Chapter 46: Wishes

**Alice’s Point of view**


Everything stops. Time stops, my heart stops, the world stops.
Then everything collapses.
Cassie howls in pain and I realize that the uneasiness I have been feeling for the last few hours comes from him. 
"Alice, are you listening to me?" Melanie whispers.
I blink a few times and try to keep a straight face.
"Is it bad?"
She nods. "Their doctor examined him on the flight. He has no idea what it could be, but he thinks at this rate he won't last."
Dying. He's dying.
My heart is torn out and I collapse to the ground in pain and despair, alerting everyone.
"Get out of the way! Alice! Melanie, what's happening to her?" My mom asks in a panicked tone.
"I don't know, she just collapsed all of a sudden."
The voices become faint and I finally fall into unconsciousness.
I wake up in the Royal library, in my ball gown.
"Alice. I knew you would come."
I turn around and find Elliot in his tuxedo, lying on a couch against the wall. 
"Elliot!"
I run to him and kneel. He looks even worse than the last time I saw him and his eyes alternate between completely closed and half-open. He looks exhausted and breathing seems to be very painful for him.
"What's going on? Melanie told me you were poisoned?"
He nods weakly. "I passed out a few minutes ago. It's weird, I can still hear them around me but like they're far away. Very far away. I'm so tired Alice." He says in a breath.
I gently stroke his hair. "Don't worry. They'll figure it out." I say in what I hope is a reassuring tone.
"It's funny. You're not really here but I can still feel your hand on me." He blows out a breath as he closes his eyes, looking serene. "I didn't choose this place by chance, you know."  
"We can choose? I didn't know."
"I didn't know either. I was thinking about you and the happiest moment of my life and I found myself here, waiting for you. Do you know why this is the happiest moment of my life? Because of what happened after we met with the King."
I blush at the memory. "I remember." I say with a small smile but he can't see me. His eyelids move but he still doesn't open his eyes.
"This is the happiest moment of my life because for the first time since we met, things were simple. It should have been like this from the beginning. You know, I often imagine what our life would have been like if we were born in another pack. I would have jumped on you right away, taken you on a date to eat somewhere and then we would have gone to the skating rink and had ice cream and held hands in the street without fear of starting a war." He says quickly in a barely audible mumble. 
"Elliot ..."
"We'd have already mark each other, we'd have already mate, we might have even moved in together. Not in a room in the packhouse, no, in a little house with rooms for our pups and a terrace overlooking a little lake where we'd have a beautiful sunrise."
I smile softly at his idyllic dream. "A sunrise? I thought it was sunsets that were romantic."
"No, sunsets are sad. I'd rather celebrate a new day with you than a day that has just passed and brings us a little closer to death. We would meet again afterward, near the Moon Goddess, but life is so beautiful that we must enjoy it before it's too late and enjoy the future, not the past."
A silent tear gently runs down my cheek. I wish we could have had this life.  
"Leo wanted to run with Cassiopeia. Do you realize they've only seen each other twice? The first time was when we knew we were mates, fighting off rogues, and the second was when we ran away when we were prisoners. They never ran and played together. They would have sniffed and chased each other. They would have found a quiet place where they would have fallen asleep with their paws entwined. Would you have liked that Cassiopeia?"
*"Yes. Leo. Where is he?"* Cassie sobbed.
"I don't know. I haven't heard him since I got on the plane."
His breathing becomes heavy and he speaks precipitously.
"We could have had a good life together. I would have made you happy. I would have liked to see your face one last time but I can't open my eyes anymore." He says, a tear running down his temple.
"Elliot, I..."
The scene slowly fades and I find myself alone in the hallway.
"Elliot!" I call out to him, searching for him.
"I'm sorry, I think I’m leaving."
The scene fades a little more, I feel him walk away. 
"Elliot wait! Hold on we'll figure out what this is, we'll find a cure, you just have to hang in there."
"Alice, the doctors just said they don't know what I ingested. We both know I was poisoned by one of the plants you discovered in the book. Only witches have a cure and no one has seen one alive for centuries. It's hopeless."
"Don't say that! We know that there is one who has grown this plant. I will find her, I promise."
"I'm running out of time. I have so many regrets. We should have done so much together."
The scene fades again until it is completely dark. I call Elliot and beg him to hold on but I feel him slipping away.
I open my eyes to a sterile white room that is eerily familiar, Elliot's last words echoing in my mind.
"I love you, Alice."