Chapter 4: The Ravine Road.

The rain hammers on the windows of the packhouse like it wants to break in.

I’m upstairs, in the private living room of the Alpha and Luna with my knees drawn up to my chest and a blanket around me as I stare at the empty driveway.

An hour has passed since Damien drove off. 

One full hour where I've been staring at the text message that has burned itself into my mind.

Who would send something like that? And were they even referring to Damien or was I just making a fuss over nothing again?

I've tried calling Damien's phone but it's gone straight to voicemail.

I tried getting through to him on the mindlink but there's nothing too. The silence tells me he's shut me out completely.

I've tried telling myself the text was just a prank, something a cruel pack member is probably doing to make me feel even worse today, but I don't believe it.

Thea is also pacing, making my mind restless. She only does this when she senses danger. 

My heart feels tighter than it's ever been and I tell myself to calm down but I can't.

My mind flashes back to every moment I've hesitated to tell Damien the truth. To every moment I hesitated to yell it at him - the truth about the dress, the scent, our matebond.

My eyes drift to the text message still displayed on my phone, "Stop him or he won't come home, ever again."

I'm about to go downstairs and wait at the door when my eyes glow, flashing their signature cool blue.

The mindlink is open again and It’s like every cell in me is holding still. A voice comes through but it's not Damien's, it's Garrick's.

"Luna Sabrina. There's been an accident on the ravine road.

It's the Alpha's truck... It's bad."

I don't think I've ever heard Garrick speak to me without derision or mockery in his tone. Right now there's nothing like that.

My phone slips from my hand in shock and clatters to the floor. 

I don't know when I start moving.

One second I'm running up the stairs and bursting into my room. The next, I'm barging into the still heavy rain, running to my car. The tires whine, spinning on the wet gravel as I tear down the driveway.

The ravine road is twenty minutes away on a normal night, a night where the rain isn't pouring in sheets or lightning isn't flashing across the sky every other second. Tonight it feels like hours.

Rain lashes the windshield of my car so hard the wipers can't keep up.

Every curve I take feels too fast but I can't slow down. When I approach the ravine, red and blue lights from pack vehicles light up the place, shining through the downpour of rain.

I slam the car into park and run.

Hospital vans block half the road. Werewolves in both wolf and human form mill around with flashlights and caution tapes.

I jump past the first line when someone's hand wraps around my waist to stop me from going any further.

Garrick's face is grim as he looks at me. The rain soaks his hair and plasters it to his forehead. 

My voice cracks as I ask, "How bad is it?"

Garrick takes his hand away and steps back from me as he responds, "He's alive."

The rest of his words come out too slow, "The doctors have done a primary assessment.

The Alpha has six broken ribs. His leg is pinned underneath the wreck and there's chances he has a possible spinal injury.

They're cutting him out now."

All he says rings through me like a thunderbolt. The next second, I shove past him.

Garrick's voice chases me as I go, "Hey, get back here!" 

I move as fast as I can and keep going. When I see the wreck, my heart stops and a cry rips from my throat.

The truck is deep down in the ravine, crumpled against a gathering of pine trees like a crushed tin can. The front end is mangled. 

The windshield is tarred wine red with blood. The driver's door hangs open and the emergency team down there are shouting orders.

Oh god, Damien is still inside.

I can see his head through the shattered window, neck lolling and blood streaking down his face.

He's not moving.

A healer climbs out onto the hood, his order roaring through the sound of rain, "On three, we lift.

One! Two! Three!, Lift!"

My heart pounds in my chest as they pull him free. His body is limp as they strap him to the stretcher.

Rain washes the blood from Damien’s temple in thin pink rivers and the sight of it makes my stomach turn.

I'm down more yellow caution tapes and my feet slide in the mud but I go on, ignoring Garrick shouting behind me.

The healers haul him up the slope and I meet them halfway. Damien's eyes are closed, his lips are gray. One of his arms hangs all wrong and when I look at it, a shudder runs through me. I can see the white of bone.

"Damien," my voice is shaky, barely a breath. He doesn't answer.

A healer kneels beside me, her voice apologetic as she speaks, "The Alpha has multiple fractures. There's a lot of internal bleeding and possibly paralysis below the waist.

We need to move him now."

Every word she says punches hard through my lungs. 

I reach for Damien's hand and it's cold, limp. It's covered in blood but my fingers find his pulse.

When our skin touches, Damien's eyelids flutter for one heartbeat. 

His brown eyes open, unfocused and searching but they land on me immediately. Pain twists Damien's features and it lances through me too. He tries to speak but only a rasp comes out.

"Sa.... Sabrina..."

I lean closer, rain and tears dripping from my cheek onto his face as i answer, "Yes, Damien, I'm right here,"

The healer pushes me back gently, "We have to go. Now."

A sob escapes my lips as fear surges in me but Damien's good hand reaches out for me, grabbing my cloak tightly. 

His lips move again and I put my ear to his mouth. His voice is faint but I hear it, "Call, call Lucius... And Thorne."

His eyes close and the healers lift him toward the van.

I follow them immediately, mud-soaked and shaking.