Page 21 of Bonded Through Bite

Blackness creeps into my vision and I grab Rafael’s hand.

“Samantha? Are you all right?”

The blackness spreads and numbness follows in its wake. I can’t feel him holding my hand anymore. This feels off, different than my migraine attacks. Overwhelming numbness spreads from my chest and takes away my strength.

“Samantha!”

I try to form words, but I can’t grasp them in my mind. He lifts me into his arms and I think we are moving, but I’m losing consciousness. It’s like that one time I almost drowned. I’m sinking. Slowly, everything fades away, and the only tether I have is his voice.

“Samantha. You have to fight, love. Fight.”

I’m trying. I’m struggling. I’m losing.

“Please.”

I gather everything I have left. Every drop, even the tiniest crumbles of strength and focus. Try to let him know not to worry. The blackness takes my breath away and the words die on my tongue.

Desolation creeps in. There is no sight. No sound. No feeling.

And I lose.

The last thing I hear is Rafael’s anguished roar.

Chapter Seven

Rafael

Samantha falls limp in my arms, her eyes refusing to open, no matter how much I plead. I rush out of the door with her and head for my car. As soon as I get her buckled into the seat, I bark for the car to call Thea. We are already moving by the time she answers.

“Where do I take her?” I snap as soon as the line connects.

“What?” she asks.

“Samantha collapsed. What hospital am I taking her to?”

“Fuck!” Now she sounds alert. “St. James High. I’ll call ahead so they know to expect you. How long⁠—”

I floor the gas and the roar of the car cuts her out momentarily.

“I’ll meet you there,” she shouts over the noise and hangs up.

Weaving in and out of traffic, I push our speed even higher. I don’t care if the cops notice. They can tail us to the hospital. Thank fuck it’s not rush hour, but there are still way too many cars in my way.

Samantha’s head lolls to the side and I curse.

“Five more minutes, darling. Hang in there,” I murmur. The moment there’s a gap in the traffic, I floor it. And I don’t slow down until we reach the hospital entrance. It seems Thea did call ahead because there’s a team waiting by the doors and they rush at us the moment I park.

It takes every shred of self-control I have to let them pull Samantha out of the car. When one of the nurses tries to tell me to move the car, I throw my keys at her and follow Samantha inside.

The smell of the hospital burns my senses, but the faint scent of Samantha cuts through the antiseptic and the staleness in the air. They stick needles into her and an IV, and things calm down. The doctor glances at me and the sympathy in his eyes cuts me to my core.

“You can sit with her now, if you’d like. We’ll alert the family.”

I nod, not finding the words, and pull up a chair next to her bed. We are in one of those nooks that’s only separated by flimsy curtains and I want to demand that they transfer her to a private room, but everyone has already scattered and I’m not leaving her.

“Wake up, Samantha.” I urge her and hold her hand. It’s way too cold for my liking. She doesn’t stir. Only her chest keeps moving slightly, barely reassuring me that she’s breathing.

Silently, I curse.