gaius

A groan escapes my lips as I sit up and look around. Everything is blurry and it sounds as if I'm underwater. I blink in an attempt clear my vision and my hands move to my ear and try to knock the water out of them.

My head's killing me.

My whole body aches.

I squeeze my eyes shut and try to remember what happened.

Where was I?

How did I get here?

When I reopen my eyes, everything is clear. I notice that I'm in a hospital room. The pack hospital.

"I see you're finally awake."

I turn around and see the familiar faces of Gray, Doctor Heights, Foster, and an unfamiliar person there. He doesn't quite smell like a wolf but I can't make out what he is.

"Wha...what happened?" I question with another groan.

"What all do you remember?" Gray asks with a frown.

"Uh, I remember visiting the Solar Moon Pack with Onyx and Councilman Steele," I tell him.

Onyx.

The memories of the councilman shoving him back into the car filled my mind, but I can't remember what happened after that.

Is he okay?

My eyes widen and I quickly look around the room to find my mate. When I find him, I try to climb out of the bed and move towards him but Doctor Heights stops me.

"Your body is still weakened, Beta," she states and I frown.

"What happened to me?" I look at Gray and Foster hesitantly.

"...You were kidnapped, Gaius. They injected you with things that made you lose your mind and appear feral," Foster says quietly.

As if a door is unlocked, the memories from before came flooding back. My eyes closed and I gripped my head as they flashed through my mind.

"Did you get them all?" I ask Gray.

Gray nods. "We got the two wolves who did this."

I begin to open my mouth and say thank you but no words come out as I think about what he said.

Two wolves?

My eyes meet his and his brows furrow when he sees the confusion in my eyes.

"What about the witch?"

Foster's face now mirrors Gray's. "What witch? There were only two people in there besides the ferals and captives."

"You're confused; you just woke up from a traumatic experience," Doctor Heights claims but I shake my head.

I remember her distinctly.

"There was a witch," I tell them firmly.

Gray frowns at this and he pulls out his phone before walking towards the door.

"What does this mean?" The unfamiliar person asks.

Gray sighs as he begins to dial a number.

"It means that one of them is still out there."

...

"Do you remember the witch?" Gray questions as he walks back into the room.

I nod. "Bald, wrinkly skin, bony fingers, real pale, raspy voice."

Gray nods while Foster looks between Onyx and I in confusion.

"Why can Gaius remember these things but not Onyx?" He asks both the stranger, whose name I learned was Vernon, and Doctor Heights.

Vernon shrugged while Doctor Heights thought about it.

"Now I don't know for sure but if I had to take a stab in the dark, I'd assume it was because of the amount of time that they were under the drugs or the fact that one has beta blood," she says.

"How long was I out for?" I ask hesitantly.

"When we arrived you were already changed so we don't know how much time before that but including that day and the four that we've spent here; five days," Foster tells me. "Much shorter than Onyx's...how old is he?"

I think about it for a minute. When we were checking files, Onyx's said he was fifteen when he went missing and it included the year he was taken. Doing the math, it would've been a eight year difference making him...

"Twenty-three," I tell Foster.

"Five days is a big difference from the eight years Onyx spent in that hellhole," Gray says.

"Just- just how bad was I?" I ask them.

My mind flickers back to the dead wolves and I squeeze my eyes shut. If I hurt any of the pack members, I'd never forgive myself.

"Hell to contain, but you didn't do too much damage," Gray says.

"Except you bit my shoulder. Hurt like a bitch by the way," Foster quickly adds in.

Guilt fills me knowing how much stress I caused my pack. How much stress I caused my mate.

"Stop looking like a kicked puppy," Gray scowls.

"But-"

"No buts," he shakes his head. "Nobody blames you for what happened- if anything, they miss their Beta."

"I still feel bad," I admit.

Gray rolls his eyes. "Then start by making it up to Onyx. He's been a mess since you went missing," he shakes his head.

My eyes travel to Onyx and I smile at the sight of my sleeping mate. I don't know what happened, but it almost feels as if our bond was stronger than before.

"He's not that bad you know," Gray says quietly. "He's a good guy."

My eyes move back to him and widen.

Who is this and what happened to Gray?

"Don't look at me like that," he rolls his eyes.

My smile widens and I move my attention to Foster.

"What about you? How's Taylor?"

Foster smiles warmly at the mentioning of his mate. "The same as usual. Still Pregzilla, but he's getting better as the baby's due date comes up."

I smile at this, grateful they didn't go into labor early as most wolves do. I didn't want to miss Foster's first child being born.

Glancing over at Onyx, I smile. Maybe now things will begin to calm down.

Doctor Heights moves to check Onyx and brushes up against me. I unintentionally flinch and tense up. Doctor Heights offers me a sympathetic smile and I can feel the other's eyes on me.

"I'm fine," I tell them and offer a small smile.

Neither one of them seem to believe it, but they don't question me.

I guess after everything that's happened, I've grown a slight distrust for doctors.

My eyes watch Doctor Heights movements, ready to jump in if needed. She checks his pulse before backing away.

"Is he okay?" I ask nobody in specific.

Vernon nods. "He's fine, he might just take a little longer to wake up."

I turn back to Onyx and sigh silently.

I really hope we can have just a normal day after this. Even if it's just one- I don't want anything crazy to happen.

As if on cue, Onyx's body begins to stir and I hold my breath as he groans and moves to sit up. When he lifts his head up, our eyes connect and I can see the tears filling his hazel.

"Gaius?" His voice cracks.

I smile and nod.

"Hey, Love,"