Chapter 157

I watched the news on and off for the duration of my first day in the infirmary, shocked by all of the changes in Packhaven. Officials were being arrested and brought in, along with CEOs and other high-ranking individuals in various companies around the country.

And it wasn’t just Packhaven—the round-up of corruption spread beyond to Lustrum and even Lupinton.

All the while, I was being hailed as the hero who had enabled all of this to happen. I gasped when news reporters cited pieces of my articles from the dark web, hailing how I had compiled the evidence in the face of great personal danger.

The biggest impact and shift were in women’s rights. Emergency legislation was being pushed through, protecting women in the workplace against sexual harassment. Several times, I caught myself just gaping at the television, my mind a complete blank as to how we had arrived in this situation.

This was exactly what I wanted and something I had never in a million years expected.

True to her word, Dr. Perez allowed visitors first thing the following morning, and I would have been disappointed if it hadn’t been Charles who rushed in first thing. But it was.

He practically pounced on the bed, looking me over and groaning. “What did they do to you?” he moaned.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I didn’t mean to worry you.”

He pressed a kiss to my lips, silencing me. “I don’t want to hear it,” he said. “You’ve done nothing to deserve this. This isn’t how you treat anyone, even a criminal, even if you had been as bad as they seemed to implicate you at first. Murderers don’t even deserve torture like this.”

He stood up, his face aflame with anger. David hurried over and put a hand on Charles’ shoulder, whispering in his ear. Charles gave a sharp nod and then backed down slightly.

“You’re right,” he murmured.

The next person to hurry over and hug me was Theo. “I’ve been so unbelievably worried about you,” he said. “I know we’re not supposed to get emotional about our charges, but if anything had happened to you…” He stopped and corrected himself. “I mean if there were any way I could have prevented what did happen to you.”

I covered his hand with mine and gave him what I hoped was a reassuring look. However, the one thing I hadn’t had access to since arriving in the medical ward was access to a mirror. I had no idea how bad I looked and if there were any words that I could use to convey to him that, in the end, I was going to be all right.

I kept his hand in mine and then took Charles’ hand in my other and drew them both closer to me. “The one thing that was a blessing in all of this, that I need you guys to understand,” I explained, “is that the goddess was watching over me. I don’t know if it was a coping mechanism or if she really spoke to me. But we had several conversations. She willed me to be strong, and then, in what I can only assume was a true blessing, she left me unconscious.”

I reached up, gingerly touching one of my still puffy cheeks. “All of this, I don’t remember it happening. I remember the pain as if it was a haze in a dream, in and out. But I wasn’t aware of what was going on most of the time.”

Charles and Theo led out matching growls. Before all of this had happened, I would have expected that the show of protectiveness from Theo might bring out either jealousy or suspicion in Charles. But something seemed to have happened between the three men while I was unconscious that left them with some sort of understanding because the two of them seemed to present a united front against the ills surrounding me.

A nurse poked her head in the door, and she took in the three of my visitors and shook her head. “Ms. Elena, you have another visitor who would like to see you. But I was only supposed to allow two, and only because Mr. Rafe requires a bodyguard did I allow three. Someone’s going to have to step outside if you’d like to see the other visitor.”

“I’ll go,” David volunteered as he looked at me. “Theo was quite insistent that he not be separated from you again in the future. I hope you like Theo-shaped burs stuck to your clothes because that’s what you’re getting.”

I chuckled and stopped because it hurt both my shoulder and my face, and instead gave a tiny nod. “Thank you guys, all of you, for coming and for not giving up on me.”

“Never,” David said, leaving the room.

A moment later, Jasmine came in. She rushed to the bed, giving a gleeful squeal and stopping shy of pouncing on me. Then she took a good look at me and groaned.

“They really put you through the wringer, didn’t they?” she said. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not like you did anything wrong,” I said. “It’s not your job to apologize. Still, why don’t you focus on telling me what you’re so happy about?”

“That’s easy,” she trilled. “You single-handedly changed the lives of every woman in Packhaven and Southhaven and half of those in Orlune. I can’t believe that I have a friend who’s a real honest-to-goddess hero.”

I could feel a blush creeping up my cheeks at the recognition. “I never set out to be a hero. I just wanted to do what was right.”

She leaned over and pecked a kiss on one cheek and then the other gently so as not to hurt me. “And that right there is what drew me to being your friend in the first place. I can’t believe I’m friends with a legend.”

I couldn’t help rolling my eyes at this. “I’m not going to allow any more visitors if you’re all going to gush over my supposed nobility. I’m just me.”

“Oh, you’ll allow visitors.”

I gasped and looked at the doorway. Gwen stood imperiously in the entrance with the nurse hovering behind her, trying to explain the number of visitors allowed.

She brushed aside the poor women’s protests and shooed everyone out.

“Even you,” she commended when Charles lingered in the doorway.

Once the two of us were alone, she pulled a chair beside the head of the bed and took a seat next to me. She drew in a deep breath of my scent, her eyes closing. It wasn’t until she’d finished a slow exhale that she reopened them and focused on me.

“My dear, what have you gotten yourself into?” Her clean cotton scent washed over me, drawing up a desire to be home, but her tone held disappointment.

My lip quivered. “If you’re worried that I’m a risk to Charles—”

A sharp shake of her head cut me off. “I’m worried for your safety, Elena. And for what the loss of you would do to my son again.” She laughed at my wide-eyed stare. “Did you think he hadn’t mentioned your temporary separation? He also called and let me know you are engaged and the reason for your discretion. I approve, by the way, of all of it. And I was wrong. Now would be a terrible time to have a baby.”

“B-but I’m a hero now. I guess.”

“Are you?” She eyed me carefully, then gave her head a tiny shake, indicating I shouldn’t say anything. “Circumstances aren’t always what they seem. The wife of an alpha must have an impeccable poker face and learn to keep her cards close. The amount of change you’ve ushered in is bound to upset someone.”

“Then, as a reporter, how can you be sure the time will ever be right? I don’t want to disappoint you, but—”

“I wasn’t born yesterday, Elena. Even if you stop reporting right now, you’ll be embroiled in this mess for a few years at the minimum. I know you’re reveling in the excitement your new career is bringing. So why don’t we simply revisit this subject in a few years? By the time you’re sure your newest enemies have gone to trial and been properly incarcerated, the shine may have worn off, and I won’t need to convince you to step away. Life in the spotlight can be exhausting.”

“Or I might have amassed enough enemies to last the rest of my life.”

She chuckled. “I don’t doubt you could manage that, but let’s just wait and see.”

I wanted to argue the knowing smile off her lips but held my tongue. This was nearly a peace between Charles’ mother and us. He’d be so disappointed if I screwed that up just to argue my point in this moment.