Chapter 51

Our journey lasted only an hour. When we reached Riverland, I could see why Andrew was so sure that I would be happy here. The community was neat and beautiful. The place was surrounded by channels of rivers, making it look like an island.
The pack houses were labelled, so even a stranger can figure out which belonged to whom. The residents hailed the returning warriors as they passed and some of them stared at me curiously.
“You should probably put me down now,” I said to Andrew.
“Feeling shy?” He teased me.
“Not really,” I lied. “I think I can manage on my own now.”
“Not with a bleeding back,” he insisted. “I’m taking you to our pack hospital. Afterwards, you’ll meet my family.”
“Your family? Why?” I asked.
“Why not?” He replied. “You’re not the first prisoner we’ve freed from Apex Woods.”
Awesome. And here I was feeling special…
“Oh, ok,” I said.
I felt a little embarrassed for ever thinking that Andrew might have been even a teeny weeny bit interested in me in a sexual way. I’ve been a damsel in distress many times and ended up in bed with my rescuers so frequently that I now expected that to be the norm. How silly of me!
“My parents would like to know more about you and whether they can trust you to be loyal to our pack,” said Andrew.
“Oh, your parents are still alive,” I said lamely. “I thought you were the Alpha of the pack.”
“My father is,” he replied.
Another bummer. Andrew was definitely not my type. Not by a long shot!
I slapped myself mentally. When did I become so shallow? It’s not like I’m the hottest chick around, so why was I being picky?
At the pack hospital, I was taken to the trauma unit where my wound was cleaned, treated and bound with bandages. I felt much better and the doctor assigned to me assured me that I would feel better in a few hours.
Sleeping on the bed in my wolf form didn’t feel convenient, so I shifted back into my human form. I pulled the bed covers up to my chin and found a comfortable sleeping position.
As I drifted off to sleep, I thought I heard Andrew’s voice speaking to someone in the hospital corridor.
“Let me know when the redhead wakes up,” he said. “Give her whatever she needs.”
I smiled and fell asleep. I dreamt about Hycinth. He was standing on a hill and waving at me. Suddenly, Rowan showed up and pushed him down the hill. I ran to where he landed and tried to help him up but he was Domarius.
“My darling, you are alive,” I whispered happily.
“Of course, I am,” said Andrew.
I opened my eyes and saw him smiling down at me. “I thought you’d never wake up,” he said.
I looked out the window and saw that it was morning. We had come here towards the evening time. Was this another day?
“How long have I been asleep?” I asked and yawned.
“Nearly twelve hours,” he said. “I was beginning to worry that you had slipped into a coma but the doctor assured me that you were only sleeping.”
“Oh,” I said. “It didn’t feel that long.”
“I can imagine. Are you ready to start your first day in Riverland?”
His cheerfulness rubbed me the wrong way. Wasn’t it too early for this?
“I’m not a morning person,” I complained.
“Fair enough,” he said happily. “I’ll be back in the afternoon.”
“No!”
“What?”
“Um, I mean… maybe in the evening?” I said cautiously. I didn’t want to offend my kind host but I wasn’t in the mood for his upbeat presence either.
“Listen, I know you’re just trying to take in the whole situation but trust me, you have nothing to worry about,” he assured me. “My parents can’t wait to meet you.”
Oh, man! I groaned internally.
“I’ll send my assistants from the Alpha House to bring you a dress and some good food,” he said. “I know hospital food is nothing but crap.”
I smiled at his dry joke. “What’s an Alpha House?” I asked.
“That’s where my family and I live. We don’t have a palace here. My family isn’t into all that royalty nonsense.”
“Lucky you,” I said dryly.
“It’s one of the reasons why Antonio hated this place. He wanted to be royalty and he hated how my parents lived like everyone else in the pack.”
“I can imagine. Antonio liked the finest things in life.”
“And his greed for those fine things got him killed,” said Andrew bitterly. “Anyway, none of that matters now. I’ll be back later to take you home.”
He walked away and I felt a sinking sensation in the pit of my stomach. The way he said his last statement made it seem as if he was taking me home to show me off to his parents. Was that even possible? He didn’t even know me well enough to do that.
Am I overthinking the situation or should I be worried about Andrew’s excitement?
A nurse walked into my room with a bright smile. “How are you feeling this morning?” She asked me.
“Good,” I replied.
“I’m happy to hear that,” she said warmly. She stretched her hand towards me and said, “Here, I believe this is yours.”
I looked at what she was offering me and recognized that dreadful necklace that kept putting me in trouble.
“I don’t want it,” I said. “You can keep it.”
“Oh, that’s not allowed here,” she said. “The hospital staff are not permitted to accept gifts from patients without the medical director’s approval.”
“Fine. Give it to me,” I said. “Thanks.”
She smiled in response. “Would you like some food? The menu is on your bedside table. Why don’t you have a look?”
“Uh, never mind about that. I’m not hungry yet,” I said. I needed some time alone to think and this chitchat was distracting me.
“As you wish,” she said. “Press the button on the wall if you need any assistance and we’ll come to you.”
“Sure, thanks,” I said and sighed with relief when she left. Now, I could understand why Antonio wanted out of this pack. They were a weird lot. Too polite, too nice.
Or was I the problem? I had gotten so used to being abused and insulted that these little acts of kindness seem suspicious to me.
I probably need to get my head checked when all of this was over. If it’s ever going to be over because I keep finding myself in a new territory every other year.
Sigh!
Someone knocked on my room door. “Come in,” I said.
A petite blond walked in with the signature River Pack cheerful smile. She was carrying a bag that looked too heavy for her to bear. She dropped it beside my bed.
“Hi, I’m Paula,” she said cheerfully. “I am one of Andrew’s assistants. He wanted me to show you these dresses so that you can choose the one you like the most. He can’t wait for you to introduce you to Grant and Alana.”
“Grant and Alana?” I asked.
“Yes. His parents,” she explained.
“You mean the Alpha and the Luna of the River Pack?”
“Yeah. We don’t go by formal titles here,” she said. “We like to see ourselves as equals even though everyone knows their positions and duties.”
“Nice,” I said. I wasn’t impressed but that wasn’t important now.
“Let me see them,” I said and Paula opened the bag.
There were different pretty dresses in it made of various luxurious fabrics. They reminded me of the clothes in Sahid’s mother’s house.
A sad smile crossed my face when I remembered the Lycan pimp. I hoped I’d get a chance to see him again and apologise to him properly.
“Oh, this one is perfect!” Paula gushed excitedly. She was holding up a green dress in the air and grinning.
I rolled my eyes. “It’s so cliché,” I said. “I know what you’re going to say. It sets off my green eyes and compliments my red hair perfectly.”
Her smile dimmed. “Uh, yes,” she said. She looked disappointed that I wasn’t impressed. Suddenly, her bright brown eyes lit up again.
“I know what you need,” she said and pulled out a white dress from underneath the pile. It was a combination of silk and tulle.
“I’m not a bride,” I said with a scoff. “I’m not wearing that.”
She gave me a puzzled look. “What do you mean? These are bridal dresses.”
My brain froze. “I beg your pardon?”
“Andrew announced to everyone in the Alpha house this morning that he has found his bride. Your mating ceremony will take place this evening after you meet Grant and Alana.”
“What?”
Paula looked confused. “Didn’t you know? Didn’t he tell you?”
I shook my head. “I think there’s been a mistake, Paula. I am not getting mated to Andrew or anyone else in this pack today.”
“But – “
“Listen, how do I get out of here?” I asked desperately.
“Are you ready to go to the Alpha House?”
“No!” I yelled at her in frustration. “I need to get out of this place. This Riverland place where everyone is weird and unbelievably kind.”
Paula dropped the dress slowly. “I think I know what is happening,” she said quietly.
“What?” I asked.
“You’re still traumatized,” she replied.
“Traumatised? No, I’m perfectly ok. I just need to get out of here.”
She leaned forward and pressed the button beside my bed. She was watching me with sympathetic eyes the whole time.
“What are you doing?” I asked. “Why did you press that?”
A new nurse came in, smiling widely. I nearly rolled my eyes.
“You called?” She asked me.
“No!”
“Yes!”
Paula and I replied at the same time. The nurse gave us a weird look.
“I think she needs to be sedated,” Paula said to the nurse calmly. “She’s a bit disoriented from her last traumatic experience.”
“Excuse me?” I snapped at her. “How did you arrive at that conclusion?”
The nurse ignored me and nodded at what Paula had said. She turned and left the room.
“What the hell are you doing?” I asked Paula angrily.
When she turned to look at me, her bright smile and sympathetic look were gone. They were replaced with a cold look of jealousy that I was more familiar with.
“If none of us is good enough for Andrew, then you can’t be good enough for him too,” she said softly.
“What?” I whispered in shock.
The nurse returned with a syringe filled with a lightly coloured liquid. I figured out what was about to happen and I resisted.
Paula pinned me down on the bed, making it impossible for me to get up and run. I was surprised to see that she was stronger than I’d guessed.
The nurse stabbed my upper arm with the needle and I watched helplessly as the liquid entered my body. I instantly became weak and sleepy.
“Now, dear, stranger. Relax…” said Paula with a victorious smile. “Sleep off the nightmare, darling. When you wake up, you’ll feel better. I hope.”
The nurse giggled and Paula grinned too. As I drifted off to unconsciousness, I saw how they exchanged looks and smiled at each other.