Chris
"Alpha," Doc calls, having returned with his clipboard. His stoic look fills me with dread. "It's time..."
My stomach drops at his words, leaving me light-headed and the room begins to spin. I reach one hand out and grasp Doc's arm. The slow beeps in Jess' monitor hit my ears but my numb brain struggles to process how slow they've gotten.
I knew Jess' situation was serious but I thought we had more time... I need more time...
"How long," I manage to whisper, even though my throat feels like sandpaper. I can't tear my gaze away from Jess, pausing each time her breathing falters.
"Hours."
The very air is sucked out of my lungs with that one word. Tears begin to stream down my face as my world crumbles around me.
"There has to be something more you can do..." I plead, locking eyes with the man but the anguish in his gaze says he's tried all he can.
"But we have the answer," Ben adds, his voice trembling. "It'll be here by morning..."
Cyrus curls up in the back of my mind, whimpering, knowing there's nothing he can do to fix this for her. I feel his helplessness seep into me, chilling me to my core.
"We will continue to do everything we can but..." Doc trails off, shaking his head. "I wish I had better news."
"Can you get Ethan?" I ask to no one in particular.
"Of course," Mira whispers before slipping out.
"This isn't over yet," Marjorie states as she gathers her books. "We're almost there." She gives me one last sympathetic look, determination flashing in her eyes, and heads out.
With everyone gone but me and Benjamin, I turn my full attention back to Jess. Ben steps back and gives me space as I smooth her long, wavy locks out and tuck her in properly.
What I wouldn't do to trade places with her...
The door creaks open and I hastily wipe my eyes once more before turning to face them. Ethan stands frozen, his eyes locked on the bed behind me as Derek stands behind him, resting his hands on his shoulders.
"Come in," I beckon, holding my hand out to him. When he doesn't move, Derek whispers something to him before ushering him forward.
Ethan's gaze locks on Jess as he takes lead-weighted steps towards her. His expression hardens as he takes her in, seeing how frail she looks before turning his gaze to me. His eyes burn with golden fire and anger bordering on an accusation.
"Help her." His voice is quiet but it isn't a request.
"We're trying bud, everyone's-"
"Help her!" he demands more forcefully.
My gut wrenches painfully hearing the hurt and desperation in his voice. The kid has already suffered so much and is about to lose the most important person in his life...
"Ethan," Derek warns, his dark eyes swimming with sympathy and sadness.
"No!" he screams, his eyes filling with unshed tears. "Where's Mack, or Mira?! Why aren't they healing her?"
"Ethan please," I beg, reaching out for him. "It's not that simple." The anger in his voice is like rubbing glass into my wounds.
He slaps my hand away and takes a step back. "It is! This is your fault," he hisses, venom lacing his words.
"Ethan!" Derek snaps.
Derek's warning falls on deaf ears as Ethan glares at me. "I wish it was you!" With tears streaming down his cheeks, he bolts from the room shoving off of Derek as he goes.
"Don't you-"
"Let him go," I cut in. "He's right..." Guilt consumes me as his hungry words replay over and over again.
'I wish it was you...'
Me too kid... me too...
"He didn't mean it, brother," Derek cautions. "He's just afraid and upset."
"He did... and he's not wrong. Fuck, I wish I could trade places too." I hang my head, feeling like the weight of the situation is crushing me.
"Dex is watching him, go be with your mate brother. I'll check on Willow and see if she can buy her more time," Derek says, patting my back and heading out. I watch him leave before turning back to Jess.
I sigh, pull my chair back over to the head of her bed, and take her hand in mine. Sparks still dance between our skin but nowhere near full strength.
"Kids... He's just upset," Ben offers, pulling up his chair beside mine. "We often lash out at those we love the most when we're hurting..."
"All he's known is suffering," I admit. "Jess was the only one to get through to him... She was the one bright spot in his very dark life."
She tamed the feral pup when not even Claire could and with her blossomed, growing into the kid he should be.
All of that progress could be crushed in a single moment.
The door opens and Willow storms in with Kane and Damon hot on her heels. The Guardian has been her shadow since she was established as Lorelei's heir and has stayed extra close since they arrived here. Her eyes are deeply shadowed, warning of her exhaustion, but the determination burning in her eyes speaks volumes of the strength of her spirit.
"You should have called me sooner," she chides, laying her hands on Jess's chest.
"He needs to leave," Kane growls, eyeing Ben.
"He's no threat," I say, trying to put him at ease. Even now he's still worried about people trying to exploit her.
"I don't trust anyone in this place," he confides, side-eyeing the head warrior.
"I'll go," Ben says, giving Jess one last look. "Just please... buy her some more time."
Willow doesn't even acknowledge anyone else in the room, instead, she focuses all of her attention on Jess. She tucks her chair up close and closes her eyes, bowing her head.
"Such a mess," she mumbles to herself.
The same soft melody sounds as she rocks, lost in her own world. My gaze is glued to Jess, looking for any signs of improvement.
After what feels like an eternity, her breathing begins to even out and her heartbeat strengthens, giving me hope that the cure will come in time. Doc comes in and changes her bandages, the typically brown blood is nearly black.
Kane begins to pace, his eyes never leaving his mate. He says nothing but I can see the conflict brewing in his eyes. Damon takes the hint and walks over to Willow and lays both hands on her shoulders.
"Take it," he whispers after a moment.
Kane hovers ready to step in at a moment's notice. Like a child under their watchful parents' eye, she concedes, taking his offered energy.
"More Luna," Damon presses, not letting go. She shakes her head, a tear slipping down her cheek. "Mack pushed to me, you need to keep your strength up... You're the only thing keeping Jess alive."
"Please Willow," I beg, knowing Damon's right.
Her shoulders slump and she hangs her head in shame. A moment later, Damon groans and sags. Fortunately, Kane is there and catches him as he drops and shifts him to a chair.
Willow works on Jess' chest for what feels like an eternity before shifting to her lower right side. Her fair brows furrow as she strains under the damage. She's already pushing past her limits even with the borrowed energy.
The sheen of sweat shines on her ghostly pale skin and she begins to tremble. First, her swaying stops, then her melody falters and I know there's nothing left.
She's given all she has.
"Willow, that's enough," I whisper.
The stubborn woman shakes her head. "It isn't."
She's tried so hard, for so long and even she couldn't fix Jess. The realization seems to crush her as she chokes back a sob.
I lay a hand over hers and slowly pull them away. "She wouldn't want this," I say, locking my gaze with her watery one.
Something has always clicked between her and Jess. From the moment Jess found her lost and afraid in a pub, the two have been inseparable, bringing out the best in each other. If Jess knew that I put Willow in danger for her, she'd never forgive me.
"But she's not fixed," Willow whimpers. "Why can't I fix her?" Her bottom lip trembles as she mumbles more to herself.
"But you've done so much," Kane whispers, crouching down to her level. "It's time, baby girl." He swipes his thumb over her cheek, wiping away her tears as he gives her a minute to give in.
Reluctantly, Willow nods, hanging her head in defeat. I don't need to be an empath to see how crushed she is.
Kane stands and holds a hand for her. She rises on shaky legs that give out almost instantly. In one smooth move, he catches her and cradles her spent form to his chest.
"I've got you," he murmurs as she tucks her face into the crook of his neck. Kane spares me one last sympathetic look before carrying his own exhausted mate away.
Once again, the room is almost painfully quiet with just me and Jess and the steady beeping of the monitors. Lost for a sense of time but knowing we must be in the wee hours of morning, I settle back in, pulling my chair as close as it will go.
I take her small hand in mine and think back to all the times her simple touch was enough to calm the storm raging in me. As the memories wash over me I'm left longing for that simple comfort and pray to feel it again once more.
Left alone with nothing but my thoughts, I can't help but reflect on the impact she's had on me in such a short time. I didn't even realize how distant and routine my life had become, but she changed that all without even trying.
Her heart touches everyone... Not only myself and Ethan but Jude. It's strange to think he has become such an integral part of our pack and yet I discarded him without a second thought.
Hell, I worked my hardest to drive him away, not liking her relationship with Jess, and now? There's no one I trust her with more.
My eyelids start to get heavy in the soft twilight, lulled by the chorus of machines and happier memories. On the verge of sleep, the door creaking open wakes me instantly.
Ethan stands there like a kid caught with his hands in the cookie jar and drops his gaze. I catch sight of Dex lurking in the background.
Regret is written plainly across Ethan's face as he closes the door behind him, not lifting his gaze. I take a small sliver of solace that he's cooled off, not being sure If I could handle a fight right now.
"Come on," I beckon, holding my arm wide for him.
Not needing to be told twice, he shuffles directly over to me, throwing his arms around my neck and burying his face in my shoulder as he breaks, taking me with him. What starts as quiet sobs degrades to body-wracking sobbing as I hold him close. Tears stream down my own cheeks but my attention is solely on the broken boy in my arms.
"I didn't mean it," he chokes out.
"I know bud," I whisper, my voice thick and hoarse. "It's okay."
We stay like that for as long as it takes for both of us to calm back down. When he finally pulls away, his eyes are bloodshot and watery but he looks less burdened.
Ethan is usually so independent, no doubt a coping mechanism from what he's been through that it's hard to remember he's just thirteen and still so young.
I get up, give him my chair, and watch as he gently takes her hand. He sniffs back his tears as he looks at it, almost like he can't believe she's really here.
"She looks so small," he says, his gaze never leaving Jess. "She always looks so much bigger... till now..." He's not wrong, the bed practically swallows her.
"Don't count her out yet," I say, trying to give him hope.
After some time he turns to me and asks. "It's bad, isn't it?"
I nod not trusting my voice. Part of me wants to deny just how dire the situation is but I can't do that to him.
He deserves to know.
We slip into a comfortable silence as we keep vigil and wait for a miracle. Ethan starts to sway as his exhaustion begins to win, finally laying his head down on her bed, resting his cheek on their joined hands.
The steady rhythm of his breathing as he slips into a deep sleep chips away at my resolve, threatening to put me to sleep too. The first rays of sunlight are cresting the mountaintops, painting the sky in shades of peach and amber.
A soft knock sounds and Jude sticks his head in, takes one look at Ethan and nods to the hall before slipping back out. Carefully and quietly, I get up and drape a blanket over him before slipping out.
Jude stands with Percival, Hale, Ben and a couple of newcomers. The woman has short curly grey hair, keen brown eyes and a curvy physique, with short stature while the man looks to be about the same age, tall, thin and stooped by age.
"-but our records show lalune vitalis as being in Charlotte's personal collection," the woman accuses, glaring at Percival.
Jude flips through a small handwritten book that I can only assume is the diary he went to retrieve. Hale and the old man hold boxes of lord knows what as the woman scolds my advisor.
"W-well it was," Percival stampers, shifting uneasily. "You see... After the Queen's death, we tried to care for her collection, but with so many leaving, it fell to me."
The woman takes a menacing step forward, her fists balled and glares at him. "Why the hell didn't you say something?! So many of those plants are irreplaceable!"
"I thought I could do it..." Percival admits, his shoulders slumping. "But I couldn't..."
"Til' cut the man some slack yeah?" The man cuts in, nodding to me.
"What's wrong?" I ask, a sense of dread growing in me as I take in the mix of angry and grim faces.
"This bloke fucked the pooch in the most epic way possible," she snaps, turning her attention to me.
"I-I didn't know, I tried, really I did, I even potted them up so they'd have room to grow, but one by one they withered and died, no matter what I did," Percival practically whimpers. "What have I done?"
"Killed your Queen, that's what!" Tilly replies without remorse. "Without that flower... There's nothing to be done."