23. Bella with Lena
Chapter twenty-three
Bella with Lena
The clinic door bursts open hard enough to rattle the glass. Charlie is on his feet before I am.
Finn decided to come back and arrived thirty minutes before the bell tolled.
“Whoa—” Finn starts from somewhere behind me, but I’m already moving.
Lena stumbles across the threshold. She doesn’t walk in—she collapses forward like something cut her strings. I see her bike strewn on the front lawn.
“Hey—hey,” I catch her before she hits the floor, grabbing her under the arms. “Easy—Lena, I’ve got you.”
She’s in shock. Her breath comes in short, sharp bursts, her eyes are wide and unfocused like she’s still somewhere else. She dirty and scuffed up, and I see scrapes on her knees and arms.
“Close the door,” I shout.
The bell has already tolled, and we didn’t expect anyone to arrive.
Finn closes the door quickly. The latch clicks, then I hear the lock turn without him being told.
“Let’s get her to the table in room 3,” he says, already racing ahead and clearing space.
“I’ve got her.”
I half-carry, half-guide her to the exam table. She tries to speak, but it comes out broken, breathless.
“Bike—fell—I—” She shakes her head hard, like she can’t hold onto the words. Her hands are shaking.
“Okay,” I say, steady and slow. “You’re here. You’re safe. Breathe. Take a deep breath, Lena.”
Charlie hovers close, trying to offer support. He rests his head lightly against her trembling hand. You survived, he says quietly. No one should smell this afraid.
I run a quick scan.
Scrapes along her hands, dirt ground into her palms. One knee torn through denim. No obvious deep lacerations. A relatively new bandage on her wrist.
“Finn, let’s clean her up. The scrapes on her palms are bleeding. Right knee is bleeding. We need disinfectants. Gauze. And a blanket.”
“On it, doc.”
“Lena,” I say, lifting her chin gently so she meets my eyes. “Look at me. Slow your breathing. Like this.”
I demonstrate.
She tries to follow. Fails. Tries again.
“In,” I repeat. “Hold. Out.”
Her chest stutters, then catches the rhythm just enough to settle the edge of the panic.
“There you go,” I murmur. “You’re protected here.”
Finn presses a blanket around her shoulders, hands quick but careful.
“What happened?” he asks, voice quieter now.
Her gaze flicks to him. Then to me. Then to the door.
“The woods,” she says, barely a whisper.
The room goes quiet.
“What about the woods?” I ask, keeping my tone even.
“I shouldn’t have—” She swallows hard. “I was late. I thought—I thought I could make it—”
“You went through The Wilds,” Finn says.
She nods once, fast.
“And?” I press.
Her fingers tighten in the blanket.
“Something followed me. Chased me. Almost caught me.”
The words are flat and heavy in the room. I feel Finn freeze beside me.
“Followed you how?” I ask. “An animal? Did you see it clearly?”
Her head shakes immediately. “No. Yes. I don’t—I don’t know.” Her breath picks up again. “It moved wrong.”
The phrase hits something in my chest. That’s what Tom said. And Silas.
“Wrong how?” I ask, softer now.
She squeezes her eyes shut. “Too fast. Posture weird, leaning forward … low. And then not low. Like it couldn’t decide how to move.”
Finn exhales slowly. “Did it touch you?”
Her eyes snap open.
“No,” she says quickly. Too quickly. “Almost! But no. I fell. The bike—something tripped me, I think. Or I hit something—” She shakes her head again. “I didn’t look. I didn’t want to look.”
“That’s okay,” I say. “You did the right thing. You got out.”
“Something else attacked it,” she adds suddenly. “Just as it was about to attack me.”
“What?” Finn and I say at the same time.
“I don’t know,” she says, voice shaking again. “Something—there was a noise, like—like something crashed into it. And then the chase stopped. Just—stopped.”
Finn’s eyes flick to mine.
“Stopped,” he repeats.
“Like it wasn’t allowed to come any closer,” she whispers. “Or like it was attacked and couldn’t come after me.”
Silence settles in the room. I feel her terror. But I push through it, focusing on what I can control.
“Okay,” I say. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”
I take her hands, gently rinsing the grit from her palms. She flinches at the sting.
“Sorry,” I murmur.
“It’s fine,” she says automatically.
It’s not. None of this is fine.
“Did you hit your head when you fell?”
“I don’t think so. My knees and hands took the fall.”
“Blurred vision?”
“No.”
I nod, working quickly but carefully. “You’re going to sit here for a bit. I want to monitor you. Here, drink this,” I say, handing her water.
“I don’t want to go back out there,” she says, voice small now.
“Don’t worry, you’re not,” I reply immediately. “You’re staying here until tomorrow at least. The bell rang. And you’re not steady.”
Finn shifts beside me. “You can stay as long as you need, Lena.”
Lena nods, gripping the blanket tighter. “Thanks…”
I finish bandaging her hands, then step back. I notice the wrist bandage, like before and like the two girls, Maris and Jenna. I take note. I also notice she doesn’t wear the silver necklace.
“You’re scraped up, shaken, but otherwise intact. That’s good.”
She lets out a shaky breath. “It didn’t feel good. Being chased like that.”
“No,” I say. “I imagine it didn’t.
”And I’m kind of weak lately, so that didn’t help.”
Charlie edges closer, nudging her knee gently. She looks down at him and smiles. Charlie rests his head against her leg. Her shoulders drop, just a fraction.
I glance at Finn. “Keep an eye on her. I want to check on Silas.”
“Yeah,” he says. “You got it, boss.”
I step into the other room. Silas is awake again. Watching.
“You heard that?” I ask.
“Hard not to,” he replies.
“Thoughts?”
He exhales slowly. “Simple. It’s back.”
The same words. Again.
“Can you explain what it is?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “If I could, I would.”
I cross my arms. “Try me.”
He looks at me then.
“You don’t know this place yet,” he says. “That’s the only thing keeping you calm.”
“I’m not calm.”
“You’re calmer than you should be.”
“Maybe I don’t scare easy.”
His mouth twitches. “Right.”
I glance back toward the other room, where Lena’s voice drifts faintly, softer now as she talks to Finn. And think of Tom sleeping in the room down the hall.
I turn back toward the doorway— And freeze.
Charlie stands in the hall. Not moving. Not wagging his tail. Staring past me. Toward the front door. A low sound builds in his chest.
“Charlie,” I say quietly. He doesn’t respond like he usually does.
Finn appears behind him. “What is it?”
I follow Charlie’s line of sight to the front door, which is closed and locked. But… a shadow passes across the frosted glass, slow and deliberate.
Lena inhales sharply from her room as we stand in the hallway, looking at the front door.
“I think he’s here,” she whispers with panic.
Finn stiffens. “Who?”
She shakes her head. “The one that chased me—” Her voice drops. “It’s him.”
The handle turns. Once. The lock holds. Then there’s a knock, measured and controlled.
I straighten slowly, every instinct sharpening at once.
“Stay here,” I say, already moving toward the door.
No way in hell, Charlie says as he goes with me.
Finn grabs my arm. “Bella—”
“Don’t worry,” I reply. “I’m going to look through the window.”
The knock comes again. Same rhythm. Same control.
I peek through the door and see him. I feel relief flooding over me, unlock the door and open.
Darius Hunt stands there, gorgeous, strong and very welcome. He stands very stiffly. Like he’s been there long enough to know exactly what he’ll find when the door opens. His gaze flicks past me—into the clinic—taking in everything in a single, precise sweep.
Then it settles on me.
“Dr. Russo,” he says. “Bella…”
“Darius,” I reply, my voice steadier than I feel. I suddenly think of the dream last night and I’m sure I blush.
His eyes shift slightly, just enough to acknowledge the tension in the room behind me.
“Something happened in The Wilds,” he says.
It’s not a question.
“No,” I reply. “Something is happening in The Wilds.”
A pause.
“Yes,” he says quietly. “That’s why I’m here.”