Chapter 33
Lucas's POV:
The Maybach shot through Moonhaven's streets like a silver bullet.
I weaved through traffic, cutting corners and running red lights. The half-hour journey to the hospital was shrunk to fifteen minutes under my desperate driving.
She can't die. She can't die. She can't die.
The mantra repeated in my head over and over again.
Duke was howling inside my mind, a primal sound of pure anguish that reflected the terror gripping my heart.
Each second felt like torture.
As I screeched into the hospital parking lot, the ambulance carrying Tori had just arrived. The emergency bay doors were thrown open, and medical staff rushed forward to meet it.
My eyes locked onto the gurney being wheeled rapidly through the sliding doors. Morgan was there, her face streaked with tears as she ran alongside the stretcher, her hands clutching Tori's limp one.
I quickly jumped out of my car, not even bothering to turn off the engine, and sprinted toward them.
The sight of Tori's face, which just this morning had been so full of life, now lay motionless and blood-stained on the stretcher, sent a physical pain through my chest.
Her black hair was matted with blood, and her eyes were tightly shut.
"What happened?" I demanded, my voice a barely controlled growl as I fell into step with the medical team.
My fists clenched so tightly my knuckles turned white, and I could feel Duke's rage surging through me, threatening to break my human façade.
The scent of Tori's blood made my vision flicker red around the edges as they rushed her inside.
"Tell me exactly what happened. Now."
"A-alpha," Morgan stammered, her expression a mixture of relief and distress.
"We were—after school—walking to the café where she works. And then—" She broke off, a sob catching in her throat. "A car just came out of nowhere, straight at us. Tori pushed me out of the way. She pushed me—"
Morgan's voice cracked, words tumbling out incoherently.
"One second we were laughing about something stupid, and the next—" She shook her head. "The car was aiming for us, Lucas. It wasn't an accident. It swerved toward us."
A cold rage settled in my bones at her words. My wolf snarled, demanding retribution.
"Lucas?"
I turned to see Matthew Howard approaching, his brow furrowed in concern. He'd clearly been in the middle of his rounds, stethoscope around his neck and chart in hand.
"Are you injured?" he asked, his eyes quickly scanning me for signs of trauma.
I shook my head, struggling to find my voice through the haze of anger and fear. "Not me. It's Tori Sullivan. Car accident. Just brought in."
The casual concern on Matthew's face immediately transformed into professional focus. His entire demeanor shifted as he handed his chart to a nearby nurse.
"Where is she now?" he asked, already moving toward the emergency bay.
"They just wheeled her in," I said, following him as he quickened his pace. "There's blood... her head and her leg..."
Matthew nodded curtly. "I'll take a look at her right away."
He placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
"Try not to catastrophize, Lucas. "
Morgan, who had been trailing behind us, suddenly rushed forward and grabbed Matthew's arm.
"Please, Dr. Howard," she pleaded, her voice breaking. "You have to save her. Please..."
Matthew's expression softened slightly as he gently extracted his arm from Morgan's grip, patting her hand.
"Let's not assume the worst, okay? She might not be as badly hurt as you fear," he said, his tone gentle but firm. "I'll do everything I can for her, I promise."
He gave my shoulder another quick pat before moving with purpose toward the emergency room doors.
The double doors swung shut behind them, leaving Morgan and me in the sterile hallway.
I stood there, staring at those doors, feeling more helpless than I ever had in my life. As Alpha, I was accustomed to control, to having the power to fix problems, to protect my pack.
But now, when it mattered most, there was nothing I could do but wait.
The next two hours were the longest of my life.
Morgan paced the waiting area while I sat motionless, every muscle in my body tense. Duke's distress mirrored my own, our shared consciousness fixated on the sense of Tori beyond those doors.
I could feel her—faintly, like a distant heartbeat. The mate bond between us, though unclaimed and incomplete, provided the thinnest thread of connection.
"It should have been me," Morgan whispered, her voice raw and guilty. "She pushed me out of the way."
"Did you see the driver?" I asked, my voice low and dangerous.
Morgan shook her head, wiping at her tears with trembling hands. "It all happened so fast... "
She drew in a shuddering breath, her eyes haunted.
"After she pushed me... when I looked up, she was just lying there in a pool of blood. I couldn't... I couldn't think about anything else. "
Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry," Morgan continued, her voice small and broken. "I should have paid more attention, I should have—"
"It's not your fault," I cut her off, my voice cold and controlled despite the rage simmering beneath.
Without another word, I pulled out my phone and dialed Jack's number. He answered on the first ring.
"Alpha."
"I need you to access every security camera near the accident site," I ordered, not bothering with pleasantries. "Jack, find that hit-and-run vehicle. And dig up whoever's behind this."
"Yes, sir," Jack replied without hesitation.
"I'll update you as soon as I have something."
I hung up, sliding the phone back into my pocket.
Just then, the surgery light above the double doors went dark.
Morgan and I both stood immediately, our attention fixed on the doors as they swung open. Matthew emerged, still dressed in his surgical scrubs, removing his cap as he approached us.
I held my breath, searching his face for any sign of bad news. The few seconds it took him to reach us felt like years.
"She's going to be fine," he said, and I can barely stand with relief.
"The head injury was just a scalp laceration - lots of blood but no concussion or skull fracture. Her right leg has a minor fracture that required some pins, but with proper rest, she'll heal completely."
Morgan let out a sob of relief, covering her face with her hands.
"When can we see her?"
"She's in a coma now. They'll move her to a private room soon." Matthew gave me a knowing look. "I've arranged for the best room we have."
I nodded in gratitude.
"I'll stay with her," Morgan volunteered, wiping away the last of her tears. "I can watch over her. It's the least I can do after she saved me."
"No," I said firmly. "I'll stay with her."
Morgan's brow furrowed in determination. "But I want to help. I need to be here when she wakes up. I need to thank her—"
"Morgan," Matthew interrupted gently, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"You've had quite a shock today, too. The best thing you can do for Tori right now is to take care of yourself. Get some rest, clear your head, and come back tomorrow with energy to help her through recovery."
Morgan looked from Matthew to me, then back again, clearly wanting to protest further. But something in Matthew's expression—or perhaps my own—made her reconsider.
"You'll call me the minute anything changes?" she asked, reluctantly gathering her backpack.
"Of course," I promised.
After Morgan finally departed and the nurses settled Tori in her private room, I took the chair beside her bed.
The beeping of monitors and the soft hum of medical equipment filled the silence as I studied her face.
The color had returned somewhat to her cheeks, and without all the blood, she looked more like she was sleeping than injured.
I reached out to take her hand, careful of the IV line, needing the physical connection to reassure myself she was really here, really safe.
I spent that night watching Tori breathe, counting each rise and fall of her chest.
I didn't sleep. I couldn't. Every time my eyes closed, I saw her pale face on that gurney, saw the blood in her hair. My wolf and I kept vigil, guarding what was ours.
Only as dawn's first gray light filtered through the window did exhaustion finally overcome me.
My eyelids grew heavy, impossible to keep open despite my best efforts. I allowed them to close, just for a moment, my hand still holding Tori's.
I couldn't have dozed for more than a few minutes when I felt it—the slightest movement against my palm.
Tori's fingers had twitched in my hand.