23. Sebastian

CHAPTER 23

Sebastian

Fear grips my heart as I ascend the stairs. The house is quiet; this can't be good. I run through the lists of gods and goddesses that favor the wolves, begging them to make sure Aurora is okay. I make it back to the guest room, and my heart almost fucking stops.

She's so fucking pale it looks almost as if all the blood has drained from her body. Her ruby lips shine so brightly against her now alabaster skin. Tears break free and roll down my cheeks. I can't breathe; I'm gasping for air and having a borderline panic attack. Dimitri comes up to me and takes the tray away.

"Mom! Please, tell me she's okay?" I blubber like an idiot looking at my ghostly-white mate. Jayce is snuggled up so tightly against her, and his eyes are bloodshot from crying.

"Sit down, boy. Nicodeamus, I need your blood to help Aurora." Mom is like a brigadier general ordering us around like peons. She is calm and commanding as she begins setting up a makeshift hospital in her home. Alexis had arrived at some point and is setting up for the transfusion. Thank fuck we have a nurse in the pack; otherwise, I think my beloved would be doomed.

Nicodeamus sits in the chair as directed and stretches his arm out. "Take it all if you have to. You must save my baby!" Even Nicodeamus is crying, looking at his near lifeless daughter. Alexis moves quickly, setting up to take at least three pints of blood from him. She has a pole set up next to him with saline to help replace the blood volume he is about to lose.

"Mom? What's wrong with Aurora?" My heart is in my throat as I lean on the counter next to Nico. I rest my hand on his shoulder as we both look at my mother for answers.

"It's quite simple; they tried to poison her. The arrowhead is made of silver, and the toxin it's coated with is a blend of aconite and nightshade. They didn't know of Aurora's true sire; otherwise, they would have known this combination wouldn't kill her." Elena moves to adjust the saline drip for Aurora, making sure to hydrate her to help flush out the toxin. "I'm going to flood Aurora's system with her father's blood to try to reverse what damage the toxins did to her body. I'm positive it's the quickest way to heal her safely." Elena doesn't look up to regard anyone as she prepares everything for the tricky transfusion she will attempt.

I watch how carefully Alexis moves towards my mother with the first pint of blood. Together they hook Aurora up and start the drip. Jayce won't move for anything. He is far too frightened to leave her side. At this point, I'm too afraid to close my eyes or even go to relieve myself. "How long before we know if it's helping her, Mom?" My voice quivers like a scared, tear-filled child. The love of my life is before me, fighting for her life, and I can't do a fucking thing to help her. I'm so fucking grateful that her father lived and is with us. Without him, she'd be dead.

"Have faith, son. Alexis is a nurse and specializes in hematology. The first signs of a positive response will be the return of color. While this pint infuses, we need to drain a pint, which will make her body start to produce more red blood cells and platelets." She sighs softly. "It's pretty much going to be a rinse and repeat the process with the three pints. Tomorrow if we need to, we'll take two pints from you, Sebastian, to help wake up her wolf. Then the tough part will be that you are going to have to force her shift, so her wolf finishes healing her." Say what? I stand there, blinking as Dominik comes flying through the door.

Dom immediately drops to his knees when he sees the state our mate is in. His tear-filled eyes seek out my eyes and then his brother's. My mother pulls him out of the room to catch him up quickly. When he returns, he thanks Nico for protecting his fallen body and hugs it out with him. Jayce calls Dom over and switches out with him, and runs out of the room. I watch Jayce leave, then look at Dom. "Bathroom run." Ah, that explains the swift departure.

I swear to the gods above, Jayce just broke the land speed record for taking a piss. He rushes back into the room and tugs on Dom's arm to get him out of bed. Dom reluctantly leaves Aurora's side and walks over to me. "Makes me want to cry. It takes Aurora almost dying for my brother to get over his shit." Dom bites his bottom lip and sighs; a single tear rolls down his cheek, and I draw him in for a tight hug. Honestly, I don't know if I'm hugging him to comfort him or to comfort myself. "I feel so fucking powerless, Bash. I'd trade places with her if I could."

Nico's head whips up at that exact moment. His eyes burn liquid mercury as he stares at Dom. "Did you not hear what was done? You would be dead, leaving that poor girl behind without her mate. A severed bond feels like you died right along with them." Nicodeamus's voice cracks with emotion. "I fell from the fucking sky when her mother died. I didn't want to live without her. If it weren't for the fact that I felt my child's life, I probably would have mourned myself to death." Nico looks away at that moment; the pain from the loss of his mate still evident on his face. Over two hundred years later, and it looks like it was just yesterday to him.

Seeing the depth of Nico's loss really puts how lucky we truly are into perspective. I kiss Dom's temple, then lean down, and side-hug Nico and kiss the top of his head. We are all suffering together. Unfortunately, Nico is in hell all over again. My eyes remain locked on the pint, and Aurora's color is slowly improving, so that is a blessing. I exhale a bit louder than I thought, and everyone looks at me. "Her color is coming back." Everyone's eyes shoot to Aurora, and tentative smiles break out across the room.

My mother enters the room, passing out food and drinks. "Eat! She'll kick your collective asses if you don't take care of yourselves. That means you too, M'lord." She winks at Nico and hands him a burger as well. Only Jayce doesn't budge; he is still too frightened to move. When I finish my food, I move over to him and sit on the edge of the bed. "Please eat. She needs us all strong for her. I'll lay with her until you're done eating, okay?"

Jayce slowly sits up and nods. He's so broken up he's practically gone mute. Ever so carefully, he slides out of bed. He reaches over and readjusts Aurora's pillow and her blankets before he motions for me to slide in where he was. Once I am situated, he adjusts my pillow and pulls the covers up. "She needs to stay warm. Keep her warm for me." He whispers when he speaks—his voice quivering with emotion. Tears well up, threatening to overflow as his eyes turn bloodshot again. Jayce's cheeks flush as he attempts to hold back the feelings that threaten to break free. Out of the males, he is the one most in touch with his emotions.

To see him fight against his nature hurts my heart. "I will guard her ‘til my dying breath and then some. I swear to you I will keep her warm and safe." I allow a few rogue tears to flow down my cheeks, and Jayce smiles at me. He then leans in, kissing my lips softly, whispering his thanks before walking over and hugging his brother. As soon as he is in Dom's arms, the dam breaks, and all the tears and sorrow flow freely.

My heart starts aching for him, and that's when I feel it. Aurora's arm moves slightly. "Guys!! I think she just moved!" Everyone crowds around the bed, watching Aurora. She's midway through the second pint of her father's blood when she starts to twitch a little. Anyway, you look at it; it is a step in the right direction. Any positive is a bonus at this point. Jayce moves closer to the side where the transfusion is running and slips two fingers into her hand. Without warning, her hand snaps shut, gripping him tightly. His eyes widen, and a moment later, he starts bawling like a baby, saying she had just grabbed his fingers. I decide to expose her hand on my side and try it myself. Gently placing two fingers in her cupped hand, moments pass when she slowly closes her fingers around mine. Greatest moment ever! We look to Dom, and he moves to her ankle and places his hand there. Within moments she wiggles her toes on that foot.

"Okay, boys, back the fuck off and let me check her!" Holy fuck, my mom can still be scary even at her old age. Jayce and I hold up our hands that were being gripped by Aurora, and my mother smiles. She leans over and forces Aurora's eye open, and shines a light to test pupil reaction. My mother is shocked to find the silver orbs of Aurora's wolf looking back at her. Aurora's pupils react very sluggishly, but at least they respond this time. "She's improving. We need to keep round the clock watch on her. One in the bed, one awake. Switch out every four hours to give each other a break. So, to spell it out for her mates, one awake, two asleep. If you all need a break, get Nico or me."

Mom leaves quickly after that, and we all look at each other. "Jayce, why don't you sleep beside her first? I'll take the first watch. We can switch about midnight and so on if that's okay?" I look between Dom and Jayce, and they both nod. It takes several attempts for Jayce and me to get our fingers free. Once free, he scoots in where I was, and I make sure that he and Aurora are comfortable.

The first watch isn't bad at all. I discover that both twins snore quite loudly. I also discovered that Dom laughs if he farts in his sleep. When it is my turn to slide in, I defer to Dom since he hasn't had the chance to lay next to her yet. It kills me to give up my chance, but to be a good alpha means putting others before yourself. I move to the recliner and lie back. I keep my eyes on them for as long as I can.

The warmth of the morning sun is on my face when I wake up. Fuck, I slept through my watch. I wake up with a start, ready to launch out of the chair, when a firm hand lands on my shoulder. I look back and see Nico. "Shhh, all is well, son. The twins weren't handling her being ill very well, so I took over for the last eight hours to let them both sleep beside her. You wouldn't wake up when it was your turn." Well, that explains that. I nod slowly and examine Aurora. Her color has fully returned, but she still isn't waking up.

"Sebastian, get in the chair; it's time to draw blood from you." My mom is way too fucking happy about stabbing me this early in the morning. Dimitri, my savior, comes in carrying a mug and a pot of coffee.

"Thank the gods that Dimitri brought coffee. I don't think I can handle getting stabbed without it." Mother allows me long enough to get my coffee made before she sticks my happy ass in the chair to start draining me dry. I watch my lifeblood drain into the bag and hope and pray that this finally wakes sleeping beauty up. It's been two days since she fell in battle, and it feels like forever. We are starting to look worse for wear as the days tick on. Hell, I sound like it's been a month instead of two days.

Jayce won't leave Aurora's side for anything, except maybe for a bathroom break. I guess since he can't feel her through the bond, he's twice as leery as the rest of us that can feel her. I can almost bet that once this is over, that bond gets put in place the moment Aurora is able. I watch him as he sits there, brushing her hair, talking to her as if she's awake. Then again, no one knows for sure how much someone who's in a sleep-like state actually hears. Bag one gets taken away, and bag two gets hooked up.

"Ow, what the fuck!" My eyes dart to Alexis as she starts the I.V in what is my free arm. She mouths sorry but continues to do her job. I can see her looking me over from head to toe. Her arousal is palatable in the air. Something makes my wolf stir for a moment. Just as quickly as it happens, it passes, and I refocus on what's going on. Lord fucking help Alexis if Aurora wakes up right now. "You know I'm a mated wolf, right, Alexis?" That catches her off guard and gets my mother's attention. Mom comes over and takes one sniff of Alexis and boots her ass out of the room immediately.

"Fucking vultures," Elena grumbles as she walks back into the room. Dom and Dimitri both spit their coffee and look at me. All I can do is shrug. Mom approaches me, leans down, placing a kiss on my temple. "You know Aurora is more than likely going to hunt her ass down and kill her?" Slowly I nod, then turn to stare at my mate.

"I hope she wakes up soon. I don't know how much more we can take, Mom." Jayce is still in his own little world, giving Aurora a sponge bath in bed. Me? I feel so fucking helpless. I've put myself on self-imposed guard duty. Every night Dimitri and I take turns standing guard while the twins keep Aurora warm at night. It's not that I don't want to sleep next to her; my wolf would do better in close quarters.

Aurora's color is improving more with the first bag of my blood, and I can see how happy Jayce is looking. He gently leans over and kisses her lips like a prince from a fairy tale. Aurora's left-hand shoots up, gripping the back of Jayce's head, holding him in place. The rumble of her wolf echoes throughout the room. We all gasp and stop what we are doing. It's eerily quiet. We all practically hold our breath, waiting. Just as quickly as her hand rose, it falls, and she is silent again. She's fighting, and that's the most important thing.