Chapter 92: New Visitors
Nyra blinks sleepily, enjoying the warmth of Adrian’s hand as his fingers intertwine with hers. "Welcome home, my love."
She stares up at him for a few seconds, still struggling to process where she is.
"You’ve been out for almost a week," Adrian continues softly. "A lot has happened since."
Right on cue, the door opens and a blonde, ridiculously handsome boy pokes his head inside, grinning.
"Hey, Adrian, dinner’s ready--wait!" His hazel eyes immediately land on Nyra, then his face lights up. "Oh. She’s awake."
Adrian’s soft expression for Nyra instantly folds into a scowl as he turns to look at him. "Dorian, not now."
The boy’s grin widens as he steps inside, completely ignoring Adrian’s glare. "Hi. I’m Dorian, Adrian’s much more handsome cousin."
He winks at her. "Honestly, I’m impressed that you managed to tame my cousin like this. Adrian has barely left your side the entire time."
"Dorian, can you shut up?" Adrian snaps at him. "She literally just woke up."
Dorian ignores him. Again. "Nice to meet you, Future Luna."
Nyra flashes him a confused but amused look, pointing at her throat. It feels too dry to talk.
Adrian quickly notices and rushes to the dispenser, gets some water, then helps her sit up before bringing it to her lips.
Adrian watches her like she’s made of glass. "Drink it slowly."
Dorian watches them with open amusement, seemingly shocked to see his cousin so smitten with someone.
"How do you feel?"
"I don’t know..." Nyra sits straighter with his help, clutching her throat. Her voice sounds very rough from days of disuse. "My throat is very dry, and my limbs feel heavy."
Dorian sighs heavily. "The nurse should be here in an hour."
Then, as if realizing Dorian is still watching them, Adrian turns to his cousin. "What did you want?"
"Dinner. Luna said to call you downstairs, the food is already plated. But I guess now she’ll have to make an extra plate..." He trails off.
Adrian rolls his eyes. "Noted. So can you leave now?"
"Fine, fine, enjoy your privacy, love birds." Dorian raises both hands in surrender before disappearing through the door, muttering something about them being ungrateful.
Nyra watches him go before turning back to Adrian. "Is that really your cousin?"
"That jackass?"
"Why don’t you like him? He seems nice."
"Nice?" Adrian scoffs. "You don’t know him well enough to call him nice. He’s a jerk. A backstabbing cunt--"
"Okay, okay." Nyra bursts into a small laugh. It sounds a little strained. "I get it."
Adrian’s expression softens immediately at the sound. "Do you want anything else? Are you still thirsty? Hungry?"
"I’m fine, not really hungry."
"How aren’t you hungry? You’ve been unconscious for almost a week."
Nyra shrugs. Isn’t he supposed to know? He’s the science student among the two of them.
"Exactly, you don’t know. Which is why I’m going to feed you until you burst."
"Stop it." Nyra rolls her eyes affectionately. "You’ve become annoying."
"I’ve always been annoying."
She smiles and nods. "That’s true."
And for a brief moment, everything feels normal. Then Nyra remembers what happened after Adrian left her in the dream realm. Her wolf showing its true form to her, what she discovered.
Her excitement immediately rises. She should tell him. Tell him she’s special like him, and he doesn’t need to be worried about being singled out anymore.
But then she remembers her wolf’s warning. Not even our mate. And her smile fades slightly as she quickly slams her mouth shut.
"Where is everyone?" she asks instead.
"My father and his brother went out for some business. My mum is handling dinner." Adrian grimaces. "Dorian is...well, he’s just being annoying."
"Why did they come here?"
Adrian shakes his head. "No one knows. But I know for sure they have something up their sleeves. My father and I are still trying to figure out what."
At the mention of his father, Nyra’s brows furrow. "What about our friends? Did you manage to stop him on time?!"
Adrian nods. "Err...in a way. I’ll tell you later. When you’re feeling better."
"But they’re okay?"
"Perfectly okay." He replies. "They were here last night, in fact."
Nyra’s shoulders sag in relief. "Thank goodness. I was so worried."
Adrian brushes hair away from her face, watching her intently. "Are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere?"
"My stomach still hurts..." she trails off, eyes drifting downward to her stomach.
The moment her gaze lands on the flat skin, the warmth inside her disappears. Here in the real world, she couldn’t run away anymore.
The weight of everything that happened to her comes rushing back.
She was almost raped.
Beaten so many times, she lost count.
And her baby....
Her fingers instinctively curl against her lower abdomen, and her eyes fill with tears instantly.
"My baby. Our baby."
Adrian feels his heart drop. He knew this would happen once she woke up. "Nyra..."
She shakes her head, but the tears are already falling. "Our child is gone, Adrian."
Adrian’s heart breaks. "I know, baby. I know."
His arms immediately wrap around her, pulling her carefully against his chest. "But don’t think about it right now, okay?"
"It hurts so much."
"I know it’s hard right now, but it’ll get better, I promise."
Nyra buries her face against his chest. "It was our baby."
"I know, baby." Adrian holds her tighter, pressing his lips against her hair. "But we’re still together, alive, well. That’s what matters right now."
Nyra clings to him, crying silently. She would never forgive Anna for this. Never.
Of all the ways her sister has ever hurt her, this is the one thing that hurts her the most.
The door behind them opens again. Dorian walks back in, a sandwich hanging from one hand, but this time Luna Selene comes with him.
"Lovebirds, we’re-" Dorian stops, the playful expression falling from his face.
He looks at the crying Nyra wrapped in Adrian’s arms. "Oh, sorry. I didn’t realize this was an emotional moment."
Nyra looks up at the interruption over Adrian’s shoulder and meets Dorian’s eyes.
She can’t pinpoint what it is yet, but something in Dorian’s expression makes her shiver.
There’s something really off about him.
Before she can dwell on that, Luna Selene rushes forward, interrupting the moment as she reaches the bed.
"Dorian, enough." She moves straight to Nyra, gently cupping her cheek. "Oh, my beautiful child."
She doesn’t need to ask to know. The look in Nyra’s eyes says it all. A pain only one who has lost a child can ever understand.
She smells like onion, garlic, and spices as she pulls Nyra into a hug, also tearing up.
"It’ll be okay." She strokes her brown, matted hair slowly. "I promise that it gets better."
Nyra closes her eyes against her shoulder, enjoying the embrace. At least she has someone who cares for her like a mother.
---
The doctor comes in shortly after, checking her vitals and scanning the monitors and the pain in her abdomen.
He then recommends a few drugs and herbs for her before concluding that she’s okay to be discharged now.
"But I want you taking things very slowly," he says before leaving. "No strenuous activity, no training, and absolutely no unnecessary stress. Your abdomen is still sensitive, and pushing yourself could make the pain worse."
After the doctor says that, Adrian seems to take it too seriously. He doesn’t even let her carry a cup of water or get a plate after eating.
"Adrian...the doctor didn’t say I couldn’t walk."
"I know, but just hop on." He says with all seriousness, patting his back while crouching.
Nyra is still laughing at him when the door to their room bursts open.
"Nyra!" Lena rushes in first, followed closely by Leah and Naya. They’re still wearing their field-training uniforms.
"We came as soon as we heard you were awake!" Naya says happily, all of them completely ignoring Adrian.
Lena practically throws herself toward the bed before remembering the doctor’s warning and stopping herself. "Sorry."
Nyra laughs softly. "Come here."
The girls crowd around her, though careful of her body. "We were so worried. You were unconscious forever."
"Almost a week," Leah adds dramatically.
Naya smiles. "Julian wanted to come too, but he’s caught up in some art-training nonsense. But he said he’ll be here as soon as he can."
Nyra chuckles. "That sounds like our department."
Nyra looks around at them, her heart filling with warmth.
They’re alive. They’re all alive and well.
And for the first time since the attack, she can breathe without feeling like the world is about to collapse.
After talking for a while, Lena suddenly asks, "Can we stay here tonight?"
Nyra looks at Adrian. "Of course. Right?"
Adrian nods, and the girls giggle at the way he easily gives in. "This mansion is big enough, you can all stay."
He gestures at them. "Come on. I’ll take you to Miss Roseline. She’ll have rooms prepared for you."
The girls immediately follow him, still chatting excitedly. "Get some rest, Future Luna!"
"We’ll come back later!" The door finally closes behind them.
Nyra exhales, smiling, sinking back against her pillows. She missed her friends so, so much.
Lost in thought, she doesn’t realize the door opens. She only hears the door shut, followed by the strong scent of unfamiliar Alpha pheromones.
She looks, only to find Dorian looking down at her intently. "What? Not who you were expecting?"