JADEN'S POV.
Everything was hazy and a dull ache pulsed in the back of my skull as if someone was hitting a hammer in my head but in a slow motion way, and my limbs felt like they'd been crushed under a boulder.
As my breath wasted no time as it rushed, infact came in short bursts, shallow and ragged.
The light overhead was bright…too bright. It stabbed through my eyelids and forced them open.
Wait a minute, I was in a white wall, sterile, clean and the sharp scent of antiseptic burned my nose.
I blinked once, twice and then I jerked upright as there was just this one person that crossed my mind.
"Diana!" That was the only name that rang in my head.
My body screamed in protest, but I didn't care as pain surged through my sides, reminding me of every claw mark, every blow I'd taken trying to protect her.
I looked down as I instantly saw my paws. I was still in my 'fluffy' form and I had no time to change back because I don't think this is a safe place to do my ' thing.'
I leapt from the hospital bed, ignoring the wires and tubes that snapped away from my body.
My heart beats so hard that I was scared that they might have gotten to Diana while I thought I was dying or already dead and then I scanned the room.
Then I felt it…a familiar warmth, tiny arms wrapping tightly around my furry neck.
"Fluffy!" she cried out.
"Diana.'' I said in my thoughts as she couldn't hear me right now but thank goodness she didn't call me by my real name.
Relief flooded through me like a wave crashing on a shore as I was very much happier that she was alive and also that she was safe.
My limbs trembled, not from weakness but from the emotion that surged so powerfully within me I nearly collapsed again as the happiness in me knew no bound.
I nuzzled her cheek with my face and nose and then I licked her face, letting out a soft whine that I hoped told her everything I couldn't say.
Her face was still streaked with dirt, and her clothes were torn and smudged from our time in the woods.
Yet her eyes shone bright, and her giggle…oh, her giggle…was the most healing sound I'd ever heard.
She was okay, but the moment didn't last.
A sharp voice cut through the air like a whip.
"Get that beast away from the dog!"
A pair of hands snatched Diana away from me, much to her protest as my hackles rose instantly. My eyes wasted no time as it moved to the source of the interruption.
She stood like she owned the world…or thought she did.
She looks in her Mid-to-late thirties, overly powdered face or what do women call that again, uhm…foundation in fact whatever it may be and then her lips caked in blood-red lipstick that screamed too much effort.
She was draped in a gown so flamboyant, I wondered if she was about to perform on stage as she's lucky I wasn't in my human form, I could have laughed so hard that she wouldn't dare to put on such a costume again oh I mean clothes.
Everything about her reeked of false importance and I just hated her from the look at first sight.
" But dammit, did this lady just refer to my little Diana as a beast? She must be really foolish to call my sweet little Diana a beast.'' but they couldn't hear any of my words as a dog couldn't talk.
The woman turned to the younger female who she had warned not to allow Diana close to me as the young lady who wore a white coat and had her hair tied up in a professional bun, and I needed no one to tell me that she's the pack nurse or one of the pack nurses.
"Don't let that mutt near the girl again. From now on, this dog belongs to me. My personal Luna hound. Can't you see how beautiful the dog is."
Immediately hearing all she had said…I froze as my ears twitched and I imagined who this foolish woman wanted as her personal hound.
Oh, so this was her…the infamous Luna of the Nightshade Pack as I had imagined someone formidable, powerful and maybe intimidating.
But no...This woman looked like someone who'd trip over her own ego.
I growled low in my throat.
So she thinks she can just claim me? A royal protector? The Beta of the Crystal Pack? The sworn guardian of the Alpha's only daughter? This woman has no idea who she's dealing with.
But I stayed still, I had no choice and Diana was here, as she was watching. And I couldn't blow my cover.
"I want him bathed," Luna barked. "He stinks of wildness. And send someone to clean up that little thing." She waved her hand dismissively at Diana like she was some unwanted speck of dust.
My ears flattened. My teeth clenched.
That "little thing" is your future queen, you clueless daughter of a swamp rat. Watch your tongue before I bite it off.
I paced a little, resisting the urge to bare my fangs. Not yet. Not until I was strong enough. Not until I had Diana far away from these wolves.
Luna swept out of the room like a thundercloud of perfume and poor decisions. The door clicked shut behind her.
"Hey, fluffy," the young woman said, walking toward me with cautious steps.
Fluffy, Again? Seriously? What is it with that name? Don't they know that it is only Diana who has the right to call me fluffy? I groaned inwardly.
She crouched in front of me, inspecting me with an oddly intense gaze. "You're not just a wolf, are you?" she murmured, her fingers pausing inches from my fur.
I stiffened, she then tilted her head. "Why do I feel like you understand me?"
I blinked, she leaned in even closer. "And why do I feel like you're human?"
My eyes widened
Oh no, shit!
I stayed still, praying she wouldn't figure it out, not now, not yet and I was too weak. I needed time.
But the way she looked at me…like she knew…made my fur stand as she raised one of my legs up as if to confirm something and my instincts scream to me "run!"