Chapter 22
Sodie’s Secret
LIAM
EIGHT YEARS AGO:
Emerald Pack Clinic
Where the hell is the doctor and the nurse?
I pressed the emergency button what feels like an eternity ago.
Jessica slumps forward in pain. I should probably rush out and call for help, but I don’t want to leave her alone.
She doesn’t make a sound, but her face contorts and scrunches in agony.
It’s so intense, I can almost feel it myself.
She tries to push me away, but I refuse to move in case she falls over.
She pukes all over me. And I don’t care. Her safety matters more.
Shit, why didn’t she tell the doctor what happened this morning? I sat in the corner of the room and watched her downplay all the answers to the doctor’s questions. It wasn’t my place to interfere or call her out.
At the same time, she didn’t really lie. He didn’t ask her if anything new started today or last night. I knew something was wrong and didn’t do anything about it.
I glance down at my vomit-stained shirt and pants.
Instead of a sickly yellow color, though, bright red blood mixes with what looks like dark coffee grounds.
I rub her back, murmuring to keep her calm.
I don’t even know what I’m saying. I just try to hold onto my own control as anxiety threatens to take over.
My heart hammers against my chest. Control my breathing. Keep it together. Fuck, I need to do something. If the doctor doesn’t come soon, I will take her to him. Sodie arrives.
“Get the doctor or the nurse now!” I bark.
His steps stutter, and he rushes out the door. His quick footfalls disappear down the hall, and he shouts for help. When he runs back through the door, Jessica slumps over in my arms.
“Where the fuck are they?” I growl.
Sodie looks me up and down. “She’s vomiting blood,” he claims.
Anxiety squeezes around my heart as her body goes limp, her lips turning white. “I’m fucking carrying her.”
Before I can gather her in my arms, Sodie grabs my shirt. “Wait. Let me try something.”
“We don’t have time!” I shout, ready to punch him if he tries to stop me again. Her breathing grows shallow. Her heart rate slows to a dangerous rhythm.
He looks at me with wide eyes. “Trust me, please.” He climbs into her hospital bed and, reaching between us, places one hand over her abdomen and another on her back. A bright white light emanates from his hands.
Finally, footsteps approach from the hall. The doctor and nurse rush into the room, and they stand in stunned silence. The doctor takes in the sight of my clothing and the puddle on the floor. Turning to the nurse, he tells her to call for more staff and prepare the small operating room.
Despite the fear in Sodie’s expression, he continues to hold his position. Jessica starts to stir. Her breathing slowly returns to normal. Her heartbeat accelerates slightly, and color returns to her ashen-colored lips.
The doctor comes forward. The light emanating from Sodie’s hands fades. He releases his hold on Jessica and backs away. I don’t move.
“Liam, I need to take a look at her,” the doctor demands.
I hesitate, still clutching her to my chest, but then shuffle to the side to make room. The doctor glances at Sodie warily. Then, he gives Jessica his full attention.
Anders races into the room, along with the nurse. The doctor announces, “I need to get her into surgery right now.” Jessica hasn’t opened her eyes or regained consciousness. I don’t want to let her go. “This is life or death. We need to go now.”
We spend two days and three nights in fucking hell.
Jessica had some random, spontaneous internal bleeding, the cause of which the doctor can’t determine.
She lost so much blood, her organs start to fail.
The doctor begins a blood transfusion, and she reacts horribly to it.
He can’t tell if it is a bad batch of donor blood or if she built an immunity from before.
When the medical team stabilizes her, they ask everyone to get tested to see who is a match. The only one who comes close is one of the recruits named Darwin, and thankfully, he donates blood to her.
Still, even with the blood transfusions, her body won’t heal. The wounds she sustained from her initial injuries break open, and she develops an infection. It is one thing after another. I overhear the medical team say over and over how they have never seen anything like it.
Her body endures so much. She was doing so well, but now she took one giant leap backward. She’s back on a breathing machine, this time with a tube down her throat. Heart monitors beep at us, and IV bags hang from a pole. No one can figure it out.
I think the only piece keeping her alive is, at every chance, Sodie uses his healing magic on her. Even he can’t understand why it isn’t enough.
I sit at her bedside and hold her hand, just like I did when we brought her home from the Whitemore plantation, internally praying for some kind of miracle. Is it too much to ask for another one? She already survived the first time.
A loud argument starts in the hall. I kiss the back of her hand before standing from my chair to check outside.
“No!” Jeremy shouts.
“I’m sorry, boys. I think we have done all that we can. Without the machines…” Shakti’s voice breaks.
The doctor gently squeezes Shakti’s shoulder. Anders turns around, swiping both hands through his hair. Fat tears fall down Ean’s face. This must be fucking bad if Ean is crying. I can’t even look at Charlie or Chris. I might lose my shit if I do. Elias tilts his head back, staring at the ceiling.
“You can’t. Mom, please,” Justin whispers. Shakti breaks down into tears, turning into the doctor’s embrace.
Jeremy’s face turns an angry shade of red. His breathing is labored, and his hands ball into fists at his sides. “Are you going to call Luke? Will you to tell him that all his efforts were for nothing because we gave up on her?!”
I can’t listen. She is not dying! I feel like someone stabbed me in the fucking chest. Heat radiates off my body. My chest heaves. My vision goes red, and I’m on the brink of losing control. But I don’t fucking care. I’ll burn this whole fucking place down if she dies.
A giant hand wraps around my throat, and my body slams against a wall. I roar in anger. My fist hits a solid object, but it doesn’t budge. Their hand squeezes harder, cutting off my air supply.
“Get it together!” a harsh voice whispers in my ear. “We have enemies here. I will not lose you, too!” My rage blinds me, and I grasp for anything to grab a hold.
The hand loosens, and I’m pulled into a strong bear hug. I succumb and wrap my arms around a large body, gripping the back of his shirt. “She can’t!” I sob. “She can’t die.” As soon as I let myself fall apart, I recognize Ean.
Sodie is the last one to hear the news. He loses it as badly as the twins and I, if not worse. We hang our heads, silently crying, as we witness one more person who cared about Jessica lose faith. It’s amazing how much of an impact she made on all of us in such a short amount of time.
When Sodie calms down, we follow the doctor into the room. We solemnly watch as the nurse, with shaky hands and flowing tears, unhooks the IV lines, shuts off the breathing machine, and removes the tube from her throat. However, the doctor stops her before she turns off the heart monitor.
Shakti’s mate, Nathan, wraps his arms around her, gently kissing the top of her head as she sobs into his chest. He also rests his hand on Justin’s shoulder. Justin in turn reaches for Jeremy’s.
In sixteen hours, there have been no changes in Jessica’s vital signs. The rhythmic beep of her heart echoes around the room. Nathan convinces everyone to take a breather. Sodie and I volunteer to stay and notify the others if anything changes.
Earlier, we pulled Jessica’s bed to the middle of the room and situated chairs around it so everyone could sit with her. Sodie occupies the chair across from me. He looks like crap. I can only imagine I must look the same.
Emily strides into the room, her long black hair tied in a high ponytail, arms crossed over her chest, lips pursed, like she’s ready to tackle anything in her way.
Her dark eyes, nearly as black as Elias’s, roam over Jessica’s body.
Her eyes widen in shock before they soften and then shine with unshed tears.
“Why didn’t anyone call me sooner? I had to hear about this from Luke, who is in another country. My own brothers are here every day, and I didn’t receive a single phone call or text. You look like shit, by the way. Do you need a break? I can sit with her and let you know if anything happens.”
She sighs, and I squeeze my eyes shut. I don’t have the energy for Emily’s ramblings, but the irritation brewing inside of me isn’t her doing. I open my eyes to meet her questioning gaze and release a long breath.
“You hadn’t met her. And you were at summer school in the city.”
“That’s not fair. I wanted to meet her as soon as I heard she was here, but every time I asked, I was told it wasn’t a good time. I drove here as fast as I could without getting another speeding ticket.”
My heart softens. Knowing her, she must have dropped everything as soon as she heard from Luke to be here. “I’m sure your dad appreciated it.”
She nods and plops herself in a chair next to Sodie. “Yeah, except this is the one time I think he would have been a little more forgiving,” she jokes.
I offer her a halfhearted smirk. Sodie hasn’t looked up or acknowledged Emily since she walked in. He just sits there, eyes vacantly staring at Jessica’s still form.
Emily gently nudges his arm with her shoulder. “I’m Emily, by the way.”
He slowly rotates his head and tips his chin. “I’m Sodie, one of the recruits.”
“I assumed so. It’s nice to meet you. I heard you’re one of the highest ranking recruits, aside from this guy.” She points her thumb at me. “The leads are quite impressed with your work ethic and perseverance. They have high hopes for you as a guard. That’s why you were assigned to VIP detail.”
He flinches at her words. His eyes glass over and shift over to meet mine. Without saying anything, he asks if he can trust her. I nod. He hovers his hands over Jessica’s abdomen and her heart, infusing her body with his healing magic. Emily gasps.
As the minutes pass and nothing happens, our hope dwindles further. With a heavy sigh, Sodie drops back into his chair. Despair grows heavy in the room.
Emily rests a hand on Jessica’s leg. “I read somewhere that magic healers can pull energy from other magic wielders to strengthen their magic. I’m not a magic wielder, but some generations back, we are rumored to carry white wolf shifter blood.
Maybe if you pull from my energy and tap into Liam’s, we could help. ”
Sodie scoffs. “You read that somewhere, like from one of those damn romance novels girls like to read.”
Emily glares. “If you must know, asshole, I read it in a journal of my great-grandfather’s, who happens to be the son of the original head guard. And for the record, I don’t read romance novels.”
Sodie’s eyes widen. Right, he had no idea that Emily is Elias’s daughter.
“Just do it, numb nuts, before everyone returns,” Emily sneers, leaning over the bed and placing a hand on my shoulder. I rest my hand over Jessica’s heart. With a tilt of my head, I encourage Sodie, who eventually places one hand over mine and another on Jessica’s torso.
Together, we give Jessica everything we have.
When Shakti and Chris’s mate, Tater, return, we are exhausted. But there is still no change. Sensing the weariness deep in our bones, Shakti forces the three of us out of the room.
“You three need a break. We’ll take over and call if… anything happens.” Shakti promises with a break in her voice. Tater rubs her arm, turning her own head away to wipe at the moisture around her eyes. Tater, like Emily, hasn’t met Jessica officially. And yet she already mourns her.
My gut twists at the sorrow on both of their faces. Both Chris and Elias’s family have been in and out to support Shakti and the twins. They are a tight-knit family and why solidarity and unity are instilled among the guards.
We all nod. Sodie is the first to stand. I give Jessica’s hand a final squeeze and reluctantly walk toward the door.