hur

ergency bay. I looked up from the chart in my hand just as a frantic wom

dema, cyanotic, unresponsive!" she yelled, her voice

he passenger seat. I took one look at her blue-tinged lips and the angry red hives covering

d chaos. We pushed the gurney through the double doors, the harsh

oh tube. Let's have RSI meds on standby," I commanded, my hands already wo

on, I leaned over the patient

n I sme

omething that hit me like a physical blow, knocking the air from my lungs. Li

e scent o

ng for a century, reared up and howled, a d

table landscape of black and white, exploded into color. For so many years, I had walke

of professional detachment. Panic was a luxury I

t seemed to calm the frantic energy in the room, to center me. I could feel her life force, faint an

," a nurse

n to climb. Her blood pressure followed. The dusky blue color of her skin s

gh air," I said, my voice a

place and we began to bag her, her oxygen saturation n

going

d to a private room for observation. Continuous monitoring," I ordered, my voice colder than ever to mask the raging s

her chart said-was sleeping. Her breathing was even, aided by the ventilator, but stable. I stood at the fo

n, I was there. Her gaze was h

sarcasm that was my trademark defense. "If you were trying to kill yourself, I'd suggest a more effective met

r depths. She tried to speak, but with the tube

more disastrous than your marriage, apparently. Congratulations. You're not allergic to the medica

was a fire, and even in this state, it burned bright. For the first time in decades, I felt the corner of my own mou

own open with such force tha

y, stormed in. He was radiating a weak, pathetic alpha aura, reeking of entitlem

ed with concern. It w

"You're going to try and kill yourself? Is that your plan? To r

her eyes turn into

ce rising to a hysterical pitch. "If the paparazzi get a picture of you like th

at the IV line in her arm, trying to rip

rs, large and firm, stopping her from hurting

d off the bottom of my shoe. "This is a hospital room, not yo

ou think you are? This is a private matter between me and my wife!" He sneered, his eyes flicking between me and Caroline. "Ah, I se

gging his

t like your crazy mother. She threw herself off a balcony to get attention, and you're doi

my bones. The temperature seemed to drop by twenty degrees. A

een a warm brown, were now flashing wi

Wolf. Faint, untrai

t the chill. But I felt the raw power

something that would expose her to the world, I moved. I placed my body direct

red to tear