Chapter 97: ⁹⁷: connection

The room erupted into panic as Edwin rushed forward and caught Kael in his arms before he could hit the floor.

"What is happening to him?" Edwin shouted, his face paling with fear. "What is happening to my son?"

"His chest!" the man beside him exclaimed, his eyes widening as he looked at Kael. "It’s happening again."

Edwin’s expression changed instantly. "No..." he whispered, looking down at his son. "We have to do something about this. We can’t let those bastards know about it. If they find out, Kael will be in immense danger."

Kael struggled to keep his eyes open in his father’s arms. His vision had begun to blur, but he could still hear the two men speaking in hushed, frightened voices.

He didn’t understand what they were talking about. He only understood that something was wrong.

His chest felt as though it were being squeezed from the inside, and the pain kept getting worse with every passing second.

"Mom..." he whispered, a tear slipping from the corner of his eye.

...

"Alpha... Alpha, can you hear me?" Faint voices reached me through the darkness, dragging me out of the strange trance I had fallen into.

"Mom!" I jolted upright, my breathing ragged, only to realize that I was no longer fifteen. I was back in the hospital, it had only been a dream. Another memory from the past.

"Alpha, are you feeling alright?" the doctor asked from beside my bed.

I swallowed painfully and nodded. "I’m fine." My voice came out hoarse, my throat feeling as dry as sandpaper.

I turned my head and found Ryan standing nearby, staring at me with worried eyes. "Give me some water," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Of course, Alpha." Ryan immediately picked up the glass and handed it to me. I took several small sips, finally feeling some relief as the water soothed my throat.

"Thank you." I handed the glass back to him, and he quickly placed it on the nearby table.

"How much time has passed?" I asked. Judging by the heaviness in my limbs and the strange weakness spreading through my body, I already had a feeling that it hadn’t been just a few hours.

Ryan hesitated. "You were unconscious for two days, Alpha."

My eyes widened. "Two days?" I hadn’t expected it to take that long.

I leaned back against the headrest, trying to gather my thoughts.

"I have kept everything under control so far," Ryan continued, his voice careful. "The warriors are recovering well. Their families have been informed about their condition, and the media is still being kept away from the situation."

I nodded slowly, that was good. At least the warriors had survived.

But the hesitation in Ryan’s voice told me there was more.

"However..." I raised an eyebrow.

"However what?"

Ryan lowered his gaze before finally answering. "The council has been in unrest these past two days. They are demanding answers about where you are and why the entire emergency floor was placed under lockdown."

My expression hardened.

"The fact that they weren’t allowed to know what was happening in the hospital has angered them greatly," Ryan continued. "I believe we’ll have to hold a council meeting as soon as possible."

I closed my eyes for a moment. Of course.

The moment I woke up, I had already inherited another problem. But this time, I couldn’t blame Ryan.

I had ordered him to keep everything hidden. And now I would have to deal with the consequences myself.

"Dealing with those old folks isn’t a problem," I said, brushing Ryan’s worries aside. "Call the chief of the investigation department here. I want a complete briefing on this incident as soon as possible."

I clenched my fists as the memories of the past few days came rushing back.

"And keep the information blackout in place until I’m done dealing with the council members. I don’t want them trying to use public opinion as a weapon just to prove some ridiculous point."

"I’ll do as you say, Alpha," Ryan replied.

Before leaving, he glanced toward the doctor and gestured for him to step forward. "The doctor will need to examine you first."

I turned toward the doctor. "Can’t I be discharged now? What’s the need for another checkup?" I asked, genuinely puzzled.

The doctor hesitated for a moment before answering carefully. "Alpha, even though you’ve regained consciousness, we need to keep you under observation for at least another night. Your body has gone through an extreme amount of strain. You will be discharged tomorrow."

I sighed when I saw the nervous expression on his face. "Fine. Do as you see fit. I won’t make things more difficult for you."

Relief immediately crossed his face. I leaned back against the bed as Ryan gave me a nod before leaving the room to call the investigation chief.

The moment the door closed behind him, I closed my eyes. "Nyx, are you alright?"

"Shouldn’t I be asking you that, you arrogant fool?!" His irritated voice echoed through my mind, making the corner of my lips twitch.

"Well, you don’t have the propriety to do it, so I decided to take the lead myself." I said, wanting to smile a little at his obvious displeasure to me.

I could practically hear his scoff. "You’re impossible."

I smiled faintly before my expression gradually became serious. "Nyx..."

"What?" He said still trying to sound uninterested.

"I saw that day in my dream." I said with a sigh. His voice immediately went quiet as I continued. "The day Mom left us."

"I don’t want to talk about that day, Kael," Nyx replied. His displeasure was clearly visible.

I sighed, neither of us liked remembering it. But there was something about that dream that had unsettled me and it was worth to think about.

"If I hadn’t had this dream just now, I would’ve almost forgotten about the connection."

"What connection?" Nyx’s voice changed instantly as he asked, interested in the topic now.