Chapter 68

Ruby

When I return to the infirmary, Nancy and Tamara are surrounded by medics. They’re both wrapped tightly in blankets and hold mugs of hot soup, which they’re devouring hungrily. Nancy’s leg has already been put in a splint, and she seems to have been given pain medication through the IV in her arm that’s making her cheeks blush bright red and making her giggle at everything.

Doctor Yang is still with Atwood. He’s switching out his IV with a new bag that’s full of a strange, glowing, blue liquid.

“What’s that?” I ask, walking up to him.

He glances over his shoulder at me as he finishes adjusting the bag and starts checking Atwood’s vitals again.

“It’s a medicine I’ve concocted for his condition,” he says. “I haven’t thought of a name for it yet.”

I watch as Doctor Yang checks Atwood’s blood pressure.

“Um, Doctor Yang?” I ask, suddenly feeling curious and bold. I think my adrenaline might still be pumping from what’s happened over the past twelve hours, which is making me more confident.

“Hmm?” he says.

“Atwood has been looking ill a lot recently, except for when I’m around him for long periods of time,” I say. “Do you know why?”

Doctor Yang takes his stethoscope out of his ears and hangs it around his neck. “You don’t know?” he says, looking at me. His round face is kind and gentle.

I shake my head.

With a sigh, Doctor Yang answers. “I’m going to tell you even if Atwood wouldn’t like it,” he says, “because I think that it’s important for you to know. Frankly, I’m appalled that he hasn’t told you yet.” Doctor Yang licks his lips before speaking again. “Atwood has a condition that is known as Intracranial Nebula,” he says. “Commonly known as brain fog. Not everyone without a mate will experience this condition, but some do. It’s been so long without Atwood having a mate that his brain is slowly eating away at itself, essentially. Turning black, diseased.”

“So if it continues, what will happen?” I ask.

“In the very best case scenario, he will turn into a Rogue,” he replies. “Worst case scenario… death.”

A gasp gets caught in my throat.

“If I don’t mark him… he’ll die?”

Doctor Yang solemnly nods, standing from the cot and closing his medical kit. He places his hand on my shoulder and looks into my eyes.

“You cannot mark a mate unless you really want it,” he says quietly. “Marking one’s mate requires an immense amount of love for the other. Otherwise, it will never work.”

Doctor Yang gently pats my shoulder before walking away to attend to other patients.

I sit down on the floor beside Atwood’s cot, taking his hand in mine as I look at him with my head on the mattress. My wolf is silent -- probably from the events of last night and this morning.

Right now, the thought of the curse doesn’t scare me so much. If I could overcome both Edith and the Bears last night, who’s to say that I can’t overcome some silly curse? With my friends, my sister, and my mate by my side, I feel as though I can do anything.

Doctor Yang said that I need to feel immense love for Atwood if I’m going to mark him, otherwise it won’t work. Is that what I feel? Immense love? If anything, I just feel confused.

I’m not sure when I fell asleep, but I must have dozed off at some point, because it’s dark in the infirmary when I wake up. Groggily lifting my head from the mattress, I yawn and look around to see that most of the other patients are asleep. Most of the lights have been turned off, save for a few dim lanterns here and there that cast the room in a soft amber glow.

I still feel exhausted, so I lay my head back down and shut my eyes for a little more sleep.

My dozing is interrupted, however, by the sudden sound of Atwood’s heart monitor going haywire. I jump up from my spot on the floor to watch his heart rate go from a steady rhythm to a flat line right in front of me.

I scream.

As if in a blur, several medics -- and Doctor Yang -- rush into the room and toward the bed. They unceremoniously shove me out of the way so hard that I fall to the floor, but I don’t feel the pain at all. The only thing that I care about is Atwood.

The medics shout strange medical terms to one another that I don’t understand, but I can make out what sounds like “defibrillator”, and I know what that means. They have to shock his heart.

“Clear!” Doctor Yang shouts. The other medics remove their hands from Atwood’s body and step back as Doctor Yang places the two metal pads with handles on his chest and shocks him. A few seconds later, they do it again, then again, but nothing happens.

“No,” I whimper, standing from the floor as I watch them try and try again to shock his heart back to life. The other patients in the infirmary who are able have woken and circled around the scene, looking on in shock as the medics go quiet.

Doctor Yang drops the defibrillator and curses loudly, turning and kicking a table that sends medical supplies flying everywhere.

“No,” I say again, shoving my way through the medics. A choked sob escapes my lips and my vision becomes blurry with tears. The heart monitor is still blaring loudly, but I feel as though my head is in a deep fog that drowns out the noise.

Atwood can’t die. I don’t want him to die.

I love him.

Without a second thought, I leap forward onto Atwood’s bed and kiss him deeply. My wolf suddenly wakes after her long rest.

“Can I?” she asks as I kiss him.

“Now,” I reply.

I’m not exactly sure what happens next. It’s all a blur. All I know is that my body suddenly feels very warm and heavy and I stumble backward, falling onto the floor. My head collides with the marble floor, and then everything is black.

“Ruby? Wake up, Ruby!”

Doctor Yang’s voice fades into existence.

I open my eyes, squinting against the light. I’m still on the infirmary floor, and it’s still dark. People are crowded around me as Doctor Yang crouches over me, feeling my forehead.

“She’s alright,” he says. “They’re alright.”

They?

With a groan, I lift my head from the floor, then sit up with Doctor Yang’s help. My head spins so violently that I feel I may throw up, and then I do just that; luckily, Doctor Yang has a bucket at the ready. He shouts at the bystanders to give us some space, and the other medics usher them all back to their cots.

“Where’s Atwood?” I groan once I’ve finished throwing up.

Doctor Yang grins. “He’s here,” he says. “Alive.”

“A-Alive?” I ask quietly.

“You saved him,” Doctor Yang whispers.

I look over to see that Atwood’s heart monitor has returned to a normal rhythm. His chest rises and falls beneath his blanket.

“Come,” Doctor Yang says, helping me to my feet and guiding me to an empty cot next to Atwood. He lays me down gently and checks my eyes with a flashlight, muttering to himself about a concussion.

“Did we do it?” I ask my wolf. Inside of me, she merely yips happily. I can sense Atwood’s wolf now; he’s weak, but alive. He feels just as much a part of me as my own wolf.