Chapter 164

Alaric’s POV

I sat in the private waiting room dedicated to me and the Auburns, impatiently hoping to hear news of Cara. As Mia continued to rest in her own room, Cara had been taken to a room of her own. She was there now, in a bed all her own, presumably unconscious, while the doctors inspected her.

Yet, while my anxious and protective nerves were prickled, it was Ethan I was truly worried about. He sat in one of the chairs, staring off into space. With both his mother and his sister in unknown conditions, I imagined he and I must have felt the same kind of fear.

With the people closest to us in dire straits, what were we supposed to do but wait?

In a show of solidarity, I walked to Ethan and sat in the chair beside his. To my surprise, he placed his hand in the space between us, palm up. Immediately, I took his hand in mine and squeezed.

I didn’t know what the future held for any of us, but he was my son. I was going to be his father forever, here for him no matter what happened.

I hoped he knew that. I didn’t want to say the words aloud for fear that they would somehow led to losing his mother and sister. Though I would always be here for him, I didn’t want to be the only one he had left.

I wanted our family to be safe and whole.

Colin’s POV

While Alaric and Ethan waited for news, my brothers and I walked down to the cafeteria, not because we were hungry but because we needed something to do to keep from worrying ourselves into a frenzy.

We would do anything for our sister and our niece, fight any foe. But how could we fight an illness? Especially ones that the Healers were having trouble diagnosing for both mother and child?

So we kept ourselves busy, walking down to the cafeteria where the coffee tasted better than the old pot at the nurses station. Here, they even had a hazelnut flavor.

Yet even when we had our coffees in hand, we sat around a table and did not drink them, each of us too lost in thought.

“What do you think’s wrong with Cara?” Ryan asked.

“Exhaustion, most likely,” I said. Guilt ate away at me. I had seen how weak and tired Cara was feeling on more than one occasion, but I had brushed it off at each time. I was so accustomed to my sister being strong, to never backing down or getting so much as a sniffle.

I should have said something sooner. I had tried, but she’d brushed me off. I should have been more adamant and insisted that she also get herself looked at by a Healer the minute we arrived at the hospital. Maybe we could have avoided this fate, or at least we might have learned what was going on with her sooner.

None of this was my fault, but I was still ready and willing to accept responsibility. To say it was all just chaos or fate felt too unkind and uncertain. I wanted someone to blame, even if I had to hate myself to accomplish it.

“It can’t just be exhaustion or the Healers wouldn’t be so damn worried,” Aidan said. “There has to be something else going on.”

That was what I dreaded the most.

“We’ve all seen her acting tired,” Ryan said.

Aidan shrunk in his chair. “I thought she was just overwhelmed. I thought she’d bounce back.”

“Me too,” I admitted, with regret. But at least I hadn’t been alone in my thinking. We all failed Cara by not making more of this new physical weakness of hers.

“What should we do?” Ryan asked.

“What can we do?” Aidan asked.

“We wait,” I said.

“I hate waiting,” Aidan grumbled.

“It shouldn’t be too much longer now,” I said, checking my watch.

“What makes you say that?” Ryan asked.

Lifting my phone, I rechecked my messages, reading the one I had just read not all that long ago.

A message from Richard.

We’ve landed. In route to the hospital now.

I’d kept the message more or less secret until now, still uncertain how to broach the topic of Richard helping with Alaric.

With Cara, we knew her love for Mia would win out over any hard feelings she felt for Richard. With Alaric, it would be much more difficult.

An Alpha’s protective instincts were not to be trifled with. As Richard had already hurt Cara in the past, any attempt to allow him near Cara in her weakened state could trigger Alaric’s protective rage.

At a perceived threat, he could go full Alpha and keep anyone and everyone away from his mate.

If Cara could speak for herself, she would likely tell him to knock it off and he would be forced to listen. As it was, she was unconscious, so he would have no one to help keep his instincts in check.

I turned my phone and showed my brothers the messages now.

Aidan cursed under his breath. “Pretty garbage timing.”

Ryan was slightly more optimistic. “If anyone can help, it’s him. Wait.” Ryan leaned in closer, reading messages from further back. “Does this say he’s bringing people with him?”

Ruby’s POV

It had been far too long since I’d been back in DuskWood territory. Actually, being anywhere with a temperate climate felt nice. I’d gotten used to so much snow and ice as was in the north, but seeing green trees again and not having to wear thick coats was a luxury I had certainly missed.

As our taxi approached the hospital, I could practically feel Richard’s tension oozing off of him.

We’d become something like friends during our time in the north, where we had both dedicated ourselves to our research in hopes of saving Mia. Though we’d made strides in our efforts, this visit still felt premature.

Necessary, though, if the news of Mia’s condition was anything to go on.

In addition to Richard and me, we were joined by a primer expert in the field. Grayson was an older Healer with a fifty years of experience under his belt. He acted as something of like a tutor to us in the north. When he heard that a child was in danger, he was insistent that he come with us.

We were happy to have him. His level-headed expertise often helped fill in the blanks for us, to help us see the things we so often overlooked.

Though the three of us had good comradery up north, in the car, we were all quiet, perhaps serious in our reflection of what needed to be done to save Mia’s life.

Stepping out of the car, we were greeted by the Auburn brothers Ryan, Aidan, and Colin. No one made a move to hug or shake hands. Everything felt very tense.

I felt somewhat odd myself. Cara was my best friend. Though I was loathe to imagine her stepping away from Mia to greet me, I thought she would at least send a message of some kind.

The three brothers just stood there, looking grim.

I didn’t know how I knew something was wrong. Maybe a best friend intuition. But still, that uneasy feeling compelled me to ask.

“Is Cara okay?”

Colin looked at me with pity in his eyes, but it was Ryan who answered.

“No. There’s something wrong with her too.”