Protecting You

--ELEVEN--

"You can tell me, you know."

I shot Brandon a dirty look and tugged the shorts up over my hips. My skin was slicked with sweat from the run we had just returned from. It hadn't technically been a perimeter check, because Alpha hadn't assigned us to it. Rather, Brandon had just suggested we get out of the house for a little while. I wasn't going to protest.

"Don't give me that look," he added in playful anger. "Something has been bothering you all afternoon."

"And how'd you figure that?" My words were pricked with annoyance.

"Alright, don't tell me. You value your privacy. I get it, but I can probably help."

As I twisted my damp hair up into a ponytail, I considered how similar this conversation reminded me of the one I had a few days prior. Which only made me angrier. My strides quickened while I jumped onto the patio and started for the backdoor.

"Thanks, Gamma," I told him, "but I'll pass."

I headed straight down the hall to the staircase before making my way up to my room on the third floor.  To my supreme annoyance, I walked in to find Elisa sitting on my bed. She flattened my scowl with hers while she got to her feet.

"Where have you been?" she demanded. "I haven't seen you in three days! Every time I come to your room, you're gone. Alpha couldn't even tell me where you were."

"You went to Alpha?" I asked, frustrated.

"Well, yeah! I was worried!"

My jaw clenched. He didn't know I'd been playing hooky for the last few days. I couldn't explain to him or anyone that I was avoiding school because my anima was there. Brandon was the only one I had spent any time with recently, and he didn't ask questions. Except for earlier. That was the only time he bothered to ask what was wrong.

"Jenna," she pressed impatiently.

"I've been avoiding you-know-who," I said while shutting the door behind me. It would be just like Jessica to accidentally eavesdrop.

"So you decided to not come to school?"

"Shhh!"

Her brows furrowed. "Seriously? You can't hide from him forever. Your grades are going to drop."

Sighing, I collapsed onto the bed. I knew that. I knew I couldn't play this game for the rest of my life. Alpha was likely to come find me now that Elisa had ratted me out. Terrific. A thorough butt-chewing was probably just what I needed.

"How is he?" I asked.

"Maybe you should check it out for yourself."

A low growl rolled out of me. I didn't bother apologizing for it, knowing Elisa wouldn't take the gesture personally. She cleared her throat and sighed.

"He hasn't been at school either," she told me. "There're rumors spreading...not the good kind."

"What'd you mean?" I sat up to look directly at her.

Shaking her head, she considered her next words carefully. "People are saying his mother has gotten worse. That she's back in the hospital."

My hands curled into fists. That would explain why he was crying. The day I found him alone in that old room was probably the day he found out. Guilt assaulted me in crippling force. To think my mate was hurting...I was on my feet and halfway across the bedroom before I knew what I was doing.

"Go get him," Elisa whispered, the smug grin practically audible in her voice.

I didn't pause to think about the repercussions of my actions. I took the stairs down two at a time and strode out of the house, straight to the car. The forest and asphalt ripped past as I followed the instinctive pull to Will.

My heart was stammering in my chest, making me feel half like a nervous wreck and half like this was the most important mission in my life. The idea of what words I would say didn't cross my mind until I found myself parking outside of the hospital. For a moment, I sat in my car and tried to regroup.

What was I going to say to him? What if he was angry with me for coming here and invading his family's privacy? I shook my head. If he was angry about that, I would deal with it later. I just needed to see him. I just needed to know he was okay.

The woman behind the desk in the hospital lobby greeted me with a forced half-smile.

"Good evening," she said. "How can I help you?"

"My friend is here, but his mother is the patient," I answered quickly, restless now that I was so close. "I'm not sure what floor or room they're in."

"Well, it would be against patient confidentiality to provide those details. Maybe you should contact your friend. He should be able to tell you where she is."

My temper spiked. "Please. I just need to know where they are."

"And I'm sorry, but I can't do that."

As I fought to withstrain the burning impulses inside of me, I turned away from the desk and marched towards the elevators. It would be more difficult to locate them with just the mate attraction with all the rooms and hallways, but it was possible.

The hospital twisted and turned in a thousand different direction. I avoided my scent trails so I wouldn't cross the same path twice, but using my exceptional sense of smell also brought in a plethora of unpleasant odors. Even after ten minutes, the pungent antiseptic smell still stung my nose. Not to mention the blood and dead skin that hung so heavily on every corridor. Humans wouldn't notice it, but I could.

Finally, I was drawn to a plain wooden door in the ICU. Will's aroma overpowered the other medical scents and strange odors of critically injured humans. A tremor of panic worked its way down my spine. Before I could turn back and walk away, I forced myself to lift a hand and gently rap my knuckles on the wood surface.

The sound of someone's shoes shuffling across the room increased my panic. I curled my hands into fists to contain my anxiety. As the door pulled open, a rush of air rushed out of the room and poured all over me. I could smell the rot of infection before ever even seeing the woman whose life I spared.

Will stood in the door's place with a grim shadow cast across his face. My heart ached at the sight. I took a shaky breath and looked directly into his coppery eyes.