Chapter 37 - Because of Me

— Kaden —

I called Anders to gather the whole security team ASAP.

I skittered the car out of the driveway, leaving a cloud of dust in my wake.

I called Sam again, nothing.

On the third call, he answered as I was pulling in the hospital’s parking lot.

“What’s happened?” I asked the second the line connected.

“I don’t know. I went to talk to you, but the second I knocked the—I don’t remember her name—the woman who works at your place dragged me in, and Elaeya was on the floor, as pale as snow—I mean, paler than usual.

“How is she?

“Breathing, her blood pressure is abnormally high, and so his her heartbeat. I’d gotten her a private room in the VIP wing and sent a message to the doctors of who she is, so they rounded up quickly.

“Was there an attack?” I asked.

“I saw no sign of any. I don’t know what happened. But the doctor found a bunch of scratches on her, nothing deep, but they won’t heal.

“What caused them?

“I’ve no idea, man,” Sam told me.

“Where in the VIP Wing?

“Room 309.

“On my way.” I hung up and sent a message to Anders to meet with everyone in the lounge area next to her room.

When I barged in, Sam was sitting on one of the sofas and a nurse was taking Elaeya’s temperature. She jumped at my rushed arrival, put a hand on her heart, and looked at me reproachfully, but she said nothing to me and resumed her task.

“How is she?” I asked.

“Fever, 41.7,” the nurse replied.

“She’s sick?” I asked.

“Yes.

“What about the cuts?” I asked as I moved closer.

“I don’t know. They’re not bleeding, the doctors don’t know yet. Maybe she cut herself as she fell and she’s too weak to heal,” she suggested.

“Maybe,” I conceded.

There was sweat on her forehead, but she didn’t move. She was much paler than usual.

There were a few knocks on the door.

I went out. I would probably not help anyone by worrying by her bed anyways.

In the following minutes, I talked to most of her security detail. No one saw anything other than Sam rushing out with her in his arms. No sounds, other than one who heard the same thing Mrs. Raynolds heard. No smell either.

I saw the doctor go in while we talked.

After a few fruitless minutes, I dispatched them. They stayed nearby just in case. But I was not sensing, or smelling anything fishy around either.

In the room, the doctor was looking at Elaeya’s neck.

“Take a photo of this,” he told the nurse.

“What have you found?” I asked him.

“A puncture mark on her neck,” he told me.

“She was attacked?

“I don’t know. Could be from the fall, but it’s clean, there’s no scratches around the opening, so it could be inflicted by someone.

I pumped my fists a few times.

I promised her she would be safe in my pack. She had been in my house, with my warriors looking after her, and she landed in a hospital bed.

My jaw clenched and unclenched as I walked to the other side of her bed.

I heard a knock on the door.

It was probably Ylva who’d been the only one I hadn’t interrogated yet, but she hadn’t been on duty at the time, so I doubted she knew more than the others, and I was a little too pissed to be social at the moment. So I stayed where I was and looked at Elaeya.

The doctor left. And Ylva peeked inside as he walked out.

She gasped. I looked up and saw her face paled, her eyes wide looking at a space above the bed.

Then I heard something, something that made my skin crawl.

— Ylva —

I’d rushed to the hospital as I’d gotten a call from Anders in a panic. Someone might have gotten to Elaeya. I’ve no idea how it could have been done without a fight. Only if it was an inside job.

I knew Kaden would ask for answers. I was bracing myself for it, but I’d been sleeping. My shift started at three in the morning. I knew nothing.

When I knocked at the door, no one came.

I would have normally barged in, but not on an angry Alpha.

I decided it might be better for me to wait.

I hadn’t seen Kaden lose his shit very often, but when he did, it was not pretty.

When the doc slipped out, I decided to use this opportunity to take a peek.

The moment my hand touched the door as I stopped it from closing, I knew something was wrong. There was something in the air that was foul, an energy, stronger than I’d ever felt. One of absolute evil.

I know people and religious organisations like to throw that words around a lot. But generally, those that do so, have no idea what true evil his.

I carefully moved the door out of my way and looked in absolute horror at what was awaiting me.

The Other was here, in this room, on top of Elaeya. Its shape solider than ever. It’s long spidery fingers that ended in crooked claws glided sensually inside little cuts in her skin. Then it raised the bloody claws to its head that split in two at the middle opening wide enough for the upper part of the head to misalign with the lower part, and a long purply triple tongue slithered out of its serrated rows of teeth to lick the blood in pure sexual ecstasy, shuddering in the most grotesque abomination of an orgasm.

It straddled her with its long limps, and it turned its jet-black head slowly to me. Its eyes connecting with mine as a knowing smile spread upon its wicked lipless face. The glossy black eyes digging at my flesh as it started to laugh demonically.

Kaden reacted first, Sam rose from his sitting position a second later. I don’t know if they heard it, but they perceived something.

At that very moment, the Other taunted me, as it slid another claw inside another of Elaeya’s wounds and brought the blood to its mouth once more. Sucking on it lasciviously.

“Ylva?” Kaden asked, clearly looking for the source of the disturbance.

He knew I could see things he couldn’t.

At this moment, I had a flashback of seeing Elaeya wipe her blood away, and burn the evidence. She’d had been worried to leave blood behind.

Blood that an Other was enjoying.

There is no way in hell that I could fight an Other. No one here can fight them. But I promised I would protect Elaeya, that I’d protect my Alpha, my pack. And it came here because of me. It followed me. I’d seen it by the woods, looking at me, at us, when Elaeya and I went for a run. I thought it might have been interested in me. I thought I was protecting myself the best that I could. But when it had looked at us, it switched its target, I just never realized it.

I don’t know what I could have done differently. But it didn’t change the facts. It was killing Elaeya, and it was my fault.

I didn’t think, I drew the sword on my back, sad that I still hadn’t replaced my battle-axe that I broke during the fight in Ruthenia, and released my best battle cry as I charged the most impossible opponent I’ve ever fought.

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