CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

“Parker,” Elizabeth, the charge nurse on duty, stuck her head into the break room where I was chatting with Elena, one of my nurses. “LifeMed in route. Fractured right arm. ETA five minutes.”

Elena and I stood, and she went left while I went right to grab a blood bag to drink. As I was almost done with the bag, my phone started to vibrate in my pocket. I thought it would be Calla calling back to apologize for hanging up on me or to try to change my mind. Instead, it was Athan.

“Yes?” I clipped because he knew I was at work and hated to be bothered.

“It’s bad, man. Really bad!”

“What are you talking about?

“Calla and I got into an accident.”

I went rigid. “What?”

“There’s no time to explain. You need to get here fast.”

“Where?”

“West Park—”

“I’m on my way.”

I had no idea what he was talking about, but hearing that they got into an accident was enough to put me in action. I’d never heard panic in Athan’s voice as I did just then. He was always the go with the flow, kept his cool most of the time, kind of guy. Even when we fled Renzo, Athan went along with it as though it was a normal everyday thing to run from your sire.

After finishing the bag quickly, I walked fast to Elizabeth. “Liz, I have to go. My girl—friend,” I hesitated because I wasn’t sure if Calla was still my girlfriend, “was in some sort of accident and needs my help. Page Jack to handle the new patient coming in.” I didn’t wait for her to respond—didn’t care. My only thought was getting to Calla.

Instead of grabbing my belongings from the locker room, I darted out of the front doors and ran toward the highway. When I first transitioned into a vampire—after the initial shock wore off—I’d race against cars for fun. I was always faster than any car because not only could I run at least one-hundred miles per hour, I could get around traffic in a flash, and I didn’t need to take the time to get my car from the parking garage.

The wind whipped through my short hair as I sped down the highway in the rain, going around turns and cars and more turns. I didn’t need to know exactly where they were because I knew I’d sense Athan and smell Calla once I got close. Even though I knew that I was traveling at least one-hundred miles per hour, it still felt as though I was traveling like a snail.

Then I smelled blood.

Lemon, lavender, and gasoline to be exact.

Athan and I must have sensed each other at the same time because right when I knew he was nearby, he stepped out onto the road. I stopped right before him.

“Move!” I barked and dashed down the hill to see Calla’s car flipped on its hood. “What happened?” I asked, assessing the car. I didn’t see Calla, but I knew she was in there still. I smelled her, and her blood, but I didn’t hear her breathing or her heart beating. It wasn’t good.

“She was driving too—”

“Why didn’t you get her out?”

“Because there’s a lot of blood and I wanted to feed.”

I knelt beside the driver’s side door and saw that she was hanging upside down. My gaze flicked to her chest and everything stopped. I listened closely and could faintly hear her heart beating. It wasn’t strong, and I knew at any second she was going to die. Calla was going to die in front of my eyes because a tree branch was lodged in her chest and she wasn’t breathing. If I had to guess, I’d say that the branch was almost piercing her heart.

Fuck.

“Help me get her out of the car,” I ordered.

Athan was pacing and not moving toward me, and I knew he was trying his hardest to fight the curse that struck when the scent of blood was in the air.

“Now!” I barked.

“The blood … I’m hungry …”

I darted to him, grabbed him by the shirt and held him off the ground. “If you touch her, I will end you,” I growled.

“I’m trying not to, I really am. She smells really good. When I got out of the car, I paced, back and forth, hoping you’d show up before I broke.”

“You’re fucking lucky I did.” I dropped him and moved back to the car, ripping the door clear off in my rage. I flung it behind me and then knelt down. “Help me pull her free.” Athan got beside me. “Rip the seatbelt off, and I’ll pull her out.” I was careful as I snapped the branch, keeping it inside of her to act as a plug for her blood and guided her out before cradling her in my arms as I stayed on my knees.

“What are you going to do?” Athan asked.

I looked up at him not saying anything. What could I do? We were in the middle of nowhere and by the slow beat of Calla’s heart, I knew there was no way to get her to the operating room back at the hospital even if I could run there in ten minutes.

“I know you love her.” It wasn’t a question, and I didn’t deny it. He knelt down and was eye to eye with me. “You know what you need to do to save her.”

“No,” I whispered. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to do it, I couldn’t. I’d made a vow … “Then you’ll lose her forever.”

If I could, I’d cry.

If it could, my heart would break.

If I could, I’d die with her.

Since meeting Calla, she’d opened my eyes to a new world. A world I wanted to live in. A world where I wanted to settle down. Looking down on her, listening to the slow beat of her heart, and seeing the dark blood soaking her sweater, I knew that I still wanted all of those things and time was running out.

But Calla had never expressed that she’d wanted to ever get turned into a vampire. “What if she hates me like we hate Renzo for turning us?”

“Calla loves you. She won’t hate you for turning her.”

“She didn’t ask for this.”

“Did she ask for a herd of deer to make her throw her car off of a cliff and get a tree lodged in her chest?”

“No,” I muttered.

“Listen to me, D. You haven’t opened your heart since Mary. You did for Calla. And you can deny it all you want, but you’ve loved Calla for a long time.”

“We’re not soulmates.”

Athan groaned. “You want to let some myth prevent you from being happy?”

He was right. And before he spelled it out for me, I knew it in my bones. I didn’t have another second to spare to fight with myself. “Okay. Take off your jacket.” He didn’t hesitate as he tore it off his back. “Place it on the ground so I can lay her down.”

I had no idea what I was doing because I’d never turned a human, but I didn’t want to lay her on the wet ground with nothing between her and the dirt. This wasn’t the perfect place for the change, it was the best I could do on such short notice.

After Athan set his jacket down, I placed Calla onto her back. I paused as though I had a deep breath to take, and then I ripped the wood from her chest and tossed it aside. Blood started to gush from the wound, and I heard Athan growl before dashing off. If I hadn’t had a bag before I left the hospital, I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist draining her completely.

My mouth latched onto her neck, and I sucked. I drank until the fluid started to thin and then I stopped. After biting into my wrist, I held it to her mouth, tilted her head back and let it flow down the back of her throat.

I’d forgotten how long it would take for the change to be made, and I didn’t want to wait in the damp forest for it to occur. “I’m taking her home. Do something with the car and then go to the hospital for mine. Compel Elizabeth, and she’ll get you to my locker where you’ll find my stuff and my keys. I’ll text you the combination when I get Calla situated.” Even though Athan wasn’t in sight. I knew he’d heard.

As I was picking Calla up off the ground, he dashed back. “See you in a few hours. Do you want me to pick up a human for her transition to complete?”

“No, I have bags.”

“Right.”

Once I got home, I laid Calla in bed and waited for the first time for the love of my life to turn into an immortal.