Even Dying, I Still Come Second

I coughed up a mouthful of blood, and my vision was slowly fading to black. I called out weakly, "The steering wheel is crushing my abdomen, and there's silver dust in my wounds too… It's destroying my wolf."

My older brother, Kevin Green, frowned, but his voice softened. "Leia, don't be scared. Just hang in there. I promise you. Once Lina's out of danger, I'll get you out of there immediately."

Kevin raised his hand, as if to reassure me. "Don't move. If the metal panel moves too much, we can't get you two out alive."

My mate, Wayne Aston, was already crouched next to Lina Muhl, slowly raising the metal panel with a jack. He quickly looked back at me.

"Leia, you have a buffer, don't you? I'm sure you can handle a little pain. You don't want to owe Lina again, do you?"

Pain shot through my chest. It hurt me so bad that I could barely keep my eyes open.

When Wayne first arrived, I could tell he felt my pain through our mind-link. Now, he had closed off our mind-link, and he was brushing off my injuries as if they were just a few scrapes.

All I could do was watch Kevin and Wayne work together to get Lina out through the crumpled car door. Color had drained from her face, yet she still had the strength to curl up against Wayne's chest.

The roof above me sank another half inch, and I heard a sickening crunch as the bones snapped. My vision began to fade as I heard Kevin gently comfort Lina.

"Don't be scared, Lina. I'm right here."

Every road was blocked, so there was no way an ambulance could get here in time.

Kevin had only one rescue helicopter. He stared at me for a few seconds before turning to Wayne.

"There's not enough room for everyone on the helicopter, and Lina's already passed out. Take her to the healing center first. I'll stay here with Leia."

Wayne looked back at me. He hesitated for a moment before carrying Lina onto the helicopter.

A chill ran through my entire body as I watched Wayne and Lina leave, tears spilling down my cheeks.

Kevin patted the back of my hand. "The paramedics are trying to clear a path. They'll be here soon."

He actually looked somewhat irritated when he saw me crying. "Don't be so dramatic. You're older than Lina. You should be more considerate."

If I hadn't been in so much pain that I couldn't even move, I would have asked Kevin why he always thought I was being dramatic.

Lina's injuries weren't even that bad, yet all the attention was on her.

The hurt in my chest grew unbearable. I closed my eyes, unwilling to look at him any longer.

By the time I was pulled out of the wreckage, I could no longer feel anything in my lower body.

As the ambulance sped toward the healing center, I drifted in and out of consciousness. During that time, memories of when I was ten came flooding back.

Back then, a plague hit the pack. In the middle of the night, I suddenly developed a dangerously high fever.

A blizzard had buried the mountain roads in snow. Kevin carried me on his back and ran 2.4 miles through the snow just to get me to the healing center.

I clung weakly to his shoulders, crying weakly. "Kevin, why are you so good to me?"

Kevin was gasping for breath, but he answered without hesitation, "Silly girl, you're my sister, aren't you?"

"Will you always be good to me?"

"Of course. You're the only one I'll ever spoil."

But now, I finally understood that I wasn't the only one who mattered to Kevin anymore.

Lina was gradually taking my place in his life.