Page 18

WES

A rms crossed, I paced the room like a caged beast, gritting my teeth to keep from screaming. The doctor checked her vitals. Made notes on his tablet, and then finally turned to face me.

“How is she?” I asked. “Is she going to be okay?”

“Well…” The doctor rubbed the back of his neck. “The next twenty-four hours will tell us.”

My heart seized.

“She needs Asclepius, but it’s dangerous to use the serum on patients this close to...” his words dropped off.

Death . This close to death . He was just too fucking scared of how I’d react if he said those words aloud. I couldn’t blame him. I was anything but nice when I demanded he get his fucking ass to the estate to help her.

He busied himself with his coat and belongings.

“But she needs it, I’m afraid. If she makes it through the next twenty-four hours, she should be all right.

The medication will keep her in stasis for several days.

When she wakes up, however, her wounds should be healed.

It’s just these next twenty-four hours… ”

I exhaled, feeling my shoulders drop as the weight of her life settled on me.

When she passed out in my arms, I thought for sure she was dead.

Her pulse was so weak, her heart so quiet that I couldn’t make out its soft timbre.

I got her home as fast as I could. Matias wanted her to go to the hospital, but I wasn’t letting her out of my sight again.

Fuck no.

Never. Again.

I looked at the doctor. “Anything in particular I need to do for her? Anything that’ll help?”

He nodded. “Keep her warm and make sure her IV fluids don’t run out. I’ll stop by in the evenings after my rounds at the hospital to check on her progress. If she wakes, page me immediately.”

My forehead wrinkled with lines of worry—anguish, a living snake within me, coiling tight and settling in. I nodded. “Thank you. One of the maids will show you out.”

He bowed, a sign of respect towards me, and left the room, closing the door behind him. I returned my attention to the king-sized bed. Watched as Mara slept with IVs in her arms, tubes feeding her the healing serum and saline. And my heart hurt.

It ached.

I saved her…but not before my father caned her within an inch of her life. He left her hanging from the ceiling like an innocent doe, slaughtered for sport.

Bleeding.

Suffering.

Dying.

All because of me. Because I refused to submit, to cave, to surrender to what he wanted.

I saved her…but I was too fucking late to protect her from the nightmare that was my sire.

And I wanted nothing more than to kill him again.

To lay waste to the remains of his corpse with lead.

To crush hi s bones, and rip out his hair, and destroy the very essence of his being for what he did to her.

And all because of me.

The weight was gone from my shoulders, but it had found itself a home in my heart. I would never forgive myself for waiting so long to save her. To fight back. To defy. My hesitation nearly cost Mara her life.

I wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

I crawled into bed beside her, laying on my left so I could watch the rise and fall of her chest with every breath. My right hand found hers. Lifted it up to my lips so I could kiss her motionless fingers, and then gently laid them back down, tucking her hand under the blanket.

“I’m so sorry, Mara,” I whispered. “I failed to protect you from him. But you’re safe now, and I will never allow anyone to hurt you again.

” I tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

Ran the back of my fingers down her jawline before nestling closer to her, careful not to touch her battered body.

“When you open your eyes, it’ll be different.

I swear you’ll be safe. Whether you truly choose me or Matias, I don’t care.

Just please come back to me. I’ll let you go if you want.

You can be with him, just stay with me, love.

Stay with me…” I closed my eyes, pushing back the sting in my throat.

Knock, knock.

Whoever it was didn’t wait for permission, and I lifted my head to see who had the audacity to come in here without my saying so. But blonde wavy locks and hazel eyes just like mine had me dropping my defenses.

“Mom?”

My mother’s eyes found me lying on the bed. “Wes, you need to get some sleep, my darling.”

I turned away from her, laying my head back down, eyes resting on Mara’s rising chest once more. “I’m fine.”

Silence .

Shuffling.

And then a hand on my shoulder. I turned to face my mother again. “What did the doctor say?” she asked.

I looked back at Mara. “Twenty-four hours. We’ll know in twenty-four hours.”

“You’ve done everything you can for her—”

“I didn’t do enough ,” I bit back, gritting my teeth. Then I sighed. It wasn’t her fault. It wasn’t fair for me to snap at her, but I was balancing on a high wire, already standing precariously on the edge of losing my sanity. “I’m sorry,” I muttered.

She squeezed my shoulder gently and remained silent. There was nothing more forgiving than a mother’s love, and I spoke without meaning to.

“I don’t know if I can handle losing her…” Quiet words. My fear crystalized into syllables and sounds whispered on shuddering breaths.

“Miss de la Puente is a fighter in her heart, my darling. And even in her slumber”—she squeezed my shoulder again—“I know she can feel you lending her your strength.”

Her words did little to comfort me, but I appreciated her attempt.

She tucked a loose strand of my hair behind my ear. “You need to sleep, Wes. The horrors we face are not over yet. And like it or not, you need to manage them. But you won’t be able to do so competently if you’re sleep deprived—”

“I’m not leaving her,” I stated.

Silence. Then a stroke of my hair. “I’m so sorry, my darling, that this fell upon you this way. It should never have come to this.”

I grimaced. I hated where I was. I hated what I had to do. But I didn’t regret it. I would do it over and over again if it meant I saved her. My only regret was not doing it soon enough.

Because if Mara didn’t survive the night…

If she gave her last breath…

I didn’t think there would be a tomorrow.