A Wolf's Honour

Chapter 2. Slice

Koby did not normally stay in the room, but he had a lot recently, he was a little worried, but he did not voice it to anyone else, not even Corrie. He was sure she knew though, she was good at reading him, but Koby did not want her to feel pressured. He felt bad for not telling Lachlan everything, for giving him that false hope, but he knew, if he was honest, it could really mess his brother up. How do you tell the Alpha, that the girl he loved, the girl he wanted to spend the rest of his life with was pretty much dead, that it was highly likely she was never going to come back to them in the way that Lachlan wanted. It was hard and he did not have the heart to tell his older brother, not yet. He would wait and see, hoping for some miracle where he was proven wrong.

Though they both had known, Winter and him. She was meant to die that night, the bullet that went into her was meant to kill her and the only reason she was currently still alive in a mild sense, was because of the protection spell she had put herself under. She had been using all her magic all her energy to stop that bullet from digging any further into her that night, holding it back until Koby was able to get it out. The moment the bullet was gone, she had mind linked with him, telling him what she was doing. She had told him it was like a protective shell, to keep her body functioning, but she was honest, and said she likely would not survive, that she was trusting him to do the best he could for the time being, but when the time came, he needed to make that hard choice, to really let her go. It was going to break his brothers heart, but Koby knew there was nothing more that he could do for her now. It was solely up to Winter, to do as she needed.

Lachlan was there again, always there, sitting next to the bed, doing what ever he could during the nights. Sometimes he sleeps, sometimes he writes and other times he does work. Tonight, he was working, tapping away at his laptop, frowning over business. Koby was finished doing his check up of Winter, making sure everything was still the same, as always. During the check up they had spoken, once again Lachlan asking how it all worked. Koby knew there was a lot more he could say, to explain to his brother, but he kept it quiet.

Looking across the room, he could see all the gear and equipment set up, ready. It had been Corrie’s idea, to make sure they were ready in full force regardless of anything else. He knew she was trying the best she could to be supportive, but it was still hard, to know what was to come and how much it was going to change a lot of things, how much it was going to impact Lachlan. He walked over there, inspecting everything, to make sure all was in order.

Across from where he was now standing, there was a noise, an uncommon noise. He looked around, one of the machines beeped, the first it had done for the whole time they had been at the hospital waiting the past months. Lachlan looked up as well, both of them looking straight at the machine.

“What does that mean?” Lachlan asked.

“Movement…” Koby said surprised.

This was not something he had been prepared for, and Koby moved back over to that side of the room quickly, checking the monitor, while at the same time, Lachlan stood up from the chair, looking at the monitor and then looking over at Winter. Koby could sense his mood, hoping that it was a sign, something they had been waiting for, for six months. Koby did not want the false hope in anything, and he himself was more worried, that this was more a sign things were failing. The beep happened again, and this time there was a visible sign of movement, even what sounded like a noise, maybe a gasp, from the bed, from Winter herself.

“Winter?” Lachlan spoke leaning down over her.

Koby was standing next to the machines now, checking the numbers. He was worried, concerned and he looked back to the bed. He stepped over quickly, physically checking her wanting to know the pulse rate of her and more. Something was wrong, he knew it, her pulse was racing, going up and it was only just showing on the monitors now.

“This is too soon.” He stated.

“What?” Lachlan asked looked up confused.

“I do not know if she is going to wake… but… I do know…” Koby tried to find the right words.

“What!” Lachlan asked pushing him to say what he needed.

“The baby is coming!” Koby said.

“Are you f*****g kidding me!” Lachlan asked shocked.

“No!” Koby said back. “The machine is indicating contractions! I need to do something now, otherwise we will lose both of them.”

“What… what do you mean both of them?” Lachlan asked, his voice tight and fearful.

“I’ll explain after, we have no idea, we have to do something right now!” Koby warned.

“What do you mean BOTH!” Lachlan snapped, not giving up.

“It is a medical thing!” Koby snapped back. “Winter has been in a self induced coma, her protection spell is failing, which means she cannot keep protecting the baby any longer. It means… if we lose her, we lose the baby as well!”

“So you think it is time to get the baby out!” Lachlan asked stressed. “Koby! It is not even full term yet! It is too young!”

Koby looked to his brother, he knew and understood the fear in Lachlan’s tone. He was not wrong, even though his brother was no doctor, everyone knew how long it took to carry a child. Winter had known as well and to save the child she was carrying, she had stopped that bullet getting through to her uterus, and been keeping herself alive in her protection spell to keep providing life to the child, to keep it alive and growing until it was time for it to been born. It was what they had discussed in mind link, he had accepted her plan and did all he could, keeping her alive medically as well her own spell being used. He still did not tell the truth, tell Lachlan that after this, they would be losing Winter, he could not upset his brother right now with that news.

He knew too though, that Lachlan’s words meant that they needed to move fast. He knew that with Winter in the state she was, there was no way they could help get the baby out naturally, which he had expected any way, and so he needed to yet do another operation, to cut her open to get the baby out. The whole time, they had known it would lead to this and that was why she was in this room, a very special privet room. The reason was, because they did not want anyone else outside of the family knowing what was going on, to keep Winter and the baby safe. However, they had not actually expected things to happen this soon. By Koby’s estimates the baby would only be about twenty-eight weeks, and so yes, it was too soon.

And when it was by estimate, that was a true fact. Simply put, because Winter had placed a protection spell around herself, it had complicated things when Koby had attempted to do scans, to see how the baby was going, if it was growing ok or if there was any defects. Nothing it seemed could get past the protective shield she had put around herself and so they were actually going into this blindly, not knowing what gender the baby was, not knowing officially how far along she was. Though Koby was sure his dates were close, considering he had to make Lachlan confirm likely conceiving times, which of course did make things a little uncomfortable, but it was all for the purpose of being prepared.

Generally, knowing that the baby was only about twenty eight weeks, it was one of those time frames where it was possible for a baby to survive, but also a high chance the child could pass on if not cared for in the right way. This made Koby realise their situation was a lot more in higher need of help then he could have thought.

“Right, disconnect everything and move her over to the trolly bed.” Koby ordered his brother.

He did not wait for Lachlan to answer and in fact, Lachlan did not argue, he followed his brothers direction right away and started disconnecting the cables and tubes monitoring Winter and as quickly as he could, moved her to the trolly bed. Koby was already getting dressed in some scrubs and as agreed, Lachlan went over to his planned scrubs and got dressed in them straight away. They spoke no words, but in that whole process of Koby getting ready he mind linked with Corrie, requesting for her and Georgia, his mother, to come and help as soon as they could.

It did not take them long before they came rushing into the room, and looking first in the direction of the more comfortable bed but not seeing Winter there, they looked straight to the other side of the room, where Koby and Lachlan were already waiting. They had intended to do a numbing agent, like a spinal block for Winter, but Koby was running out of time and fast, he was checking Winter’s stats manually and he could tell they were fast detreating.

“What do you need boys?” Georgia, their mother asked.

“I need everything ready for the baby, can you set up the bed, and be ready for anything, just in case. I think it is too soon, but her protection spell is wearing off.” Koby stated to his mother, then looked to Corrie, his wife. “I need you to help me, to assist with this. Lachlan, keep a close eye on her, let me know if you notice anything and report it, even if you have to interrupt me if I am saying something.”

They both nodded and they all got into position. He was no stranger to helping and saving Winter’s life, he had done it a few times already and so he did not have that weird embarrassment feeling that he would have to once again save the love of his brother. Koby got himself into position and pulled her hospital gown up, rolling it so it was neatly out of the way, resting just under Winter’s bust area. He still needed to be respectful for her privacy and so he had kept that in mind while working.

Taking up a marker, he drew a straight line across the girls stomach. It was interesting, that at twenty eight weeks, her stomach only showed a small swell. It was a bit of a signal that she was either one to pop late or to carry the child in the back, either way, it was a point in which he could use, the start of that curve just at the point of her pelvic line. It would be where he needed to cut and so without delaying things any further, he grabbed the scapple and started, making the first incision into Winter’s skin. In which, the moment Koby did, and making them all jump back, there was a painful cry from the trolley bed.

“She can feel it!” Lachlan said as if he was in just as much pain.

Koby had to think, he needed a way to do this safely and if somehow Winter was feeling him cutting, feeling what was going on, then it would send her into a state of shock and that was not something he needed. There was only one option.

“I need Timbal and fast.” Koby said and his mother nodded. “Lachlan, keep talking to her, tell her she will feel the pain but she needs to stay calm, until Timbal gets here. I think… as the protection spells lessons, the more she is going to feel.”

He was actually surprised, by the fact that there had been such a reaction from Winter. It made Koby think that Lachlan may have been right, that she was present in mind but not in body. She would have heard and felt everything going on the past six months. Was there actually hope, that maybe she would pull through? Koby still did not think there was, and yet now he was giving himself some unneeded hope.

Working together they did their best, Lachlan leaned over Winter, getting very close to her ear, gripping one of her hands and holding it very tightly. Koby could not hear what was being said, but he knew Lachlan was doing as was asked, to talk with her, to get her to stay strong. If she went through all this for nothing, then what was the point anymore. Koby needed her to be focused, so he could help and get the baby out. He did not know how long Timbal was going to be, and he knew there was no way things would go well if he just stood around and waited.

Once again, Koby picked up the scalpel and looking at Lachlan, he gave his older brother a nod and then he did it again, placing the sharp blade against Winter’s skin. It was hard, it was horrible and she indeed was feeling it. The moment he started to cut again, she returned it with noise, pain. Lachlan never stopped talking to her, whispering things and Koby hoped that this was going to work. He knew that Timbal could help, that the old Witch would be able to provide a numbing spells for them, so she would not have to go through the pain of him cutting through her again, but until Timbal got there, doing as they were, was the only option they had.