Chapter 26
My screams died on a choked sob as my breath left me. Fear constricted around my heart like a snake, causing it to beat at an exceptionally fast rate. For all I knew, it was trying to beat its way straight out of my chest.
Adrenaline flooded through my veins and I finally ripped myself away from Logan. He let me go without a fight and I stood on clumsy feet. Tears of rage and grief blinded me as I ran to his side, stumbling like a drunk on dollar shot night. He couldn't be gone. Not David. Not like this. When I reached him, I crumpled to my knees and roughly shoved Xander away from him. As I sat there stroking his wolf's tawny coat, he shifted back to human form. The boy who had stuck with me through thick and thin was lying there, unmoving.
Pulling his head into my lap, I blatantly ignored the fact that he was naked. With shaking hands, I brushed his hair out of his eyes, willing him to open them. My stomach was in knots, churning as if someone were rolling around inside it. Then, once I convinced myself to take a deep breath, I realized he was breathing.
Crying out in joy, I hugged his shoulders. He grunted in response. "Easy, Tor," he coughed out hoarsely.
"Don't talk!" I ordered, tugging on his hair as the tears came back full force.
His eyes opened and found mine. A halfhearted smile crossed his face as he took my hand in his. "I have to. I don't think I have too much time left."
"What?" I exclaimed, bewildered. "What do you mean?" I asked, my throat beginning to close up again as the fear returned.
He coughed, wincing as the movement jarred his body. "Something's wrong," he muttered weakly. "I thought he just broke something, but I should be able to feel it healing already. Or at least be able to move."
Realizing he was right; I raked my eyes over every inch of him. When I reached his chest, I had to stifle a gasp. Just over the spot where his heart was, there was a literal indention just about the size of a fist. "You son of a bitch!" I shrieked, whirling around to face Xander.
"Tori . . ." he said, trailing off as his eyes filled with remorse. "I'm . . . I didn't . . ."
"Save it," I spat, lashing out at him. Unfortunately, he easily dodged the assault. "If anything else happens to him I'll never forgive you," I swore as I advanced on him. His eyes hardened when I aimed another punch at him. With a subtle growl he caught my wrist and yanked my arm down to his side, nearly ripping my shoulder out of socket in the process. A hiss of pain escaped me, and he winced at the sound, but otherwise kept his face emotionless.
"Tori, he came after me. It was self-defense," he tried to reason with me, his death grip on my arm never lessening.
"If you weren't trying to kill all of us this wouldn't have happened!" I screamed at him; my sanity nearly gone. Struggling against his hold, I huffed. "Get off of me," I snarled.
"No, Tori," he said firmly, slipping his hold from my wrist to my hand and taking my other hand in his as well. "Listen to me –" he started.
"Why should I?" I snapped, cutting him off. "I need to help him," I informed the vampire, glancing over my shoulder to where David was still lying.
Logan approached us and Xander had my back flush against his chest in a matter of seconds. "Logan" he greeted in a snide tone.
My mate's lip curled in disgust. "Xander," he addressed with the most insignificant nod of his head. His emerald eyes met mine and I could see his fear for me buried deep within them.
"What do you want?" Xander snapped, tapping his foot impatiently.
"Did you really just ask me that?" Logan asked him with a quirked eyebrow.
"Obviously, so answer." Xander pulled my arms tighter behind my back and I winced before stomping on his foot. He swore under his breath and eased up on his vice grip, but not enough for me to break out of it. Had he not been so agitated already; I would have been fighting against him harder. But as it stood, Xander was like a ticking time bomb. The smallest thing could set him off and I knew it.
Unease settled in my stomach as my eyes drifted to my injured friend. He was trying to stand, wincing at even the slightest movement. Our eyes met and I nodded in reassurance, he didn't need to worry about me right now.
"I want you to release her," Logan said with a snort, his voice bringing me back to the present.
"Not a chance," Xander replied none too civilly.
Suddenly, I heard a dull thud. Neither Xander nor Logan seemed to have heard it, they were both too focused on me. On each other. When I looked over at David, I realized it had been him. He had fallen once again in his feeble attempts to stand. I knew I needed to get David out of the forest and back to the house, so I did the only thing that made sense to me.
"Xander?" I murmured.
"Yes, Tori?" he asked, his hold on me slackening as his tensed muscles relaxed.
Ever so slowly, I made a move to turn. Knowing my intent, Xander kept hold of my hands but allowed me to face him. Disgust with myself was already starting, but I couldn't focus on it at that moment. David needed my help. Casting my eyes downward, I peeked up at him through my lashes. "Please let me go," I said, my voice soft and barely above a whisper.
"But . . ." he trailed off as his face contorted into a look of pain. Shaking my head to silence him, I raised a hand tentatively to his cheek. He sighed and leaned into my touch, his eyes fluttering closed as he did so. Logan's anger was tangible through our connection even though it was weak, but for the time being he was going to have to deal with it.
"Please," I pleaded again. "He needs me," I insisted, my gaze traveling to David's form.
When he opened his eyes, they bored into my own and everything else fell away. But I didn't fight it, I couldn't. As long as he let me go, I would've done anything he asked of me.
"Go," he said on a sigh, his hands dropping to his sides. With one last fleeting glance at me, he walked dejectedly – brokenly – away from me.
"Thank you," I whispered, knowing my voice would carry to him. The minute he disappeared from my sight I bolted to David's side. He glared at me when I kneeled beside him, but I just rolled my eyes at him. "Don't look at me like that," I snapped, tugging on his hair. "If I hadn't done that who knows how long you would have lain here."
He grumbled unintelligibly under his breath as Logan come over and knelt beside us. "Help me get him on his feet," Logan instructed, taking one of David's arms and draping it around his shoulder. Nodding, I took David's other arm and did the same. Then, ever so carefully, Logan and I began to steer him back in the direction of the pack house. Tension settled over our trio as we started the long trek back to the house. My head hung as we kept moving. This was my fault. I should have left Xander the minute I got to him, then David would have never been there.
"Don't blame yourself," David whispered, reading my mind.
A sigh dragged itself out of my mouth. "I can't help it," I muttered, turning to face forward so I couldn't see the admonishing look he was giving me. Before I knew it the pack house came into view and we sped up our pace as much as we could.
"Rikki, Michael, Ashlyn!" Logan bellowed, hurting both David's and my ears. The three shifters in question burst through the front door of the house, expressions of worry painted on their faces. Rikki turned sheet white when her eyes landed on her mate.
"David!" she cried, running over to us and cupping his face in her hands. "What happened?"
"I got into it with Xander," he stated. A chuckle escaped him.
"Why?" she gasped, her eyes widening
We continued walking as David commenced to tell Rikki everything that had happened. Guilt hit me like a freight train as they spoke. Rikki's heartbreak showed on her face more and more the farther David went into the story. We never should have stayed in Riverview. Or at least I shouldn't have. All this could have been avoided.
"I've got him, Tor," Michael whispered once he reached us, already moving David's arm from around my shoulder. I made no move to protest. My feet rooted themselves to the ground as they continued on inside the house, carrying David with them.
"Are you okay?" Ashlyn asked, coming up and placing her hands on my shoulders.
Fresh tears welled in my eyes as I shook my head. "No, Ash," I told her. "Not at all." And then I almost fell to my knees for possibly the millionth time that day. Instead, I sank onto the bench that sat on the porch.
Ashlyn followed me and wrapped my body in her comforting embrace. "It'll be okay. We're all here for you, Tor. You're not in this alone," she reassured me.
"I'm so sorry, Ash," I mumbled pathetically as I pulled away from her and swiped at my eyes. "You shouldn't have to see me like this."
She rolled her eyes at me before hoisting me to my feet. "You can't be strong for us one hundred percent of the time. Now's the time you let us be strong for you," she said, leading me inside the house.
Warmth washed over me as I stepped over the threshold. Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I glanced around the room. There were thankfully only a few people there. Dalton and Brooke's mate, Troy, stood off in a corner, talking in hushed whispers. Jacob and Corie were closer to me, their eyes flickering over my form searching for who knows what. However, Brooke, Rikki, Michael, and Logan were all missing.Just as the thought passed through my brain, Logan appeared in the hallway leading to the bedrooms.
"C'mon, ma vie," he whispered, crossing the room and taking my hand in his much larger and steadier one.
Switching my body to autopilot, I followed after him as fear reared its ugly head. What was going to happen to him?
"Where is he?" I asked, my voice barely audible.
"We put him in one of the empty bedrooms," Logan informed me, coming to a halt at a door four or five down from our bedroom. "Dr. Walker is on his way over. You might want to get in there now," he said gently, nudging me into the room.
Michael looked up as I entered, and a small smile crossed his face as he stood. "I'm going to go take care of Ash. I'm sure she's a basket case by now," he said before he brushed past me.
Logan's hand at the small of my back was radiating a comforting heat, and it was possibly the only thing holding me together at that point. Sighing, I pulled away from Logan and crossed to the bed where David lay. Rikki was there with him, her arms wrapped around his waist as she cried into his shoulder.
"Tor," he murmured, his voice snapping me back to reality. My eyes lifted to his and I forced a small smile.
"Hi," I finally managed to say.
He rolled his tawny eyes at me and opened his mouth to reply, but he was cut off when the door burst open. The small man with a shock of white hair looked frazzled, but he didn't waste any time in shooing me out the door. "Only his mate can be in here," the man I remembered as Dr. Walker ordered. "I know you're his Alpha but I need breathing room," he said in a tight and authoritative tone. "I'll let you know what's going on as soon as I can."
With a curt nod I turned on my heel and walked back out into the hall with Logan directly behind me. "We'll know soon enough, ma vie," he whispered, wrapping me in his strong arms.
"I don't know what I'm going to do if anything happens to him," I said, my voice muffled by his shoulder as he pulled me even tighter against him. "It's my fault, Logan," I mumbled, almost choking on the sob that was trying to force its way out of my throat.
"If you blame yourself one more time . . ." he threatened.
"But –"
"Torian," Logan snapped, drawing back and piercing me with those emerald eyes of his. "Do you really think he blames you? He knew what he was risking when he came after you. We both did. I would much rather it be me lying in that bed right now, but it's not. But more than anything, you had no control over this," he told me, his voice stern.
"I know," I murmured. "But I should have."
❃ ❃ ❃ ❃ ❃
Dr. Walker was in there with David for hours. I incessantly paced the hall outside his room as I waited for any news on how he was doing. Not knowing whether or not he was going to survive was slowly killing me. Logan was leaning against the wall behind me, carefully watching me. He was worried about me, that much was obvious. But I couldn't focus on trying to convince him I was okay when in all honesty I was far from it.
Finally, the door opened, and I caught a glimpse of Rikki's shaking shoulders as she kneeled next to David's bed. Dread clenched itself around my heart as I took in the sight. Dr. Walker hurried out into the hallway and hastened to close the door behind him.
"Well?" I asked, desperation coating my voice even though deep down I knew I didn't want to hear what he had to say.
"He doesn't have long," he began, his voice rasping as if it physically pained him to deliver the words. The old man hung his balding head, removed his bifocals, and pinched the bridge of his nose. A long, tired sigh escaped him as he raised his clouded brown eyes to meet mine. My breath caught in my throat and tears once again blurred my vision. Logan had my face pressed into the crook of his shoulder in less time than it took to blink, and I wrapped my arms around his waist, thankful for the support.
"What's wrong with him?" Logan asked, stroking my hair in an attempt to calm my quivering form.
"The vampire struck him with extreme force," Dr. Walker began. "The blow broke multiple ribs, but one was a clean break."
"No disrespect intended, Doc," Logan said, the faintest tinge of irritation inflecting his voice. "But for all our sakes, please get to the point."
Dr. Walker sighed once again before he spoke. "The rib that was broken clean through punctured his heart. He's bleeding internally and even shifter healing won't be able to move the bone and stitch the hole back together in time. Before you ask, no, surgery can't help either. It would probably only make things worse." I turned around in Logan's arms to get a look at the distraught doctor. He ran a hand through his thinning hair and met my gaze. "My suggestion? Spend all the time you can with him. Make him feel comfortable and at home. He may not make it 'til morning."
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Chapter 26... blehh not happy. Oh well.
A few more chapters before I cut it off. Officially, I have decided to split this into two stories for sake of the watty awards, I will write Howls until the 30th, which is when I will upload the final chapter in this segment of the story.
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<3Always
-KC