Content Warning! Minor swearing

***Hankie Warning***

It was the longest day of Tyrone’s life as he kept vigil by Lenora’s side. He couldn’t believe how quickly this all had happened. Lenora always had boundless energy. She was so full of life that she seemed to be everywhere at once. This was so wrong! His Lenora shouldn’t be lying there in a hospital bed fighting to keep that life.

Erica and Deus, Theresa, and Landon took turns keeping Tyrone company while he watched over his Lenora. They all held Lenora’s hand, kissed her, and whispered their love to her still form. They hugged Tyrone, rubbed his back, and spoke words of encouragement to him. He mechanically did the same for them but to Tyrone, everything seemed to be happening in slow motion.

Tyrone shook his head at their gentle coaxing to take a break and get something to eat. “I can’t. I can’t leave her. She needs me. If she wakes up and I’m not here, she’ll be confused and scared. I have to find a way to bring her back. I must!”

By early afternoon, Lenora’s condition hadn’t changed, but Tyrone remained steadfast in his vigil. “Lenora…” he whispered, leaning close. “I love you so much. Do you hear me? I…love…you. I need you to come back to me…to us. The kids and I…we need you, Lenora. I need my beautiful wife, and the kids need their amazing mother. Come back, Lenora. Please come back.”

Tyrone touched Lenora’s face and winced at the heat baking off her. “Oh, my poor Lenora! How did this happen to you?” He kissed her brow and felt his heart thud as dread seized him. He had always been able to protect Lenora from anything. But this…this was different. This was something he couldn’t save her from. He felt himself careening out of control in a direction of destruction. The strands of their bond snaked forward to reach out to her, but she was drifting away into some unknown place that Tyrone couldn’t reach.

“I know you are far away, Lenora, but come back to me. Try with everything you have within you to come back, my Lenora. I can’t reach you where you are…but oh, Lenora, I want to more than anything. You’re drifting away, and my soul is slipping. If you go away, that force that holds me here will go away, too.”

Tyrone shifted in his chair and stroked some loose strands of hair from Lenora’s fevered brow. “The day I met you was the day that changed everything for me. Oh, you didn’t know it, but I did. It happened, the Imprinting, I mean. I wasn’t looking for it to happen, nor was I expecting it. It just…happened. That’s how it works, you know. It’s one of those things that’s an enigma. No matter what, I knew I was yours…forever. I just needed to wait and have a bit of patience. It wasn’t easy, Lenora, but it was what you needed. You needed that time for your grief to abate. How I wanted to take away your pain, to be with you…to hold you and tell you I was there, but I had to bide my time until you were ready. It was the hardest thing i ever did, Lenora, because it hurt so badly when I couldn’t be near you. Then, I got my chance but had to fight for you when we were on that silly show. And at the end, it was you and me, Lenora. It’s how it’s been from that point and always will be.”

“Lenora…” Her name became a prayerful plea as Tyrone repeated it, desperately trying to summon her back from whatever void she was in. “You’ve got to fight this thing. You’re one of the strongest people I know, my darling. Use that strength to fight this and return to us. I can’t lose you, Lenora. I won’t lose you. We will not end this way…not like this. This…will…not…happen!”

Tyrone kissed her softly, wishing he could wake her as Prince Phillip awoke Sleeping Beauty with his kiss. Instead, Lenora lay motionless, her breath barely a whisper of air. “I can’t reach you. For the first time in our lives, I can’t reach you.”

Tyrone felt The Wolf within wanting to emerge. The Wolf sensed his mate’s peril, and Tyrone had to fight him back with much greater effort than normal. If The Wolf was unleashed in this condition, there was no telling how far he would go. Wolves of Tyrone’s caliber exercised restraint and control, but when a pack member, especially an Alpha Wolf’s mate, was in danger, restraint and control weren’t guaranteed.

“I…will…not…let…you…succumb,” Tyrone grated out in low, guttural tones as he felt his fangs starting to elongate. “You…are…not allowed…Lenora. Do…you hear me? I…will…not…let this…happen.” Anyone listening would have been frozen in terror at the growl-like words and the intensity with which they were uttered.

Tyrone clenched his fists and took several deep breaths, forcing The Wolf back to his place. His fangs shrank to normal size, the wolf going dormant for the time being. Feeling a wave of exhaustion crash over him, he lay his arms on the side of Lenora’s bed and rested his head on them. “If you don’t come back, Lenora, The Wolf will lose it entirely. Now, do you want that on your conscience?” He tried to smile, thinking of how Lenora would fire back a sarcastic retort to make him laugh. They loved playing that kind of game together. This, however, was no game, and Lenora gave no returning banter or reassurance. She lay as still as ever, which broke Tyrone’s heart all over again.

Tyrone thought he must have dozed off, for the next thing he felt was a hand resting on his head. He jerked, straightened, and was rewarded with the most beautiful sight he’d seen that day. Lenora’s eyes fluttered, then slowly opened. “Lenora…hey! You’re awake.” A wide smile stretched his lips and he gazed tenderly at her. Caressing her hair, he leaned over to sweetly kiss her lips. “You scared the hell out of me.”

“I’m…sorry,” came Lenora’s soft whisper.

“Don’t be sorry, Lenora. Just be strong and get better, okay?” His eyes shone as he drank her in. “Oh, Lenora, you had me so worried. Did you hear me growling at you?”

“Yeah,” she replied, the corners of her mouth turning up in a slight grin. “I…can always hear ye, Wolfman…but I…I couldn’t answer. I wanted to tell ye…it was going to be…all right and…not to worry…but I couldn’t get through. Something…held me back…and I couldn’t tell ye.” She produced a weak cough and gasped for her next breath.

“It doesn’t matter now, love. You’re awake, and I can look into those beautiful eyes. Oh, my Goddess! Do you know how beautiful you are?” She produced a slight smile, making his own smile grow even wider, his love for his soulmate quickening within every fiber of his being. But when she groaned and coughed again the next instant, Tyrone’s gaze sharpened, the protective Alpha Wolf in him ready to act.  “Lenora, I’m going to sit you up just a little and put this other pillow behind your back. Maybe that’ll help ease your breathing.”

“Okay,” she whispered, reaching her arms out to him in complete and unquestioning trust.

Tyrone slid the pillow behind his wife and embraced her gently, leaning his forehead against hers. “My Lenora…do you know how much I love you?”

“I…love ye…Wolfman,” she said in between shallow breaths.

“Well, good. You’d better.” Tyrone grinned at her and kissed her temple. Reaching for her again through their bond, Tyrone still felt the balancing act his soul was engaged in. Lenora wasn’t out of danger yet, but he felt a bit steadier with the return of her consciousness.

“I do. Never doubt that,” Lenora said as firmly as she could.

“Never, ever.” Very carefully, Tyrone eased her back so she could recline against the pillows and rest. Her eyes drifted closed as Tyrone murmured his love and stroked her hair. “Rest now,” he said before brushing a feathery kiss against her lips.

“I…can’t rest until…I know…what happened. Wh…what’s wrong with me…and how did I get to the hospital?” Lenora tried to take a deep breath, but it turned into a pained cough instead. “Wh…what…”

“Shhh, Lenora. Take it easy,” Tyrone said, leaning over and resting a big hand on her shoulder. “You’re very ill, sweetheart. Landon and I brought you here this morning when I couldn’t wake you. You’re going to be okay though. They’re taking real good care of you. I’ve been right here with you the whole time, and I’m not going anywhere.”

“How…how bad am I? The curse?” she whispered.

“We don’t know, Lenora. They’re still running tests. So far, this has got everyone baffled.” Tyrone answered her second question easily but couldn’t bring himself to give voice to the first.

“How…bad?” Lenora asked sharply, but softened the intensity of her query by reaching for Tyrone’s hand and squeezing with as much pressure as she could.

Tyrone kissed Lenora’s fingers, then blinked back the tears standing in his eyes. “You’re awfully sick, my love, but you’re going to be okay. You’re awake now, so that’s awesome. We’ll get you back in fighting form before you can say Bruce Lee.”

“Well…good because…someone has…to kick your ass, and it might…as well be me.” Lenora mustered a weak smile and ran her thumb delicately over her husband’s fingers.

Tyrone snorted with amusement, then touched his fingertips to Lenora’s cheek. “There, now. That’s my Lenora. I’d say this is a perfect ending to a bad day, wouldn’t you?”

Lenora tried to smile again but couldn’t manage it this time. “Ye..should rest, Wolfman. Ye look exhausted. The…we ones…I don’t want them…to worry.”

“The kids will be okay. They’ll come see you in a little while, all right? Now, don’t you worry about me or the kids. You just focus on getting better.” He squeezed her fingers and breathed a ragged sigh of relief when they curled around his in answer. “I’m going to go tell the others you’re awake. Mom, Dad, Theresa, and Landon are here. Oh, Lenora, they’ll be so relieved.”

“Mathilda…Grandda…”

“We’re trying to get them, but they’ve been out of reach for some time.”

“Magic…business…”

“We’ll keep trying, sweetheart. That’s a promise.” Tyrone kissed her again before easing himself off the bed. “Rest now. I’ll be right back.”

Tyrone’s parents, Landon, and Theresa met him on the other side of the door. “She’s awake. Great Drogo, she’s a remarkable woman, my Lenora.”

At hearing the news, Erica fell into Amadeus’s arms and cried softly. Theresa flung herself into Tyrone’s and squeezed him tight. “You called her back! Bro, you brought her back. I knew you could do it.”

Tyrone spun her around a couple times, then gently set her on her feet. “I was trying. Believe me, I was trying. I didn’t think I was getting anywhere. I couldn’t seem to reach her, but then, she just woke up.”

Neil Hughes hurried into the room, barely giving the little family a glance. When he came out a few minutes later, Landon wasted no time in bombarding the doctor with questions. “How is my mother? Do you know anything more about why she’s so sick? What are you doing for her?”

“Let’s talk over here,” Neil said, beckoning them to a quiet corner where he took a deep breath and continued. “Mrs. Landgraab’s condition is still critical, I’m sorry to say. However, the fact that she’s conscious is a good sign. She’s a fighter, and I can see she has an amazing support system.”

“Is she going to be all right?” Erica asked.

“It’s too early to tell. I wish I had better news, but we just have to wait and see. We’re still running tests, and we don’t know much more than we did earlier. What we do know is that her blood is carrying a foreign antigen that we can’t identify as of yet. It’s causing her body to malfunction in a number of ways. If we don’t stop it, she’ll go into acute multi-system organ failure and die.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Deus thundered. “What do you mean by ‘malfunctioning in a number of ways’?” His fingers made quotation marks in the air.

“What I mean is that her systems aren’t functioning in accordance to sustaining life. Her blood pressure is dangerously low. Her heart is misfiring. Her liver is producing too much of its enzymes to remain functioning for any length of time. Her lungs are filling with fluid, and her breathing will cease if we don’t get this under control. This antigen is immune to any antibiotics we’ve tried, and it’s also highly resistant to magic.” Neil breathed out a long exhalation. “We’re working around the clock to identify it and figure out how to eradicate it.”

“Is…is it from the illness my wife had as a teenager?” Tyrone asked, feeling his insides go cold at the grim details the doctor was giving.

Neil shook his head. “No, I don’t believe so. From what I’ve gathered from your wife’s records, she donates blood to our blood banks quite often. Nowadays, we run thorough tests on donated blood to be sure it’s safe to transfuse. Anyway, we’ve compared her previous bloodwork to what we have here. This antigen is a new development and doesn’t appear to have been in her system for long. Her body is trying to fight it, but it’s too strong for her immune system to handle.”

Landon squeezed his eyes shut and covered his face. His shoulders shook with sobs as tears made their way down his cheeks. Erica slid her arms around him and rubbed his back, her own tears falling. “How…how much time…?”

“It’s hard to say, Ma’am, but it would be wise for the rest of your family to get here as soon as they can. Time definitely isn’t on our side,” Neil said.

Tyrone ran an agitated hand through his hair and narrowed his eyes at Neil. “You figure this out, do you read me? You figure this out and fix her. My wife will not be a statistic!” Tyrone brushed past Neil and ran back to Lenora’s bedside.

In the waiting room, the others stared, agog, after Tyrone as he left. “I’m sorry. We are not giving up, I assure you,” Neil said before leaving them.

“Cian would know what to do,” Theresa said, taking out her phone and getting up to pace.

“I’ll…I’ll call Crystal,” Landon croaked. “The kids…all of them…will need to know.”

“Something smells extremely suspicious,” Deus said, looking murderous. “Don’t you all think it strange that Mathilda, Liam, and Cian are all out of reach while Lenora contracted this…whatever it is? She comes down with some potentially fatal mysterious illness that nobody has seen before, and the only ones capable of healing her are all occupied. I smell a rat, and I intend to find out where said rat is hiding.”

Erica swirled a long lock of hair around her finger and frowned. “It does appear odd, dear. but I don’t know what to make of it. It could be purely coincidental.”

“Bullshit,” Deus said. “My hackles are up and for very good reason, I’m certain. Two and two are being added, but four is not the answer that’s coming up. I think it’s time to go sniffing.”

Author’s Note: The majority of the poses I used for this chapter came from two sources. The first is from Poses by Bee. Her poses are amazing, and I’d highly recommend them. The second source is from You Name It, I’ll Pose It by Blamsart, who made some poses for me by personal request. Again, some awesome poses here that I’d definitely recommend checking out. I’m in awe at the amazing talent of these wonderful creators. Without people such as Bee and Blams, my stories wouldn’t be able to come to life as they do.