Page 76 of High Stakes and Soulmates
“Well, I’m going to give yours to Julian so he can wipe his ass with it. What were you doing at that club anyway? Beingirritating and brooding all alone since no one would want to be near you, I’m sure.”
“I was surrounded by my bitches.”
“Oh wow, sounds like bullshit.”
Atticus smirks. “Don’t be jealous.”
“Then why’d none of them come out to help you fight?” Yorick asks.
“Because they would have insisted I take my shirt off and it would have wasted time.”
The door swings open and my head snaps up from the weird distraction I’m currently getting. A nurse peeks his head in.
“Torres’s family, right? The doctor is ready to talk to you. Come right this way,” he says as he leads the band of strange vampires into a room. We no more than sit down before the doctor comes in. She smiles at us, and I realize she’s a vampire.
“I’m Dr. Franklin. Cyrus is doing well. Usually, we have a werewolf doctor on staff, but he’s out tonight for obvious reasons,” she says. “He will take over once he’s back since he’ll be better fit to deal with any issues or concerns Cyrus might have. We got the wounds closed. He has a large laceration on his leg that we closed as well as multiple lacerations caused by a bite on his shoulder. He also has a concussion—it looks like his head hit a hard surface. We’ll monitor it, but it doesn’t seem to be concerning at this point. It shouldn’t cause him anything more than a minor headache and possible dizziness. With it being a full moon… I don’t think I have to tell you what that means. But since weres have faster healing abilities, he should start healing at a faster rate.”
“He’s going to be fine?” I ask, almost in disbelief.
“He’s going to be perfectly fine. While nothing with this situation is ideal, having been bitten will help him. The traits one gains from being a werewolf, such as healing, don’t generally take effect immediately. There’s a period of time while the bodytransitions before they’re able to shift and heal faster, among other things. For some people, it’s days, but for others, they won’t shift until the next full moon. I would just have another werewolf helping him out until he figures out what is happening with his body.”
“Can I see him?”
“In just a moment. He’s being moved to the ICU, so we’ll have a nurse get you shortly. I doubt he’ll stay there long, okay?”
I nod, relief washing through me.
When Cyrus is finally settled in, a nurse takes me back to see him. I hurry over to where he lies in the white sheets. He’s pale, but hearing his steady heartbeat and seeing him is incredibly reassuring.
I reach out and carefully take his hand as I find that my legs are ridiculously weak. Dropping to my knees right here, I bury my face in his blanket while I hold his hand. “I’m so sorry. I’m so fucking sorry. I’ve ruined your life. It’s all my fault. I’ve ruined your life.”
His hand slides out of mine before I feel it reach my head. “I’m fine,” he whispers.
“No, you’re not. It’s my fault your family is dead. It’s my fault you were attacked. It’s all my fucking fault.”
“No… my brother?”
“I don’t know where he is. I’m so sorry. I couldn’t even make sure he was okay.”
“Stop,” Cyrus says, his hand tangling in my hair. He drifts off to sleep, and for a while, it’s just me in this quiet room.
I hear Casimir coming before I see him. He pushes the curtain across the doorway back and slips inside.
“It’s going to be light out before long. Do you want Julian to switch out with you? He’d be more than happy to.”
“No. I’m not leaving.”
“It’s not safe,” Casimir says.
“I don’t care. Maybe if I fucking burn up, Louis will leave Cyrus alone and he can have the life he deserves.”
Casimir grabs me and jerks me up to my feet. “Don’t ever let me hear you say that shit again, do you understand?”
I look down, ashamed of myself. “I’m sorry. I’m not… I’ll be careful.”
“They’ll move him to a room with a window before long, and you won’t even be able to sit with him. You should go home and let Julian swap out with you. His mom can sit with Cyrus until Julian arrives so he’s not alone at any point.”
“No, I’m staying here.”
