Chapter 29

BETA XAVIER

Light rain began to fall, the droplets cold against my skin. I shifted closer to Eleanor and gently pulled her onto my lap. Her body felt colder than before, even though the bleeding had finally stopped.

~Shit! Where the hell is Marquez?~

~Beep.~

I looked toward the road to see three SUVs come to a stop. A couple of moments later, Marquez got out of one of them, alongside a few warriors.

“Xavier!” I heard him yell.

“I’m here,” I yelled back.

“What happened to her?” Marquez looked scared and shocked when he saw Eleanor, but there was no time to waste.

Her pulse was already faint, and I didn’t think we could keep her like this for long.

I got up from the muddy forest floor. I tried to carry her but my leg was still weak, and Marquez insisted that he carry her instead.

“A trailer collided with my car and then just drove off,” I said as I walked toward the SUV with Marquez right behind me.

“I asked the warriors to do a proper check of the surroundings. I have a feeling that this was a planned attack,” Marquez said, and I nodded my head in agreement.

As I reached one of the vehicles, I climbed in the back and told Marquez to lay Eleanor’s head on my lap.

“Are you coming with us?” I asked him, but he shook his head.

“I’ll check on you later. You take her to the hospital,” Marquez said as he closed the door, and the driver sped off.

We reached the pack hospital in under fifteen minutes, and as soon as the vehicle came to a stop in front of the hospital entrance, I got out of the car and gently took Eleanor in my arms. My leg was starting to feel better so I was able to support her.

A few nurses and a doctor rushed toward me, but I didn’t wait for anyone to bring a stretcher. Instead, I hurried toward the operating room.

“Beta Costa, please place her on this stretcher,” the doctor said, but I didn’t want to let her go.

“Beta Costa.” Letting out a sigh, I gently placed her on the stretcher, and soon they wheeled her inside.

I stood frozen, my eyes locked on the door. I had never felt fear like this before. The thought of losing her made my heart skip a beat, as if the world had stopped for a moment.

“Xavier.” I turned around to see Mom and Dad rush toward me.

“Where is Eleanor?” Mom asked me, but I wasn’t able to form the words to answer her question.

Instead, I looked toward the operation theater.

“Mom, will she make it?” I asked her.

For the first time in a long time, I felt vulnerable. I didn’t know what to do.

Nurses and doctors were rushing in and out, and every time the door opened for a fraction of a second, I saw Eleanor. She looked so small lying down on that huge bed while the doctors were taking out the glass shards from her skin.

“She’ll be all right, Xavier,” she reassured me as she placed a hand on my shoulder and lightly squeezed.

“You should go and change your clothes, son,” my dad said, but I didn’t want to leave her side.

“We’ll stay here. Don’t worry,” he said, and I nodded my head and had the driver take me home.

I went back to my house, and after taking a quick shower, I went straight to the hospital again.

This time, Samuel was sitting with my parents, but so was Ivan.

“What are you doing here?” I growled when I saw Ivan. I couldn’t keep the thoughts away that he might be a traitor.

“Ellie is in a serious condition, so I came to see her,” he answered, but I still didn’t want him in here.

“Xavier.” I looked toward Samuel when he shook his head, warning me to stay down.

The operation lasted two hours, but they felt like the longest, most excruciating hours of my life.

When the doors of the operating room swung open again, I looked up to see the doctor stepping out. I rose to my feet at once and hurried over to her.

“Doctor, how is she doing?” I asked her.

“We were able to stabilize her and stop the blood flow, Beta Costa. But…” She hesitated, and I caught a flicker of sadness pass across her face.

“Spit it out, Doctor!”

“She slipped into a coma, Beta Costa. We don’t know when she’ll wake up.”

The world around me felt like it was crumbling.

~How could this happen? Why didn’t her wolf save her?~

“How is that possible?”

“Even though you managed to stitch the wound and stop the bleeding, she had already lost a significant amount of blood, Beta Costa. She was barely holding on when you brought her in—thanks to her wolf. But now, it seems both of them have slipped into a coma.”

“When do you expect her to wake?” Samuel asked.

“I don’t know for sure, Alpha Derek. It could be in a few hours, a few days, or, while the likelihood is low, it could even be a few months,” she said. She looked apologetic. “I’m sorry, but we will do all we can.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Samuel said.

She nodded her head before she walked back to the operating room.

“Xavier.” I looked at Samuel. “Let’s go to my office,” he said, and I nodded my head.

“Keep me updated,” Ivan directed at Alpha and then left the hospital.

When we reached Samuel’s office, he opened the door for me and followed me inside, locking it behind us.

“Do you know who did this?”

“No, but I saw a rogue wolf staring at us from across the street.”

“Okay. We will figure this out. I need to tell you something else,” he began, and I nodded my head for him to continue.

“The exact same time you were involved in the accident, a group of rogues attacked our pack borders, and three of the warriors were badly injured,” Samuel said.

“Do you think it’s a coincidence or a planned attack?” I asked him.

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence, Xavier,” Samuel said.

“Well, there’s something I need to tell you, now,” I said.

“Go on.” Samuel started pacing the room.

“Eleanor noticed a few odd things from Ivan. We don’t have any firm proof, but I have a couple of warriors watching him closely. There has to be someone in our pack working with the rogues.”

Alpha Derek growled in frustration. “Thank you for the update. Let’s hope for all our sakes that Ivan isn’t involved.”

Then, an idea sparked in my head, and I abruptly got up from my place.

“Xavier, where are you going?” Samuel asked me, and I turned around to face him.

“I’m going to meet a friend of mine,” I vaguely answered as I left the office.