Chapter 15 14
Soraya's POV
“Please, calm down, Mrs. Opaline,” I whispered, though my own voice trembled.
She looked at me with wide eyes but said nothing. Dante kept driving the car at reasonable speed until it finally halted in front of the huge hospital, body written ‘’Star-like hospital’
Before I could even steady myself, we were already rushing out.
“Where’s Darius?” Mrs. Opaline demanded. as we reached the front desk.
The nurse probably recognized her as she explained without hesitation. “He’s currently in the emergency room.”
My heart clenched at those words, and we hurried down the hallway toward the glowing red sign. But as soon as we turned the corner, we saw a man standing right outside the emergency doors.
“Sam!” Mrs. Opaline called, striding up to him. “How is Darius?”
Sam’s expression was tense, his eyes flickering toward the closed doors behind him. “He’s inside,” he said.
Just as Mrs. Opaline was about to say something, we heard a loud crash from inside.
The crash sent a chill straight through me. The sharp clatter of metal and plastic against tile echoed even out here in the hall.
Mrs. Opaline gasped, clutching her chest. “Is it Darius—?” she stammered, but the words broke in her throat.
Before I could even blink, the emergency room door swung open. A nurse stumbled out, her white uniform streaked with red. Blood? My eyes darted down, her wrist was smeared in blood.
Mrs. Opaline rushed forward, nearly shaking the poor woman. “What happened? Where is he? Where is my son?”
Sam’s voice came. “Nurse, what is it? Where is Darius? Where are you going?”
The woman’s face was pale, her eyes wide with fear. She stammered, “I–I don’t know what is wrong with Mr. Darius. He’s…he’s acting like a lunatic. I don’t know!”
Her words made my heart race only faster. Was it his wolf like Mrs. Opaline explained to me?
Inside, I could hear more shouting. A crash of glass. Another tray of instruments scattered to the ground. My legs went weak, but I forced myself to stand still.
We rushed inside quickly.
The sight before me froze the blood in my veins.
Darius’s massive, furred hand was wrapped around the nurse’s neck. She choked, her legs dangling in the air like she weighed nothing.
The black fur crawling up his arms gleamed under the hospital lights, and his leg was still ripped open with blood dripping onto the floor in thick streams.
“Darius, stop it!” I screamed before I could think.
His head snapped toward me, and the nurse dropped to the floor with a cry. His snarl vibrated through the room so deeply that I flinched.
His fangs looked to be longer than my fingers. His grey eyes were now pitch-black.
“Darius!” Mrs. Opaline cried. “Stop it! Snap out of it!”
But he didn’t stop. He turned back toward another nurse, who was now cowering in the corner, clutching her knees to her chest, trembling. The sound of her sobs only seemed to feed him. He began to walk toward her.
“Zeus! Zeus, no!” Sam’s voice cracked as he rushed forward.
“Zeus?” I muttered under my breath.
“That’s the name of his wolf,” Sam shot back, panic in his tone. Then he lunged toward Darius, “Zeus!”
For one brief second, I thought it might work. But Darius—no, Zeus turned around and with one swipe of his arm, flung Sam across the room. Sam’s body crashed into a cabinet with a clang.
I gasped, my heart jumping to my throat. He tossed him aside like a ragdoll.
“Zeus!” I shouted, my voice trembling. His monstrous head turned to me, and for a second, I thought he would listen.
But then his gaze slid right past me and back to the nurse. His body crouched, ready to pounce.
“No!” The word came from me before I could think. My body moved on its own and I surged forward and grabbed his massive, furred arm.
As I held Darius’s hand, his eyes shifted to me. And this time, he didn’t bare his fangs or snarl. He just looked at me. His pitch-black gaze softened and his shoulders ease.
My brows knit together. What…?
My own panic slowly faded away, replaced with something I couldn’t explain. Relief? “Oh my…” I whispered under my breath.
“Don’t let go of his hand, Soraya!” Sam’s voice said.
I turned to glance at him, then back to Darius. My hands trembled, but I held on tighter. The thought that just moments ago this same man—no, wolf was seconds away from ripping a nurse’s throat open made my heart pound in fear.
But Mrs. Opaline’s words echoed in my mind. He wasn’t in control. He was fighting. He was suffering.
Slowly, still gripping his large hand, I guided him backward. His massive frame followed my pull. Step by step, I brought him to the bed. I sat down beside him, not letting go, afraid he might act up again if I did.
I lifted my gaze to the nurse, who still huddled in the corner, her whole body shaking. “He won’t do anything,” I said softly, almost pleading. “Please… treat his wound. He’s losing too much blood. Look at him, he’s calm now. Please, just… help him.”
The nurse’s eyes darted from me to him, distrust and fear all over her pale face. “C-call the others,” I added gently. “I know he broke some things, but he won’t hurt anyone now. I promise.
Hesitantly, the nurse quietly rose up and stepped closer, though her movements were almost shaky. She looked frightened, and I could see it in her eyes.
I tightened my hold on Darius instinctively, wrapping my arms around him a little more, hoping somehow my touch would help. And to my surprise, it did. I felt the tension in him ease.
When I lifted my gaze, he was no longer half-wolf, he was completely I'm his human form a Darius. But he looked extremely exhausted.
The nurse finally crouched beside him and began to examine the wound. Darius hissed softly as her gloved fingers pressed carefully along the torn flesh of his leg.
“Some of the tissues and muscles are badly damaged,” the nurse said, glancing up at Mrs. Opaline. “He might need to undergo surgery to treat it.”
“Surgery?” Mrs. Opaline’s voice cracked.