Chapter 34 They Blinked

It had been 12 hours since Sara had lost consciousness.

The surgeries to repair the damage had taken four hours. There had even been a human doctor assisting. His mate had sat with Sebastian during the surgery.  Steven had explained that the bite had damaged the common carotid artery and the internal jugular vein. There had been farther damage to the platysma, masseter  and  sternocleidomastoid muscles. It had clearly not been an attach to wound but had been meant to kill.

It was close to 3 AM and Sebastian had called in a lot of favors to other investigators. He had 3 other firms working the 16 year old, Cadence Dianna Staves case. The others were coordinating threw Jasmine Roche, his computer technician.

At the moment he sat in a chair beside Sara's hospital bed. She hadn't woken for more then a few seconds since she had passed out.  The only light on was the one in the connected bathroom. When his phone rang he snatched it form the bedside table with a whispered curse.

"Hello."

"Hey, Seb, It's Trevor."  It was said in a conversational tone but no one called at 3 in the morning to just chat. "I got a lead on the girl but, look man, it doesn't add up. I went over all the files Jasmine sent me and the kid doesn't seem to be the kind that runs away or acts out."

As Trevor spoke Sebastian stood and made his way to the bathroom.

"Yeah, I noticed that my self. But I doubt you called this early to tell me that." he said as he leaned back against the sink cabinet.

"I hacked the kids Facebook."

"Look, Trevor, The parents gave us carte blanche. They gave us the passwords. So what is the problem?"

"I'm not talking about the ones they gave us. Her YouTube and Instagram were normal. But I noticed that she was "friends" with a girl on Facebook that had the same stats as her. Birthday, home town, school, volunteer job on the weekends, the only difference was her relationship status. Neither account had been used 52 hours. The second account was the last to be used. She made plans to meet up with her boyfriend, James Callen, at Tindall Park. The guys picture was some random teen t-shirt add."

"So you don't think he is who he said?"

"Right but I can't hack his account, hers was easy. She used the same password on both her accounts."

"Call Jasmine. I know she can do it." Sebastian said. He was not seeing the problem here. This is not the only case that Trevor had worked with them. He knew very well what Jasmine's job description entailed .

"I called. She said she wouldn't do anything illegal with out your okay. I did remind her that a girls life was on the line. She told me to call you." There was notes of amused friction in his voice.

"Okay. Give it five minutes and call her with the information." Sebastian told him as he as he peeked around the door-frame to look in on Sara. She still slept.  

"She has it. She's just waiting on your call to okay it." Trevor said. They obviously knew where Sebastian would stand in this situation.

"Then she'll call you in about ten minutes with information."

"Thanks Seb. I was sorry to hear about your girlfriend. I didn't even know you were seeing anyone. But I hope she's alright soon." He really meant it. His sincerity was one of the reasons that Sebastian liked him.

They soon disconnected and Sebastian called Jasmine. He then took up residence back in the chair facing Sara's bedside. Soon he drifted into sleep. His head hung to the side; one hand hung over the arm of the chair. 

"That chair pulls out to a bed." One of the nurses told him when she came in to change Saras' dressing. Sebastian stretched his kinked muscles.

"Why isn't she awake yet?" he asked looking at the clock on the wall.

"She's fine, Sebastian. She's healing, look." she told him. He stood and moved closer. The nurse had removed the gauze and was now wiping the area over the wound on Saras' neck. The scent of povidone iodine seemed to tighten the muscles in his throat. His chest tightened as he looked at the stitches covering his mates skin.

"Steven will probably be able to remove the sutures tomorrow."

Sebastian understood what she said. But looking at the abused flesh he couldn't get rid of his concern. Why wasn't she awake yet? He must have repeated the question out loud because she answered.

"It's a major injury. It's not something the body heals in just hours, Sebastian ."

Sebastian reached out and placed his hand over Saras'. She felt warm, even to him. She didn't respond except the heart monitor beeped just a few beats faster.

He stood there and watched as the nurse finished cleaning the wound and recovered it with new bandages. The tightness in his chest increased when she  removed the bandages on Saras' head. Someone had shaved most of her head.  He wondered if Sara was as attached to her hair as most females. He hoped not. He gently rubbed his finger over the back of her hand in a comforting gesture.

"Get some sleep, Sebastian. She'll probably wake up in a few hours. I'll bring you a blanket and pillow in a few minutes." The nurse said as she cleaned up the old bandages and straitened the covers over Sara.

"Not sure I can go back to sleep," he told her as she dropped the waste in the bin.

"Try." she said as she pulled open the door. Sebastian stood there a moment after she left the room. He kept rubbing the back of Saras' hand. He still stood there when the nurse returned carrying a pillow and blanket. "You really should try to sleep. It's only five now and Steven will be here at eight to check on your mate. You should sleep till then at least." she dropped the blanket and pillow on the end of the bed. She went to the chair and Sebastian watched as she pulled the foot board out, then the seat out and then folded the back down.

A few minutes later he realized that it was much more comfortable then it looked. He didn't bother covering it with the blanket, he simply bunched up the pillow under his head and threw the blanket over him self.

He lay there and watched the bed in the dim light cast by the bathroom. He wanted her to wake up. Even if she stayed awake for only a few minutes he wanted that few minutes. The clock ticked and finally sleep took him. 

***

Sara blinked unsure what was going on. She was in the Hide. Why am I here? Where is Sebastian? More oddly a wolf lay on the bed by the wall. It's fur was brown and red. It blinked at her.

"Sebastian?" Sara asked confused. Maybe it was Sebastian in wolf form.

"No." came the reply in Evodine's mental voice only it rang around the room like a bell.

"What's going on?" Sara asked trying to keep her emotions in check. There had to be a reasonable explanation.

"That psychotic bitch tried to kill us." Evodine said. She looked at Sara and crossed one paw over the other.

"Am I dreaming?" Sara demanded. She looked around the room. Nothing had changed.  

"I don't think so. I've been here before. When you didn't talk to me I spent a lot of time here. When we were in the hospital I spent time in a place like this. It was different though." She sounded like she were repeating a speck that she had given many time.

"Can we leave?" She asked eager to know if she could go back to the pack, back to Sebastian.

"Yes, but we cant go anywhere. I tried. I just ended up back here. You did to when you tried." Evodine sounded tired.

"But I haven't tried." Sara said. Her heart continued to beat in that study rhythm.

"You did. I don't think you want to remember. Your scared." Evodine lifted her body and stood on the bed.

"I'm going to try. I want to see Sebastian." She didn't want to add that at the moment she could feel Sebastian. It felt like he held her hand and softly rubbed a tiny caress over her skin. She covered her hand with the palm of the other hand. She wanted to hold the feeling, keep it alive.

"I have to go." She turned and headed to the hides exit. Evodine sighed behind her.

"I'll see you when you get back." She said impassively.

Sara glanced over her shoulder to see her still standing on the bed. "I wont be back."

The air outside the hide was unnaturally still. There wasn't a breeze to carry any sound but Sara heard the cry of a fox in the distance. Standing outside she didn't know what direction to go. The string that had connected her to Sebastian still tugged at her belly but the pull felt wrong. It pulled her down towards the earth and back towards the hides entrance.

She felt the need to move so she took a step forward. One step lead to two and two lead to three. Before she knew it she was running. Strangely she felt no exertion on her muscles. Her lungs didn't heave in an attempt to  keep up with the pace she moved. Trees whipped past in a blur of green and browns.

A shriek of pain split the air and Sara froze in fear. The sound bounced off the trees. She was too close to the wolf born pack. Why was she here. She wanted Sebastian, not the ordinary wolves on the mountain.

The air split again as a yelp sounded through the trees. Sara knew she needed to find her way to Sebastian but she couldn't leave an animal in pain. It didn't occur to her that she should back away. An injured animal could be unpredictable and dangerous. She moved through the trees and down the sharp incline until she came to the bottom of the cliff. She followed the sounds of pain.

At the bottom of a cliff face she saw the body of a gray wolf. It whimpered as it spotted her.

"I'm so sorry." she whispered. She moved forward. The wolf laid still. His eyes moved, following her. His fear of her clear in his eyes.  She crouched down kneeling. There was no blood but she could tell some of his legs were broken. His back leg twisted at an odd angle, one of his front paws folded under his foreleg.

She reached out laid her palm on his side. His fur felt soft and thick under her hand. He blinked. "Here. Lets see what we can do." She moved her hand down his side and over his broken leg. Her palm felt warm the longer she touched him. Her touch seemed to calm his fear and pain as his cries and whimpers of pain eased. She moved his leg, somehow knowing that she had to realign the bones. She expected him to lash out at the pain but he didn't.

Did he understand that she only meant to help? When the leg lay strait he exhaled a long breath. He blinked up at her. She let her palm lay on the broken leg. Her palm felt almost hot compared to his cool fur.

When her palm cooled she moved he hand. She paused over his abdomen as her fingers grew warm. She looked up and found his eyes on her face.

"You are a wolf born, right?" she asked softly. He didn't respond. Her hand cooled and she moved her palm again. "You know, I have no idea what I am doing." she told. She simply followed the instinct to move and pause as the warmth and coolness of her hand indicated.

She straitened his front leg and let the warmth flow throw her hand.

As her palm cooled she heard a howl of longing ring in the air. The wolfs head snapped up as if he were looking for the source of the call. Sara pulled her hand away. She looked around, waited for the call to resound but no call came. "Was that for you?" she asked. She looked back to that ground but the wolf was gone.

She scrambled back in surprise. Her search of the area failed to reveal the wolf. What happened? What happened? In desperate need of comfort she called out, "Evodine! What happened? What is going on?" But Evodine didn't answer. Sara couldn't even feel her moving about in her head.  Fear slithered over her spine. No! Was Evodine gone? Impossible. She needed her. They needed each other. Sara jumped to her feet. She took a step.

Sara blinked.

"Would you like to try again?" Evodine jumped down to the dirt packed floor her paws barley making a sound.

Sara looked at her paws. Weird. That was quiet. She's a wolf of course it's quiet, Sara thought. The sight of Evodine sent delight through her. She wasn't gone. She was so thankful she almost rushed across the room to hug the wolf.

But her thoughts shifted back to Evodine's question. Leaving. "Together. We're going back to the Pack." It wasn't a question.

They moved toward the exit. Sara reached out to move the deerskin aside. They blinked.

***

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A/N~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Longer chapter then normal. I hope it doesn't disappoint.

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