Chapter 101 The Echo

Chapter 101 The Echo
The flatline tone was the loudest sound in the world.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

"Code Blue!" Dr Vance screamed, shoving the bewildered Elders aside. "Get the crash cart! Now!"

Chaos erupted in the library. Nurses who had been treating cuts were suddenly diving for the defibrillator. 

Elder Thomas and the other Elders stood frozen, their faces pale, staring at their Alpha who lay crumpled on the Persian rug, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"Abel!" I screamed. I dropped to my knees beside him, my hands hovering over his chest. "Abel, breathe! Please, breathe!"

I could feel it. The silence.

Through the bond, where there had been a steady, warm thrum of his presence just seconds ago, there was now a terrifying, empty quiet. It was like shouting into a canyon and hearing no echo.

"Clear!" Vance shouted.

He pressed the paddles to Abel’s chest.

Thump.

Abel’s body arched off the floor.

Nothing. The monitor didn't waver. Beeeeeeep.

"Again!" Vance yelled. "Charge to two hundred!"

"It’s not his heart!" Freya shouted, pushing through the crowd. She dropped to her knees on the other side of Abel. Her hands were glowing with a soft, green light. 

"It’s the feedback loop! Her fear stopped his heart. We have to calm her down to restart him!"

Freya grabbed my face with both hands. Her fingers were cool, her eyes desperate.

"Evelyn!" she commanded. "Listen to me! You are killing him!"

"I can't help it!" I sobbed, shaking uncontrollably. "They wanted to put me in a cage! I’m scared!"

"You have to stop being scared!" Freya shook me hard. "Right now! You have to find a center. If you panic, he dies. Do you understand? You are the pacemaker now!"

I looked down at Abel.

I had to stop. I had to stop feeling.

I closed my eyes. I pictured the cage. I pictured the guards with the silver cuffs. The terror rose up like bile, choking me.

No.

I pictured Abel. I pictured him walking into the fire for me. I pictured him holding me in the gym. I pictured the way he smelled like rain and pine.

Safe.

I forced my breathing to slow. In for four. Out for four.

I visualized a wall. A thick, brick wall. I took every ounce of fear, every scream, every memory of the cage, and I shoved it behind that wall. I locked it away.

My heart rate slowed.

Thump-thump.

On the floor, Abel gasped.

It was a wet, ragged sound. His chest heaved. The monitor stuttered, then beeped.

Beep... Beep... Beep.

"He’s back," Dr Vance breathed, collapsing back onto his heels. "Sinus rhythm. It’s weak, but he’s back."

Abel’s eyes fluttered open. They were hazy, unfocused. He looked at the ceiling, then at me.

"Evie," he whispered.

"I’m here," I choked out, tears streaming down my face. "I’m calm. I promise. I’m calm."

Abel turned his head slowly. He looked at Elder Thomas, who was still standing near the door, looking horrified.

"Get out," Abel rasped.

"Alpha, we—" Thomas started.

"If you ever threaten her again," Abel said, his voice barely a whisper but terrifyingly clear, "if you ever spike her heart rate again... I will kill you myself. Get. Out."

Thomas swallowed hard. He signaled the guards. They retreated, closing the library doors behind them.

Two hours later.

We were in the master bedroom. It was the only room in the East Wing that hadn't been damaged by the surge, mostly because it was on the far side of the hall.

Abel was in bed. He was pale, but resting. Vance had forbidden him from moving for at least twenty-four hours.

I lay next to him, staring at the ceiling. I was afraid to close my eyes. I was afraid to dream. If I had a nightmare, if I got scared in my sleep... would I stop his heart again?

"You're thinking too loud," Abel mumbled, his eyes still closed.

I turned to look at him. "I didn't say anything."

"You didn't have to," he said. He opened one eye. It was silver, exhausted, but warm. "I can feel it. It feels like... static. Buzzing."

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'll try to... turn it down."

"Don't," he said. He reached out and took my hand. "I prefer the noise to the silence."

He pulled my hand to his chest, placing it directly over the silver scar. I could feel his heart beating steadily under my palm.

"We have to be careful," I said. "Freya said the bond is raw. It’s too open. We have no filters."

"We'll learn," Abel said. "We'll build filters."

He closed his eyes again, his breathing deepening. Within minutes, he was asleep.

I tried to follow him. I closed my eyes.

Darkness.

Cold metal.

The smell of bleach.

A man laughing.

I jerked awake, gasping. My heart hammered against my ribs, a sudden spike of adrenaline that tasted like copper in my mouth.

Beside me, Abel flinched violently. He didn't wake up, but his body reacted as if he had been struck. 

He let out a low, pained whimper, his hand twitching on the sheets, curling into a fist. His brow furrowed, sweat beading instantly on his forehead.

"Shh," I whispered, panic rising in my throat. I reached out, stroking his damp hair, desperate to soothe him. "It’s okay. It’s okay. I’m here."

He didn't wake. He just groaned, turning his head into the pillow, trying to hide from the phantom fear that was assaulting him.

I pulled my hand back, staring at him in horror.

He wasn't having his own nightmare. He was having mine.

Every shadow I saw, he felt. Every memory that haunted me was now bleeding directly into his subconscious. There were no walls anymore. No secrets.

If I was afraid, he suffered. If I was in pain, he bled.

I realized then that I couldn't sleep. I couldn't risk dragging him down into the dark with me. He needed to heal. He needed rest. And as long as my mind was active with fear, his body would never find peace.

I slipped out of bed, moving as silently as a ghost.

I walked to the window seat and sat down, pulling my knees to my chest. I rested my forehead against the cool glass.

Outside, the first gray light of dawn was creeping over the horizon, illuminating the scorched grass and the broken windows of the East Wing. The estate looked like a war zone.

I looked back at the bed.

Abel’s breathing had leveled out now that I was awake and suppressing the bad memories. He looked peaceful again. Strong.

We had wanted this. We had fought to burn the contract, to destroy the barriers that kept us apart. We had wanted to be one.

But as I watched the sun rise, casting long shadows across the room, I realized the terrifying truth of what we had done.

We had gotten exactly what we asked for.

I pressed my hand to my chest, feeling the steady, rhythmic thump of a heart that was no longer just mine.

We were free of Kane. We were free of the curse.

But we were prisoners of each other.