Chapter 131

I didn't register when the helicopter arrived, I only remember Thresh pulling me off of Raph's corpselike body as he forced me to climb a ladder with my numb hands.

"You need to stay alive if you're going to care for him!" He'd yelled at me over the noise of the helicopter.

After I'd climbed up, a stretcher was sent down for Raph and he was slowly carried up. My heart stopped when a sudden gust of wind nearly tilted it, but he was securely strapped down.

Another person helped me unstrap him and rested him carefully on my lap, the compartment was small so his head was resting on my scarf on the window. The person handed me some of Raph's clothes and I quickly removed the old ones and replaced them.

Thresh climbed up and sat in the cockpit next to the pilot. We started moving and I looked out the door that was now closed, "Where's the Gamma?" I yelled.

"He said he'd find his own way back." Thresh yelled back.

And sure enough I heard a distant howl over the rotor blades.

I took this time to check Raph over. His lips were blue and he was shivering violently. His nose looked broken and his entire face was scarred with scratches.

"Thresh, how long on average does it take a Lycan to heal?" I asked cradling Raph's cold head.

"A couple hours if it's serious. Why?"

I paused looking intently over his body, "He hasn't healed." I said tremulously.

"What?" Thresh asked and turned to look back at us.

Panic seized me, "He's not healing." I repeated.

He crawled back and checked him over, "Doesn't make sense." He muttered, "These should've healed within seconds. Something's wrong."

"Damn it!" He spit after a few seconds elapsed.

"What?" I asked.

"He's got frostbite."

My entire body seized up and I stopped breathing.

"Brooke! Brooke!" Thresh yelled and I awoke from my thoughts, "We're almost there, keep him warm!"

Thresh was currently massaging Raph's toes and I fumbled to find his hands, they hadn't had gloves on them. After finding them I whimpered, his fingers were swollen and a bluish red. I carefully massaged them, they were so cold.

"He's so cold Thresh." I whispered, I could barely talk.

"I know, I know… he'll be okay, he'll be fine." I could tell by his words that he was worried too.

Raph was shivering so much I felt bruised, and his teeth were chattering so loud I thought he might bite through his tongue.

I kissed him gently and I felt him respond weakly. I smiled, -There you are.-

"Brooke." He said softly through chattering teeth, his eyes slitted open.

My smile grew, "Shh, it's okay. You're gonna be okay." I kissed his frigid forehead, "Rest, when you wake up it'll all be better."

He eyes closed and I felt him relax slightly although he was still shivering like mad.

"We're landing!" The pilot yelled back at us.

Me and Thresh made eye contact. Worry and fear both prevalent in our eyes.

The helicopter landed on a small, round, concrete pad and people immediately rushed to grab Raph and haul him onto a stretcher.

Thresh held my arm as I attempted to follow, "It's alright. Give them a minute."

'Like hell I will.' I wrenched free from his hold and followed after them as fast as I could into the nearby building.

"I'm sorry miss, but you can't come in at the moment." A lady barred the door.

"No, please. He's my ma- he's my husband." I pushed against her arms but she still refused to let me pass.

I opened my mouth to yell but was stopped by Thresh's arms wrapping around my waist and carrying me away. I kicked and squirmed doing my best to escape.

He set me down but still held me firmly by the shoulders, my mark still hurt but I didn't show it.

"Be patient. Let them work first, then you can see him." He said firmly craning his head to stare into my defiant eyes.

I looked behind him at the door where Raph had disappeared, desperation clear in my eyes. I needed him, I needed to see that he was alright. Because as long as the mark on my shoulder still hurt he was not okay.

I relaxed and Thresh let go of my shoulders knowing I wouldn't fight him anymore.

I heard a car drive up and then stop, I turned to see a black truck parked near the helicopter pad. Charm appeared and I felt a little relieved. She walked as fast as she could but apparently Thresh couldn't wait any longer and he ran to her and picked her up in his arms. Charm giggled and I could see his broad smile.

A melancholy smile formed on my face as I turned to look back at the small building that I now saw had a red cross on it for hospital.

Thresh and Charm came to stand next to me, "Something's wrong though. He should be healed by now." Thresh said his voice agitated.

"When can we see him?" Charm asked.

"When they allow us in." He replied.

The second after, a very frantic voice mind linked Thresh, -Alpha, something's wrong.-

A cold dread washed through me and Thresh caught me, apparently I'd been falling. He led me into the small hospital and quickly found the room that Raph was being housed in. There were only three rooms in the building.

The door was open and there were sounds of chaos proceeding from it. Thresh burst in and I stayed back with the support of the door post.

"What is it?" He asked.

"We're doing our best, and he is recovering normally, but not normal for a Lycan, normal for a human."

My face turned confused.

"Explain." Thresh said, "He's not a Lycan anymore?"

"No, no, he is, his scent still confirms that, but it's just that…"

My gaze moved to Raph's body on the hospital bed, there was a tube in his wrist and he was breathing through a mask. He was still shivering though not as much, and his face was contorted in pain. I took a step forward, I knew that if I just held his hand he would feel a little bit of comfort.

An arm stopped me and I looked at them alarmed, "I'm sorry ma'am but you'll have to wait a few minutes more."

"So what you're saying is, that his body is healing like a human's would." I heard Thresh say, he had his arms crossed over his chest and a frustrated expression on his face.

The nurse who had stopped me approached the man talking to Thresh, "Doctor, he's beginning to react should we begin the morphine drip?"

"One second," The doctor said to Thresh as he moved back to Raph, "Yes, go ahead."

Another tube was inserted in his arm and a clear liquid began to pump into it.

The doctor looked up and saw me, I knew how desperate I looked with my hands slightly raised to hold my mate.

"The best thing you could do for him now is administer body heat." He said.

I looked up and saw that the room had cleared and it was only the doctor, me and Raph. I nodded to his words.

He looked behind me to a closet, "You can put your clothes in there."

I nodded once more and turned my head to see him leave and close the door behind him.

My shoulders relaxed in relief. I turned and nearly sprinted to the bed and grabbed his hand to give him a kiss. I moved to walk away so I could change out of my clothes but I felt him holding my hand, his eyes were still closed and he still looked to be in pain. I could see each breath of his fog up the oxygen mask.

I gave him another kiss, "I'll be right back. I won't leave you."

His grip eased and I patted his hand as I walked to the small washroom to change. I just took off my clothes and wore my underwear. I'd read in a book about someone doing something very similar to this to transfer body heat.

I hung my clothes in the closet and in my socked feet I padded over to the bed and crawled in slowly, I could see that he was still in pain. After wrapping the sheet, the heated blanket and the quilt around me I wrapped my arms around my husband's solid body and snuggled in close.

"You're okay." I said as I closed my eyes, "We're okay.