Tristan’s POV
70
The drive to Orion’s house felt like it took forever. I kept my fingers pressed against Athena’s neck, checking her pulse every few minutes,
Her heartbeat was weak but steady. Her breathing was shallow but consistent. She wasn’t getting worse, but she wasn’t getting better either.
I tried not to think about what would happen if she never woke up. Or worse, what would happen if she woke up and that thing was still inside her.
The car pulled into Orion’s driveway and I saw Sarah on the front porch. She’d been pacing, I could tell from the way she immediately stopped moving
when she spotted us. Her face was pale and her hands were shaking.
The moment Orion stepped out of the car, she ran to him. She threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder.
I couldn’t hear what she was whispering to him, but I saw his whole body shake. He held her tight and closed his eyes like he was trying to absorb some
of her strength.
After a minute, she pulled back and walked over to my side of the car. She looked down at Athena’s wolf form in my arms and her eyes filled with tears.
‘Is she going to be okay?” Sarah asked.
‘I don’t know, I said. It was the truth and Sarah deserved that.
She reached out and touched my shoulder. “I’m sorry. For all of this.”
I nodded but I couldn’t speak. My throat felt too tight.
Sarah stepped back so I could carry Athena into the house. My legs were still weak from whatever Athena had drained from me earlier, but I managed to make it up the front steps without stumbling.
Inside, Sarah led us down the hallway to a guest bedroom. She’d already prepared everything. There were thick curtains blocking out all the light.
The bed had been stripped down to just a mattress with a single sheet. On the nightstand was a syringe filled with something clear.
‘The sedative,” Sarah explained when she saw me looking at it. “Dr. Graze dropped it off an hour ago. He said it should keep her under for at least eight
hours.”
I laid Athena down on the bed as gently as I could. Her wolf form looked so small on the mattress. Her fur was still dull and lifeless. Her ribs were showing through her coat in a way that made my chest ache,
“Should I give her the injection now?” Sarah asked.
‘Yes, Orion said from behind us. “We can’t risk her waking up before we know more.”
Sarah picked up the syringe and found a spot on Athena’s hind leg where the fur was thin. She pushed the needle in and slowly pressed the plunger. Athena didn’t even twitch.
“That should hold her, Sarah said. She capped the empty syringe and set it aside. “Dr. Graze will be here in a few hours to check on her.”
1/2
15:27 Sat, Jan 10
Chapter 194
out.
Orion walked over to the window and pulled the curtains closed even tighter. ‘We need to lock the door too,‘ he said without turning around,
I knew he was right, but the thought of locking Athena in a room made me feel sick. Still, I watched as he turned the deadbolt and pocketed the key.
‘Where are Lily and Liam?” I asked Sarah as we left the room.
At my friend’s house,” she said. ‘I didn’t want them here for this. If something goes wrong…” I wanted to warn her of friends but something else came
“Thank you,” I said. “Athena would never forgive herself if they saw her like this.”
We walked to the living room and I collapsed into one of the armchairs. My whole body felt heavy and empty at the same time. Orion sat on the couch
and put his head in his hands. Sarah sat next to him and rubbed his back.
The silence stretched on for several minutes. I could hear a clock ticking somewhere and the sound of cars driving past outside. Normal sounds from a
normal world that felt completely foreign to me now.
- up.
“I need to know everything,” I finally said. “About what happened back there. About what’s inside Athena. All of it.”
Orion lifted his head and looked at me. His eyes were bloodshot and there were new lines around them that hadn’t been a while ago. More were adding
“I don’t know where to start,” he said.
“Start with your family,” I said. “Start with why this is happening to her.”
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
