Carter

28: Carter

Carter stood beside Noah, his gaze fixated on the computer monitor while scrutinizing the scanner readings he got from Lara.

"Is she all right?" Noah asked, concern eminent on his face.

Carter glanced at Noah from the corner of his eye and saw how tensed the man was. He heard his question loud and clear, but he decided not to answer it. He couldn't afford to be sidetracked by Noah even if he was his superior. Otherwise, he will lose his focus and make a mistake, and Carter's quite certain that it's not what Noah wants from him right now.

"Please, give me a minute," Carter said, his glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose and returned to his diagnosis.

Noah came to his clinic dead of the night, asked that he check on the unconscious female in his arms. Wake her up. But based on what he's seeing in the results, he's not entirely sure what was wrong with her. Which isn't good enough if it was the answer he'll give Noah seeing how distressed he was.

Carter sighed and pushed his glasses up his nose, reading the results once more. He ignored the probing looks from the two imposing beings, namely Noah and Stef, and cleared his mind.

This is the most uncomfortable diagnosis he ever made in his life.

Noah tapped his shoe on the floor. He tried to appear calm on the outside, but his wolf was clawing out to break free on the inside. Alarmed and angry, the beast was becoming restless. Why is their mate unconscious? Why is she not waking up? If he weren't sitting next to Lara's bed right now, clutching her hand, he would've lost his control already. He could not imagine what kind of mess he might cause, knowing how protective his beast was of their mate.

Stefani stood behind Noah, leaning her back against the wall with her arms folded on her chest. She can see the muscles on Noah's back tensing and relaxing repeatedly. He was clearly on edge, and she knew it. Her gaze went back to the unconscious Lara.

This is the second time she witnessed Lara like this. The first one was days ago when Noah lost his control and did something to her in the elevator. Now, Noah obviously did something again, but how and what is the question.

Everyones quiet in the clinic for some time. Stefani and Noah knew well that bothering Carter would only slow him down. So, Noah pressed the back of Lara's hand onto his brows, feeling the warmth of her skin, assuring himself that she's okay. She'll wake up, eventually. He can still feel the pulse on her wrist, but she doesn't seem to wake up. Lara just lay there, peaceful and unmoving. A body without a soul. And it was making him worry.

Carter raised his head, he's done studying the results.

Noah held his breath and stood up. "Tell me, what is it? Is there something wrong with her?"

Carter shook his head, his countenance solemn as he replied, "No, all her vitals are good."

"But. There's a but there right?" Stefani asked, she's all ears to what he's going to say and base on his expression, it wasn't something to be relieved about.

Carter sighed.

"What is it?" Noah asked.

Carter studied the results before answering. "I don't know..."

Stefani's eyes narrowed in an icy glare. "What do you mean, 'I don't know?'" 

"She's not wounded and there are no signs of physical or internal injury. She's unconscious but her senses aren't responding to stimuli which is alarming."

"Is she in a coma, then?" Stefani asked.

Carter knows that Stefani seldom wears that expression of worry on her face. She's not the type of person who worries about just anyone. Like her wolf, she's aloof by nature. But she's also fiercely loyal and protective of those she cares about. And Lara's one of those people.

Carter glanced at the unconscious Lara once again.

"Carter, answer me."

He returned his attention back to Stefani. "Yes, that would be the next logical diagnosis to her condition."

Noah clenched his jaw, holding Lara's hand even tighter. Carter saw it and wondered what exactly was their relationship? It's obvious that it's not something platonic.

The way Noah looked at the woman like she's the centre of his universe. Nope, not platonic at all. So, what is it exactly?

"Will she wake up?"

Carter became quiet for a bit. "I don't know..."

Stefani finally snapped at those words, "Dammit, Carter! You're a doctor and you've said 'I don't know' 2 times already. Did you seriously finish med school or not?"

"Her condition is uncommon. Almost close to a catatonia state, which is dangerous to the patient. She's alive but-"

"But, what?" Noah asked.

"Like I said, she's not responding to stimuli. It's like her soul is…" Carter stopped and forced himself to shut up.

"Carter, spit it out!" Stefani has already lost her patience, and she's about to punch Carter in the face if he pisses her off one more time.

"... It's like her soul is not with us."

  A long silence enveloped the room. All of their expressions became blank.

"You should've been a church pastor with words like that than becoming a doctor, Carter." Stefani said, finally breaking the silence between them.

Carter frowned, but Stefani ignored it and turned towards Noah, who was now staring at Lara while she slept. "What happened before this? How exactly did this happen, Noah?" She asked.

But Noah said nothing.

"Noah, what did you do?"

Noah sighed. "She was feeding on my blood," he said in a lowered voice. However, Stefani heard him loud and clear, and her eyes widened at that.

"What did you say?"

Noah sighed in exasperation.

"She was feeding on my blood before she lost consciousness."

"Yeah, I heard you and what?! Why the hell was Lara feeding on you in the first place?"

"... I forced her to do it."

Stefani couldn't believe what she just heard, and raised her hands in the air. "Of course, you did. Why am I not surprised? So typical of you, Noah. Let me guess, your possessiveness got the better of you, didn't you?"

Noah clenched his jaw and didn't reply. He knew what Stefani was saying was right. However, they forgot they were not alone in the room. Carter heard everything Stefani and Noah said, and he couldn't believe his ears either.

"Oh, goddess almighty..." He looked at Lara in shock.

Crap! Stefani sighed. "Carter..."

"She's,"

"Carter breath."

"A vampire? She's a vampire!"

"Yes, Carter, she's a vampire."

"B-But!"

"Its old news, Carter, so stop overreacting." Stefani said, brushing Carter off. However, Carter still couldn't believe the sudden revelation he just heard.

"What do you mean, old news?" Carter stopped. "Oh, hell no. You knew, didn't you?" He stared at Stefani in disbelief. "You knew she was a vampire all this time."

Stefani rolled her eyes. "Goddess, give me strength." She prayed in the heavens coz seriously, all she wanted to do was to grill Noah with more questions about what happened.

However, life always messes with her and another problem in a form of a person named Carter, has appeared in front of her. And he's clueless of the situation from the very beginning, obviously, and now he's involved in it.