Page 29 of The Last of Love

Lena swallowed, her eyes stinging with tears. She reached up, her hand trembling as she touched Fleur’s cheek. “You saved me,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “You... you saved my life.”

Fleur closed her eyes, leaning into Lena’s touch. “I couldn’t lose you,” she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. “I wouldn’t.”

Lena’s heart ached at the pain in Fleur’s voice. She could see it now: the fear, the desperation. She could only imagine what Fleur had gone through, and the thought of it made her chest tighten.

“I knew if I just got you here, you’d make it. I knew we could help you get through this. I bought us time after the attack and you perked up a little, but I was so scared of watching you… turn.”

“I was… bitten? How am I okay?” Lena gasped as she looked at her bandaged wound.

Fleur nodded, her jaw tight. “Yes. You were bitten. Luckily the bite wasn’t too deep. It was more of a drag mark from the teeth. It didn’t sink in too deep. But the infection was spreading, and I knew I didn’t have much time. I brought you here, to the lab. The people here... they helped me. They stabilized you before it could spread too far.”

Lena stared at her, her mind struggling to process what she was hearing. She remembered the bite, the feeling of her body betraying her, the fear that had consumed her. She looked at Fleur, her eyes wide.

“I should be... I should be dead, I should’ve turned by now,” Lena whispered, her voice trembling.

Fleur shook her head, her eyes shining with tears. “No.” she said, her voice fierce. “You’re not dead. Lena. You’re here. You’re alive.”

Lena swallowed hard, her throat tight with emotion. She could see the determination in Fleur’s eyes, the love that had driven her to do the impossible.

She reached up, her hand covering Fleur’s. “How?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper. “How am I still alive? I don’t understand. Just tell me.”

Fleur took a deep breath, her gaze softening. “I found a vial of medicine in a bag from one of those men back there, and gave it to you as soon as I could. When we arrived, I got them to test the remains of it here. They think it was a prototype drug created by Dr Walt. It helps trigger an immune response in certain people, and it worked for you. Apparently it’s almost unheard of.”

Lena stared at her, her mind reeling. “Immunity?” she repeated, her voice barely audible. The word seemed almost impossible, like something out of a dream. “I’m... immune?”

Fleur nodded, her eyes shining with a mix of relief and awe. “Yes,” she said softly. “You’re immune. You survived. With that medicine and the drugs they have here, it completely healed you.”

A smile broke across Lena’s face.

“Fleur! We need you back in the lab now!”

Fleur hesitated, her gaze flickering between Lena and the doorway, a mix of duty and concern to balance. “I have to go,” she said, her voice tinged with regret.

Lena stared at the ceiling of the infirmary, her thoughts spinning. The air was cool, the sterile scent of disinfectant lingering, but it felt like a blanket of tension had settled over her chest. Fleur had been with her moments ago and Lena was left alone with her thoughts.

She had done what she was supposed to do, brought Fleur to the lab. That had been her mission from the beginning: to protect Fleur, to get her to safety so she could finish what she’d started. The urgency of survival and the weight of thatresponsibility had kept Lena moving, focused, driven by one singular goal. But now that she had accomplished that mission, she was left with a profound emptiness, a hollow ache that she didn’t know how to fill. What would happen next?

Lena had always been clear about what she was meant to do, what her role was. Protect. Lead. Fight. There had always been a purpose, a direction that guided her. But now, without the urgency of a mission, all she could feel was the uncertainty of what lay ahead. And the fear of being without Fleur.

Lena tried to take a deep breath, to push away the rising panic, but it only seemed to grow. Her thoughts were relentless, circling back to the questions she didn’t have answers to. What was going to happen next? And where did that leave her and Fleur?

She knew, rationally, that she had a responsibility to her old community—or whatever was left of it. There were people depending on her. They needed her strength, her leadership. She had been their captain, their protector.

But at the same time, the thought of leaving Fleur tore at her heart. She couldn’t imagine going back to that life now, not without Fleur by her side. Fleur had become her partner, her confidante, someone she could lean on when everything else seemed to be falling apart. She had been her savior.

But did Fleur even feel the same? Was she using Lena to get what she needed? That uncertainty gnawed at Lena, twisting her insides with doubt. She didn’t want to feel so much for a person in this world. She didn’t want to fall in love.

But was it too late?

And was she going to get her heart ripped apart again?

After a few moments of contemplation, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood up, her body a little shaky but determined. She remembered she’d been injured in the fight,but wasn’t sure how bad it really was as the bandage covered most of the area.

Lena couldn’t remain in that room a second longer. She was lost in her thoughts while Fleur was out there, probably overwhelmed with the enormity of what lay ahead. She needed to talk to her, to see if they were on the same page. Time was precious, and she couldn’t waste any more.

Navigating the facility’s hallways, Lena felt the pulse of urgency in her veins. She finally spotted Fleur in a room at the end of the corridor, surrounded by a few other researchers, discussing something animatedly. The sight of Fleur, her hair slightly disheveled but her eyes sparkling with determination, sent a rush of warmth through her.

“Fleur!” Lena called out, her voice breaking through the conversation.

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