Darkness. That was all I knew. Voices drifted through the fog, distant and muffled like I was underwater. I tried to open my eyes, but my body would not obey. Something beeped steadily nearby. Hospital. I was in a hospital.
"Is anything the matter, John?" An older voice. Male. Concern laced through every word.
I did not recognize it, but another voice responded. One I knew. John. The Alpha King's brother.
"She's in a coma. She attempted suicide." John's voice was tight with anger. "Thanks to you for the restraining order."
The words hit me even through my fog. He was talking about me. To his brother. To the Alpha King.
"A friend is dying. I need to see her." John's footsteps moved away. "I hope you will be able to explain this to Cody one day, if anything happens to his mother."
Cody. My son. My chest ached with a pain that had nothing to do with whatever they had done to save my life. What had I done? What had I almost taken from him?
Silence fell. The beeping continued its steady rhythm. Someone else was in the room now. I could smell antiseptic and something else. Pack doctor. Richard.
"Her heart is stabilizing." Richard's voice was clinical, professional. "She will be out of the coma by dawn, latest."
Footsteps. Movement. The rustle of clothing and papers. He was checking my vitals, adjusting something. I wanted to tell him I could hear him, but my mouth would not form words.
"Nonna, you can stay in my lounge tonight. There's a bed there." Richard sounded tired. "I'll have someone bring you clean clothes."
"I'm staying with her." Nonna. My best friend. Her voice was raw, scratched. She had been crying. "I'm not leaving Aria's side."
"You can't stay in the ICU unless you want to wait outside the door." Richard's tone softened. Gentle. "But we can check on her every hour."
"I'm not leaving." Nonna was stubborn when she wanted to be. I would have smiled if I could.
More footsteps. Heavy ones. Male. The scent of pine and rain filled my senses. Pack scent. Familiar.
"John." Richard's voice turned cold. "I should applaud your brother for his kindness toward Aurora."
The sarcasm was sharp enough to cut. Even I felt it.
"Can I talk to you privately?" John asked. Pleading. Desperate.
Richard did not answer immediately. I heard him move closer to Nonna. "Come to my lounge. We'll check on her every hour. When she's ready to wake up, I'll let you stay."
"I already said I'm not leaving Aria's side." Nonna's voice cracked.
Richard sighed. Footsteps moved across the room. John said something too quiet for me to hear. Then Richard spoke again.
"Fine. Let's talk outside."
More footsteps. A door opened and closed. Nonna moved closer. I felt her hand on mine, warm and solid. Real.
"Aurora, why didn't you talk to me first?" Her voice broke completely now. Tears. She was crying. "Before you did what you did? You know I would be there for you. Always. If you had just reached out to me."
Her fingers tightened around mine. Squeezed.
"Did you think about me? About Cody? About Richard?" Nonna's breath hitched. "Did you think about the people who truly love you? Who would do anything for you? Why didn't you consider us, Aria?"
Guilt crashed through me. Wave after wave. I wanted to apologize, to explain, to tell her I was sorry. But my body remained still. Unresponsive.
"We love you." Nonna's voice dropped to a whisper. "But it feels like you don't love us back. Not Cody. Not any of us. How could you even think about ending your life? Did you take one single minute to think about how we would feel?"
She was right. I had not thought. I had only felt. The restraining order. The Alpha King taking Cody from me. The pack's rejection. The shame. The crushing weight of it all. I had wanted the pain to stop. I had not thought past that moment.
"If you ended your life, you would have destroyed ours too." Nonna was sobbing now. Full, broken sobs. "You would have put us all in misery. That's selfish, Aria. So selfish. You didn't even think about Cody. Your own son. What you did, what you almost did, it's not justifiable."
She was right about everything. The darkness around me felt heavier now. Suffocating. I deserved every word. Every accusation. I had failed everyone. My son most of all.
"Please wake up." Nonna's forehead pressed against my hand. I felt her tears on my skin. Hot and wet. "Please, Aria. We need you. Cody needs you. Don't leave us. Not like this."
The beeping continued. Steady. Constant. My heart was still beating. I was still here. Still alive.
But for how long? And when I woke up, what would I face? The Alpha King's restraining order still stood. Cody was still beyond my reach. The pack still viewed me as nothing. Worthless.
Nonna's hand remained in mine. Anchor. Lifeline. The only thing tethering me to this world.
Outside my room, voices rose. John and Richard. Arguing. About me. About the Alpha King. About what happened.
I had caused this. All of it. The pain. The chaos. The destruction.
Nonna was right. What I had tried to do was unforgivable. But as the darkness pulled at me again, dragging me back under, one thought remained clear.
When I woke up, I would have to face the consequences of my actions. And the Alpha King would make sure I paid for every single one.