Keith stormed into the pack hospital of the Spring Leaf pack with Arya in his arms.
There was a clamor of people there as wounded were coming in from all directions, and nurses were moving among people who were sitting on chairs. They didn't have enough rooms to examine them properly, so the triaging and first aid were done in the waiting room.
There were clashes with rogues in several areas, and even though no fatalities were reported among friendly units, there were a lot of injured.
While coming here, Keith was holding Arya against his body, hoping that she could take his vitality or that his healing ability would be used on her.
She smelled of cantaloupe, sweet and kind of musky, reminding him of a snack his mother used to serve on a hot summer day. Katya would do that now since they lived together. Keith loved cantaloupes so much that he would use them in his protein shake recipes.
Keith looked at his cantaloupe-infused mate, and his heart tightened.
The only thing preventing him from dissolving into rage and anguish were sparks that gently prickled his skin wherever they touched.
Her body was a mess, yet she was beautiful. Why would such a delicate girl be in the forest, fighting rogues? It didn't make sense.
Meeting a mate should be special. They would see each other and be smitten, and… this was wrong. Was his destiny to find his mate only to lose her? Isn't that the same as how he fell for Talia and found out she was taken?
But this was worse… this was HIS mate, yet he was losing her.
It didn't make sense.
Keith stood in the middle of a crowd while looking around in the hope of seeing a doctor.
"Medic!" Keith shouted. "I need a doctor!"
A nurse threw him a side glance, and her eyes widened at the sight of Arya. Who didn't know the youngest female general in the army of the Spring Leaf pack?
"This way!" The nurse waved at Keith. The warrior she was tending to was not in a critical condition.
The nurse flipped Arya's eyelids to point a flashlight there, and then she pressed her fingers on Arya's wrist to check the pulse while asking Keith, "How long is she unconscious?"
Keith shook his head. "I'm not sure. I found her in the forest, and I brought her here. Maybe ten minutes?" It felt like forever.
The nurse glanced at Arya's body, and she frowned at the open fracture on Arya's arm. "We don't have rolling beds she could use. Can you carry her to radiology? We need to see what's going on inside before we administer any treatment."
Keith had no intention of letting go of Arya, and he reluctantly kept her on the exam bed for the CT scan. Luckily, they took Arya immediately, despite a line of patients waiting in the hallway.
By now, a doctor also appeared with another nurse, and Keith growled when the doctor reached to check under the hospital gown that was thrown over Arya.
"You need to wait outside," a nurse told Keith. "There is radiation and…"
"I'm not leaving," Keith said sternly. The sparks of their bond were getting fainter, and now that he was not touching her, they were gone completely. It was killing him from the inside.
"You can't help here. You need to…"
"I'm not leaving my mate!" Keith shouted. No one will separate him from that female. No one!
Both nurses and the doctor looked at Keith briefly, and then the second nurse approached Keith.
"We need to examine your mate's condition."
Keith's frown eased when he heard the nurse address the female as his mate.
Seeing that he relaxed a bit, the nurse asked, "How should we call you?"
"Keith."
"Keith. I am Betty. I assure you that we will do whatever we can to help your mate." Her soothing voice eased the tension in the room, and it was obvious that she had done that many times before. "It will take us at least ten minutes to get initial things done. How about you clean up and put some clothes on? You don't want your mate to see you like that when she wakes up, do you?"
Keith looked at himself, and he realized that he was dirty. Other than the necklace with a broken pendant around his neck, he was completely naked with mud and blood on him. A lot of blood, most of it from the female he was carrying. His mate.
The nurse nodded at the doctor to go ahead, and she led Keith outside. "Let me show you to the staff room. You can clean up there, and we have extra clothes. When you are done, you can meet us here or ask anyone for Betty, and I will bring you to your mate…"
Keith cleaned up at record speed.
When Keith came out of the shower with sweatpants and a t-shirt on, Arya was in surgery. Other than the open fracture that needed to be fixed, she also had internal injuries.
Keith paced in front of the operating room.
No one told him her name, and he didn't ask. He was determined to ask her when she woke up because she had to wake up. He wanted to hear her voice. It was important.
The door opened, and Keith saw Arya being rolled out into the hallway. She was covered with a white sheet from shoulders down, and Arya was so pale that her complexion nearly matched it.
"The surgery went well."
Keith turned toward the voice to see Betty.
"But?" Keith asked. He sensed there was more.
"We did all we could. Her injuries were extensive and…" She released a long breath. "Her vitals are weak, but they are not gone. Your proximity will help. Skin-to-skin as much as possible. It could be the thing that makes the difference."
Keith followed the bed that rolled down the hallway with Arya on it until it disappeared into one room. Betty and one more nurse were there also, helping attach Arya to monitors.
Keith stared at his non-responsive mate, unaware that more people were in the room.
"I'm sorry, we don't have private rooms," Betty said, pulling the curtain to give a resemblance of privacy between hospital beds. She put a chair next to the bed for Keith to sit.
"Call me if you need something." Betty patted his shoulder and left the room.
Keith stood there like a statue, wondering what he should do.
Now that he could see her properly, Keith realized that the female was heavily bandaged, resembling a mummy. Yet all those bandages didn't diminish her sweet scent of cantaloupe.
Betty told him to stay with the female, skin-to-skin contact, but even just holding hands seemed out of place. He just met her… actually, met was the wrong word because finding someone unconscious couldn't be called as meeting.
Keith was aware that leaving was not an option. His wolf was scratching at the back of his mind, urging him to get closer to the female.
Slowly, really slowly, Keith sat on the chair, and he extended his hand to hold hers.
Keith inhaled a shaky breath when he felt the sparks prickling his palm. They were weak, but they were there.
What did Talia say? Something about hope… that as long as he can feel the sparks, there was hope.
