Soul Lines (Completed)

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen
Elle's POV

I'd only been to the hospital a handful of times and never turned into the west wing.

The hospital in Aucteraden was bigger than the school.

In the city, the modernised sleekness of the building would have blended seamlessly into its surroundings, perhaps even making it beautiful as part of the city's masterpiece. It was colourless and loud here in a town that valued its vintage heritage.

Construction had finished five years ago to replace the human's only hospital with something bigger and more inclusive. After decades of outcry for an inclusive community and overflowing waiting rooms in small pack hospitals, the separate communities had banded together to fund the new project.

Since the hospital's opening, the pack hospitals had become more like general practitioners than emergency care units, and everyone seemed to benefit from it.

Except now, the hospital was divided into two wings. The west wing, priority care, was only accessible to those who were members of a pack, be they werewolves or mated to one, and the east wing, was where the equipment seemed to be made of plastic toys, and the doctors just acted the part. The overwhelming funding from the packs meant the money was spent on their wing, and the humans were given the leftovers.

The concrete path beneath my shoes melted, and my feet sunk into quicksand.

I couldn't move, the building loomed before me, and the fluorescent lights in the windows caused the building to glow as though it were radioactive. Everyone joked about the hospital being a light for the town, but it didn't seem so funny as I tried to see the stars beyond the hazy glow.

'I could never live in the city.'

Jacobi huffed, sliding his arms across his chest. 'Is that what you want to talk about right now.'

'I'd miss the stars.'

'Elle.' He stated my name as though it were a fact. 'Let's not do this right now. You wanted to see Arlo. We are here to see Arlo, not stargaze.'

He hadn't wanted to bring me. Doing so broke some rules, and he wasn't one to typically break the rules. He'd been snappy ever since but had reluctantly dragged his feet across town, the silence filled with his explanations as to why sneaking me in would be impossible.

'Why is it such a big deal anyway?'

'Loyalty.'

I snorted, my spine prickling like a hot rock had been laid across my back. 'Thanks.'

'It's true!' he cried, grabbing my shoulders and forcing me to face him. 'Humans have proven time and time again that they are not loyal. It's a major character flaw that has caused wars and the defeat of empires. Humans are greedy and care mostly about self-ambition. You're constantly seeking "better", whatever better means. Humans have egos and this unnatural desire to barter for deals and alliances that are apparently breakable, as though that defines who they are. You're easily manipulated and don't think twice about carrying out the dirty jobs when you're offered the right kind of incentive.'

'You're an asshat.' I ground out, 'I hope you are fully aware of that.'

'It's true, though. Isn't that why the law is in place.'

I rolled my eyes, 'It's not a law. It's the hospital's policy...' I paused, pinching my face as I drew in a slow breath and then shook my head sadly, '...which is mirrored around the state.'

'Right,' Jacobi snorted, 'it's not the law, but it's practically the law. Just think about it Elle, Benedict Arnold, Brutus, Jadas, Iris Gochlin, what do they all have in common?'