Chapter 14: The Vigil Before Dawn

He watched. Rosa bloomed. The pack waited. And the Moon held her breath. The scent grew stronger. The bond held firm. And beneath the silence, her soul began to stir.

Luca woke up the following day and realised that a week and a half had gone by and that his mate’s scent had gotten more vital in those last three days when he spent time with her. He knew then it could be any day now that she would wake up.

Luca made sure that, from that day on, after she discovered what her scent was, there were fresh flowers in a couple of vases around her room to make the room a bit more like home for Rosa. He went over to see how she was. He kissed and caressed her cheeks, saying, ‘’Good morning, sweetheart.’’ Luca then turns around and heads towards the bathroom to shower and get ready for the new day.

As he exited the bathroom, he saw both doctors and said, “Good morning.” Arianna returned the greeting on their behalf. Luca then informed them that her scent was getting stronger every day. Both doctors agreed it was a good sign that she would wake up soon, and Luca agreed.

Arianna asks whether Diego has received any signs yet about Luna’s wolf coming forward.

Luca replies, “Oh, not yet, but soon, hopefully,” he tells her. ‘’I cannot wait to find out the name of her wolf and what she will look like when she shifts for the first time; it will be excruciating for her,” he says.

Cristian then says to him, “Yes, it will be excruciating for her, but she will have you to help her through the shift.”

Luca replies, “Yes, I will help her through the shift.”

Cristian informs him as he writes his notes into her chart, “Rosa is doing remarkably well, considering when she first came here. It has come a long way since then. Despite that, she still has a long way to go before Luna Rosa can leave the hospital completely, but we will wait until she wakes up to discuss this other Alpha,” he says as Luca nods in agreement. Both doctors then leave the room. Luca heads towards the packhouse for breakfast.

Luca arrived at the packhouse and went to the dining room, where everyone was seated and eating. He sat down and helped himself to the food on the table after telling everyone to continue eating their own when they had stopped eating because their Alpha had arrived. As everyone continued to eat and the conversations began, Luca announced that Luna Rosa would wake up soon, as she got better and stronger every day.

The pack members gathered around the table and cheered about the news.

He also told them that there was still a long way to go before Luna would recover and be allowed to go home from the hospital. Luca dismissed them from the table after breakfast, preparing for training. Luca did not join in, as he spent most of his time working with Rosa. He then went back to the hospital and his mate.

Luca arrived back at the hospital in Rosa’s room and returned to the paperwork he had tried to complete the day before, but had been unable to. The rest of the day flew by. Luca had his lunch in the room as he continued working on the paperwork, so he could finish most of it and be there when she woke up to help her.

Before Luca knew it, there was a light knock on the door. Luca tells the person to come in. Stefano has a plate of food and a drink in his hands. Luca thanked his Beta as he took the container and the glass and placed them on the table. He then turns back to Stefano, and they discuss both training sessions. Luca is pleased with everyone’s effort in creating the new schedules and how far they have come since they began. As they both continued to discuss pack matters, the doctors arrived to do the last check on Luna before he retired for the night. Arianna was the one to do it this time around. As she writes her notes in Rosa’s chart, she informs him that she is the same as this morning. Luca thanks them both as they leave the room, saying, “You’re welcome.” He returns to Stefano, who stands up and tells him he is heading off to let him retire for the night, then runs off to bed. Luca then wishes him goodnight, and Stefano returns the greeting before leaving the room.

Luca sighed and then headed towards the bathroom to change into bedclothes. After changing, he kissed Rosa on the forehead and right cheek, then softly caressed her left cheek. He then turned towards his bed, slipped into bed and under the covers, and drifted off to sleep as his head hit the pillow.