How hard could it be? • LM / SS

Chapter 118

"And, thanks to you, I
I cant love right."

Melissa wheeled a stretcher down the hallway of the hospital, helping a group to lift a seizing werewolf onto it. Work hadn't been too stressful so far, every so often her mind straying to how Jade was holding up back at home. She had been checking in on a heavily sedated Braeden every hour, Derek refusing to leave the mercenary's side. It seemed that Derek had formed a connection with the woman, a bond that made him care for her, whether he would admit it or not.

The Hale, Lilith and Malia had found Satomi's pack yesterday evening at Lookout Point, every single werewolf slaughtered, apart from the Alpha herself.

Everything had been going smoothly— that was, until she received a call from the sheriff, explaining that the high school had been put under quarantine, with her nephew and son inside. An injection of naloxone later, and Braeden was shakily describing how Satomi's pack had been infected by a virus that was designed to kill werewolves. Merely ten minutes after trying and failing to come up with a plan of action, another incoming call came through. This time Deaton was baring the news that he needed her help, telling her to be prepared in five minutes and providing no more information.

"Okay," Melissa panted, out of breath from having to carry half of the teenager's weight. "This isn't happening at the school, is it?" she frantically asked, hoping that the answer she got would be a confident no. Pitch black blood dripped from the werewolf's mouth, which was never a good sign when it came to supernatural instances.

"School? It's Saturday!" Deaton exclaimed, helping the nurse strap him down before he hurt himself.

"They have the PSAT's," Blair quickly threw her hair into a disorderly ponytail, out of her eyes as she tried to help. She could only hope that Melissa was wrong, that this wasn't happening to the teens at school. That this wasn't happening to Liberty, who would no doubt refuse to ever step foot into the building again. Although the sheriff's station would want to keep this under wraps, it was being broadcasted across every news station that the high school was under quarantine.

She knew it would probably sound selfish— which was why she refrained from saying it aloud— but hopefully this wouldn't take long. Sure, the drive to the high school wasn't far, yet she already knew that Liberty would want to get out of there as fast as humanly possible.

"I think we better hurry," Satomi warned, holding on tightly to her beta's hands as he heaved more black blood, the substance dribbling down his shirtless chest. He appeared to be flickering in and out of consciousness, body falling limp before regaining the use of his muscles.

"Nathan!" Blair barked, sounding heavily passive-aggressive as she beckoned for her brother to follow her into the elevator. Giving him a squeeze on the shoulder, she let him know that she wasn't mad, just slightly scared that they would get separated in the crowds of the hospital.

Okay, there was no use slating her for her parenting skills, because she knew this had been a stupid idea. But what else was she meant to do? She didn't feel comfortable leaving him in the apartment on his own, not when he had been set on fire a few days ago. Yet she had to stay in the loop with what was going on, keeping the peace quite literally being her second job. So, she had resulted to dragging Nathan along with her.

The button that brought them up to the morgue was getting a lot of abuse from both Nathan and Melissa, who had came to the conclusion that if they hit it hard enough it would work faster. All movement stopped in line with time, one last, unsteady breath echoing in the air. It had been so quiet that they weren't sure if they had imagined it, yet the stillness in the elevator was an answer enough.