the hospital. After a few moments, I realize where we’re going.
“You’ve had them in the locked ward?” I ask Doc Apollo in a whisper.
“They’ve been very erratic since they were rescued. I had to think of their safety, and the safety of the pack,” he whispers back.
I nod and continue to follow them. When we get to the locked ward, I can hear yelling and things being thrown. The nurse quickly unlocks the door, and when we enter the small ward, I can hear that it’s Doctor Andrews yelling for Jack to calm down.
“WHERE IS SHE? I HAVE TO SEE HER!”
“Jack! Please calm down! You’re going to hurt yourself,” Doctor Andrew exclaims.
“I’m here,” I call out as we get to the large window that looks into a room of the ward.
I see Doctor Andrews looking relieved, and Jack, who’s standing on top of the bed, holding a lamp and pointing it at the Doctor.
I walk to the door, open it and walk towards Jack slowly. “Jack, I’m Alpha Athena. I heard you wanted to see me?”
He looks at me, his eyes wild and unfocused, and for a moment, I hesitate to walk closer to him.
“Alpha! You’re here!” He yells excitedly and awkwardly jumps off the bed. “Your roar! It woke me!” He exclaims, rushing towards me.
Andreas runs in front of me, tucking me behind him, and growls at Jack, but Jack seems unfazed and just stands there, clapping happily.
“See! I told you she’d come!” He says to Doctor Andrews.
“The Alpha is very busy, Jack. Why did you need to see her?” Doctor Andrews asks.
He suddenly stills, his face turning serious. “I, I, I…” he stutters, now looking confused. “I think I was supposed to do something. But you woke me up.”
“Do what?” I ask, placing my hand on Andreas’s arm, and moving to his side, ignoring his protective growl. “What were you supposed to do, Jack?”
He stands up straight, his eyes becoming glassy as he stares at me. He then raises his hand and points at me. “You didn’t do what you were supposed to do,” he says angrily.
“What was I supposed to do?” I ask him, chills running down the back of my neck from his eery stare.
He then looks at Andreas and points at him. “You’re supposed to be dead.”
I stand in front of Andreas to get Jack’s attention on me again. “Jack, why did you want to see me?” I ask again, this time more sternly.
He stands there for a moment, staring at me, and then he lunges at me, grabbing me around my throat. In my weakened state, he has me quickly on the floor as I try to pry his hand off my throat. I hear Andreas roar, but I yell at him to stop before he kills Jack.
“Something’s wrong with him!” I yell.
“No shit, Athena, he was going to kill you!” Andreas says, then I see Doctor Apollo standing over us with the needle filled with the tranquilizer.
“No! Wait!” I yell, but I’m too late. Jack’s body suddenly goes limp on top of me, and Andreas rips him off me. I place my hand around my throat, rubbing it. “He wasn’t squeezing hard enough to kill me. I don’t think he had the strength to,” I explain.
“I don’t give a fuck! He attacked an Alpha and my mate, I should have ripped him to shreds!” He yells angrily, pacing the room as the doctors and nurse carry Jack over to the bed and restrain him.
“There’s something else going on here,” I say. “I couldn’t sense his wolf,” I explain.
“He’s not a part of your pack, so that’s not unusual,” Doc Apollo explains.
“No. It’s something else. I can’t put my finger on it,” I say, frustrated. “I want to be notified as soon as he’s awake. I need to speak with him,” I tell Doctor Andrews, who nods.
“Of course, Alpha.”
“Are you kidding?!” Andreas yells.
I put my hand up to stop him from continuing. “I’m serious Andreas. There’s something not right here, and I’m going to find out what it is before this poor lycan suffers further from it. Now, I want to see Philip Gray,” I instruct Doctor Andrews, who nods again, and I follow him from the room.