86.

-HER-

“Cybele?” I hear someone calling me while I seem to be floating in the air, over the clouds. I don’t know what I am doing there or how I got there but I am enjoying it nonetheless.

“Cybele?” The same voice calls for me. I frown because every time that voice calls my name, I seem to get lower and lower. Suddenly, I am being shaken. I groan out loud in annoyance.

“She is waking up. Call the doctor,” The same voice says. I am instantly being thrown into bewilderment because none of the words spoken by that voice makes sense to me.

“Cybele,” The same voice calls me again. I groan out louder this time. I happen to recognize the voice now. It belongs to a familiar face whose owner goes to college with me but I am unable to recall her name.

For a couple of moments, the voice stops to bother me and I go back to enjoying my time floating in the air. All of a sudden, dark clouds take over the white ones and start to pour on me. I cry out in annoyance before snapping my eyes open.

“Cybele, you’re awake!” The same familiar voice speaks while I blink several times to get rid of my blurred vision. It takes me a couple of moments to be able to see properly. When my vision restores completely, I find Lisa sitting in front of me with a glass of water in her hand.

Suddenly, the dream I was having starts to make sense and with that, I am reminded of all the incidents that had taken place since yesterday.

“Are you alright?” Lisa asks after seeing the look of bewilderment decorating my face.

“Yeah,” I groan groggily.

“What time is it?” I try to sit up as I ask her. The small pain on my neck that I was feeling last night is gone and so is my headache. I am feeling better than yesterday but still lethargic due to the medicine that Agatha had given me last night.

“It’s eight in the morning. Would you like some water?” She asks and I nod gently. While she pours another glass of water for me, I am suddenly reminded of the council and everything else that was supposed to happen yesterday but it couldn’t because I was abducted.

After I am done drinking the water, I ask more questions to Lisa, “Where’s Jake? Is the council still here?”

“He’s with the council,” She answers me with a cold nod. It sends a shiver down my spine. I wonder what the council would be thinking of me? I already have been told how nasty they could be. I couldn’t help but feel anxious. My disappearance might have given them the wrong ideas about me.

Agatha visits me soon and checks me. I am sent to take a C.T. scan of my head to make sure I didn’t suffer any brain injury. After I come back from the C.T. scan room, I find Jake already waiting for me in my hospital room.

His eyes light up as soon as he sees me.

“I missed you,” He groans and pecks my lips even before I could respond to him. His arms are already around me and he is hugging me tight enough to almost choke me.

“Is the meeting over?” I ask him the first thing.

“Yes,” He answers with a deep sigh.

“What did the council say?” I ask him, sensing unfamiliar anxiety through the bond. I know it belongs to him and from the look decorating his face, I can say that it’s bothering him. He stays silent at his and rather buries his face in the crook of my neck.

As much as I want him, I am aware that we are still in the pack hospital and Agatha could come bursting right into my room without any warning like last night. For some reason, this place has started to annoy me.

It gives me the feeling of being sick and I don’t like it. I want to feel normal again. I want to go back to Jake’s place as soon as possible.

“Jake,” I speak up when he seems to be getting lost. Whenever his hot breath blows over my skin, I shiver. “Jake,” I shake him and he groans. I make him look at me and that’s when I notice that he looks tired. Some bags are starting to appear under his eyes. It’s evident that he hadn’t slept all night and yesterday’s incidents must have had put him under a lot of stress.

“Aww, you’re tired. Aren’t you?” I speak to him gently while running my hands through his hair. He instantly relaxes before dropping his face back into the crook of my neck. He stays silent for a while. I could feel the anxiety in him fade away to some extent.

After a while, I thought he fell asleep but as soon as I move slightly, he sits up in alert.

“I am sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you,” I tell him. He sighs and leans back against the head of my hospital bed. He rests his head back and closes his eyes for a moment while I watch him warily. His breaths are paced but I know that he isn’t asleep.

“Cybele,” He breathes after a couple of moments. “The Judge wants to meet you,” He tells me. The anxiety is back instantly. I am somewhat feeling nervous myself. “But you don’t have to meet them if you don’t feel like meeting them,” He is quick to tell me. I know he has said that to put me in ease but I can tell that he isn’t very confident about this himself.

“What did they think about my disappearance?” I ask him nervously.

“They know everything,” He answers, “They even know that Arles saved you. Tiffany has been put to trial and today she will be sent to Bircilla. Some Lycans will be visiting us around afternoon to take her away,”

Silence falls between us while I am processing everything that he has told me.

“How did they know that Arles saved me?” I ask.

“The Judge looked at the bodies and he knew right away. I am sure he knows Arles better than any other wolf alive,”

“And he wants to meet me after this?”

“Yes, Cybele,”

“Okay, I’ll meet him,” I tell him, taking both of us by surprise. He stares at me momentarily before asking, “Are you sure, Cybele?”

“I am,” I tell him, “I was going to meet the council before being kidnapped anyway,”

Jake wasn’t happy with my decision previously and neither does he looks satisfied at this moment but I must do this.

“Alright,” He mutters before leaving the room. Lisa visits me again and after making sure that I am doing fine, she goes away. Meanwhile, I freshen up and get ready to meet the Judge.

Jake comes back shortly after, this time there is no emotion on his face but I know he isn’t very sure about this.

“Are you ready?” He asks me while scanning me from head to toe.

“Yes. Is he here?” I ask him. He nods and my heart starts to palpitate in my chest. Instantly, a knock is heard on the door before an unknown wolf in grey clothes enters. At first, I thought that he's the Judge but as soon as I see the chair in his hands, I know that he is someone else but most likely from the council.

He places that high wooden chair in front of my bed before glancing at Jake and me once.

“His excellency wishes to talk to your mate alone,” The wolf speaks to Jake. Jake stares at the wolf pensively. I know that he isn’t happy about this but after a couple of tense moments, he walks out of my room along with the wolf from the council.

I hold my breath and wait for the wolf who is called the Judge of the council. I have never seen him, only heard about him. After a very long minute, finally, the door to my room creaks open very lightly before a very tall man with sleek white hair walks in.

He has a white beard and his face is covered with wrinkles. I and my heart freeze as soon as his grey eyes land on me. The air in the room suddenly changes. I can feel this surge of power all of a sudden as the door closes behind him.

With his cold eyes trained on me, he stalks towards the chair that had been brought in a few moments ago. Meanwhile, I am left to question my decision about meeting the Judge.