Chapter Seventeen
Elle's POV

I'd only been to the hospital a handful of times and never turned into the west wing.

The hospital in Aucteraden was bigger than the school.

In the city, the modernised sleekness of the building would have blended seamlessly into its surroundings, perhaps even making it beautiful as part of the city's masterpiece. It was colourless and loud here in a town that valued its vintage heritage.

Construction had finished five years ago to replace the human's only hospital with something bigger and more inclusive. After decades of outcry for an inclusive community and overflowing waiting rooms in small pack hospitals, the separate communities had banded together to fund the new project.

Since the hospital's opening, the pack hospitals had become more like general practitioners than emergency care units, and everyone seemed to benefit from it.

Except now, the hospital was divided into two wings. The west wing, priority care, was only accessible to those who were members of a pack, be they werewolves or mated to one, and the east wing, was where the equipment seemed to be made of plastic toys, and the doctors just acted the part. The overwhelming funding from the packs meant the money was spent on their wing, and the humans were given the leftovers.

The concrete path beneath my shoes melted, and my feet sunk into quicksand.

I couldn't move, the building loomed before me, and the fluorescent lights in the windows caused the building to glow as though it were radioactive. Everyone joked about the hospital being a light for the town, but it didn't seem so funny as I tried to see the stars beyond the hazy glow.

'I could never live in the city.'

Jacobi huffed, sliding his arms across his chest. 'Is that what you want to talk about right now.'

'I'd miss the stars.'

'Elle.' He stated my name as though it were a fact. 'Let's not do this right now. You wanted to see Arlo. We are here to see Arlo, not stargaze.'

He hadn't wanted to bring me. Doing so broke some rules, and he wasn't one to typically break the rules. He'd been snappy ever since but had reluctantly dragged his feet across town, the silence filled with his explanations as to why sneaking me in would be impossible.

'Why is it such a big deal anyway?'

'Loyalty.'

I snorted, my spine prickling like a hot rock had been laid across my back. 'Thanks.'

'It's true!' he cried, grabbing my shoulders and forcing me to face him. 'Humans have proven time and time again that they are not loyal. It's a major character flaw that has caused wars and the defeat of empires. Humans are greedy and care mostly about self-ambition. You're constantly seeking "better", whatever better means. Humans have egos and this unnatural desire to barter for deals and alliances that are apparently breakable, as though that defines who they are. You're easily manipulated and don't think twice about carrying out the dirty jobs when you're offered the right kind of incentive.'

'You're an asshat.' I ground out, 'I hope you are fully aware of that.'

'It's true, though. Isn't that why the law is in place.'

I rolled my eyes, 'It's not a law. It's the hospital's policy...' I paused, pinching my face as I drew in a slow breath and then shook my head sadly, '...which is mirrored around the state.'

'Right,' Jacobi snorted, 'it's not the law, but it's practically the law. Just think about it Elle, Benedict Arnold, Brutus, Jadas, Iris Gochlin, what do they all have in common?'

They had all betrayed someone who had trusted them.

He was right.

We'd learnt about it in a history class, and it was constantly brought up in the media.

Humans were not loyal. Plain and simple. But it wasn't so plain and simple because I was a human, and I wouldn't dream of betraying Jacobi, not even for a bar of gold. But the humans Jacobi had mentioned had, and their decisions still plagued our lives.

Benedict Arnold. 1780. He proved that friendship and kinship mean nothing when he turned on his fellow Americans and close friend George Washington to side with the British. All because he didn't get the recognition he believed he was owed, it didn't help that he happened to get distracted by the glittery dazzle of money.

Brutus. 44 B.C. He was involved with the assassination of Julius Ceaser, despite being a close friend of the Roman dictator, because his loyalty could be manipulated and swayed by the senate.

Judas. Sometime between 30-36 A.D. He was hand-picked by Jesus to be a part of the Twelve Apostles, a man who vowed loyalty to the God almighty and betrayed his friend for thirty pieces of silver.

And Iris Gochlin. 2008. An impressionable 17-year-old girl from Texas claimed she was a friend of an ill werewolf in hospital only minutes before she stabbed him thirty-six times with a silver-tipped knife—a gift from a neighbouring pack.

Proven, time and time again, that given the opportunity for greed to fester, and ego to grow, human betrayal was inevitable.

'I'm not saying you're bad, just that I understand the rules, and I don't think I want to explain to your grandma why you've been banned from the only hospital in Aucteraden.'

'I want to see if he is alright.'

'Okay then,' he sighed and ushered me forward.

As the sliding doors split, guiding us towards the reception, the woman at the counter looked up, studying us through the tempered safety glass. She was like me because she had to ask, 'Werewolf or human?'

I shrunk back, hoping to avoid her scrutiny as Jacobi passed her his pack I.D., a glossy white card with a grainy image of his face, the Vermiculo crest, his pack number and his ranking.

Next, she wanted my I.D., but it was tucked deeply into the bottom of my bag. I didn't need it very often.

I dug for it, fumbling for an excuse before I showed her. I couldn't find a reason to justify my need to go into the west wing, but just as I was conceiving a lie with convincing qualities, Jacobi stepped between us, angling his body so that I was hidden. 'She doesn't need one. She's with me.'

I wouldn't say I liked hiding, but Jacobi pushed me aside, snapping his fingers around my wrist and locking me in place.

I heard her scoff and the click of her nails against the counter as she lifted his I.D. to look at it again.

I peered around Jacobi as she humoured us, but suddenly her eyes widened, and she flicked her gaze back and forth between us and the I.D. Her mouth hung agape, and a blush flushed up her neck to the tips of her ears. Apologising profusely, she turned away to rifle through her file cabinet, giving Jacobi time to hook his fingers around my elbow and drag me away.

'Would you hurry up,' he hissed. 'I don't want to get caught.'

We snuck through the hallway in silence. He was quick, focused on the noise around us, and I had to jog to keep up with him. Going unnoticed in a hallway full of werewolves was hard, but the most challenging part was knowing I had to keep my pulse steady when it was racing in my veins.

Jacobi glanced skittishly across the hallway, through open doors and down long corridors, as though he knew something was coming. I didn't want to say anything. With eyes already following our every move, I knew we were being watched.

He turned a corner sharply and slammed me into the wall. It was a narrow alcove, and he hid me from sight, peering under his arm at the people passing by. 'This was stupid.'

I ignored his mutterings, wheezing as I tried to drag air back into my lungs. 'How did you get her to let us through?'

I hadn't expected to get as far as we had, and now my skin was trembling with adrenaline.

He didn't reply, glancing across the hallway at something I couldn't see. Instead, he flicked his I.D. out between us and waved it between two fingers.

It took a second for my eyes to adjust, and I had to grab hold of his wrist so he would stop waving it around in the air, but when I saw it, I didn't understand. 'You got a new picture.' My brow furrowed, and I ran my thumb over his face. 'You didn't show us.'

He'd made it a tradition to show us his photos, and unbeknownst to him, Kendra and I had dedicated a scrapbook page to the iconic ones over the years. This one was new, very new. His haircut a few weeks ago proudly showcased his ears, which had never laid flat against his head.

He sighed heavily and bobbled the card a little to switch my attention to the words on the right.

Socius ex consillio: Gamma

I gaped, almost choking on the air that caught in my lungs. Spluttering, I asked, 'When did you get named Gamma?'

Shrugging, as though it wasn't a big deal, he said 'Thursday morning' as calmly as possible, but I knew him better than that. His ears tinged pink, and his shoulders rose higher to his jawline.

A bubble of excitement swelled in my chest, but then it got caught on a memory, and my whole body deflated.

Thursday was the day of the attack.

I wanted to hug him, to chase away the monsters that shadowed his promotion, but I didn't want to jeopardise our hiding spot and stayed pressed against the wall. 'You should have told us. It's still an amazing title, despite the day you got it and earned it. Kaden has seen something in you worthy of the position.'

'I've always known I was going to get the position.'

I grunted, shoving the card back into his grasp. 'You're a cocky asshole. Did you know that?'

He laughed, catching my sleeve in a loose hold, not moving as everything seemed to slow down.

Quick, like lightning, he shot off down the hallway, dragging me along behind him, past the guard who had his back turned to us while talking to a nurse as she made her rounds. 'If we get caught by another pack...'

He didn't need to finish his sentence. The Vermiculo pack would be in trouble if the others knew Jacobi had snuck me in, and there was no telling what would happen to the receptionist. I glanced over my shoulder, praying the guard wouldn't turn around before we were out of sight.

Arlo's room couldn't have been further from reception if they had tried. He was at the end of a hallway, guarded by two Vermiculo pack members. They hesitated before tentatively allowing us access when Jacobi pulled rank. Another pack member guarded the door to his room.

He looked me up and down before dismissing me of any importance. 'State your name and business.'

'Jacobi Whetts, Gamma. We're here to see Arlo.'

'She shouldn't be here.'

'Trust me. She wouldn't hurt a fly.'

Flinty eyes turned back to me, distrusting, and I flinched, feeling smaller than the smallest ant. 'Sign this.'

He shoved a clipboard into my hands, and I signed it, distracted as I read the names of those who had already visited Arlo.

My breathing quickened, and I felt my heart flutter. Kaden Delossa was written in neat print twice. His was the first name I saw, my eyes automatically scanning his name.

When he opened the door, I held my breath. It was Jacobi, again, who had to push me into the room.

And now, despite pleading and bribing him earlier, I was staring across the room at Arlo, and I didn't know what to say.

'Hey, Cobi.' Arlo was the first to talk, his voice a hoarse rasp. The wounds on his throat were exposed, long, angry red cuts, and most of his body was bandaged. He looked like a mommy as he sat up, groaning, his blankets falling to the side. 'Elliot?'

'Hi.' I croaked, the word sticking to the taffy inside my throat as I waved pathetically from the doorway.

'What are you doing here?'

I checked over my shoulder for an escape, and Arlo waited expectantly.

'I heard what happened. I just wanted to see if you were alright and that they gave you everything you needed.'

'I could honestly go for some hot wings right now.'

I snickered, perched on the armchair's edge so I could lean closer. 'It was difficult enough for Jacobi to smuggle me in. I don't know if we could manage hot wings.'

Jacobi caught my eye, smiling warmly. 'Compared to you, I think hot wings will be easy.'

I laughed, clutching my hands together awkwardly. 'You think smuggling food into a werewolf hospital wing would be easy? I think they'd smell it before you got out of the car.'

He snorted, raising his eyebrows challengingly, 'It would be easier than hiding a human-shaped you that smells like human, who shouldn't be in the werewolf hospital wing.'

'Touche.'

A hacking cough brought us back to Arlo. It sounded like half his lung was trying to squeeze up his airways, and each cough made him groan in pain. I quickly passed him a glass of water that sat on the bedside table, hoping it would help him.

He shuddered, sinking into the bed with weary bones. 'You guys should come round more often. Everyone else is boring to be around.'

He sounded like he needed rest more than he needed visitors.

'Arlo.' Jacobi said his name with a sigh, standing up straighter as the boy's eyes searched for him in the room. 'Can you tell me what happened.'

'I heard you got named Gamma.' Arlo bit, letting his eyes droop as he turned away from us. 'I've already told everyone else. Can't you just hear it from them?'

'I want to hear it first hand from you.'

Arlo was silent for a long time, and I wondered if Jacobi would give up on him. But eventually, he turned his head to look back at us, nodding his chin my way. 'What about her?'

'Elle's fine. I trust her.'

Arlo's silence filled the room, and the air became heavy. It felt like it crushed my lungs as I waited, with bated breath, to hear his story.

'I didn't see the trap.' He looked straight, staring at the ceiling. His face was void of emotion, his eyes detached. 'I didn't see it until it was clamped around my foot. I was lucky. I hadn't shifted back yet. Etta and I were in human form to talk about the border. We were just about to head home when I set it off. It was a clean-cut, thankfully. Etta tried to help, but when she did, five people jumped out of the trees.'

'People?'

'Hunters. We couldn't smell them.'

'Are you sure?

I stared at the marks on his throat, wondering how a human had made that mark.

I said nothing, but Arlo caught my stare and ran his fingers over the ridged skin. 'It's what they do. Hunters. They pretend to be us by inflicting damage onto us that replicates the same patterns of fighting that we do. It accomplishes one of two things, if not both. One, it terrorises humans into believing that we are evil and dangerous and destructive creatures. And two, if no one lives to talk about it, werewolves often blame their own kind. Hunters aren't common, and they only use this method when they don't want to claim the kill as their own.'

'How come you can't smell them.'

'They've engineered a serum that can disguise human scent. It doesn't work on us, but it's so damn effective on humans.'

Jacobi nodded along with Arlo, pursing his lips as worry threaded his brow. 'It's hard to come across, but when they get it, they're unstoppable until the serum wears off.' He explained before directing his attention back to Arlo. 'What happened next?'

'I wasn't much help, Etta fought them off, but she couldn't fight all five at once, so while she dealt with three of them, the other two came at me. Whoever told them that silver hurts so much deserves to rot in the deepest circle of hell.'

'Why can't you catch them?'

'We track our enemies primarily through scent, but they don't tend to stay in one place for long. By the time we find who we're chasing via their flight patterns, they're already gone, and the only thing we can do is warn the packs who live at the flight's destination that they're on their way.' Arlo explained, anger sparking in his eyes. 'The Gamma has a folder of passport pictures in his office, but they're usually just in and out, and there is no time to recognise them.'

'How long do they stay?'

Jacobi met my eyes, and I realised he was now the gamma with the pictures folder. He stared for a long time, trying to make me understand without using words. 'Barely hours. Sometimes it's just a stopover between flights.'