Page 64 of Lycan King's Claim
“I know, but right now I can't deal with that,” I murmur.
“That's why the Council sent me to speak with you in the first place,” I stop in my tracks, looking at her and seeing her eyes welling with tears. “You must understand that I am at odds with them on this issue,” she says to me when the doctor comes up behind her. Then he gestures toward the Sienna room, and my stomach sinks. I don't know why, but I have a strange feeling that this impromptu meeting is not going to go well for me.
32
I hear the world around me, sounds that seem distant and muted. My body is here, though somehow it feels like I am suspended in a void, disconnected from my physical form. I can hear Xandros' worried voice, a balm to my anxiety, but it is tinged with despair.
“Please, Sienna,” he whispers, his voice cracking with emotion. “You have to fight this.” He kisses my head, tucking the blankets around me. Unable to speak or move, I can only listen. “What is it?” he asks the doctor. The doctor starts discussing my condition with Xandros and the others present, news I've heard before, but relief fills me to hear it nonetheless. The news that our baby has survived brings a wave of relief, but it is short-lived, as the doctor continues on. “Her body is rejecting the bond; it's as if she's trapped in limbo, neither here nor there,” the doctor said solemnly.
“We already know this,” Xandros states, sounding annoyed.
“And I'm afraid there's no guarantee the baby will survive if she doesn't regain consciousness.”
“Is there nothing we can do?” Xandros asks desperately, his voice raw and broken.
“I wish there were, Your Highness. Perhaps…once the child is born, it might be best to let her go.” The words strike me like a physical blow, my heart shattering into a thousand jagged pieces. I want so desperately to scream, to tell them I am still here, still fighting, but my lips will not form the words, my voice silent and unresponsive. Panic sets in as the heart monitor beeps faster, reflecting my inner turmoil. Tears that I cannot shed burn in my eyes, and my thoughts race, desperate for a way to make them understand I'm still here.
“Xandros,” I whisper within my own mind, praying that he can somehow hear me via the mind link. “I'm still here…I'm still here.” But my silent plea goes unanswered, my words echoing back to me in the emptiness that held me captive. As the heart monitor continues to race, the tension in the room grows palpable, the atmosphere thick with fear and desperation.
“Get the nurse, bring some sedatives,”
“Sedatives? She can't move, I'm pretty sure she's sedated enough!” As the room falls into a hushed silence, all eyes on me, I focus every ounce of my being on calming down, so they don’t sedate me. Slowly, my heart rate settles, and I hear whoever is the closest let out a breath.
“Get out!” Xandros suddenly growls.
“Son,” Adina tries to say, but is cut off by his sharp growl.
“No, I won't entertain the idea of killing my mate,” he snarls. “Now get out!” he tells them.
“She's already dead,” comes the Doctor's voice, only this time firmer. The room falls so silent you could hear a pin drop. “Her body is alive, but she is an empty vessel, my King. I hoped I was wrong, but the Council sent other cases over, she's gone Xandros, when she got hurt it severed the bond, she died. Her body is alive because you forced the bond, but she will never wake, she will remain in this state.”
“That doesn't make sense, if she died, how is my baby still alive,” Xandros snarls.
“Because, as the witch said, she became the sacrifice, your severed bond is keeping her alive for that baby, it may not recognize you anymore, but it recognizes your child, once that baby is born, chances are the body will die with the bond, unless you can somehow magically force it to awaken and awaken her,”
“No, you're wrong,” Xandros tells him.
“I'm afraid I'm not…..here. Look for yourself. Every case of a broken bond has ended with the mate having to put them out of their misery. They are an empty vessel, some eventually died, others were…” he doesn't finish.
“Others killed their mate.”
“Yes, I'm sorry, my King, but it appears there is nothing we can do.”
“No, you're wrong. She'll come back, this isn't enough proof, this is four cases, there must be others,”
“They all end the same, but there is one sure way to tell, which we haven't tried,” Doctor Rami says, his words trailing off.
“What is it? Tell me.” Xandros snarls.
“Command her, command her to sit up, my King. All cases showed the same thing, that the bodies of those with severed bonds reacted to command, like muscle memory in a sense, they were empty vessels, but instinct still worked, like a…a… I don't know a zombie.”
“Zombies don't exist,” Xandros snarls.
“Correct, but I am trying to find a way to explain so you better understand, in film, movies if you will, even rabies, I guess might be a better example, they have no mind for impulse control or reason, they react on instinct are driven by it, same with those that suffered a broken bond, they react to command because it's in their nature, instinct to cower or flee near a predator, it will be the same for Sienna, until either they deteriorated and died on their own or were put down.” the doctor explains.
“That's your evidence?”
“Some lived like that for decades, others died,” Dr. Rami adds. “But there is only one way to find out, command your mate, you won't hurt your child, your mate no longer feels pain, and neither will your child,” he explains and my heart races a little faster.
