TEGAN'S P.O.V
My eyes fluttered open to the feeling of movement beneath my hand. I don't remember falling asleep, but I haven't slept much since the incident. Truth be told, I haven't spent much time outside of the hospital other than to shower and change. All my meals have been delivered to the hospital for me. I am sure Josie had been bored out of her mind having to sit with me in case I needed her. I tried telling her she could leave but she refused. My eyes went from my hand, which was holding onto Imagen's, then moved to her face. Her eyes were beginning to flutter open for the first time since the incident. I quickly pushed the nurse's button so I could tell them she was awake. A moment later, I could feel the vibration of the door as it opened up. Imagen's eyes were fully open as she stared around the room confused.
"Good you're awake. Welcome back to the land of the living." The doctor said, trying to be funny. But it wasn't all that funny, truthfully.
Imagen tried speaking but from the looks on her face and the doctors, I assumed nothing had come out. Her eyes shot over to me in panic. I looked back at the doctor trying to make sense of what was happening.
"I had a feeling this would happen. When your throat was sliced, Lydia cut through the vocal cords. And although your wolf somehow managed to heal a wound so deep, one that I have never seen a wolf recover from, I may add, it did not heal the vocal cords, unfortunately. The damage was really bad, and I am not sure you will ever be able to speak again. We can put you in speech therapy. However, by looking at the scans, my medical judgment is that there is a high probability you will ever be able to use your voice again."
Imagen's eyes watered as tears began to slip down her face. My heart broke for her. I couldn't begin to understand how she now felt about her new condition, but I did understand a side of it. At least the side of feeling different from everyone else. Luckily, I still carried the notepad in my bag from when Lilyanna gave it to me. I quickly pulled it out and handed it to her. She looked down at it as the water droplets from her tears began to stain the paper.
"This is a lot to take in and it will be a major adjustment for you. I will step out and give you some time. When you are ready, we can discuss what to do from here. But before I go, is there anything I can do for you? Are you in any pain?"
Imagen just shook her head no, her face never lifting. The doctor nodded and left the room. We sat in silence aside from her weeping until her sobs became nothing. Her free shaky hand took the pencil and began to write.
'How do you think I survived?' She wrote, asking.
"I don't know. The wound was fatal, it was a miracle you survived."
'I survived because of you.' She wrote out, her eyes connecting with my own.
"But how? That makes no sense."
'When I was under, I was visited by someone, a beautiful woman with silver hair. She told me I had been sun kissed by a magical entity that breathed life back into me with her love.'
"But I didn't kiss you?"
'I think it was a figure of speech, I could feel power oozing off of you as you held my body when my life was slipping away. She told me that I had a choice. That I could come back with a price, because one cannot simply come back from the dead without a price to pay, or I could come with her.'
"And you decided to come back?"
She shook her head, yes.
"So, I am the reason you can't speak?"
She then shook her head no.
'It was my choice, as much as it pains me to lose my voice, I knew there was a price to pay. You simply allowed me to make the choice for myself. Well, you both did.'
"How do you know it was me?"
'Because she told me, the one that held me dear to her heart gave me her essence to allow me to come back if I so chose too."
"Essence?"
'I'm not sure. Maybe power? Either way, it had to have been you. I felt you holding me as I took my last breath. I felt your aura jump and a sense of power surging from you to me. You held me close, and you brought me back, but my question is why?'
"If I did do this, which makes no sense because I have never held any power in my body before. But if I did, it was because you deserved to live. You didn't deserve what happened to you. You're so kind and pure hearted. You were willing to die for me. To me, that is someone worth saving."
'You really are nothing like your father. I had a feeling you weren't, but now I am sure of it.'
"What does that mean?"
'It means you're our light in our darkest days. You were meant to be queen of the werewolf kingdom. You were meant to bring good to our world after so much bad. This was your destiny. She said so herself too.'
"Who did?"
'She said her name was Celeste. She claimed she was our Moon Goddess.'
My eyes bulged at the information. The moon goddess came to her? That was unheard of, legendary actually.
'She has big plans for you.' She wrote out before smiling for the first time since she had woken up. However, it disappeared quicker than it appeared.
'How am I going to talk to others? Am I going to have to live through texting or writing in a notebook?'
I sat thinking for a minute before an idea came to mind.
"What if, after the wedding, I held a mandatory class twice a week for everyone to learn sign language? So that those of us with language barriers can communicate too?"
'You'd make it mandatory for me?'
"Of course, nobody should feel left out, and it would benefit more than just you." I said, pointing at myself before winking, making her smile once more.
'OH, MY GODDESS, THE WEDDING HASNT HAPPENED YET, WHEN IS IT!?' She wrote in all caps.
"Tomorrow." I said with a gulp. "I would love for you to be there at my side if the doctor allows it."
'I wouldn't miss it even if I were dead.' She wrote as she grabbed her throat and made a face from trying to laugh.
I had never had a friend before or felt this form of love. I had Helena back home, but this was different. It made me sad all over again about my life before the kingdom. This feeling is something that everyone should have. A real friend.