The Year of the Tiger (Book 3 of The Almair Series) (Completed)

Chapter 27

A cold, wet nose touched my cheek, and I groaned and pushed it away. "Wake up, Martha," someone said beside me. Worry and happiness filled their voice, and I couldn't help but wonder what was wrong. "Please, wake up."

I furrowed my brows and opened them to see that I was in a hospital bed. I blinked back the sleep that was wanting to take back over and tried to remember what had happened.

I remembered waiting for Matt at my house, but he didn't show up when he was supposed to. I remembered running and seeing a truck on fire.

On fire. Matt was in a truck that had caught on fire.

Panic filled my brain as I tried to sit up, and someone sat on my chest to stop me from moving. "M-M-Matt," I croaked out, blearily looking around the room. I needed to see my mate. I needed to make sure that he was ok that he was alive.

"In the bed beside you," the voice said, and I looked up to see my brother staring at me. Fear filled his eyes, his look mirroring mine. "Look to your right."

I did what I said and saw that my mate was in bed beside me. My heart broke when I saw that he was covered head to toes in bandages except for his mouth and eyes.

"He is alive," Brody said, pulling my gaze away from him. "He was alive when we got to you but barely."

I looked back at my mate and watched as my mate's chest rose and fall with each breath. Relief filled my body, and I looked up at my brother to see him already staring at me. "How long was I out?" I asked, my voice cracking.

Brody hopped off of my body and onto the floor beside me.  He placed two of his paws on the bed and looked at me, making sure that I was still alive and awake. "A day," he replied softly. "Matt hasn't woken up just yet."

I nodded my head, staying silent. My hands itched as if ants crawled underneath my skin, and I had the urge to scratch them.

"You burnt your hands but not too bad," Brody said, watching as I looked at them. "You passed out because of smoke inhalation."

I stayed silent and nodded my head. Again, I looked around the room to see that there wasn't anyone else besides Brody.

"We were taking shifts," Brody said, noticing me looking around. "John was supposed to be next." He paused. "I am going to get someone to look after you. Don't move."

I bit back a smile and nodded my head. "Promise," I whispered, closing my eyes.

"I'll be back." And with that, he left.

***

I kept my eyes closed and furrowed my brows as I tried to remember what had happened after Ryan had left us to get my brother and whoever else that my brother could find. I knew that I had fallen unconscious near my mate, but I thought something had woken me up by moving me to the side.

I remembered feeling as if it had gotten easier to breathe and stared up to see two gray eyes that looked awfully familiar for some reason.

The male didn't say a word, his brows furrowed in concern as he waited for something. He seemed to notice that I was awake, and relief filled his eyes as he made sure that I would be ok.

Silently, he turned away from me and to my mate. His back was turned towards me, so I couldn't see what he was doing. A soft, golden light appeared from his hands and into my mate.

I tried to move, tried to say something, but I couldn't. It felt as if I was immobile, watching helplessly as he did something to my mate.

Matt's body shivered, and he opened his mouth as if to breathe for the first time. A wisp of black smoke appeared from his mouth and disappeared into the sky above. "Martha," he whispered, hoarsely before he became silent and still.

The old man turned to look at me and gave me a soft smile. He placed a finger over his mouth, indicating that I should be silent about what I had seen before disappearing into thin air.

And, after that, I had fallen back unconscious, wondering what the hell had just happened.