"If I had a flower for every time I thought of you, I could walk in my garden forever."
~Unknown
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Elsa shifted next to Odette's lifeless body, swaying on her knees in her enemy's blood. Dazed, my girlfriend scanned the room, her gaze finally resting on me as I rushed to her side. Elsa attempted to stand up as she feebly called out my name, but instead, she collapsed to the ground. I scooped Elsa into my arms, shouting for help at the top of my lungs while I struggled to stand myself, pain shooting up and down from my thigh.

Suddenly, a brown wolf came sliding gracelessly into the room, crashing into the doorframe and shifting into an unfamiliar face. Wide-eyed, he said, "I heard shouting. What do you need?"

"Flecainide! Now!" I barked, tightening my grip on Elsa as I miraculously pulled myself up. Following the stranger through the hallways, I carefully avoided slipping on the blood-coated floors and knocking Elsa's head into anything.

"Elsa!" Anna screamed when we entered the hospital wing. Dozens of kids were groaning in pain while another few dozen took care of them. However, upon seeing us, four of them came rushing over to us. I barely heard what they said as I set Elsa down on an unoccupied bed. I backed away only to let them work furiously on stabilizing her. Kline led the group, speaking medical terms I could only take a wild guess at what they meant.

"What happened?" Anna asked, gripping my upper arm. I glanced down at her. She had cuts all over her face, and her left shoulder had been wrapped tightly in gauze.

"She killed Odette, but the bitch took wolfsbane before Elsa got there," I whispered, sinking onto the bench next to me. Anna went down with me. "I-I realized what was happening too late. I tried to warn her, but-"

"Elsa wasn't in her right mind. It's not your fault."

"I should've stopped her. I shouldn't have stood there like a fucking moron!" I rubbed my face, trying to control my shaking. "Dom. Where is he?"

"Unconscious," Anna said weakly, "but stable. Got impaled in the back by a pipe. Somehow, it missed any major arteries or organs, and his supernatural healing kicked in. They're keeping an eye on him, but they believe he'll be okay."

"What about you? And the others?"

"All others have surface wounds, and some have concussions. Nothing major. I have a dislocated shoulder. Or, I did. It's fixed now. Have you been checked out yet?"

"No."

Anna lifted her good hand and waved down a passing medic, who couldn't have been older than seventeen. The girl started a swift but thorough examination with the help of a bizarre handheld device, and she zeroed in on my thigh. A few minutes passed of her typing away furiously on the screen before she said, "You have a fractured femur. We need to get you into surgery immediately before-"

I shook my head. "It'll heal. I'm a Shifter. I've had worse breaks before."

"Oh!" the girl gasped. "You're a- you're a Shifter. I didn't- I'm sorry. Okay, yes, it'll heal, but we need to bandage your leg and prevent it from moving too much because it'll heal wonky or take forever to heal. Wait here. I'll be back."

The medic disappeared, and afterward, the day turned into a blur. I remained rooted to the spot, unable to comprehend the possibility of losing Elsa. No matter what the medics did, nothing seemed to wake her up. She remained in a peaceful slumber, her heartbeat slowing down the longer she remained asleep. Anna stayed by my side, at one point, slipping her hand into mine. We clutched onto each other, desperate to stay grounded and to remind ourselves we weren't alone.

During that time, the medic bandaged my leg, creating a splint for it too to prevent it from moving in ways it shouldn't. The stranger that helped lead me back to the hospital turned out to be the missing pack member for Dylan and Lydia. His name was Percy Turner. Another rogue wolf, Carson Bells, gravitated towards our pack. Once I knew whether Elsa would make it through the ordeal, I'd offer him a place in the pack if he didn't have one of his own already.

Sometime around midnight, almost twelve hours after the battle, Dom joined Anna's other side. She grasped his hand with her free one while we sat next to Elsa's bedside, silently praying for her to recover. One by one, the rest of our pack joined us, taking residence on any free space near us. We kept vigil throughout the night, no one willing to move until Elsa woke. However, by the time noon rolled around the next day, my pack became anxious. I told them to go help the Shadows clean up the gore. It gave them something to do and a distraction from the dire situation before us.

"I'm going to go talk to Viktor, see if we can stay here for a bit," Dom said, standing up. He temporarily clutched his injured side but brushed Anna's and I's concerns. "I don't think any hotel would willingly accept blood-covered guests without involving the police. Call me if anything changes."

Kissing Anna and clapping me gently on the back, Dom limped off. She and I repeatedly dozed off after he left. At some point, I even shifted into a wolf. I chose to stay that way due to it being slightly more comfortable than the bench. Anna joined me, and together, we kept watch at Elsa's bedside.

Another twelve hours passed, and once more, darkness settled over the stronghold. I stood up and stretched as a human, my body desperate for any type of movement. My eyes drifted to Elsa's bed as they always did, but instead of finding her still unconscious, her bed was empty. Terror ripped through me, and I frantically woke up Anna. She scrambled up, turning around in circles to search for her missing sister.

"Oh god, okay," she breathed, wringing her hands, "I'll go search the corridors. She can't have gone far if she's left. You stay here in case she comes back."

"But-"

"You're not supposed to be on your feet much anyway. You have a fractured femur still!"

I grimaced, knowing she was right but despising not being able to search for my girlfriend. Finally, agreeing with Anna, I let the other Laroche twin bolt off. Although I should've stayed off my feet, the stress of the situation refused to allow me to stay still. I ended up slowly pacing the hospital wing. No one else remained from the earlier battle, all either given a clean bill of health, released to recover, or added to the overflowing morgue.

The door creaked open, and I whirled around to see who entered. Holding onto anything she could to support herself, Elsa shuffled inside, her face whiter than her hair in the moonlight.

"Elsa," I breathed, my feet automatically moving towards her as fast as I could with my injured leg. "Where were you?"

She stared at me with wide blue eyes. "I-I needed the bathroom. I didn't see you. What happened to your-"

Elsa didn't finish her sentence, too stunned by me embracing her, clutching to her as if my life depended on it. I heard myself rambling apologies to her, begging for forgiveness for the way I treated her before the crash.

Between the shock of seeing her awake and my injured leg, I collapsed to the ground on my knees, still clinging to Elsa and apologizing.

"Spencer!" She exclaimed, her voice weak yet firm. Elsa pulled away, cupping my face. "I'm okay. You're okay. We're okay."

"I made you think you meant nothing to me!" I whispered, a knot forming in my throat. "I made you think I regretted running away with you. I made you think I didn't love you and god, Elsa, that's so far from the truth, you-"

"I know," she interrupted softly, her thumbs rubbing up and down my cheeks. "Promise me, though, if you're stressing, you talk to me about it rather than pushing me away."

"I promise. I also promise I won't take my stress out on you. I'm so sorry, Elsa. I am so, so sorry for-"

Elsa cut me off with a kiss, and for a few moments, time stopped. For those brief few moments, everything seemed right in the world with my mate in my arms and her lips on mine.