Chapter 8

Sleeping that night was almost impossible for me for two reasons. I slept some hours ago and Zariya was also another factor. I glanced at Hannah, who laid beside me on the bed with her eyes closed. She would have been in the guest room, but she said she would spend the night in my room. I couldn't say no. She had informed her fiancé that she would spend the night with us. He was fine with it.

"When will you sleep?"

Ah, she did that thing again.

"I can't sleep." I told her. "I'm worried something will go wrong."

"Nothing bad will happen." She assured me. "Go to sleep."

I closed my eyes and tried to relax my tense form. 'Nothing bad will happen. Nothing bad will happen.' I chanted in my head until I eventually got pulled into the world of slumber.

***

I woke with a start when Ared's scream tore through the silence of the night. Hannah got up too. The both of us dashed out of the room and toward Red and Logan's bedroom. On getting there, we saw Melody and Carter were about to go in, since they were the closest to Logan's bedroom.

"Red." Carter opened the door and froze.

I shoved him aside and let myself into the room. Lo-and-behold, Logan was on the floor with blood pouring out of his throat. Ared grabbed a cloth and tried to reduce the bleeding.

"Red, what happened?" I asked, going over to Logan. "Logan? Can you hear me?"

He made gagging noises. Not good.

"Carter, come help me carry him." I said. "We need to take him to the pack hospital."

He snapped out of his daze. "Yeah, um, okay."

Carter put one of Logan's hands around his shoulder, and I did the same. Ared could only cry as she followed us out of the room. Melody had gone to start the car. Hannah consoled Ared, seeing it was the only thing she could do.

"Logan, stay with me." We carefully went down the stairs and outside the house, where Melody was already waiting with the back door open.

After we got him into the car with cloth still tied around his neck, Carter went to the driver's side. Ared and I stayed with Logan at the back, while Melody stayed in the front with her mate.

"You guys go ahead." Hannah said. "I'll catch up."

Carter floored the gas pedal and drove out of the palace. We sped down the street for minutes. With each passing second, Ared sobbed even harder. She was afraid of losing her mate. I couldn't blame her, though. Who wouldn't be scared?

Carter made a quick turn and in no time, the pack hospital came into view. He parked the car and got down to help me carry Logan into the hospital. Hannah soon landed in her griffin form and shifted to her human self. Melody, again, rushed into the hospital to call the attention of doctors and nurses.

Mel soon returned with a doctor and nurses who were pushing a stretcher bed. We carefully put Logan on the bed and let them wheel him into the ER. When Ared made to follow them, I grabbed her by her hand.

"You can't go in there." I said as calmly as I could, even though I was a mess inside.

"But my mate needs me." She tried to make me loosen my grip. "Please let me go to him."

"They can handle it. He'll be fine."

"You don't understand." She cried. "He needs me."

"He needs you, I know. But right now, he needs the doctors more. You going in there will only be a distraction."

"Val is right." Hannah said. "Stay here. You need to tell us what happened."

She stopped fighting me. "I," she sniffled. "I was asleep until Logan woke me up with blood dripping down his neck. I screamed when I saw it. Someone had slit his throat, but it was if the person did not want him to die."

"You didn't see anyone?" Carter asked.

She shook her head. "No." She covered her mouth with her hands as tears slid down her cheeks like rain on a window. "What if something bad happens to him? What if I lose him?"

"You don't sound like a beta female." Mel said, "Be strong, Red. Logan is a strong man, he'll fight through this."

"Mel is right." I added. "Logan will be fine. He isn't going anywhere."

"Okay," she tried to convince herself. "He is fine."

"Where is your sister?" Hannah glanced around. "Is she not aware something happened?"

Now that she mentioned it, I realized Maya was not with us. Did she not hear Red's scream? It was impossible to not hear it despite our heightened sense of hearing. Unless...

"Maya," I sent through the link. "Maya."

No response.

"I can't reach her." Carter informed. "Do you think the same person has gotten to her?"

"No, no. She has to be fine." I snatched the car key from Carter and sprinted out of the hospital.

"Valeria." Hannah shouted. "Valeria, stop."

I didn't. I got into the car and started it before driving out of the area. I drove at a fast clip, praying and hoping that my sister was fine. I couldn't lose another sibling. She had to be fine. Maya was fine. Minutes later, I parked the car in front of the palace entrance and ran in.

"Maya!" I ran up the stairs, "Maya!"

She didn't respond.

"Valeria." I heard Hannah call. "Wait up."

I ignored her. "Maya!" I came to a halt in front of her room. My legs felt like jelly and would not move. "What if something is wrong?" I asked when I saw Hannah.

"Let's be hopeful."

I twisted the doorknob and opened the door. What greeted me was a sight I would never forget.

My sister lay on the ground with air pods in her ear as she lifted her body up and down, doing exercise. Who the hell exercises this late into the night? Furious, I went over to her and removed the air pods from her ears. If her mate was around, he would have done it for me, but I had asked Drake to get Hannah for me.

"Hey," she got up from the ground. "What was that for?"

"You almost killed me!" I shouted. "What is wrong with you?"

Maya glanced at Hannah. "Is something going on?"

"We thought you were dead." Hannah answered.

"Dead? Why would I be de-" her eyes reminded me of saucers when she saw blood on my shirt. "Is that blood?"

"It's ketchup." I answered sarcastically. "Didn't you hear Red's scream?"

"She screamed?"

"Of course she did. Someone slit Logan's throat and here you are, doing exercise."

"Oh, my goodness." She slapped a hand over her mouth. "Is he alright?"

"He is in the ER." I informed her. "Drop the air pods please and come with us to the hospital. You can't be here alone here, especially after what happened. Besides, we need to be there for Red as a family. She needs us now."

"Let me change into something else." Maya went to her closet. "I swear, I did not know something was going on." She mumbled, rummaging for what to wear.

I left the room and stayed outside. Hannah followed me. I don't know what I would have done if something had happened to Maya. I would be all alone. No sibling, no family. The thought weighed heavily on my heart and made me want to shed tears.

"Hey," Hannah turned me to face her. "She's fine. Don't worry too much. You're going to get old quickly if you keep this up."

"She could have been lying dead when I walked in." I swallowed saliva. "What would I have done?"

Hannah ran her hand up and down my back, hoping to comfort me. "You've seen her, haven't you? She's fine."

I nodded. At that precise moment, Maya walked out of the room. She sported a black and grey cargo pants and a big, black shirt. Her hair remained in a ponytail.

"Val, are you alright?" She questioned. "You're not hurt, are you?"

I shook my head. "I'm fine. Let's go."

<<<>>>

When we returned to the hospital, Red was signing some papers as she was Logan's mate. Her eyes were wet with tears and her lips quivered as she tried to control the waterworks. I went to Melody first. She ran a lot earlier, and it made me wonder if she was fine. She was pregnant, after all. Too much stress was not good for her and the baby.

"Mel?" She shifted on the hospital waiting chair for me to sit. "How do you feel?"

She rubbed her tummy. "Just a minor ache, but it's fine. I've been through much worse pain."

"If it hurts too much, let me know, okay?"

"I will." She smiled a little. "Um, V?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think the person who attacked Logan is the woman who resembles you?"

"I don't know." I said. "What I want right now is for Logan to get better. Have the doctors said anything?"

"Nothing yet." She glanced at Ared. "I feel sorry for her."

"Me too."

Melody and I said nothing for next thirty to forty minutes as we waited for the doctor. Red sat with Hannah and Maya while Carter leaned against the wall. Deep down, I prayed to Fitia that she spared Logan's life so that he could return to his waiting mate and tell us what actually happened. He was the only one who could tell that story. It made me think it was the reason the attacker didn't finish the job.

"Doctor?" Red got up when she saw the doctor come out of the ER. "How is Logan? Will he be fine?"

"He will be fine. He needs to rest for some time, but we believe he should wake up soon."

Red let out a sigh of relief with a hand on her chest. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

The doctor hung the stethoscope around his neck. "Alpha, may I speak to you in private?"

I looked at Red. "You can tell me here. We're family."

"Well, I think something was injected into the Beta's blood stream. I believe that substance kept his body stable because his wound was quite deep. It should have killed him. I confirmed my suspicions after we took some blood for sample. The blood in his vein was gold-colored, but what poured out of the wound was red."

"I don't understand." I said. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"Your majesty, it is possible the Beta was injected with the liquid that flows in the veins of gods."

"Ichor?" Carter asked, clearly as surprised as everyone else.

"Yes." The doctor confirmed. "We will run a test just to be sure."

"You do that." I said, "You're certain he will be fine, right?"

He nodded. "With the substance in him, he will recover quickly. Don't worry about a thing."

"Can we see him?" Red questioned with expectancy in her eyes.

"Not yet."

The hope in her eyes turned to disappointment when she was denied.

"Thank you." Melody told him.

"Not a problem." He bowed before walking past us.

Red slumped exhausted into the chair. She hugged herself, her eyes never leaving the door of the ER Logan was in. She was probably worried someone would go in if she looked away for a split second.

Maybe it was time I told them the truth. The entire story. Keeping it from them might put them in more danger. I didn't want anyone else to get in trouble, just in case this was Zariya's doing. There was a ninety-five percent chance it was.

"I have something to say." I announced, drawing their attention. "The truth about the man in the red suit and Tyrion. Also concerning what happened to Logan tonight."

By the time I was done explaining everything to them, everyone except Hannah was surprised and annoyed I kept such a thing from them.

"So, you're telling us that there's a possibility the person who attacked my mate is your past self?"

I nodded.

Red stood. "And you didn't think it was important to tell anyone?"

I didn't like her tone. It stirred something in me.

"I did not know things would get to this point."

"It has, okay?"

Maya gripped Red's wrist; a silent way of telling her to stop.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. The truth is, I don't know why she's looking for me, but after what happened, I believe she has found me. Again, we can't be a hundred percent sure until Logan wakes up. He alone can tell us what actually happened tonight."

"What about Aspro and Tyrion?" Carter crossed his arms over his chest. "What role do they play in this mess?"

"Tyrion... I mean, Mavros is here to make sure I don't fall in love with his brother for a second time. That won't happen again because Aspro has left. He won't be coming back."

"Still," Maya began. "You shouldn't have kept such a thing from us. We're family."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"Now that this secret is out of the way, we know what we're up against." Melody said. "A ghost with access to ichor."

"We're uncertain it is Zariya." I reminded her.

"Based on what you just said, it is her." Melody.

If it was her, what reason did she have to hurt Logan?