Chapter 158

My heart pumps so hard, so quickly, I’m half sure I’m going to need to be admitted into the emergency room now too.

The rest of the world has fallen away. The only people in the entire world are me, the brothers, Mia, and the doctor about to tell us the bad news.

“The silver inside of Mr. Hayes,” the doctor begins, “is so ingrained within him that we can’t simply remove it.”

Oh my Gods. If they can’t remove the silver… Is Neil going to die? I press my hand to my chest. Archer, glancing at me, wraps a steadying arm around my shoulder and pulls me into the safety of his side. His chest is a brick wall, solid and sure.

“How much time does he have?” Beau asks.

The doctor shakes his head. “Please don’t jump to conclusions. I said the process of removing it wouldn’t be simple, but it is not impossible. It will be a process that might take months to reverse, at least. We have started the process. We are introducing an antidote into his bloodstream as we speak. It will slowly combat the silver poisoning and hopefully gain us some ground.”

The doctor scratches at his head. “If we simply cut the silver out, it would be a shock to his system and might lead to his heart failing. We have to deal with the majority of the poison first.”

The brothers glance at each other over my head.

“So… it would take months before the silver can be removed?” Beau asks.

“Likely,” the doctor says. “There are some new medicines that might clear up the poisoning sooner. Rest assured, gentleman that we are doing all we can to remove that silver from your brother as quickly as possible.”

“No,” Archer says.

The doctor blinks, surprised. “Pardon?”

Steven steps forward. “Doctor, is there anything you can do to stop the poison spread without removing the silver just yet?”

Now the doctor looks even more confused. “Removal of the poison source is the most viable. You can’t mean… Surely you are not inferring that you would like to keep the silver inside of your brother?”

“Well…” Steven starts. He looks at his brothers.

I don’t want to argue, and I don’t want to be in the middle of this. “Can we see him now?” I ask.

“He is stable enough for visitors, though he is unconscious and will be for some time,” the doctor says. He nods toward Mia in Beau’s arms. “I do, however, insist that the baby stay clear from the room. Mr. Hayes is practically radiating silver at this point. Any contact could harm the child.”

Beau holds Mia a little tighter.

“There is a day care in the nursery,” the doctor says. “I’m sure they would be happy to watch her while you all visit Mr. Hayes.”

Archer holds out his arms to take Mia from Beau. “I’ll take her there, the rest of you go ahead. I want to say a few things to the doctor privately.”

I lift a brow at him.

Archer sees it. “I merely want to clarify a few things about Neil’s treatment.”

Oh. He wants to continue the argument, but doesn’t want to hold the rest of us up. Archer has enough power and wealth that I’m sure the doctor will be swayed to focus on keeping the silver from spreading, rather than on removal. At least for a few months.

That’s what Neil would want.

I just hope it doesn’t kill him.

Beau hands over Mia, and he, Steven, and me follow a nurse further into the hospital.

Neil has his own room, which shouldn’t surprise me by now, but still manages to. He’s resting on the bed with his eyes closed. His shirt is entirely gone, revealing the full gore of his darkened and webbed chest. It looks like some kind of blackout tattoo, slowly taking over his entire torso.

There’s an IV in his arm, and a bunch of wires hooked up to his chest. A couple of them pull into a heart monitor. It’s beating steadier than it had been before, when I found him on the ground unconscious. It’s a relief to hear that strong heartbeat now.

As I approach the side of his bed, I see that his cheeks are so sunken in, gaunt, like a skeleton. His face is pale other than the dark bags under his eyes. Even with him asleep, he still looks exhausted.

He’s been fighting so hard for Mia and me. It makes me want to simultaneously crying into his poisoned chest while also smacking him upside the head. I should have worked harder to convince him to have the silver removed.

I would have rather faced the pain of leaving them then having to watch Neil suffer for it like this.

Slowly, I lift Neil’s hand and hold it with my own.

Steven goes to the end of Neil’s bed and lifts the clipboard with Neil’s chart. He reads through it, inspecting.

“The doctor wasn’t lying,” Steven says. “Neil is at least stable.”

I exhale the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. I feel like my lungs haven’t been full since I found Neil on the bathroom floor.

“Any hint when he’ll wake up?” Beau asks.

“No,” Steven says and returns the chart.

Time goes on. Archer joins us, after taking Mia to the daycare. We’re all looking a bit ragged and tired, but no one even suggests going home. Eventually, we all take seats to get comfortable. It’s daytime now, but our bodies are dragging without sleep.

Wanting to be as close to Neil as I can be, I crawl into the bed with him. Without a wolf, the silver doesn’t hurt me like it might someone else. Neil must be so touch-starved. I do what I can.

I place my hand right over his heart so I can feel it beating beneath my fingers. This puts my skin directly over his poison-marred skin, but it doesn’t even so much as tickle me.

For the first time in my life, I’m suddenly a tiny bit grateful that I don’t have a wolf yet. If I did, I wouldn’t be able to touch him like this without hurting myself.

Slowly, lulled by the beat of Neil’s heart, my eyelids grow heavy and I fall asleep.

“Chloe?”

I groan. It’s too early. I’m not ready to wake up yet.

“Chloe, is that you?”

Wait. That’s Neil’s voice.

Suddenly, everything comes back to me. Neil’s silver poisoning. Finding him collapsed on the ground. The trip to the hospital. The doctor’s words.

I blink open my eyes.

The lights are dim in the hospital room. Outside, it’s gotten dark again, night. I lift my head from where it was resting on Neil’s shoulders and look up into his open eyes.

He’s blinking a lot, as if to clear his own vision. Did he just wake up? But his focus is entirely on me. As his vision clears, and his blinking ceases, he takes in the sight of my face. His gaze traces every dip and curve, every feature, from my hairline to my eyebrows to my lips and chin.

He looks… in awe of me. That doesn’t seem right, but I can see the truth plainly for myself right in front of me.

“Chloe? Is this Heaven?”