CHAPTER 80. SO HARD TO SAY GOODBYE
RYDER
”How is he, Doc? Is Jason gonna be alright?” I asked one of the doctors who have had him under survey ever since he was confined here. We were standing at the entrance of the room, an attempt to stay far away from Jason's earshot.
”I'm afraid not, Your Highness,” The Doctor sighed dejectedly. There wasn't an ounce of hope in his tone. Got me scared.
”But, he got out of his coma, right? And he's talking now. Isn't that a good sign?” I badly wanted to be told that Jason was gonna be alright. That's all I wanted to hear, but it doesn't seem like I'm gonna be hearing that from the doctor.
”This is the last stage for him before he completely loses everything to the rogue blood in him,“
”What? Wait, I don't understand–”
”Your Highness, Jason's case is complicated. I mean, he's the first pure blood with rogue blood in his bloodstream. And even though we're not sure how extreme his case is, we do know that he's gonna have the basic traits of a rogue,“
”And what's that?”
”The killing spree,” The doctor stated, ”In a few hours, the rogue blood will take over him. Either its toxicity is gonna kill him, or if he survives it, he's gonna be a rogue.
He's not gonna have a single memory left of who he is, or who you are, or anything about him. He'll be an empty canvas, only out to shed blood,”
”Jesus. Doc, isn't there a way you can help him? I need Jason back. I can't let him be destroyed this way,”
I don't know if it's okay to get emotional in front of my subordinates but right now, I didn't give a flying fuck. In a few hours, my days with Jason will be all but a memory. I'm gonna lose him, or he's gonna forget me, about his life, about everything he's grown to cherish. How the hell am I supposed to live with that?
“I'm sorry, Your Highness, but there's nothing we can do. You have a few hours left to be with him. I advise you to make the most out of it,“ The doctor patted my shoulder soothingly and headed out.
Make the most out of it? A few hours is not enough. I need eternity!! What do I say or do with him for a few hours that's gonna ease the emptiness I'm gonna feel inside me when he's gone? What am I gonna do without Jason by my side? Just what?
I sniffed back my tears as I glanced at my wristwatch. I had a few hours. Might as well do a little talking with him.
I strolled back into the room and sat on the chair I usually sit on next to him. His eyes were partly shut and his face was creased from whatever pains he was feeling. It must be the rogue blood, it was slowly, painfully taking over him.
“Hey,“ I whispered to him, trying for a weak smile. His eyes opened and he had his gaze on me.
”I'm sorry, man. But I didn't do anything wrong. I'm sure you were told the worst. You think I betrayed you and shit, but that's all lies. Darius cooked this whole thing up. That fucking best friend of yours ruined my life…” Jason said in a breath, wincing as he struggled to sit up.
Listening to him, hearing his voice again after so long got me so at ease. But more than that, knowing it was Darius that was the real betrayer left me greatly stupefied. How could he have done this to me, to Jason, to our friendship?
”What happened that day you tried to kidnap Hara? I need to know,” I asked him. It was about time I fixed all the puzzles. I've had enough of the mind games and manipulations.
“I didn't try to kidnap Hara, whoever made up something so ridiculous as that?“ Jason scoffed, rubbing at his temples. He was sickly pale that I feared he might have the transformation sooner than the supposed hours given.
“You drove away with her, heading for the border. Darius said…” I paused, realizing just how stupid and blind I've been all this while. Darius made up all the stories, he fed me the lies and I wholeheartedly ate them up. He was right beside me, monitoring every bit of my movement. He hated Jason and made sure that everyone does too. But God, he looks too innocent to be such a bastard!
”Darius lied, dude. Your best friend is a crack and a fucking rogue,” Jason hissed, ”When I picked up Hara that day, I did it under Darius' command,“
“What do you mean?“
”You were in the meeting with the press and I was waiting 'cause you said we had to talk. But then, your best friend showed up, informed me about the mob outside Hara's apartment, and asked me to go pick up Hara. I did just that,“
”Why were you headed to the border then?“
”I wasn't headed to the border. I just wanted to go to a place where we could talk. I wanted to get some kind of closure before I brought her to you. I, uh, I love Hara. And trust me, man, I didn't mean to betray you or shit, but she's the girl I was waiting for at the mating ball that night. When I saw her again, my heartbeat kick-started, but died when I realized you were into her,”
”I was into her because she's my mate, it's been confirmed. The elders returned and broke the unbelievable news. She's my fated mate,” It was hard to say this without tearing up. I came a long way and gave up a lot of things for my blind love. A thousand werewolves meet their mates and they get marked and live happily ever after. I don't understand why mine had to be so twisted. Why did we have to go through all this pain just to get a bearable ending?
”I'm happy for you, man. Believe me, I am,“ Jason mused, spilling a tear, “And yeah, all I wanted was to talk. But we got intercepted by several rogues,“
”Rogues?” I asked confused, ”How did they invade my pack, and we didn't pick up their stench?”
“Because they use elixirs to conceal the stench. We've heard how devious rogues could be. We know how they blend in wherever they want through their elixirs.
I saw them, Ryder. And Darius was with them,”
“What? Nah, there has to be a misunderstanding. Darius was at the palace when I came out of the press conference. He was the one who told me you ran off…” Again, I went speechless as I realized my foolishness. It was all a charade, Darius pulled all the strings and we fell hook, line, and sinker.
”Of course, he told you that, “ Jason scoffed, puffing out a foggy breath, ”But it was he who masterminded the whole thing. He blocked our path with a wad of rogues and injected me with rogue blood. That's how I lost my mind,”
”Darius…injected you?”
It was a horrendous thing to do. Injecting pure blood with rogue blood was madness. Never happened before, not in a thousand years at least. It drives the victim insane, alters the person's sanity, and sprawls their emotions all over the place. It makes them the hideous opposite of who they truly were. And it makes their memories lag. That has to be why Jason didn't remember ever taking Hara for a ride when I first came here to ask him about it. The rogue blood was still fresh in his bloodstream.
“Yes, he injected me and I lost my shit. I'm not sure why he hates me so much, but I'm gonna kill him for this. He ruined my life. I'm never gonna forgive him for it,“
”I'm sorry,“ It was a heart-wrenching apology and came with a lot of tears. But I owed it to him. He was in so much pain and all I did was doubt his loyalty and innocence. Everyone said he'd betrayed me and I took their word for it. Jason never betrayed me, and I should have known that. I should have trusted what my gut feeling was saying. I should have had much faith in our friendship.
”What happened to Hara?“ He asked instead, not willing to share in any emotional moment.
”She vanished,“
”It's Darius. Check with the guys if he's still in the palace,”
I did just that, mind-linking Giveon to know if they were still in the meeting hall like I'd asked them to.
“Darius? He's here. Something wrong?“ Giveon mind-linked back.
“Keep an eye on him. Make sure he doesn't leave the palace. I'm on my way,“ I mind-linked back to Giveon.
Fuck, how couldn't I see through his lying ass for so long? Why didn't I tap into his mind all the time I got the urge to?
”You better hurry. Or you might not be able to rescue Hara,“ Jason gruffed out, writhing slightly on the bed. The pain was eating him up and was becoming more excruciating with each fleeting second.
“Okay,“ it was hard to leave, knowing he might be dead when I return, or if he's alive, he's gonna be a rogue with no memories. This could be the last time that we ever get to talk as friends, and that was breaking my heart into pieces. I turned to leave but froze in my tracks at his words.
”Take care, Ryder. And I'm sorry I can't be your Beta anymore. If I could have it my way, I'll wanna be your sidekick forever, 'cause that's how much I love you, man. And if this pain kills me, then let's meet again in our next life, and let's be brothers, real brothers. But if I turn into a rogue, I hope you can forgive me for all the horrible things I might do. And if killing me would ensure the safety of the people, then don't hesitate to. It'll be an honor to be killed by you,“
Oh God, just why did it have to come to this? Tears blurred my vision and clogged my throat, making it impossible to talk.
In a matter of hours, I'll have to make the hard choice to either kill him or spare his life and let him be a threat to me and my people. That's if he survives the pain.
“No matter what happens, man, I hope you don't forget me. Promise me that,“ It was all that mattered to me, all I needed to hear. That he won't forget me, no matter what happens. I couldn't say goodbye. It's so fucking hard to say goodbye.
“I promise,“ He groaned out, howling in pain, “Take care, man. Thank you, for everything!” His words went up in endless howls, he was screaming down the walls of the house.
I began walking but my heart was suffocating from how much tears lay beneath it. This was goodbye, and it hurts like hell.
I left the pack house and hurried back to the palace. The guys were waiting outside when I got back, even though It was already past midnight.
I clenched my fist when I saw Darius standing with them.
”You son of a bitch!“ I landed a hard punch to his face, and he fell to the floor.
”Ryder, what's going on with you?” Fred and the other guys held me back, caging me up from destroying Darius.
“You fucking sellout. How could you betray me like this? What wrong did I ever do to you, huh?! What?!!” I yelled furiously.