Chapter 462: Powers of a mermaid _Part 1

Viola tried to put everything she had discussed with the elder out of her mind so she could have a clear head when she went to visit the she-wolf who had taken a bullet to protect her, something she had never expected. It was said that Laila was in critical condition, and Viola knew she couldn’t bring herself to stay away while she was lying in that state because of her in the first place.

The proud, once-arrogant, and self-centered she-wolf had protected her from something that could have killed her, especially since Viola didn’t have her wolf’s protection yet.

However, Viola’s mind was still working overtime, trying to piece together the puzzle surrounding Azmira’s death: how it had been her own lover who killed her, and how her sister, Nerrisa, had turned evil and was now making everyone’s lives a living hell in her quest to avenge Azmira.

If she was certain that Nerissa would lift the Silver Pack curse and the spell on Sebastian, Viola would have gone down to the sea to visit her where she was held prisoner. But Viola knew someone who had killed so many of her kind before her just to close off a way out for the Silver pack and Sebastian’s bloodline, would never listen to her no matter how much she begged for it to end. Viola feared she would only be opening herself up to be killed by one of the mermaids, or by the witch herself.

After all, she carried the bloodline of the very people who had killed the Child of the Sea and left the merfolk afraid of death, with no way out of it. No wonder their hatred for the werewolves ran so deep, Azmira had been an important, irreplaceable figure to the merfolk, and going there now, when word must have already spread about her pregnancy, wasn’t a good idea.

So Viola was stuck having to figure out other ways she could help Sebastian, and one of them would be summoning the other Natasha she knew, her aunt, and addressing the suppressant inside her body and how to get rid of it since she was the one to feed it to her. But first she needed to see and check on Laila.

Viola went to the healing house inside the High Tower, and when she reached there, she found Laila’s parents sitting in the waiting area. When she arrived, they both turned to look at her.

For some reason, Viola expected them to insult her or blame her for what had happened to their daughter, but she was surprised when the couple simply looked away as though they hadn’t seen her.

Viola wouldn’t have known what she would tell them if they had confronted her and blamed her, so she felt a jolt of relief. However, as she parted her lips to greet them anyway, a door opened, and Doctor Gilbert and a few other pack healers walked out of the room, all of them looking grim and worn out.

Laila’s parents immediately got out of their chairs and rushed toward Gilbert.

"How is my daughter? Has the bullet been removed?" her mother asked worriedly, grabbing the doctor’s hand and looking past him toward the door he had just walked out of. Her daughter was lying inside that room, looking almost like a dead person, and the sight of her had only made them panic and worry even more.

Gilbert turned toward them and shook his head. His eyes were red-rimmed, Viola noticed, and the sight sent panic through her own heart. Had Laila not made it?

Guilt immediately washed over her because she had been dealing with Sebastian’s situation instead of staying with the person who had taken a bullet meant for her in the first place.

She didn’t know what she would feel if she learned that the she-wolf hadn’t made it. Laila had somehow started to grow on her, just like Zoe had, and the thought of losing her now made her chest tighten with guilt.

She hurried forward as she heard Gilbert begin explaining the Serranos’ daughter’s condition to them.

"I am sorry, but I have never seen bullets like these before. They are melting the more we try to remove them, and her organs are dying, refusing to heal... I... I don’t think she will survive this."

Though Gilbert was trying to keep his composure, the cracks in his expression showed as his eyes filled with moisture. He blinked repeatedly, trying to get rid of the tears gathering there.

After all, no matter how much he had turned her away and had refused to claim her for his family’s sake, she was still his soulmate, a she-wolf destined for him by the Moon Goddess herself. Seeing her in such a critical state was bound to affect him and twist something deep inside him.

Viola walked up to the group just as Laila’s mother collapsed against her husband’s chest, sobbing uncontrollably, and she walked up to Gilbert, who noticed her even before she got close and moved away from the group to meet her, his blue eyes looking relief at the sight of her.

"Supreme Luna..." He greeted, with a slight shake to his voice, before he composed himself to say, "I was hoping to find you, and I am glad you came here at this moment. I need your help."

Viola, who noticed how he looked, was quick to offer, "What do you need? I will help however I can."

"I heard you saved the Alpha once when he was shot with that same kind of bullet. Is there a way you can help her? Please, Luna, how did you do it? I want to save her. I’ve tried everything I know, but I’m only causing her more pain," Gilbert pleaded, looking down into her blue eyes with a desperation that mirrored her own desperation to save Sebastian.

Viola understood it completely. Helping him to save Laila was no longer something he needed to ask of her.

Viola hadn’t realized Laila’s condition was this bad, or that Sebastian had used that bullet on her, she had been consumed by her own problems. She looked at the doctor and gestured for him to lead the way to the patient’s room.

When they entered, she found Laila lying on her stomach on the bed, looking pale and barely managing to breathe. An oxygen tube rested beneath her nose, its thin tubing running around her ears to help her breathe. The two bullet wounds on her back were exposed through her open gown, smoking just like Sebastian’s had and filling the room with the smell of burnt flesh.

"They’re sinking deeper the more I try to pull them out, and I fear they’ll soon hurt her vital organs," Gilbert explained, reaching out to carefully touch his trembling hand to her red hair. Her face was turned to the side, her eyes half-closed as she struggled to remain conscious. "She’s suffering so much..." he muttered almost anguishfully, and Viola looked at him, seeing how he wasn’t hiding his feelings for his mate.