Finding Home

Chapter Thirty Nine-Nathan

Nathan didn't know how long he lay there holding on to Paige. He repeated the spelled word over and over again until his voice went hoarse. He begged the moon goddess not to take her from him. He had just got her back, he wasn't ready to say goodbye again. There was a knock at the door.

"Alpha?" It was a nurse, "Alpha, we'd like to move her to a more comfortable room." Nathan couldn't bring himself to say anything, he just nodded and got off the bed. "We're going to get her cleaned up and changed. Everyone else is in the waiting room, if you'd like to wait with them. We'll let you know when you all can see her again. He nodded again and followed her back into the waiting room.

He tried to steel himself against the pain he was feeling before he saw everyone else in the waiting room. He needed to be strong, to be the Alpha. He took a few deep breaths before walking into the room. He looked around at the faces of all the people that were here for Paige and him. They looked at him as if he had answers. He didn't.

He was holding it together until his eyes met Paige's mothers. They held concern and understanding, not just for Paige, but for him too. He tried to take a deep breath but it got caught in his throat.

"Oh honey," she said. She crossed the room quickly and pulled him into her arms. "My dear, dear boy." She led him to a bench that sat against the wall and sat down. He crumbled into her. The tears he was trying to keep away came back again. He hadn't cried like this since his own mother died. Not even his brothers or his fathers death had caused a reaction like this in him. He felt like he was in his own mothers arms again and he couldn't hold back the emotion of it.

"It'll be okay," she said, rubbing his back in comfort. "She'll be okay, I promise you. A mother knows these things." He let out a soft chuckle/sob remembering the last time she said those words.

"You said that last time too."

"And look how right I was."

He pulled away from her. "Thank you Sandra."

"Of course, Alpha." She put her hand on his cheek, just like his own mother used to. "She's strong, and you are too. You'll both get through this. Have faith." He nodded at looked around the room. It was filled with his and Paige's family. His best friends and officers, Patrick and Allen, Paige's mother and sister, her brother, even his mate Madeline had come and joined them. He noticed, and was grateful, that Paige's father wasn't here.

He took a deep breath. "What do we know?"

Patrick shared a look with Allen, it was like they were willing the other to speak first. Allen lost whatever argument they were having. "There's not much Alpha," he said. "We called Professor Moran. He said that it could be that her wolf is trying to wake but it's not strong enough. Healer Hartland seems to think that as well, but we're not sure why it's doing it now."

"Professor Moran said that the other rouge said that one of the ways to wake up her wolf was an intimate act..." Patrick shifted uncomfortably. "You two went on a date last night..." He let the his sentence trail off. Clearly not wanting to say anything in front of other people. He might tease Nathan about doing the walk of shame when they were alone but to insinuate something happened in front of her family was something he wasn't willing to do.

"Nothing happened." Nathan said, "I mean we kissed, but that's it. It was all rather PG." He placed his head in his hands so he could think.

"But why would that trigger something now? It's been at least a week since-" Allen started.

"Last night was the first time we kissed since Bali." He look up at the lack of response from those around him. "What? There's a lot of history there. It's complicated." He was too tired to make sense of the expressions on everyone's face.

"Did Professor Moran have anything else to say?" He asked the group.

"No, he said he was going to do some more research, maybe try to get that rouge to talk again. He said he'd call us if he came up with anything."

Healer Hartland and Dr Lawrence entered the waiting room. Nathan stood as they walked up to him. Healer Hartland spoke first.

"I've just got off the phone with the professor." She looked around the room. "You all have some big decisions to make."

"What does that mean?" The two women shared a look.

"I agree with William, that her wolf is trying to make an appearance but it isn't strong enough to do so, however, the next steps are unclear. It all depends on what you want for Paige." She took a deep breath. "The way I see it we have three options. One; we let this play out. It might just be taking a bit longer for the wolf to come forth since its been dormant for so long. The mate bond between Paige and the Alpha seem to keep the most dangerous symptoms away so perhaps the proximity with also allow her wolf to come forth."

"We're not sure how long it will take for that to happen or if it ever will," interjected Dr Lawrence. "Staying in a coma like that is not always safe. And the longer we wait the less effective the other options might become."

"Okay," Nathan said, "What are those?"

"Option two; we do the ritual to call forth her wolf. It may be what her wolf needs to fully make an appearance."

"Didn't the rouge say that could kill her?" Micah interjected this time.

"Any of these options could kill her," Dr Lawrence said. "As could doing nothing. We are in uncharted waters here."

"And the third?" Nathan asked again, he wanted to know every option before he put any serious thought to any of them.

"We might be able to stop everything just as it is. From talking with the others, Paige seems to be at a state where she essentially has almost all the werewolf capabilities but isn't able to shift. She's fast and strong, much more so than a normal human, and it seems like her other senses have been amplified since last night. We might be able to stop the progression of her wolf waking up, she'll stay as she is. She won't be a full werewolf but won't be fully human either."

"Paige would hate that." Sophie said. Nathan agreed, but he also knew Paige would hate not being able to make this decision.

"Is there anyway we can wake her up, just for a little while to ask her what she wants."

Dr Lawrence sighed. "We have her under a hybrid sedation, both scientific and mystical. We're not sure what will happen if we try to bring her out of that. Her body might start shutting down again."

"But what if I'm there?" Nathan asked, "You said the mate bond is helping to stabilize her. If I'm there would it prevent that?"

"It's possible," The doctor started.

"Great then let's do that then!"

"I'm sorry Alpha but it's not up to you." Nathan looked at the woman like she had three heads. "Since Paige is of age and doesn't have a recorded wolf, she's still considered human and since she never officially joined Moon Wind Pack, that decision isn't the Alpha's. It's the next of kin."

Alphas had medical deciding power for each member of their pack. Human law can sometimes create friction with pack law so to stop any legal challenge from interfering with pack law, the Alpha of each pack is given that power in the legal sense. Most Alpha's abide the families wished.

"Does that mean, her father gets to make this decision?" Nathan asked incredulously. He would be the next of kin with the most sway. Her siblings could argue it but it would come down to her father. Nathan hated that idea.

"No, Paige was worried something like this might happen, she came to me a few days ago and we created a medical directive with a proxy. It's been signed and notarized."

"Who does it name?"

"Micah Wilson." All heads turned and looked at Micah as his face went white. "She said that Micah's always done what's best for her, even if it means standing against those bigger than him or letting her go. She said if anything happens, Micah would know what she wants, that Micah would know what to do."

Micah looked around at all of them. His mouth opened and closed a couple of times, trying to find the right thing to say. Eventually he settled on,

"Fuck."