How could we have missed it?

I had stood mere inches from the man and I hadn't noticed the difference. Would it really have mattered if I had? I was sure that things would still have ended the same if we had figured out that Oliver hadn't actually died that night.

Everything was getting so confusing.

Unwillingly my mind drifted towards Lucas.

He had showed up just in time. I was happy about it but deep down I knew that things weren't going to get better from here on out. There were still so many things that needed to be sorted out and then there was the fact that Dad would rather kill Lucas than allow him anywhere near us again.

I hadn't felt an inkling of guilt when I told Dad that I had prove but at the moment I wished I hadn't gone back for the photos. I wished I hadn't seen them at all. I wished I had thought of everything other than proving to them that I was right.

Shaking my head, I looked at Ariana.

I had taken care of her wounds as best as I could with what we had but she needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible.

The safe rooms were built with a keypad and only Dad, Ariana and me knew about the codes needed to get inside. The system couldn't be overrode and the doors couldn't be forced open.

It had everything we needed to survive for at least two weeks, but injured as badly as Ariana was I didn't think that we would even make it a week.

Ariana whimpered, making me blink.

Pushing aside my own pain, I got up and walked over to the closet where the blankets were kept. Pulling two out, I walked over to Ariana and hesitated next to the cot. My eyes darted from one wound to the other. The bandages around her thigh were already soaked through with blood.

I grabbed another blanket from the closet and ripped it into strips with my claws. After tying them around her leg, I carefully climbed onto the cot and covered us with the blankets.

I wasn't a fool. I was fully aware of the kind of weapons hunters used and I had heard what Oliver said to her about the poison, but if it had been true, she would have already been dead.

"W-what did Dad say about E-Ethan and M-mom?" Ari whispered.

Swallowing, I grabbed hold of her hand and moved a little closer. "He was Mom's mate too."

Her eyes fluttered open and locked with mine. "W-why did he leave the pack then?"

"I didn't get to that question," I told her. "I asked him if Ethan was around when we were little but the alarms were triggered before he could answer me."

"Lucas is back," she croaked after a few minutes of silence between us. "H-he's not human."

"He hid it well."

"I. . ." she swallowed. "W-what are we going to do?"

"Let's not think about it now." I pressed my cheek to hers. "The important thing to do is to get out of here."

"W-what about D-Dad?"

"He'll be okay," I reassured her. "Dad's a badass, Ari."

***

It felt like days had passed but in reality it had only been a few hours when the door to the safe room opened.

I was tired, aching and so fucking hungry that I didn't even have the strength to turn around to see who it was.

My fingers twitched against Ariana's as I growled at the intruder.

"Easy, sweetheart. It's David and Wrin."

I forced my eyes open when warm fingers brushed the strands of hair from my face. Granddad David's eyes locked with mine for a few seconds before he looked at Ariana.

"S-she has a f-fever," I croaked. "Needs blood."

"How badly are you injured?" he asked.

"Mostly healed, just achy." I swallowed. "Is it over?"

He didn't answer me.

Unable to keep my eyes open, they fluttered closed again. The blankets slid lower at the same time as Ariana's hand was pulled from beneath mine.

Panic hit.

I reached for her but my hands only encountered air.

Voices slowly penetrated my mind. It wasn't the voices I wanted to hear at all.

"It's okay. Everything is going to be okay."

***

The last thing I expected when I opened my eyes was to find Lucas sitting at my bedside. I blinked a few times as I studied him. His hair was damp and the shirt he wore was two sizes too big and obviously borrowed.

Lucas sat up and pressed his palms to his eyes with a low groan. He stayed like that for a few minutes before he straightened.

"Ari is in surgery," he muttered. "They need to repair some nerve damage to the wound on her leg. Her stomach wound isn't that deep and already starting to heal."

"S-she'll make it right?" I asked.

"One of the doctors isn't sure but the other one thinks that she'll be fine." He sighed. "The blade Oliver used was dipped in Wolfsbane but it didn't affect her like it would is she was more like you."

"He said that it was poisoned." I swallowed a few times. "That she would. . .boil from the i-inside."

"It's what Wolfsbane does, but it depends on the amount used and how. . .if you're more human or more animal." Lucas ran a shaky hand through his hair. "Once Ari's out of surgery the doctor will run some test just to make sure."

"W-why are you here?" I whispered.

It looked like he hadn't heard me, but just as I was about to repeat my question, he turned his head and looked at me.

"For answers," he told me, "but mostly because it's hell being away from you."

"You missed, Ari," I said with some bitterness.

His lips twitched. "I missed you too, Eva. Surprisingly."

"I don't believe you."

"I would prove it to you but I'm afraid that I might hurt you." Lucas pursed his lips. "I'm still getting used to. . .to being different."

I frowned at him. "We thought that you were human."

"So did I," he said. "I grew up believing that I'm human. Nothing ever led me to believe that I wasn't."

Lucas's eyes darted around the room before the locked on me again. The longer he stared the more uncomfortable I felt. Finally, his eyes darted over to the door. Swallowing loudly, he stood and took a few steps towards the bed but froze. He licked his lips, opened his mouth but then closed it again with a slight shake of his head.

"Are you going to disappear again?"

"Yes." His hands curled into fists. "I won't be going far."

I turned onto my back to keep him within sight as he walked around the bed towards the window. He pulled it open and glanced outside.

My eyes widened when he suddenly spun around and walked over to the bed. Lucas leaned down and pressed his lips to my forehead. I closed my eyes and sucked in a deep breath.

He smelled of soap and disinfectant.

"Don't lie to your father again, firecracker," he whispered. "I'll see you soon."