CHAPTER 38

Jarett’s POV

The car smelled like blood and rain. Brent had moved to the back seat just so he could be with Helena.

I allowed it because I was driving and someone had to be back there with her. I couldn't do both.

Brent had taken off his jacket and was covering Helena with it. She was breathing was too fast and too shallow.

Every time the car hit a pothole she made this small sound in the back of her throat and I wanted to put my fist through the dashboard.

“Her fever’s climbing,” Brent said from the passenger seat. He kept looking back at her. His hand was hovering over her forehead like he didn’t know if he was allowed to touch her.

“She’s burning up, Jarett. We need to move faster.”

I didn’t answer. I just stepped on the gas.

The werewolf hospital was forty minutes out of the city. No signs or any website, just a concrete building behind a vet clinic that only took “special cases” after midnight. I’d been there only twice before.

I didn’t trust Brent. I didn’t trust that he was sitting at the back in my car at 2AM with my mate bleeding out.

But I also knew Vanessa was playing him. I’d seen the messages on Helena’s phone before she passed out.

Vanessa wanted chaos. And Brent was her favorite pawn.

That didn’t mean he got to touch Helena.

“I'm pulling over here,” I said, cutting the wheel into the back lot. The emergency light above the side door was red. There was no receptionist. Just a buzzer and a camera.

I got out first and slammed the door. The air was cold and smelled like antiseptic and wet concrete.

Brent was already out, opening the back door.

“Let me—”

“I’ve got her,” I cut in.

I lifted Helena myself. She was too light. Her cream sweater was stuck to her with sweat and there was blood on her collar from where she’d bit her lip.

She didn’t wake up.

The door buzzed and opened. Fluorescent lights shone so bright it was almost blinding. The smell of blood and disinfectant hit me immediately, and that underlying animal musk they could never scrub out.

“Name?” The nurse didn’t look up from her tablet. She had claws. Real ones. Filed down but still there.

“Helena. Werewolf. Possible blood loss and infection. Bite wasn’t clean.”

The nurse finally looked at me. Then at Brent.

“You family?”

“I am,” I said.

“And you?” she asked Brent.

“Friend,” Brent said quickly.

The nurse nodded and waved us to room 3.

I laid Helena on the bed. The paper crinkled under her. A doctor came in ten seconds later, gloves already on. Male. Older. Gray at the temples. He didn’t waste time.

“What happened?”

“She was attacked,” I said, it wasn't a lie but it wasn't the entire truth either. When the time was right, I'd tell the doctor the entire thing.

“A few days ago. We didn’t think it was bad. But it got infected. She started running a fever six hours ago.”

I didn't tell him yet that it was her shift that was making her unstable.

The doctor pulled back the bandage on her side. Helena hissed in her sleep.

“Shit,” he muttered. “This is bad. The wound’s septic. We need to get her on IV antibiotics and fluids. And we’ll have to do a blood wash. Werewolf metabolism fights human medicine, so we use a different protocol.”

“How much?” I asked.

He glanced at me. “It’s expensive. Blood wash alone is eight grand. Staying the night is two. Antibiotics, monitoring... you’re looking at twelve to fifteen.”

“Do it,” I said. “Bill me.”

Brent flinched.

“Jarett, I can—”

“No,” I said, not looking at him. “You can’t. I can.”

The doctor nodded and left. Two other nurses came in with IVs and machines that beeped.

And that’s when Brent reached for Helena’s hand.

I caught his wrist before he could.

“Don’t,” I said in a low voice.

Brent froze. “I’m just—”

“I said don’t.”

He pulled back with a tight jaw. “She’s in pain. I’m trying to help.”

“You want to help?” I kept my voice down because Helena was right there. “Then sit over there and stay out of the way.”

I could see it in his face. The guilt. The frustration. He hated that I was the one in charge. He hated that I had the money. He hated that Helena had chosen me to call.

And I hated that he was all over her.

Not physically. But the way he looked at her. Like he’d earned the right.

He hadn’t.

The doctor came back with the IV and we both stepped aside.

“You can stay,” the doctor said to me. “One person. The other needs to wait in the lobby.”

Brent opened his mouth.

“You stay in the lobby,” I said.

He looked at Helena then at me. Then he walked out without another word. The door shut behind him.

The room was quiet except for the machines.

I sat in the chair next to her bed. Her hand was cold when I took it. She didn’t pull away.

“Hey,” I whispered. “You’re okay. You’re in the hospital. The werewolf one. Remember?.”

Her eyelids fluttered.

“Jarett?” Her voice was rough.

“I’m here.” I said leaning in closer.

“It hurts.”

“I know, baby. I know. They’re fixing it.”

I brushed hair off her forehead before laying a gentle kiss on it.

"How long will I be here for?" She asked me.

"Don't worry about work for now. Just focus on getting better. That's the most important thing for now." I said gently.

Her eyes fluttered before she shifted her gaze to the ceiling.