Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Will

I woke up to the grueling sensation of stiffness and pain. It was not new pain, the likes of which I had woken up to countless times before. This pain, through its minute throbbing and faint presence in my body, said something else that it was on the mend and was going to go away anytime now.

Even though I could turn my head around and squint at the outline of things near me, I was still not sure that I had truly woken up. There was something euphoric about the sensations that were coursing through my body, something that suggested that I wasn’t entirely sober.

The drip that was attached to my forearm confirmed my suspicion. Painkillers for a werewolf? That was new. I could barely read the words on the drip. Ketamine. Things were that bad, huh?

“Ugh!” was the first word that came out of my mouth as a result of trying to get up and failing to do so. My back was so sore that it felt like I had soldering irons wedged right next to my spinal cord. My throat was dry, and the insides of my fingernails itched terribly.

“What day is it?” I asked, realizing that my voice did not sound like mine. It sounded like a stranger’s, hoarse, hollow, and thin.

The last thing that I remembered was seeing Blair’s head lying at my feet. Then, I probably fainted due to my injuries or blood loss, but there was one distinct sliver of light amidst all the darkness that had followed. A deafening explosion had woken me up briefly. I remembered it very clearly. It felt like the world was ending, but when I sat up, I found myself in the commune’s clinic, with both Maliha and Vincent sitting next to me. They shook their heads somberly and told me that it was all okay.

I took their word for it and fell into a deep and dreamless slumber.

“What day is it?” I asked again, this time more frantically since no one had answered me the first time, suggesting that I was alone and probably had been for a long time now.

Suddenly, a very warm and familiar voice rose from my immediate right, and I noticed that someone had been sitting there in the bedside chair all the time. I just hadn’t noticed them. Just as I had failed to notice all the flowers, balloons, cards, and sweets people had left me on the bedside table. Dozens of “Get Well Soon!” cards were lined neatly there in an anal-retentive way that I had long since learned was Alexis’s.

“It has been a week, my love,” Alexis said, stirring from her chair. She came into my view as she circled the bed and stood beside me. She reached out and held my hand gently.

“A week? What happened to me? Did we win?”

“Rest, Will. Rest. There’s nothing more important for you than rest. Do not let your heart worry about anything. We won, fair and square. Blair’s dead. His headquarters are blown to kingdom come, and all his soldiers along with it,” Alexis said.

From the visible confusion on my face, Alexis understood that I needed more than what I’d just been told.

“Is everyone okay? Vince, Maliha, Morgan, John, and all the rest? Is Fiddler’s Green all right?”

“When I exploded that place, some of the pack members sent word to the fire department, giving them the impression that a gas leak had caused the place to blow up. Seeing as how the place was so dilapidated, the police, the Feds, they all bought that story. That place has been sealed ever since. The mayor has zero clue as to what happened,” she said, rubbing my hand.

“Water,” I whispered.

“Oh, right, how stupid of me,” she said, getting up to pour me a glass of water. “Look at me. My mate has come out of a coma, and the first thing I do is overload him with information instead of asking if he needs water.”

“You’re just excited to see me alive, aren’t you?” I grinned at her. She blushed as she handed me the glass.

I gulped it all down in one quick motion and handed her the glass. My throat was parched. I needed more. Now that I was beginning to notice my body’s needs, I realized that not only was I ravenous, but I was also quite frail. Each joint hurt as I moved my hand.

“Everyone from the pack is okay. All of us were extremely worried about what would happen to you, but the doc kept reassuring us that you’d wake up soon. And now,” Alexis said, her eyes welling up with tears. It was such a rare sight to see her tear up that I was at a loss for what to do. “And now, you’re okay. Everything bad is behind us. Oh, God!”

I reached forward and hugged her, and my eyes closed, my body feeling her body, my arms around her waist, my head against her hair. She hurriedly stifled a sob and wiped the tears from her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“Don’t be. Those are tears of relief. Even the strongest of us are susceptible to joy and the many different forms it takes,” I said, wiping away one solitary tear from my eye. It was beyond my control. And since when was shedding a tear over joy a bad thing?

“What worried me most was how your injuries were not healing. All these wounds, these bruises, they weren’t sealing up. For three days, the blood kept pouring out of them. We tried everything. All the balms, all the folk wisdom, but nothing happened. It was petrifying to see you bleed out like this. But on the fourth day, you just miraculously started slowly healing yourself up. It baffled everyone, including the doctor,” Alexis said.

“Yeah, but you always wanted a guy with a lot of scars, didn’t you?” I said, going back to grinning at her. “Jesus, can someone cut me off the ketamine? I’m not usually this cheesy.”

“It’s good for you. It’s keeping the pain at bay,” Alexis said.

“I would rather feel the pain,” I said, taking off the drip and getting up. It took a few attempts, but by my fourth try, I was standing on my feet.

“Will, what are you doing?” Alexis asked.

“Is that Will?” Vincent suddenly called from the front door. Without waiting for a response, he barged through the door and came inside. Seeing me standing, he gasped, then whispered, “You’re a real rascal, you know. Gave us a hell of a scare!”

Then he was upon me, hugging me fiercely.

“I’m so glad you’re okay!” Vince said, his voice breaking just a little.

“Likewise, brother,” I said, holding him tightly. “How fares everyone?”

“Why don’t you come outside and see for yourself? They’re all eager to see the man who led them to victory,” Vincent said, thumping me on my back.

“In time, Vince. In time. I’d rather spend a few moments with Alexis here. Grab a bite. Get my bearings right. You know, I just woke up from a coma,” I said.

“Right, right,” Vince said, chuckling and running his fingers through his hair. “I’m just going to pop right out and let everyone know you’re awake.”

“You do that,” I said.

“You better believe it. There’s going to be a celebration,” Vince said.

“I would be surprised if there weren’t,” I said.

“Whoo!” Vince let out a victorious howl as he raced out of the house.

“Dinner?” Alexis asked as I sat back down on the bed.

“Is it that time already?” I looked at the clock and saw that it was six in the evening.

“It’s been a week’s worth of solitary dinners and lunches for me,” Alexis said, sitting by my side. “I never want to feel that alone in my life ever again.”

“And you won’t have to,” I said, putting my arm over her shoulder. Then I reached forward and kissed her on her cheek. She turned her face towards me, and for a while, both of us just looked each other in the eyes. The next second, we were kissing furiously, our lips clashing, our tongues in each other’s mouths.

“That can wait!” Alexis said, breaking the kiss and getting up. “You’re…back from the dead. I am going to go in the kitchen now.”

I grabbed her wrist as she turned to leave and pulled her back. She fell on my lap. I caught her at the last second, holding her in my arms, and kissed her once more, this time more deliberately, taking in her sweet scent, tasting her on my tongue, feeling her on my lips.

“Now, that was better, wasn’t it?” I said, letting her go.

Her face was blushing crimson as she left the room all flustered.

I stayed in the room for a while, staring out the window and looking at the Grimm Abode before joining Alexis in the kitchen.

***

I knew one thing. These injuries would take their time to heal. It wouldn’t be for a long time that I’d be ready for another fight. Fortunately, my fighting days were behind me. I was still a werewolf, and I’d remain one till the end of my days, but I wasn’t sure if I was going to remain a fighting werewolf. There was so much more to life than that.

Such as the woman standing in front of me, holding out her hand.

“Ready?” she asked me.

“I’m ready,” I said, knowing that I was ready for more than just going out into the commune with her. I had been thinking, and not just for the last couple of weeks, but for a couple of months. It was time for both of us to move on.

As I stepped out into the night, and saw a general air of festivity around me. People were gathered around a big bonfire, holding drinks in their hands, talking to each other with their hands on each other’s shoulders, laughing, looking relieved.

Upon my arrival, they all burst forth into a loud cheer, clapping and hooting. I raised my hand slowly in the air, letting them know that their celebration was warranted and appreciated.

“Here’s one for the King!” Vincent shouted, giving me a bottle of beer and putting his arm around me. “He may not sit on a throne, but he’s royally saved us time and time again! To Will! The Grimm King!”

One more round of loud applause and cheer erupted at the end of Vincent’s toast, and people, including me, drank heartily from their bottles, mugs, and steins. Alexis stood by my side all this while emanating an aura of satisfaction and joy.

I turned to her, knowing that all eyes were on me. People wanted me to make a toast. Some wanted to know what the future had in store for us. But I was not concerned with such matters for now.

I slowly got down to my knee, holding Alexis’s hand both for support and for the sentiment I was about to extend to her.

“My love, we have been engaged for a while now, and not a day goes by that I haven’t wondered when we’ll get married and truly start our life together. I believe that the time has come. If you are ready, I am ready to marry you among these fine people,” I said.

There was a stark hushed silence in the crowd as I uttered those words. A few women gasped from behind me. I only had eyes for Alexis and was anticipating what she would say.

Her face brimmed into a beautiful smile as she nodded and said, “I’d love to marry you, Will Grimm.”

And for the umpteenth time that night, the crowd once again burst into cheer and applause. A few enterprising teens and kids from the pack decided that it’d be a good time for fireworks. They lit up the sky with their colorful display of fireworks.

I helped myself off my knee and came face to face with Alexis. She was jovial beyond words. I hugged her, holding her close to me, and felt the warmth and comfort seep into my body as I realized that, yes, it was finally time for both of us to start the next great chapter of our mutual lives.