“On my way,” Macey says, hanging up.
“I’ll get Marcus to take Casey,” Zoe says before hanging up as well. I swallow the lump forming in my throat and look at Valen.
“I need to go. Can you take Ava back to the hotel for me?”
“Do you want me to come with you?”
“No, Zoe and Macey will meet there, but can you pick up Valarian?” I say, shaking my head.
“Of course.” Valen looks over my shoulder. “Ava!”
She sticks her head out the window and looks at him.
“You're coming with me,” he tells her, and she looks at me. I nod and she climbs out of the car. As I turn back to Valen, he kisses the side of my mouth. “Call me if you need me to come over,” he says, and I nod, unable to form words right now. Swallowing down my worry, I suck in a deep breath before turning back to my car and climbing in.
I don't even remember the drive to the hospital. I’m on autopilot, praying for some miracle that she’ll be alright as worry eats at me, yet the doctor wouldn't have called if she was. No news is good news. News always means something to worry about. As I pull up at the pack hospital, I see Macey rushing toward the front door, and I call out to her. She stops and turns, concern etched into her face, her eyes blurring with tears.
Zoe pulls into the parking lot, zooming past us and into a vacant parking spot. She jumps out, still in her pajamas, slams the door, and runs over to us, looking somewhat pained. She looks like crap—but still, she came.
“Emily?” she asks, hitting her key fob and locking her car.
“I just got here,” I tell her, and she nods before we all walk toward the front doors. Once inside, we hurry to the elevator and hit the button for the correct floor.
“You sort out the council stuff?” Zoe asks, straightening her pajamas like it will somehow make her look more presentable. Macey pulls a hair tie off her wrist and pulls Zoe's hair into a bun on her head.
“Yep, I challenged my father for my title,” I tell them as the door opens to our level.
“You what?” Macey asks, yet I don’t really hear her—my eyes are on the room I know is Emily's. Doctors seem to be rushing in and out everywhere. We pick up our pace and walk into the room.
The doctors look like they’ve just been getting ready to take her bed somewhere. The doctor notices me and walks over, his notepad in hand, and tucks his pen behind his ear.
“Luna, I'm Doctor Porter,” he says with a grim smile, offering me his hand before his eyes darted to Zoe and Macey. He offers his hand to each of them. “You are?”
“Family,” they both say simultaneously. The doctor's brows pinch, making a deep crease between his eyes, but he turns his attention back to me.
He sighs, pulling his glasses from his face and rubbing his eyes before looking over at Emily.
“As you know, Emily has been having trouble fighting off the infection, and we had to remove her leg.”
I nod, though I already knew that. I glance at Emily and swallow nervously, watching as nurses fuss over her, unplugging machines and looping up cords. Doc pulls the pen from behind his ear and passes the notepad to me. I glance at it, then look at him.
“We need to take Emily back in for surgery,” he says slowly, letting that sink in.
“But she will be alright?” Zoe says, and I look at her. Her lips quiver, and the doctor smiles sadly before turning back to me.
“There is a chance she won't survive the surgery; the infection has spread, and her other leg has turned gangrenous.” He points to the notepad in my hands. “This is a DNR. We need to know what your wishes are.”
“What's that?” Zoe asks.
“Do not resuscitate,” Macey tells her, and Zoe makes a strangled noise like a whimper. I glance down at the paperwork I’m holding.
“You want my permission to let her die?” I ask, shaking my head.
“Luna, you need to think of the future.”
I shake my head. “I am. Emily has a son to live for. The answer is no. Do the surgery. She’ll pull through,” I tell him. He sighs and reluctantly nods his head, taking the clipboard back from me.
“Luna?”