Chapter 96

Carol’s POV

I heard his voice, but I couldn’t respond. I couldn’t even see. All I could see was darkness and all I felt was numb. I knew he was closer to me now because his voice was louder. He was hovering over me, possibly even touching me. I could hear the desperation in his voice and felt the terror he was projecting when he saw how much blood was soaking my shirt and maybe even oozing beneath me.

I couldn’t even imagine how I must have looked at him at that moment. I wished I could tell him that I was okay and that everything was fine. I wished that I could reassure him and provide him with some kind of comfort. I just wanted to reach out and touch, but I couldn’t do any of those things. All I could do was lay limp while he attempted to wake me.

Little did he know, I was already awake. I just couldn’t move or say anything.

“Carol, please!” Aiden cried as he cradled me in his arms, holding me tightly to his chest. The pain I once felt was gone. All I could feel was numb. But I could smell his scent so close to me and I could almost feel his warmth wrapping around me, that’s how I knew he was now holding me.

“The ambulance will be here soon,” I heard another voice, Oliver, saying as he too hovered close to me. “Just hang on a little longer, Carol.”

“We need to find the bastards who did this,” Aiden said through gritted teeth; at least that’s what it sounded like. “Search the permit.”

“Yes, sir,” I heard a distant, unfamiliar, voice saying.

There must have been a search party looking for me. For a brief moment, I wondered how the game went. I wanted to ask, but I couldn’t speak.

“Just stay with me, babe,” Aiden said, and I could still hear that desperation in his voice.

Did he know that I could hear him? Did he know that I was still with him?”

“Her pulse is so faint,” Aiden said to Oliver. “I can’t lose her.”

“You aren’t going to. She’s strong; she will pull through,” Oliver assured him.

I was grateful that Oliver was there to keep him calm.

“How could I have let this happen,” Aiden whispered. My heart ached from his words; he was blaming himself, that much was clear. “I shouldn’t have let her wander off by herself. I’m such an idiot.”

“Blaming yourself isn’t going to do anything,” Oliver told him. “You have to be strong for her. She might be able to hear you.”

Oliver was smart and his words were true. I hoped that Aiden would listen to them.

“Why would they want her this badly? I don’t understand,” Aiden said, more to himself than to Oliver. I had the answers he was seeking, and I wished I could share them with him. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t do anything but lay on the ground and wait for the medics to help me.

I’m not sure how long we had been there for, but time didn’t seem to matter whatever state of mind I was in. Soon, I heard the sirens in the distance and hope flared in my chest. I was hanging onto my consciousness with everything I had left in me… which wasn’t much if I were to be honest.

“Don’t move her!” Oliver scolded, and I knew Aiden was trying to lift me into his arms to take me to the medics. “They will come to her. You could cause more damage if you move her too much.”

Aiden reluctantly sighed.

“I can’t lose her,” Aiden whispered. “I love her. She’s my mate…”

“I know, man,” Oliver said to him. “But you have to let them do their jobs.”

Not before long, I heard the shuffling of more feet.

“Over here!” Oliver yelled through the forest and the footsteps grew louder. “She was shot and possibly drugged.”

“What is her name?” One of the medics asked, kneeling beside me no doubt.

“Carol Miller,” Aiden said without hesitation. “Please, help her. I can’t lose her.”

“We will do everything we can, Mr. Cruz. But we need you to release her,” the medic, a female, told him gently.

“I’m not letting her go,” he said through his teeth, anger fueling him.

“I know this is hard, but we can’t help her if you won’t release her to us,” the medic said firmly.

“Her pulse is weak,” another medic, a man said. “We have to stabilize her in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. It’d be easier if we knew what drugs she was given. Any ideas?”

“None,” Oliver answered. “We don’t even know where she’s been kept. We found her here.”

“Did she already have that bullet wound when you found her?” The woman asked.

“Yes,” Oliver answered, sounding majorly annoyed.

“Mr. Cruz, please help us get her onto the gurney,” the woman said as I heard more feet shuffling toward us.

“We got the gurney,” another medic said, breathlessly. “Any ideas on what happened ot her.”

“So far all we know is she’s been shot in the shoulder, and she’s lost a lot of blood. Possibly drugged and we aren’t sure what other damage she has. We won’t know until we do some further examinations.”

“Aiden, let her go,” Oliver said firmly.

Aiden growled in frustration but from the urgency of those around me, I could tell he released me, and they were now putting me on the gurney. It would be a lot easier if I could feel something… anything.

“Get her into the ambulance!” The first medic, the woman, shouted. She sounded far away so I knew I was traveling elsewhere. Was Aiden following us?

I hoped so. I didn’t want to be without him. I couldn’t be without him. What if I died? This couldn’t be the last time I ever heard his voice.

“There’s a chance she’s still conscious, just unable to communicate in her state,” one of the medics said. “Hook her up to the IVs to get her fluids while I tend to her wound.”

“What kind of monster would do this to the poor girl?” The other medic breathed. “She can’t be much older than 25. The poor thing.”

“Cruz is a werewolf so I’m assuming other werewolves are involved,” the other medic said. “The bullet is still lodged in her. It’s going to cause issues if we don’t remove it.”

“We shouldn’t touch it until we get back to the hospital. Just try to stop the bleeding. The fluids should help her. I’ll take some blood as well and maybe we can figure out what they gave her before we reach the hospital.”

I heard the ambulance doors slamming shut, and I heard the medics talking about it as they cared for my wounds. But I didn’t hear Aiden…

….

Aiden’s POV

I shoved past the remaining medics to get to the ambulance that was already shutting the doors. Both the medics and human police, along with the werewolf police were in the area, some searching the perimeter and others wanting to ask me questions about what had happened. But all I could think about was getting to Carol.

I didn’t want her to go to the hospital alone.

“Aiden, calm down!” Oliver scolded. “It’s going to be fine. We will get to the hospital right after her, but they need to ask questions.”

The remaining medics cleaned up their supplies before rushing off to the ambulance while the police stayed behind.

“Sorry, Mr. Cruz. This will only take a minute. We just need to know what actually happened here,” one of the officers said, sounding tired and frustrated because this wasn’t the first time he’d asked that same question and it’s gone unanswered.

“What happened is my mate was taken away, shoved in a trunk, and then left for dead,” I said through my teeth, anger fueling me.

“And how did you know she was here? If I heard correctly, she was taken from the Freeze Stadium which was a little over an hour away,” the same officer questioned.

I went to growl at him; it seemed like he was insinuating that I had something to do with this. But thankfully, one of the werewolf police officers put a firm hand on this officer's shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze.

“It’s a werewolf thing; we wouldn’t expect humans to understand. But when a wolf mates, whether their mate is a human or not, they can sense their mates and pick up their scent easily. Aiden simply followed the scent of his mate and came here. That’s when he found her.”

I was grateful for the werewolf police and that seemed to be enough for the human police. They nodded in understanding.

“We’ll stick around and help search the perimeter for clues on who could have done this. You should get to the hospital to be with your mate,” he finally concluded.

I wasted no time; I ran as fast as I could toward the edge of the forest and away from human eyes before shifting into my wolf form and running to the nearest hospital.