Chapter 22 #2
That damn asshole had pulled my braid up, revealing my ears to everyone standing around.
To Carter.
“It’s fine, they’re covered.” He kissed my temple, holding me tight as Kai and Marcus lifted Dimitri off the ground under my watchful glare. “We’ll argue about you keeping things from me later. Or not. I guess I can live with you hiding the fact that you’re actually the first Succubus.”
He forced a chuckle. I buried my face in his chest, breathing him in. Carter is safe. Even though Dimitri was badly hurt, Arc missing, Blake heartbroken somewhere, Carter was safe. He could be my rock right now.
“I’m sorry,” I croaked, my throat too tight with restrained tears for my normal voice to come out.
Carter moved, hand caressing my hair softly. “It’s alright. Everything will be fine.”
He leaned forward, placing me back over Dimitri on the narrow stretcher.
Everything will be fine, I repeated to myself. It had to.
They had to place the stretcher over the bed because I wouldn’t let go of Dimitri. Surprisingly, no one tried to force me or convince me to get off.
Marcus and Kai were gone, giving a report to Carrie about what had happened and the rogue guards following unapproved orders.
Dimitri was still unconscious under me, even as Ann and her team moved around the room to check on him.
“He appears to be fine,” Ann concluded, stepping closer to stand next to me. “Nothing major going on. He’s severely dehydrated, beyond exhausted, and has many injuries, but nothing that would be life threatening to a weaker being.”
“So, he’s simply…passed out?”
Ann nodded to Carter who stood in the corner, his arms crossed over his chest. “I don’t know what happened to him, but he seems to have been stabbed a few times, even though the wounds have already mostly healed.
His heart rate and blood pressure are through the roof, so I’m guessing he’s actively trying to hold the madness at bay. ”
“Do you think the madness is acting up because of something specific?” he prodded.
“Could be a lot of things,” Ann replied. “Pain and physical or mental exhaustion are big factors.”
I looked at them, staying silent. Listening to Dimitri’s heart beating fiercely in his chest. The IV dripped steadily, working to rehydrate him.
He’d freak out if he’s still plugged in when he wakes up. I needed to stay here. With him. Make sure he felt safe when he came back to himself.
“Lola? Did you hear me?” I looked at Ann, confused. “You should go home and rest. We have everything under control here.”
I shook my head, my hands clasping on Dimitri’s wrecked T-shirt.
“He won’t wake up for hours, if not days,” she added. “We’re monitoring him, and his brain activity shows he’s not in a state that could allow him to emerge. He’s fighting the madness, Lola. And I’m pretty sure he won’t let it win.”
“But what if he wakes up mad?” I finally spoke. “What if he’s not himself, and I’m not here, where I should be, to appease him? Are you ready to deal with a mad Nephilim without hurting him? Because if you do, I’ll be the one you’ll need to worry about.”
She smiled, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder.
“We’ll call you at the slightest change.
If something indicates he’ll wake up, you’ll be the first one to know.
As soon as the bag is empty, we’ll take the IV off.
” I thought about it and she gave me the time to do so, waiting patiently until I came to a decision.
“What time can I come back?” I asked.
“Anytime. If you feel like stopping by during the night, I’ll inform the staff to let you in. But if you’re being reasonable and get some rest, official opening hours start at nine tomorrow morning.”
Nine. It was barely 6:00 p.m, so it meant over twelve hours away. It felt too long.
“Come on, baby. I’ll bring you back if you’re too anxious, but you need to get some rest.”
I did. It wasn’t like we slept a lot the night before and my body and mind were starting to shut down.
“Do you need me to take a look at your wounds?” Ann asked, crouching to my level.
“They’re superficial,” I commented.
“They are, yes. But the guards blades are infused with magic and cause brutal infections that can keep you out for a few hours. I’m surprised you kept fighting after it cut you.”
I frowned. I didn’t feel anything strange except for a sharper pain than a common cut.
“I’d like to take a quick look at it, if you don’t mind? Now that Dimitri is all set.”
I glanced at my thigh, at the dry blood and the slitted, stained jeans. “I feel fine.”
Ann leaned closer too, inspecting the wound with a careful eye. I flinched when her finger parted the sticky fabric that stuck to the skin.
Okay, that hurt more than I thought.
“Your blood is fighting the infection and it didn’t spread,” she said. “You’re lucky, you might not even get sick. I’m guessing it has to do with your age.”
So everyone saw my ears. Great. Carter stepped closer, placing his hand on the small of my back.
“Why would it have to do with her age?” he asked.
“Arc’s blood reacts the same. He never gets infections from any nicks or deeper cuts. Might be a pointy ear thing.”
Ann patted my shoulder and winked. At least they took it well. And here I thought they’d either be upset or see me differently.
Maybe I should have listened to Arc and not given a single fuck about people knowing.
Tonight, I slipped. I used my emotion enhancing powers, and they noticed something was wrong.
On the bright side, they didn’t expect me to fight back the way I did.
But now, my element of surprise was gone.
The word would spread and if I was ever attacked again, they’d be prepared.
Which sucked.
But it also meant they might not attack again. When the terrified guard would come out of his trance, he might not even be able to cross my path without flinching.
I hope he had a couple of little heart attacks. That’ll teach him to follow dumb orders.