Finding Home

Chapter Thirty Eight-Nathan

"NATHAN!" He woke up to Patrick bursting into his room. He jumped off the bed onto his feet ready to fight, heart pounding wildly. He relaxed his stance and looked at Patrick, first in annoyance, then in alarm when her saw his face. "It's Paige."

The color drained from his face. "What's wrong? What's happened?" He grabbed his pants from the floor and a t-shirt and pulled them on as he followed Patrick from the room.

"I don't know, she collapsed? Had some type of fit? I'm not sure. Micah and Allen are bringing her to the infirmary now." He stumbled into the entry way and shoved shoes on his feet.

"Why didn't you wake me through the mind link?" They ran through the pack house and over to the infirmary.

"You weren't answering."

They arrived at the infirmary just as Micah was putting Paige on a gurney. His stomach fell out when he saw her. Her skin was ashen and gleaming with sweat. The infirmary staff rushed her in. Nathan followed with Micah, his officers and Sophie.

They all watched helplessly as the medical staff worked on her. They hooked her up to all sorts of machines and devices. Things started beeping and Nathan heard all sorts of medical jargon being thrown around. 'BP's 130 over 80.' 'Breath sounds are shallow.' 'Pulse is 132, she's tachycardic' 'We need to get her on oxygen' 'Somebody page Dr Lawrence' 'Her heart rate is too high, push one of adenosine"

Nathan stood frozen, watching them work to stabilize her. It was like all emotion was being clamped down and he couldn't feel anything but dread. Even Malcolm was quiet, perhaps recognizing that taking over now would not be helpful. Dr. Lawrence burst into the infirmary and made a beeline for Paige, she looked over her and listened to the rest of the staff working on her. She told them some instructions before walking over to the others.

"What happened?" No one said anything, too much shock and worry was bouncing around them.

"Alpha! What happened?" Dr. Lawrence asked again more forcefully. Doctors and healers were the only members of the pack that could challenge the Alpha in situations like these. Normally a wolf wouldn't dare to speak to demand something from their Alpha like that. It was necessary to do their jobs. They were the only ones that could ignore an Alpha's command, healers were born with the ability and doctors got it when they took their oath.

"I don't- I wasn't there." He looked back at the others that were gathered.

Micah stepped forward. "Sophie mind-linked me, Paige collapsed and had some sort of seizure, by the time I got there she was still, clammy and ashen. We brought her right here."

"What was happening before she collapsed?"

"She was fighting with our father," Sophie answered. "She seemed fine but then she was having a hard time breathing and standing up straight. It seemed like she was fighting to not fall."

"Okay, anything else?"

"Um, when I first saw her this morning I thought she was hung over but she said she only had a few glasses of wine and mom said she didn't smell like alcohol."

"Did she take anything?"

"Some ibuprofen and I think she drank a few glasses of water, our mom was trying to get her to eat but I don't know if she did before the fight started."

"Okay, we're going to do everything we can to make sure she's okay. You all should wait here." The doctor went back to Paige and left them in the waiting room.

They stood quietly for a while, waiting. No one knew what to say.

"Gamma Allen, you should get you hand looked at." Sophie said. Nathan looked at his Gamma for the first time. His land looked like it was bruised and had blood on it.

"It's fine," he said. "It's already starting to heal."

"What happened?" Nathan asked.

"Her father didn't want to let us take her."

"He what?!" All the emotion he wasn't feeling before came rushing in. His anger from the night before coursed through his veins and mixed with this new anger at what was happening to her. It was explosive. It was dangerous. Nathan was ready to destroy something. "Where is he?!?"

Micah stepped up to him. "He's knocked out on the front lawn." Nathan stared Micah down, to his credit Micah didn't flinch. "Nothing can come of you going to him now. I'm not saying he doesn't deserve it, but my sister needs you here right now."

Nathan was breathing heavily, barely containing Malcolm. How dare her father try to put his reputation over the health of his own daughter. "Stand down, Alpha. Paige needs you here." Micah stood firm. "Your mate needs you here."

"Nathan," Patrick said. He and Allen were on alert. Micah was walking a thin line. Luckily the doors opened and Paige's mother walked in.

"Where's my daughter?" Nathan let out a frustrated growl and stepped away from Micah. He was right, Paige needed him and he had to keep it together.

"She in with the doctor's?" Sophie told her mother.

"Do they know what's wrong yet?" Sandra asked. Sophie shook her head at her mother.

The medical staff started shouting and they heard urgent beeping again. Something had changed in the treatment room. 'Her heart rate's rising again.' 'Do we push more adenosine?' 'She's already had four doses.'

Healer Hartland came out of the treatment room. "Alpha?" He got up and crossed to her. "Paige isn't responding to science, it's time to try mystics.

"Do whatever you need to." He said, trying to keep the pleading out of his voice.

"I think she needs you. You're her mate, even if she hasn't felt the bond yet your presence might help her. But you need to remain calm. If you're agitated it might make things worse."

"I understand." He followed the healer into the treatment room. His heart dropped seeing her like that. She was pale and unmoving, wires were attached to her everywhere he looked, she had tubes and needles stuck in her arms. Worry started to build but he remembered the healers words. Calm. He had to stay calm. For her.

Healer Hartland directed him around everyone to the head of the bed. "Stand here and hold her head, we need skin on skin contact. Try to speak soothing words to her."

He nodded and placed his hands on either side of her head. Looking at her from above, he leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips.

"I'm here, love. It's okay, you going to be okay, but you've got fight." He rested his forehead on hers. "Don't leave me Rook, please don't leave me."

"Her rhythm's stabilizing." He heard someone say. The beeping around him quieted. "BP's coming down too."

"Alright everyone, clear the room."

He heard feet shuffling around him, and then it was just him and Paige. He moved around to the side of the bed so he could look at her properly. It broke his heart. His mate was laying in a sick bed, hooked up to monitors and with tubes coming out of places. He leaned in and kissed her lips again.

"Stay with me my love. I don't know what happened, but we will figure it out. You'll be okay, I'll make sure of it." Carefully, so he didn't disconnect anything he moved everything out of the way and crawled on to the bed next to her. "It'll be okay." Tears started from his eyes. "Mariquil. Mariquil." His voice shook. "It'll be okay, my love. Mariquil." He held her in his arms repeating the spelled word of comfort over and over again, his voice barely a whisper. He didn't know if it was helping her any, if he was honest, it was probably more to help him. The tears kept falling from his eyes. "Mariquil. Mariquil. You'll be okay."