Chapter 191

[Ella’s POV]

Arthur and I watched with solemn eyes as the paramedics carefully placed Liam in the back of the ambulance before speeding off down the street. My heart dropped further within my chest the further I watched the vehicle move away.

I can’t lose him. I can’t...

I felt Arthur gather me in his arms. “Come on,” he said roughly.

He sounded as though he was struggling to hold back the emotions that were trying to make themselves known. I held on to him as though he were my only lifeline. And, in a way, he was. With Liam’s life hanging in the balance, I couldn’t even trust my lungs to make me breathe properly.

Arthur pulled me in the direction of where his car was parked. He sped off toward the hospital, not wanting to waste another second. Of course, we were directed to wait outside of the emergency room while Liam had been taken into immediate surgery.

Since we got there, Arthur had refused to leave my side. He kept one arm draped around me like a protective cape. Even with his securing warmth, I was still shaking. I felt numb. I couldn’t trustfully rest my eyes for a moment without seeing the horrific image of Liam getting stabbed by that awful dagger.

It caused my heart to clench and my muscles to tense up with fear and anger. It was a trauma I knew I would never be able to recover from. All I could do was hope that the doctors could successfully remove the blade without causing any further internal damage.

What more could I do?

...

Hours had gone by and not a single word about Liam’s current condition had been passed on to us. I was beginning to grow unbearably restless, and I could tell that Arthur wasn’t much better. At one point or another, the two of us were pacing the hall, wishing that someone would come from those large double doors and speak to us.

But nothing.

“Everything is going to be okay,” Arthur said.

I gently shook my head. “I don’t think it will be. We would have heard something by now.”

I didn’t mean to come off as a pessimist— just more of a realist if anything. There was so much blood left behind when the paramedics picked Liam off the ground earlier.

I would have thought differently had that goddamn dagger stabbed him in any other place. The fact that we couldn't even remove it for fear of Liam bleeding out, did not bode well with me mentally.

Arthur closed his eyes for a long moment, having let out a long withheld breath.

“Ella, what happened to you before? You know, back when the hunter had stabbed Liam...You were...” His voice trailed off. “...Different.”

I stopped my pacing and found myself leaning up against the opposite wall across from him. I lowered my head toward my chest. Part of me knew this conversation was just bound to show up at some point.

“I’ll be honest with you, Arthur...I felt different,” I told him. “I felt this weird pull and force rushing to the surface. A kind of anger that I never experienced before.”

He scratched the back of his head. “I gotta tell you, I was no more than a few feet away and I felt the air fill with electricity.”

I pushed myself off the wall and dropped down into the seat next to him.

“It was strange...When I asked him about the person who hired him for the job he actually gave me an answer. But I could tell that he was struggling to keep the name hidden.”

Arthur went stiff. “Are you saying that you ‘made’ him give you the name?”

I nodded my head and fiddled with my fingers in my lap.

“Ella, it sounds like you compelled him to tell you. That’s part of the enhancement that comes when an Alpha becomes an Enigma,” he explained. “This is what gives them power over others. It’s ‘compulsion’.”

I glanced up to look at him with wide eyes. “So, in other words...This mythical power isn’t turning out to be so mythical.”

Suddenly, our attention was drawn to a loud noise coming from the opposite end of the corridor. Within seconds, we were met with a frantic-looking Aaron Winslow. He was panting for air as though he’d been running all the way from the manor.

The look in his eyes was murderous. “You two! Tell me what happened!” he demanded.

I wasn’t sure what possessed me to get up from my chair and confront the man head-on. My self-restraint had been pushed to the outer limits that night.

Who the fuck does this guy think he is for storming in here and demanding an explanation?!

Arthur must have sensed my simmering rage because he immediately got up from his chair as well to stand at my side. It was like he was preparing to use himself as a human shield for his own father.

Maybe it was because he knew I was getting ready to attack the man.

Hey, what better place to tear someone to pieces than in a damn hospital? Right?

I’d become far too fed up with the Winslows to take any more of their shit. I let out a harsh snarl from deep within my chest and stared the man down.

“This is your fault!!” I shouted at him.

“Ella,” Arthur hissed quietly.

I didn’t care how obnoxious I was being obnoxious, or the fact that he was Liam's biological father, I didn’t believe he had any right to be there.

Aaron shot me an affronted look.

“You told her, didn’t you?!”

Arthur wrapped his arms around me, holding me back from getting any closer to the man.

“What are you talking about?” he questioned harshly.

“Cecilia knew that Liam was my mate, that’s why the hunter changed targets,” I hissed venomously. “It was you who told her, wasn’t it?”

Arthur lowered his arms and physically turned me to face him. “Ella, what are you talking about?” he asked. “I didn’t think what happened to Liam was intentional.”

I slowly shook my head and sneered. Through tearful eyes, I clenched my jaw and spoke.

“The hunter was coming after me tonight, Arthur,” I sniffled. “He was sent to kill Liam...The name the hunter gave me when I asked who hired him, he told me, Cecilia Winslow.”

Both Arthur and Aaron are stunned beyond words.

Aaron placed a hand on his hip and tried to keep his tone even. “Miss Belmont, I promise I knew nothing about any hunter.”

“No. But you knew plenty enough about me and my unique ability,” I snapped. “You and Cecilia have been manic about these stupid trials that you both saw using me as an opportunity to outdo the other.”

And at that, I’d driven Aaron to silence once more. He lowered his head in shame.

“Well, now Liam is paying the price for it,” I muttered darkly.

One of the large doors to the operating room finally opened. The three of us, all with desperate looks, were eager to hear what they had to say.

“Please,” I begged. “How is he? Is he alright?”

“Good news and ‘concerning’ news,” the doctor said formally. “We managed to remove the blade successfully. What’s concerning us is that he’s lost an extreme amount of blood and we’re not sure if he’s going to make it unless we give him a transfusion immediately.”