Chapter 44
Iwake to the sound of steady beeping and bright fluorescent lights, the familiar surroundings immediately letting me know that I’m back in the same hospital as Halloween night.
“There she is.” I hear Thane’s rough voice just before he comes into view. I should say something or move, but I’m scared I won’t be able to. “You’re okay,” he reassures, stroking my hair.
My eyes fall shut, and I begin to sob uncontrollably, feeling his touch. He scoops me into his arms, and I cling to him as a flood of emotions comes crashing into me like a tidal wave.
“I thought I was—” I choke on my words, and Thane holds me tighter.
“Shh. I know, it’s okay. You’re okay.”
I stay pressed against his chest until I have no tears left to cry, and then he settles me back into the bed. Sienna and Kole shift into view behind him, and somehow, more tears come racing out. I motion for them, and Thane steps aside so that they can pass.
Kole darts around to the other side of the bed, and I embrace both of them, letting their presence chase away the last bit of panic and fear.
Sienna nuzzles her face into my shoulder and begins sobbing, but my attention is on Kole.
He feels like a statue in my arms, and I’m not sure if it’s because he’s trying to put on an act in front of Thane, or if it’s because he’s trying not to fall apart.
Either way, he pulls away too soon, making my heart plummet so far that it doesn’t even feel like it’s in my body anymore.
“I’m so sorry. I should’ve been there.” His voice cracks, and the pain in his eyes is unbearable to look at.
“You were there,” I say, reaching for his hand.
The second we touch, my heart comes soaring back into my body.
Sienna lifts her head and steps aside so Thane can take her place beside me again.
He presses his forehead to mine, and for a moment, it feels like the weight of the world isn’t pressing down on us.
Kole’s hand slips from mine, and the look of agony written on his face cuts straight through me.
“What happened?”
“When we found you, there was blood everywhere,” Sienna says, moving to the foot of the bed.
“You had pieces of glass sticking out of your thigh and stomach, and there was one embedded in the back of your neck. Kole was able to use his fangs to release the antivenom of his bite and heal the wounds, buying us enough time to get you here.”
I look to Kole, whose gaze is fixated on the floor. “I knew you could do it. I wanted to tell you that, but I couldn’t talk.”
He looks at me, shaking his head. “I was so scared. I almost couldn’t—”
His words cut off, and I can see him being crushed by the weight of the shame he insists on carrying.
“But you did,” I interject before he can go on. “You saved me.”
“I only bought you time. Thane saved you.” He glances at his brother, who hasn’t taken his eyes off me.
“What’s he talking about?” I ask, shifting my attention to Thane.
“You needed a blood transfusion.”
All four of our heads whirl around to find an older woman in a white coat, striding over. She has shock white hair, and as she gets closer, I recognize her as the same doctor from Halloween.
“Grey, this is Dr. Goodwin. She’s taken care of Kole and me for decades and is a huge reason we were able to create synthetic blood,” Thane tells me, as she takes a place next to Sienna at the end of the bed.
She nods, offering me a tight smile. “Glad to see you’re doing better.”
“Thanks. Did you give me Thane’s blood?” I ask, bringing the conversation back around.
“You were in bad shape when Kole got you here. You had lost a lot of blood, and although Kole healed the superficial part of the wound on your neck, your spine and other injuries were not healed.” Her gaze lands on Thane, and the air seems to grow thin. “We need to talk.”
Thane nods to her. “Whatever you need to say, you can say in front of them.” Dr. Goodwin tosses a sidelong glance at Sienna. “That includes her.”
Sienna looks just as surprised as I am to hear Thane say that, but maybe it’s because he knows how important she is to me.
“Alright…” Dr. Goodwin says, not bothering to mask her condescending tone.
“Most wounds can be healed with vampire blood, but in your case, you lost too much blood. I needed to replace the blood you lost before vampire blood could be used to heal your wounds.” She pauses, and it’s as if each of us is holding our breath in anticipation for what she is going to say next.
“Vampires and werewolves only have one blood type, but the humans had eight common blood types. Right now, our lab is out of the synthetic O negative blood because it’s the one the vampires tend to like the least. Since I didn’t have the universal blood type, and I didn’t know what yours was, I needed to run a rapid blood test to find out.
The thing is, when the results came back, the only blood type you matched with was that of a hybrid. ”
“What?” Thane and I say at the same time.
“How is that possible?” Kole asks before Dr. Goodwin has a chance to explain.
“I don’t know how,” she answers with a shake of her head. “I only know the science, and it was a match. Alpha was on his way to Seattle, but luckily, we had several bags of his blood in the lab from when we had done testing on it. If we didn’t have that supply on hand, you wouldn’t have made it.”
“Okay, but what are you saying?” I ask, sitting up a little more.
“What I’m saying is that your blood is not that of a human. I won’t know until I do genetic testing, but I have some suspicions.”
“Like what?” Thane growls, his patience growing thin.
“Both vampires and werewolves share human DNA. But unlike the humans, they also contain mutated genes, which is what causes the vampire and werewolf transformations. It’s just a guess, but I think that you may have the same makeup as Alpha.
The difference is, I think your vampire and werewolf genes are somehow recessive, causing them to be dormant.
That’s why you present as only human and why you’re not able to heal yourself. ”
My head is spinning with the information, trying to make sense of it all. What she’s saying can’t be true. I’m human, not some hybrid. I can’t be.
“How long will genetic testing take?” Thane asks.
My head snaps up to look at him. “You think what she’s saying is true?”
His fingers run along my chin as his eyes bore into mine. “It’s always felt like there’s something more to you. What if this is it?”
“What if this is why the bond between you two is so strong?” Sienna chimes in.
Heat flares beneath my skin when Thane’s thumb trails along my jaw, as if the bond is trying to make a point. I don’t want to consider that what she’s saying is true, but each second that Thane is looking at me, I’m finding it harder to ignore.
Kole runs his hands through his hair, pacing back and forth next to the bed. “This is crazy. I mean, your parents would’ve had to have been a vampire and werewolf like Thane’s.”
“Maybe that’s why they gave me up,” I say, considering that possibility. “I just mean—” I stop myself, thinking about how Thane’s mother didn’t want him.
“No, you’re right,” he adds, sensing my hesitation. “It would make sense.”
“Well, until I do the genetic testing, this is all just hypotheticals,” Dr. Goodwin cuts in.
“Do whatever you need to,” I tell her. “I need to know the truth no matter what it is.”
“Alright. I will, but first, you need to get some rest.” She glances at Thane and Kole. “You two are needed elsewhere.”
For a moment, I had forgotten all about the reapers and the attack at the mall.
I reach for Thane’s hand. “Go.”
“I’ll stay with her,” Sienna offers, moving to stand next to Thane. “She’ll be okay.”
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He seals the promise with a kiss to my forehead that brings more comfort than I could’ve ever expected.
“Do what you need to do. I’ll be fine.”
“Get some rest,” Kole says, looking back at me with eyes that tell me all the words he can’t say.
I want to wrap myself in his arms and bury my face in his chest until we both feel okay, but I can’t. All I can do is watch him walk away from me. It’s like there’s an ocean between us, and no matter how far and how long I swim, I just can’t seem to reach him.
“Sienna, do you mind grabbing some food? She needs to eat,” Dr. Goodwin asks, shifting to the side of the bed with a straight face that makes me wonder what her problem with Sienna is. Judging by her tone, I’d guess she has a superiority complex that needs fixing.
“Of course!” Sienna rushes over to my side and squeezes my hand in hers. “I’ll be right back.”
“Thank you.” I pull her in for a long hug. “You saved me too.”
When she leans back, there are tears brimming in her eyes. “I should’ve gone with you—”
“No.” I shake my head. “We’re not doing that. No one could’ve known there was going to be an attack. You’re not responsible for what happened.”
“But—”
“No.” I place my other hand on top of hers. “You were there when it mattered, and you’re here now.”
She nods, accepting my words, though I can see the guilt still haunting her.
“I’ll be back.” She presses a kiss to the top of my hand and heads out, leaving me with the doctor.
“Okay,” Dr. Goodwin says, throwing the covers back and taking off the monitors. “You need to come with me.”
“What? Where?”
She grabs a hold of my hand and pulls me from the bed. “You need to see something.” I follow behind her as we make our way down a corridor to a bathroom.
“What are we doing in here?” I ask, as her frantic energy begins to scare me.
She whirls around to face me with intensity burning in her eyes.
“It takes time to show up, so I didn’t see it when he first brought you to me, but after the blood transfusion, I needed to check to make sure you were healed everywhere, and that’s when I saw it.”
“Saw what?” I demand, panic fully setting in.
She grabs hold of my shoulders and whips me around so that my back is to the sink.
“Look,” she orders, shoving a mirror into my hand. She grabs my hair and lifts it up, nodding for me to use the hand mirror.
“No!” I gasp. “That’s not possible!” My heart feels like it’s beating a hundred miles per hour as I look at the reflection in the mirror.
“It is possible, but no one has been stupid enough to do it.” She pauses. “I don’t even think he knows. He was trying to save you. The bloodlust would’ve been all-consuming. He wasn’t in his right mind.”
I can feel her watching me, waiting for me to say something, but I can’t seem to form a single thought, let alone words. All I can do is stare. Stare at the thin black lines running along the back of my neck where Kole bit me… where Kole marked me.
“When Alpha finds out, no one will be safe. The beast in him will be unleashed, and there’s not a single force on this earth that will be able to stop him from ripping the world apart.”