The Runt novel Chapter 18

Another week passes of me watching her face studiously, looking for her eyes to open but they don't. She seems so close to waking up but refuses to cross the final crest that will bring her back to our world – I'd swear she's 'right there' and simply doesn't want to. If I didn't know better, I'd honestly say she is making the choice to stay in the coma as opposed to return to the life she was living before – not that I'd blame her. She doesn't know that things will be better, that nothing will be the same if she doesn't want it to be.

That I won't be the same.

The doctors are doing all they can and at this point, the final decision is hers to make. I speak with her for hours on end, shamelessly pleading and begging for her to give me a second chance but after the second week passes and nothing, I begin to lose hope. Her face remains in contortions while her body passive and motionless, both ends of the spectrum clearly battling for control.

All I can do now is see which one wins.

PENELOPE, HOME SWEET HOME

**trigger warning**

The harsh beeping is the first thing I notice. It is incessant, an irritant like an unattended car alarm is. Before I even open my eyes, I know I'm in a hospital by the smell – it is indistinguishable. Nova puckers her snout in disgust, clearly unimpressed with where we have found ourselves.

I don't know, I blocked all of his attempts to communicate with me weeks ago, she tells me, surprising me to no end. If Nova has given up on her true mate, there is no saving the relationship – there is nothing left to salvage. I thought I was being unfairly harsh but it turns out I'm not the only one with a self-preservation technique.

Using my senses I determine I'm not alone in the room, so without opening my eyes try to establish who is with me. I know immediately it isn't a doctor or nurse, but rather someone familiar. With a shudder, my heartbeat nearly ceases when I realize who it is.

Alpha Michael.