Make a Choice

Sloane's pov.

The world tilted around me and every sound disappeared like it had totally been ripped away by someone.

My lips parted but nothing came out. My fingers tightened around the phone until they began to shake.

No.

That couldn't be right.

Carl can't be dying…..

The moment I dropped the call, I bolted out of the room, rushing down the stairs and nearly twisting my ankle as I ran.

“Sloane, what's the problem?” Hannah asked, but it was definitely not the time to respond.

Panic heightened in my chest and I clutched my dress all throughout the ride to the hospital. When the car stopped, I stormed out before the driver could speak a word.

Inside the hospital,

I ran through the hospital hallway, my vision blurred with tears. My head was in a frenzy and it was hard to process any other thing except Carl.

I didn't realize I wasn't focused on where I was headed until I slammed into someone and hit the floor hard.

The feeling of pain shot through my palm and I groaned.

“Watch it, bitch!” A masculine voice snapped.

“I'm sorry” I apologized breathlessly.

My head was bowed.

My voice was shaky.

I didn't even look at his face, I couldn't. All I could think about was Carl…. I need to get to him.   

I dragged my body up and resumed racing down the hallway to the elevator, heading to the second floor where Carl's ward was.

I clicked the elevator button over and over, with my hands trembling and my breath shaky.

“Come on…. Please…..” I pleaded in a whisper, but it didn't open. Both elevators were in use.

I looked around in panic until my face landed on the stairs. I left no room for hesitation and rushed to the stairs, climbing relentlessly until I got to the second floor.

“Ward 107” I chanted repeatedly in my head, then I saw her.

Nurse Celia.

She was standing in front of Carl's door, fidgeting with her fingers. Her face still looked unsettled and that made something drop inside me.

That moment, I prayed….

I hoped….

I sincerely hoped Carl was fine.

I didn't say a word to her. I rushed past her and opened the door to the ward.

Carl was on the bed, the oxygen mask still covering his nose and mouth.

I stopped and for a moment, I forgot to breathe and only watched him. Carl's eyes were closed but his chest moved, slow and steady and I breathed out in relief.

He's alive….. he's still breathing.

That alone was enough.

I moved closer, sitting beside him and holding his hand.

The machine stats were normal, his breathing was also fine and so was everything else.

“Carl….” The tears that had blurred my vision finally spilled freely down my face.

He was like this even before Mom died. The doctors said he had cystic fibrosis and his lungs were slowly being eaten away. They said he's too young to have the surgery yet, and needs to live on oxygen until he can take it.  

“Miss…..” Nurse Celia's voice rose behind me and my face snapped.

I wiped my tears with the back of my hand and stood to face her.

“You said he was dying…..” I gulped, still trying to control my emotions. “He looks totally fine”

Before the nurse could respond, the door opened behind her and the doctor walked in.

“His oxygen mask will be taken off in an hour,” he said. “If that mask comes off, you know he won't last long”  

My eyes blinked.

Yes, I know. His oxygen mask gets removed only when he needs to take his meal and in less than fifteen minutes, it gets returned.  

“What do you mean, doc?” My voice trembled and my eyes roamed in confusion. “Why will you take the mask off?”

“You’ve been given instructions” he said, pronouncing the words like he was reading them from a script. “Alpha Bianchi told me to relay that to you”

Alpha Bianchi.

That was Dad.

My heart clenched.

I stumbled backwards and shook my head sideways, lips parted in disbelief.

“No…. That can't be….”

Dad can't leave Carl to die just because I refused to marry Lucien Collins.

“No” I stepped closer to the doctor and exclaimed. “You are a doctor, you can't do that to a sick eight year old kid!”

“I'm sorry” The doctor’s lips pressed into a thin line, the kind of pitiful look I've always hated appearing on his face. “The alpha said the clock is ticking”

He turned to leave but I blocked his path and grabbed his coat. Tears filled my eyes once again, this time, they spilled down like raindrops.

“No, a doctor won't do this to a patient..” I cried. “You know what happens if you take that off”

The doctor's jaws clenched.

He moved his hand slowly and forced my hand off his coat.

“If I take that mask off, I lose my license” he paused. “If I don't, I lose my life”

“Do you get it now, Miss Sloane?”

My legs buckled and I fell to the floor. The doctor moved past me and nurse Celia followed after him. My eyes trailed down the room slowly until they landed on Carl.

His brown hair was slicked to the back, and his tiny frame laid unconscious in the bed.

One hour.

That was all I had to save him.

From where I sat dejectedly on the ground, I saw his eyes flutter open.

Quickly, I cleaned my tears and headed to his side. Carl saw me and a small smile tugged at his lips under the mask.

“You are awake” I took my seat beside him and held his hand, smiling as widely as I could.

I didn't want him to see the pain in my eyes, the heart wrenching pain behind my sweet smile.

He nodded slowly and my smile widened. “Such a good boy”

I knew I had no time to waste, I had to meet with Dad quickly.

I've lived with him for five years and I know the kind of man he is. He won't hesitate to leave Carl without the mask, leaving him to meet his death.

I can't let that happen.

Carl is the only good thing that has ever happened to me.

“I'll be back, Carl” I stood up and ruffled his hair. “Don't miss me too much”

He nodded.

I walked out of the room hurriedly, and soon, I was standing in front of the mansion.

I stared at the mansion and my chest tightened, heart hammering. Once again, I had acted so foolish for an Omega with no wolf, and that had almost cost me Carl.

Now, there was no way out of this.

Not when Carl's life was the price that had been set on the line.