CHAPTER 53 GUILTY
1238 Words
Elara stood at the edge of the ridge as the wind blew her curly hair across her face and she looked down at the rocks and the old mill below. Her heart beat fast in her chest but she didn't stop to think as she took a step forward and let herself fall.
The air rushed past her ears and for a second she felt weightless. Then her body hit the slope. She rolled over hard ground and jagged stones. Pain shot through her shoulder and her hip all at once as she let out a painful whimper.
She kept rolling until she hit the bottom of the ravine near the stream but hee whole body had gone completely numb. The pain was unbearable and it felt like part of her skin had been cut off.
Tears rolled down her eyes as she started to cry, all because she ha just ended the one thing that made her happy and because her stomach had become so hot she couldn't feel herself anymore.
"Elara? Is that you?" Someone from afar screamed.
It was a pack guard, Silas. He ran down the slope and skidded to a stop next to her. He saw the blood on her clothes and his face went pale.
"Oh goddess, Elara! What happened?"
"I slipped," she whispered, her voice shaking.
Silas didn't waste time. He picked her up and she winced as the movement shifted her broken ribs. He shifted his weight and started running toward the pack clinic.
"Stay with me, Elara. Don't close your eyes."
At the clinic, the healer was already waiting. He had been expecting her but he acted surprised for the sake of the guard.
"Get her on the bed!" the healer shouted. "Silas, go find Alpha Ronan. Tell him there has been an accident."
The guard nodded and bolted out the door. The healer immediately closed the curtains around Elara’s bed. He looked at her and saw the state she was in.
"You really did it," he muttered, his hands shaking as he grabbed his medical supplies. "You actually jumped."
"Just save her," Elara gasped, her eyes wet with tears. "Save Selene."
"I need to check the baby first," the healer said.
He worked quickly and cleaned the cuts on her face and arms. He checked the pulse in her wrist and then moved to her abdomen. The bleeding was too much and he looked at her and shook his head slowly.
"The pregnancy is over, Elara. You're losing the child."
Elara bit her lip until it bled. She didn't let a sound out. She just stared at the ceiling.
"Good," she whispered. "Now do the transplant. Don't wait."
"I can't do it while you're in shock," the healer argued. "Your body needs to stabilize or you will die on the table."
"I don't care," she snapped, grabbing his wrist. "Every hour we wait is an hour Selene doesn't have. You promised me."
The healer sighed and started prepping a needle. "I will give you something for the pain and to stop the bleeding. We will wait two hours. Then we go to the hospital wing where Selene is. I will tell them a donor was found in the city and the marrow is being delivered."
*
Ronan was in his office when the door slammed open. Silas was out of breath and his eyes were wide.
"Alpha, it's Elara. She fell at the old mill. She's at the clinic."
Ronan stood up so fast his chair flipped over. His wolf was already howling in his mind.
“What happened?!” He growled.
“She fell,” He told Ronan but he ran past him.
"Where is she?" Ronan demanded. His voice was deep and dangerous.
"Alpha, please, stay back," the healer said, stepping in his way. "She is in a very bad state."
Ronan grabbed the healer by the front of his shirt and lifted him off the floor. "Tell me what happened!”
"She fell from the ridge," the healer stammered. "She lost a lot of blood. Alpha... the baby. She had a miscarriage."
Ronan felt like he had been punched in the gut. He let go of the healer and stumbled back against the wall. A miscarriage. The child he had been dreaming about was gone. He felt a hole open up in his chest.
"Can I see her?" he asked. His voice was weak now, devoid of his Alpha strength.
"She's sleeping," the healer lied. "I gave her a sedative. She was hysterical when she arrived. You should go see your daughter, Alpha. Selene is being prepped for a procedure. A match was found."
Ronan looked at the curtain. He wanted to go in there and hold Elara. He wanted to scream at the world for taking his child. But the news about Selene hit him.
"A match? Who?"
"An anonymous donor from a neighboring pack," the healer said quickly. "The marrow is being brought in now. It's a miracle."
Ronan wiped his face with his hand and he felt torn in two.
"I'll go to Selene," Ronan said. "But stay with Elara. If she wakes up, you call me immediately. Do you understand?"
"I understand, Alpha."
Two hours later, the clinic was quiet. The healer helped Elara into a wheelchair and covered her with a thick blanket. She was pale and her hands were cold.
"Are you sure you can do this?" he asked.
"Take me to her," she replied.
They used the back entrance of the hospital wing. The halls were empty because it was late and the healer wheeled her into a private room next to Selene’s. The two rooms were connected by a small window and a door used by staff.
Through the glass, Elara saw Selene as her eyes became immediately teary.
"She's so thin," Elara whispered.
"The transplant will fix that," the healer said. "But we have to be fast. I've told the staff I am handling the donor's side personally to keep the identity secret."
He helped Elara onto the surgical bed and started the IV and began the process of extracting the bone marrow.
"I'm doing it, Selene," she thought. "I'm bringing you back."
When he was done, he bandaged Elara up and gave her more fluids.
"I'm going to take this to her now," he said. "You need to stay here and rest. If anyone comes in, stay under the covers."
Elara watched him walk into the other room. She watched as he started the transfusion into Selene’s arm. The red liquid flowed through the tube, and Elara felt a strange sense of peace. She had lost her child, but she was watching her sister's life begin again.
In the waiting room, Ronan sat with Mira. Mira was crying into a handkerchief.
"They said the donor is a perfect match," Mira sobbed. "Ronan, she's going to live."
Ronan nodded but he couldn't smile. His mind was lost, wandering around what Elara would feel currently.
"I need to go check on Elara again," Ronan said, standing up.
"Why?" Mira asked, looking up. "She's the reason we are in this mess, Ronan. If she hadn't started that affair with you, none of this stress would have happened to Selene."
"She just lost the baby, Mira," Ronan snapped. "Have some respect."
Mira scoffed. "Maybe it's for the best. That child would have been a constant reminder of her betrayal."
- Writer
