They tried.

Struggling to open her eyes, she heard a hiss leaving her dry lips.

She didn't register how she reacted to the intense light stinging in her eyes, but others did.

She wasn't alone - there were at least two more people in the room, but one left nearly instantly, closing the door with enough force to shake the windows.

Warm hands grabbed her shoulders, slightly shaking her: “Oh God, please tell me you're really awake now. Please, open your eyes again. Our lives depend on you,” the voice sounded like one of a young woman, perhaps in her early twenties, not older.

As soon as Seth tried to force herself to open her eyes again, she gasped. Their efforts and the intense treatment had paid off. Finally.

“Water,” Seth choked out the word as if it hurt her more than anything had before. She could swear that her throat felt like a desert.

The nurse let go of her shoulders and grabbed the glass, filling it with water. Seth watched her movements, her mouth watering from the view alone. As soon as the glass neared her lips, she gulped down the water with so much greed; it was a little ridiculous.

The nurse helped Seth sit up and made sure that the pillow behind her back was correctly placed so that she wouldn't feel any unnecessary pain.

When asked how long Seth was sleeping, the nurse shook her head and smiled at her. “It's not my place to explain everything in detail, but it has been a while. Now, enjoy yourself and wait for Alphas to arrive. I'll give you some privacy,” flashing another smile, the nurse left, quietly closing the door.

Seth had a chance to think about what had happened before she woke up.

The last thing she could recall was stepping on a trap she failed to notice and falling into a deep hole, losing consciousness soon after.

What on Earth happened for her to end up in a hospital and sleep for that long? Besides, there were no memories of the Alphas, so how did she end up anywhere near them?

The time she spent away was one Seth used to reconnect with Clara - now, when they found each other again, Seth knew that they needed some bonding time.

The inner puma and Seth would share their bodies - the future ahead was theirs, not only Seth's or Clara's. Both females had to learn how to live side by side, making the right decisions.

Whatever one wanted had to be something the other one approved. She wouldn't live, hating her puma and the other way around.

Since both of them barely spoke for years and could shift now, the women needed time to learn everything all over again and get used to the new lifestyle.

On top of that, they had a specific Alpha situation to discuss. If they chose one, two, to hell - even all of them, both Seth and Clara had to feel something towards all men. That was their deal, and no one could change their mind anymore.

The door opened, and Seth instantly turned her head towards the three men that entered the room, concern, hope, pain, and relief written all over their faces.

The men felt so many emotions at once, Seth couldn't understand how they coped with everything. Did all of them wait for her to wake up?

Ryder ran to her bed, grabbing her hand to make sure that he wasn't dreaming: “Darling,” the Alpha sighed, looking as if he was about to cry his eyes out in front of everyone.

“About time to wake up; you managed to scare a lot of people, doll,” Dominic winked at her, lazily walking towards the chair near her bed and sat down.

Clearly, he tried to hold himself back to avoid overwhelming Seth. She had been through enough; there was no need for even more emotional distress caused by others.

“We missed you,” Vlad joined, smiling like an idiot.

Seth was speechless, taking glances at all men. They gathered in one room, all because of her, and none fought over the small things as they used to do before she left. The three Alphas had massive dark circles under their eyes - all of them seemed to struggle with sleep if they got any of it.

“For how long was I out?” Seth struggled to speak, hoping that the men would take over and explain everything.

“May I?” Dominic didn't sound like the man she knew before.

Whatever happened during her absence changed the Alpha. He was calm, collected, and, most importantly - polite. The flashy and loud asshole was gone, replaced by a person Seth could recognize only because of his looks.

Seth glanced at Ryder and Vlad, noticing how both Alphas silently nodded their heads, giving Dominic a chance to explain everything without any objections. Since when did they get along that well?

“You've been asleep for a couple of months if we can call that state sleep. Technically, you were in a coma. When you were found, it didn't look good. Your body was destroyed - the cuts and claw marks were the most violent ones I've ever seen. Whoever did that must really hate you, but none of us really could think of a reason for such hatred. You are too precious to be hated. Anyway, what I mean with a couple of months is that you have been lying on this hospital bed for seven months. Your health kept going up and down, depending on the day. There were days when the doctors had to keep you on life support and some when you could breathe without the help of the medical equipment. You might be angry at us, but we kept injecting our blood into your body to help you heal. It was a risk worth taking - if we didn't, we might have to wait for you to wake up twice, if not even longer.” Dominic let out a deep breath, waiting for any reaction from the young woman.

Seth seemed puzzled - she had just woken up from months spent in a coma, yet her puma didn't try to communicate. Clara might remember more than Seth could - she seemed to be more woke after her human form lost consciousness.

A sudden panic overtook Seth's mind.

What if Clara forced her back and took whatever was happening to them on herself? Inner beasts often did such a thing to protect their human side. It was said that the human body and spirit couldn't take half as much pain and trauma as the beast could, so everyone thought that it was expected if the animalistic side took the majority of the pain.

Everyone but Seth.

If Clara really did do that, she wouldn't ever live up to a day when she could forgive herself for being so weak.

“Do you have any idea what happened to you?” Vlad raised an eyebrow, cautiously approaching the bed. He wanted nothing but to grab her in his arms and keep Seth safe till the end of his days, but that wouldn't be the best idea since she was still way too weak.

Besides, months of sleep will leave a significant effect on her body - Seth will struggle to walk, do simple things, and even talk, just the same as she already did. It wasn't easy for coma patients to get back in their usual tracks, but all men knew that if anyone could do that, Seth could.

“No,” Seth whispered, struggling to point at the glass of water. Her throat, once again, felt dry like a desert.

“Look, don't freak out before time, but Dominic could explain as much as we got to know. Would you like to know now? Or maybe we should wait for a little while until you get better?” Ryder still held her hand as Vlad reached for the glass and grabbed a straw to help her.

Seth couldn't express how grateful she felt for the gesture. “I would like to know.”

Seth closed her eyes, giving herself a moment to take everything in. Just now, she found out about the coma, and the men had more to tell her.

Who on Earth could be as cruel to do such a vile thing to a woman? Besides, the only person Seth ever had a somewhat bad relationship with was her father and stepmother.

But even they were too cowardly to commit a crime, let alone nearly kill someone. Seth knew that she almost died - that would be the only reason for wolves to give their blood to puma shifters.

“The first suspect was a nurse, living in the castle. She didn't break for a while, refusing to answer questions, but everyone has their ways, and eventually, she told everything she knew. That woman was after power, and knowing that you had something going on with this funny bunch made you the primary target. Of course, she didn't do everything alone. There was someone who helped out to plan everything - how to lure you in and use your weaknesses against you. Doll, you know her. Do you remember the woman you bonded with while working for the council at the games? Amy? Yeah, that's the one,” Dominic averted his gaze; once again, silence overtook the already tense atmosphere between them.

Seth gulped, refusing to acknowledge the pain. Tears filled her eyes, but she fought back - she wouldn't cry for the fate of those who tried to kill her.

But why Amy? They became such good friends, and as soon as she had the chance, she stabbed Seth in the back. True friends would stab her in the front, showing their intentions without running around and coming up with shady ideas.

Since she didn't say a thing, Dominic took her silence as a chance to explain more: “They united their forces with the resistance movement. Those two women had many who stood by their side and ideas, more than willing to kill for the cause. I think it's stupid, I thought the same back then, but they saw the chance and took it whenever they felt it was a good idea. Technically, they aimed for high ranks - if you were out of their way, they could attempt to get there. Funny, none of us knew about their existence, yet they gladly went for committing a crime, simply hoping that it would bring them an advantage. You see, you've missed quite a lot of drama happening in the Kingdom, thankfully. As it turns out, many shifters didn't agree with the new order and laws, especially ones stating that one could choose a life partner from a different species. Up till today, the law was reason free of passion. It didn't matter what you felt or what to do - you'd have to follow the law. Back in the days, blood was all that mattered - the species had to have children of pure blood. Wolves gave birth to wolves; pumas birthed pumas, lions - lions, and so on. So, if you ever met, let's say a cougar and decided to marry - you wouldn't be able to do that in front of the law. The same as having children. By the way, the marriage thing between you and that lion was bullshit; we were too stupid and caught up to remember anything about our law. However, that is in the past. Therefore we are facing a large backlash. Many radical individuals are against the new ideas and views. There was sort of a war happening, but that's something we could discuss later when you feel better. Now, you should focus on your health and getting back on your feet.” Dominic didn't want to add more details, especially those which were unnecessary at the moment.

However, even though Seth seemed a little lost, she didn't hold herself back from asking more questions.

“Are they dead? Amy and the nurse?” She averted her gaze, focusing on the hand holding hers. Ryder stood silent, the same as Vlad, giving Dominic a chance to be the spokesman for all of them.

“Yes, doll. The nurse died first, and after a while, we caught on Amy. She did her best to hide, but that woman knew that she had to count her days. Please, don't feel bad about their deaths, for both didn't show any remorse for the things they did to you. Blood for blood, doll.” Dominic slid a hand through his hair in frustration.

He didn't want to recall all of those things, especially shortly after Seth finally woke up. All of them knew that she wouldn't stop asking questions - a curious little thing.

Seth lifted her face to meet Dominic's eyes and smiled, showing gratitude in his honesty. It didn't mean that she didn't want to know more. As soon as Alpha smiled back, his body visibly relaxing, she struck at him with another question: “Don't hide anything, tell me is there anything important I should know. Even if that might hurt me, just tell me.”

The Alpha's eyes widened, but it took him only five seconds to register what he might have to tell her.

The calm and collected Dominic was gone. Instead, she eyed a man full of anger and pain, jumping on his feet, growling out loud, and grabbing a chair he sat on just to throw it against the wall.

Dominic didn't look back when he stormed out of the hospital room, destroying everything down the hall before he was gone.

Seth stared at Ryder wide-eyed, hoping that he could explain.

Ryder looked away from her, unable to force a word over his lips. Vlad seemed to be the only one who wasn't losing his mind, so the Alpha took it upon himself to explain everything.

“Don't be angry at Dominic; he had to go through quite a lot while you were in the coma. He's hurting,” even though Vlad spoke with confidence, his gaze was glued to his feet. Taking a deep breath, the Alpha gathered enough courage to add: “They couldn't save it. They tried, but when they noticed it, it was too late. I'm sorry.”

Seth kept staring at the Alphas, wondering what Vlad meant with the thing he tried to explain. “What?”

“As it turns out, you were pregnant. You lost the baby. And judging by the term, it was Dominic's. I'm so sorry,” Vlad cried out, collapsing on the floor, becoming a sobbing mess within seconds.

Seth felt as if she couldn't breathe, as if an unknown force blocked her lungs, sending her mind into overdrive. At this point, everything felt surreal; too many bad things happened in a row to be a reality.

Despite that, she swallowed her tears and kept going. If they could drop everything on her shoulders - they better tell her about everything she missed. There was no way Seth would allow the Alphas to keep more secrets from her.

Scanning the room, Seth felt an odd, uncomfortable feeling stirring in her. Something was missing or maybe someone. “Where's Luciano?” She finally voiced her concern.

How didn't Seth notice his absence right away if that man was the one who followed her with the most passion? Something was way too fishy around there.

“That's another reason why I said that Dominic had to go through a lot of things lately - awful ones,” Vlad's words barely made sense since the Alpha struggled to stop himself from hiccuping.

His tears didn't make anyone uncomfortable or think of him as a weak man, quite the opposite - he was in pain, only showing emotions could help him cope.

“What do you mean?” As the question left Seth's lips, Ryder squeezed her hand a little harder and looked into her eyes.

By now, Vlad wasn't capable of giving any vocal answer, so the last, somewhat calm Alpha had to give her an answer. As much as Ryder wanted to avoid bringing the topic up, he knew that it would surface one day - there was no way for them to escape it.

Closing his eyes, the Alpha whispered: “dead.”