Part 18 (1/2)
I turned away, looking out the window into bright suns.h.i.+ne.
Safe.
I didn't want to be safe. I didn't want to be alive. I wanted to be with Zane.
”Mr. Marks, she needs to get some rest.”
”I understand. I'll be here when you wake, Aria.”
I drifted off to sleep, blissful, numbing sleep.
It was a dream, but I didn't care. It was better than my reality because I remembered the feel of Zane's hand around mine, remembered it going limp, our fingers still touching, neither of us truly able to hold on any longer. And yet, here he was, dressed in his usual jeans and T-s.h.i.+rt, smiling down at me. He was more than a little beat up, but he was here.
”Zane?”
”Aria.” He smiled that smile I so rarely saw, the one I remembered from before when everything was good, where my mom and my brother were still alive.
I sat up, glancing down at myself in my hospital gown, at the tubes attached to me. Nothing hurt, and there seemed to be a glow around us.
”You need to lie back down,” he said, still smiling. ”You need to heal.”
I wrapped my arms around him, feeling his strength as he circled me with his. But it was wrong. He didn't feel warm. In fact, he felt cold. Ice cold.
”What's happening, Zane?”
He kissed the tip of my nose then my forehead. ”Shh. Rest now.”
”Are you dead?”
He pulled back, that smile having faded a little, his eyes sad. But he shook his head. ”I'm going to come back to you. I promise.”
”I don't understand. My grandfather -” But I realized he hadn't actually said anything. He'd never confirmed one way or the other.
”He's only trying to protect you. Trust him.”
”I love you, Zane.”
”I love you, Aria. I have for a very long time. You're my thing, remember?”
I did remember. He had told me how everyone has a thing, the one thing that can break them. I was his, and he was mine. And we were breaking together.
I nodded.
”I need to go. I'm tired, Aria.” That was the first time Zane had shown weakness. The first time since I'd known him. Giving me a sad smile, he stepped back, his body already fading from view.
”Don't go.” Tears slid down my face as I quietly wept, trying to hold on to him for a little longer even as he faded out.
”I have to.”
I woke crying, with my grandfather holding my hand again, his face drawn. Outside the window, it was dark. How long had I slept? Hours? Days?
”Where is he, Grandfather?”
”He was badly hurt, Aria. He was shot twice. One bullet pierced his lung, the other damaged his heart. And the time had come to test the next Alpha. When the father dies, the next in line undergoes changes, trials. It's to prove if a man is worthy to be Alpha. If you don't die, then the answer is yes.”
”Oh G.o.d.”
”It was a lot for him, given his state.”
”Is he dead?”
He shook his head. ”I gave him my blood. I'll give him more today, but I don't want you to get your hopes up.”
”I want to see him.”
He shook his head. ”It could be dangerous for you.”
”I don't care. I have to see him.”
The nurse came into my room to check the screens, giving my grandfather a look. ”Please don't agitate the patient, sir, or we'll need to sedate her.”
”No. No more drugs. At least tell me where he is. Where I am, for that matter.”
”You're at our compound.”
I looked at him, confused.
”Rage's compound.”
”You have a hospital here?”
”No, just some medical rooms and equipment. It's easier to deal with our own kind when we need care.”
I guessed that made sense.
”Where's Zane? Is he here, too?”
He nodded.
”Please take me to see him. I need to.”
”He's not fully in control of himself, Aria. He could be a danger to you.”
”You'll be there. And he won't hurt me.” I needed to see with my own eyes just what was happening.