Chapter 336 Eleanor's Secret Anatomy

Chapter 336 Eleanor's Secret Anatomy
Gavin's POV

The world had narrowed to a single point of focus—Eleanor's pale face and the blood-soaked shirt I was pressing against her chest. My hands trembled despite my desperate attempts to keep them steady. Each labored breath she took seemed fainter than the last.

"Aurora!" I shouted through our mind link. "Aurora, I need you to find Theodore and bring him here now! Eleanor's been shot with a silver-tipped wooden stake." My mental voice cracked with desperation. "Theodore contacted the werewolf hospital earlier. He knows where it is. We need to get her there!"

I pressed harder on Sebastian's shirt, now saturated with Eleanor's blood. The coppery scent filled my nostrils, making my wolf howl in anguish inside my head. I forced myself to look away from her face, throwing my head back to release a howl that would help Aurora locate us.

Sebastian sat beside Eleanor, gently stroking her dark hair. Eleanor looked peaceful, as if she were merely sleeping, but the growing pallor of her skin told a different story.

"This is your fault," I growled at Sebastian, anger flaring hot and bright. "You were supposed to protect her!"

Sebastian didn't meet my eyes. "She pulled me out of the way," he said, voice hollow with self-recrimination. "I didn't realize there was a hunter behind me. It should have been me. I'm sorry, princess."

His tenderness toward Eleanor cooled my rage. We were both failing at the one thing we'd promised to do—keep her safe.

"She's going to forget us now, isn't she?" I asked, the terrible realization dawning. "That's what happens when vampires turn?"

Sebastian's expression shifted slightly. "Yes and no. Vampires do forget, but she won't. Half-vampires are different. They remember everything when they wake. It's because they're essentially born vampires, not transformed from another species."

He closed his eyes briefly. "We should have made her stay home. The battlefield is no place for someone like Eleanor. She's never truly fought before."

Despite everything, I found myself comforting him. "If she hadn't been here, you'd be dead. At least when she comes back as a vampire, we'll still have her. It's not a perfect ending, but it's the best we could hope for in this situation." I swallowed hard. "If she wasn't half-vampire, she'd just be... gone."

The sound of footsteps crashing through the underbrush made me tense. Aurora and Theodore burst into the clearing, with Maximilian and Olive close behind. Theodore looked untouched by the battle, while the others showed various signs of combat.

Aurora dropped to her knees beside Eleanor, her face contorted with panic. Olive stood above us, his expression a mix of worry and something else—almost relief.

"Why did you pull the stake out?" Aurora demanded, her voice sharp with fear. "You never pull out a penetrating object! That's basic first aid!"

Theodore's voice was surprisingly gentle. "They had to, Aurora. If Eleanor died with the stake still in her, she wouldn't turn. Ashen wood prevents the magic that allows her to transform. Don't worry, she has her entire second life ahead of her."

"She has her entire first life ahead of her!" Olive insisted fiercely. "We need to get her to the werewolf hospital before she bleeds out!"

Sebastian shook his head, despair evident in his voice. "The stake went through her heart. They probably can't save her. The surgery would take too long."

"The stake didn't go through her heart!" Aurora shouted, her words cutting through our grief like a blade. "You've been with my sister all this time and never realized she has situs inversus? She's my mirror twin, just paler with darker hair! Her organs are on the opposite side! If we get her to the hospital, they can save her!"

Her words jolted us from our collective despair. Theodore immediately stepped forward and took over applying pressure to Eleanor's chest.

"I'm coming with you," Aurora said coldly, placing her hand on Theodore's shoulder. "Obviously I know more about her medical history than anyone."

In a blink, Theodore and Aurora vanished with Eleanor, leaving behind only the blood-soaked earth where she had lain.

"They can save her," I whispered, hope flaring in my chest. "Keep her from turning vampire. We can have our living Eleanor longer."

I crossed the space between us and embraced Sebastian, who stiffly returned the gesture.

"I thought we would lose her before we could show her the world," Sebastian murmured. "There's so much she needs to experience while alive."

"We're not going to lose her," I reassured him. "She'll just become a vampire."

Sebastian pulled back, looking directly into my eyes. "No. Even for half-vampires, death changes you. She would lose her innocence. Death is death, and it kills all the fragile things inside you. When the time comes for Eleanor to turn, she'll have a full understanding of the world. We won't notice the changes as much. But now? The change would be so dramatic we wouldn't recognize the Eleanor we know in what's left."

Maximilian interrupted our moment. "We should get back to the battlefield. The fighting is dying down, but there are still a few hunters hiding in the forest."

"What about the hunter who shot Eleanor?" I growled, my wolf pushing forward. "Where did she go? I want to kill her myself!"

"She was a young woman," Sebastian replied, a snarl in his voice. "She went that way. I'll join you—I want to tear her arms off before she dies."

Sebastian, Olive, and I headed in the direction he pointed, not noticing where Maximilian had gone. We soon caught the scent of human blood.

Turning toward it, we found a male body near a thicket, claw marks across his chest and throat. Further ahead lay another body, discarded like trash.

I flipped the body over and recognized Melissa Hunt.

"That's the girl who shot Eleanor," Sebastian confirmed.

"She's dead," I observed. "Looks like her throat was punctured and then she was tossed aside like garbage."

"Good," Sebastian muttered, kicking the corpse. "I hope it was painful."

We continued forward. The sounds of battle—screams, gunshots, and fighting—had quieted. I saw groups of fae moving bodies, placing our people in a clearing and piling hunters in a spot to take back to their homes.

When we reached the clearing where the tents had been, most of our allies were there. Werewolves and vampires were talking like old friends about the battle. Keisha and Scarlett laughed with some trolls who were gesturing about something hitting the ground. Eliza and Raymond were locked in a passionate kiss, her arms wrapped tightly around him.

Lana approached us with a smile. "The battle was successful. We've had only minor casualties on our side so far. Not everyone has come out of the forest yet, so we're sending some wolves and vampires back to find allies who might need medical attention."

Robert limped over, adding, "Good plan. We can get them to the vehicles and then to the werewolf hospital. Tonight, the pack welcomes all supernaturals who need our help."

"Robert," I said softly, concern evident in my voice.

"Bastard got me in the leg with a silver bullet," he explained. "I'm fine. I'm waiting until we find everyone before I deal with it."

As we organized the wounded and celebrated our victory, I heard a muffled scream from my right. I signaled my search party to head in that direction, moving carefully through the trees.

Soon we heard a voice: "Don't worry, baby. Once I get you to the car, I'll take that gag off your mouth. I can't have you screaming right now."

My men spread out. Finally, we could see clearly—a tall Black man carrying a woman over his shoulder.

I didn't recognize him, but that didn't necessarily mean he wasn't one of ours. Had he captured a hunter?