Chapter 16 - Survive the night

"Quick, give me my bag!" Lila orders. I let down the walking stick and move towards her desk, where the back was placed on. Trying not to lose my balance, I clench my teeth to keep steady.

She grabs the bag from my hands the moment I'm within arms' reach. I look at the bed where Rey is breathing heavily. The wounds are deep, I can see the clear cut of the flesh. I start to worry, and I pray that Lila can cure him.

I watch closely, ready for her next instruction. I turn to Luke, now standing beside me. We're both on standby mode. We watch her as she takes a small glass bottle and a syringe from her bag. She removes the syringe from the case and stabs it on the top of the bottle, turning them upside down. The transparent liquid soon filled the inside of the syringe. Lila takes it out of the bottle and reaches for Rey's arm. I take a deep breath as I watch the tip of the syringe penetrate his skin.

"Maxine, go to the back door and get me two blood bags. They have names on them. The door is over there." She addresses me pointing somewhere next to her library.

I move as quickly as I can and stand in front of the spot she has shown, but I don't see any door. Then, I notice it. The handle is a decoration of the library that seems to be out of place. I hold on to it and give it a push. The decoration goes inside the wall and a door opens within the tapestry.

I step in and the door closes right behind me. The air is frozen in here. I take a few more steps and the lights turn on above me, making a line above my head. There must be some kind of sensor connecting the lights.

As the area gets brighter, I see a long corridor extending in front of me. On each side, there are cases, like fridges. Their glass doors allow you to see through. I walk closer to one of them and see numerous blood bags placed on each fridge. Every bag has a name written on it, one per fridge.

I look around in search for Rey's blood bags. Finally, after some time searching, I find his blood. I grab two bags and go back to Lila. I try to run but I ask my feet too much, so I compromise with quick walking.

I walk out and give Luke the blood bags. Lila has already attached an IV on his hand and getting the bags she places them facing down to the IV pole. The blood slowly leaves the bag and enters Rey's veins through the tube. Lila is already cleaned up the wounds and motions for me to come closer.

"I need your help." She says as she cleans her hands from the blood. "I need you to stitch him."

I momentarily freeze on her request. Luke looks at me troubled.

"Are you sure about this?" he asks looking at Lila with concern.

"Maxine has a natural talent in stitches. And she's brave enough not to faint. She has done it before, and I know she will do fine now."

She hands me the things and grabs Luke by the elbow.

"If you need anything just call, we'll be in the reception room." She smiles at me. "Now, you come with me. You have some explanations to give." She says to Luke with a stern tone in her voice.

They leave me alone with Rey. The very thought of it scares me a little. He doesn't seem sleeping but not fully awake either. It must be the medicine Lila gave him. I look down to my hands and I notice a slight tremble. Nice, how am I going to stitch him with shaking hands? I close my eyes and take deep breaths. I can do this. At least he's not looking me, otherwise I'd be shaking worse.

I proceed with the stitching, being extremely cautious in case he reacts or wakes up. I had this fear throughout the process. When I finally done, I let out a breath I was holding for some moments. Relief calms me a bit, until I hear the front door open and a voice of a person that I wouldn't want to see right now, or ever.

"Where is he? Is he alright?" Julia's voice echoes. Her tone shows concern and authority. I don't like the way she orders Lila, and I bet Lila doesn't like it either.

The door opens and I look over my shoulder and see Julia storming into the room, followed by Lila and Luke. She runs to where I was standing and gives me a push, getting me out of her way. I lose my balance, but Luke grabs me before I fall. I see the way he looks at Julia and I guess he doesn't like her too.

"What happened to you, my love?" Julia dramatically asks the semi-unconscious Rey. "What did you do to him?" she attacks turning towards me.

I make a step back in defense, but Luke holds me in place. "Relax, Julia. Maxine just helped him get stitched. What's wrong with you?" he responds on my behalf.

"What's wrong with me?" She laughs at Luke and turn her gaze to me again. "Listen carefully. Don't you ever get close to Rey unless you prefer yourself without limbs."

"I forbit you to address her like that!" Luke walks forward, standing in front of Julia. If eyes could kill, Julia's already gone. The look on her face makes me want to punch her.

"Really? And who are you exactly to tell me what to do?" she answers with irony.

"I'm your Beta and you have to show some respect. To everyone. Otherwise, face the consequences." He growls.

They stand there looking directly at each other, not blinking once. After a few moments she takes a step back claiming her defeat.

"One day, things will change. And I look forward to seeing who will be in charge then." She speaks and giving us all a disapproving look she turns and leaves.

After the storm is over, Luke brings into the examining room some chairs, so we all sit there with Rey, keeping an eye on him. As I watched Luke, I recall the way he defended me in front of Julia. Maybe they're a few people that don't bother by my presence here. Lila in in the room next door, making some coffee to keep us awake.

"Luke, I want to thank you for backing me up earlier." I say as I bring the cup of coffee close to my mouth and take a sip. The hot liquid runs down my throat giving a relaxing effect.

"Don't worry. It was nothing. Julia has been a pain in the ass lately and she needs to remember she's not able to do whatever she likes." He rolls his eyes probably remembering the way she was acting.

"It's over now." Lila comments. "Luke please tell us what happened."

Luke's face darkens upon recalling the attack.

"Vampires. They've just crossed the south border by the time we spot them. The hit was destined for me, but Rey got in front and took the blow."

"How did they managed to get in? I thought we had taken measures." Lila asks.

"Someone must have got them in. Someone who practices witchcraft. There's no other way to get pass the fence."

"Fence?" I ask surprised. "There's a fence around here?"

"You can't see it. Is magical fence. It keeps away vampires and any other known enemy of ours. Rey's father created it just before they kill him. And it was effective so far, until now."

"Are there any suspicions on who might have done it?" Lila questions.

"One thing I know for sure. No one could be trusted. I mean, it could be someone from the pack. But we don't have any evidence." He pauses for a moment. "You must be very careful, especially to what you say. Ears can be everywhere." He whispers leaning forward.

We sit in silence, processing what Luke just said, when we spot Rey moving. We jump from our seats and get close to him. His mumbling but we cannot comprehend what he's trying to say. We're about to go back to our places when he calls and makes us all freeze in our places.

"Ma…Maxine."

I look back at him in shock then I turn to face both Lila and Luke who look at me and Rey with a strange expression on their faces, like they know something.

I place one hand on his forehead to check if he has fever, and a sigh escapes his lips the moment I touch him.

"He doesn't have fever." I turn back to them.

For a second, I could swear I saw Luke smirking.

"I must go to Gina. She'll be worried about me." he nods and turns to leave.

A few minutes later, Rey moans in pain. Lila rushes to bring some painkillers and puts the medicine through the IV. I look worryingly as he's making a move to turn, and I grab the hand where the IV is on. The moment I get his hand, he stops moving and slowly gets back to his previous position. I stay there, holding his hand, as it seems to calm him down a bit. I turn to Lila, and she puts a hand on my shoulder.

"We've done everything we could. Now, we hope for the best."