Tish POV
I am tired of being in this hospital bed, but the doctors keep insisting I am not well enough to leave yet. Little do they know I have been checking my chart whenever they leave the room. My neck is healing slowly, and I am being held here until they decide what to do with Kai. I get the feeling they think I will try to intervene.
Two days ago, I tried to make a break for it in the middle of the night. The guard outside of my room chased me through the hospital until I was cornered in a dead end. He tried to give me the dignity to walk back to my room on my own, but we all know I didn't take that option. So, he carried me over his shoulder and cuffed me to the bed.
I am pouting as I flip through the channels on the grainy TV. Not even Kaden has been to see me. I am starting to get lonely, and the nurses are all giving me the cold shoulder. The door opens slowly, and Raven walks in. She frowns when she looks at me.
"Why are you cuffed to the bed?" She asks.
"I tried to make a break for it," I say like it's no big deal. "Now I am a prisoner."
"Oh," Raven says.
"I know I am being held here until after Kai's trial," I inform her. "I might be a human, but I am not stupid."
"No one thinks you are stupid," she tells me. "We are concerned you would seek out Kai."
"And what if I did?" I snap at Raven. I know I should be treating her with more respect, but I am tired of being lied to. "He is my mate. I want him to be released from the dungeons."
Raven pulls up a chair close to my bed. She looks tired. There are dark bags under her eyes, and her hair is pulled into a messy bun. In the brief time that I have known her, I have never seen her look disheveled. Pregnancy must be taking a toll on her body.
Raven sighs loudly before she begins. "Alpha Kai is no longer in the dungeons."
I hop up, forgetting that I am cuffed to the bed, and I am quickly yanked back down. "I want to see him," I demand. "He has to know that I still care for him."
"I can't let you see him," she says. "He is being held in the psychiatric ward of this hospital."
My chest starts to tingle, and the machine monitoring my heart rate starts to go crazy. Raven's eyes dart to the machine, and she clamps her mouth shut.
"I need to see him," I plead with her. "I want to tell him I am not angry."
Raven stays silent. The only noise in the room is the machine's erratic beeping. The longer she stays quiet, the more the urgency to leave this room builds in my chest. I begin to tug on the cuffs, desperate to break free, but it is a fruitless effort.
"Why didn't Kaden tell me?" I cry. "Is this why he has been avoiding me?"
"We needed to be sure we were right," Raven finally speaks.
"Kai is not crazy," I jump to his defense. "I know crazy. I lived through crazy."
Raven rests her head in her hands. She is fighting back tears. "We know Kai is not crazy."
"Just explain to me what is going on," I beg. "I can handle it."
"According to Kaden, Kai has not been himself since you arrived at the pack," she begins. "He demanded that Kai be evaluated by a doctor."
"And?" I ask anxiously.
"A large amount of Belladonna was found in his blood. Someone has been poisoning him," she informs me.
I swallow hard. I know what she is trying to say without saying it. I am suspect number one.
"That's why Kaden hasn't been to visit me. He thinks I am the one that poisoned Kai," I say aloud.
"With your history of aligning with the recusants, you can see how he came to that conclusion," Raven replies softly.
"You have been in my mind," I shout at her. "You know I didn't do this. I felt you flip through every memory in my mind. You know every move I have ever made."
"I know," Raven sighs. "But Kaden isn't listening to reason. If I could have your permission to project your memories into his mind, perhaps he can be persuaded."
"All of them?" I ask.
"You have not had an easy life," Raven reminds me. "If your mates are to understand you, they need to see it all. The good, the bad, and the ugly."
"There isn't much good," I mutter.
Raven looks at me with tears in her eyes. "I have been in a lot of minds, and yours was by far the most heartbreaking."
"Do I receive an award for the most childhood trauma?" I ask sarcastically.
"You can't hide behind your humor forever," Raven tells me.
I push my lip out in a dramatic pout. "Does he need to see it all? I don't want his sympathy."
"No," Raven says. "Just what has happened since you arrived here."
"Fine," I groan. "Just do it so I can get out of this fucking room."
Raven gets up from her seat and walks toward the door.
"Wait," I call after her, and she turns slowly. "How is Kai?"
Raven's face falls. The frown lines are deep on her face, and I realize it isn't the pregnancy that is making her tired. It is her job as the Luna Queen.
"They are still trying to rid his body of the poison. He can't distinguish between what is real and what is not," she tells me.
"Oh," I reply sadly. I know how dangerous Belladonna can be. If he were a human, he may not walk away from this. I pray that his wolf can heal him.
"Raven," I call out to her one more. time. "You should really be resting Pregnancy is hard on your body without the added stress of being the Luna Queen."
Raven smirks. "And let the men be in charge? I do not think so."
I chuckle to hide my sadness. It seems like no matter what I do or where I go, I cause ruin in my path. My first instinct is to run, but I promised Kai I would not. So I guess I have to sick it out and see what happens next.