The steady beat of the heart monitor is the first thing I hear. Of course, amongst all the ringing of the ears and noisy central heating system, it overwhelms my senses.

The second thing I hear is a feminine voice calling my name. No, not just any feminine voice. Lydia Martin is calling my name.

The third thing I hear is a low growl from my hoarse throat.

Then, all my senses start coming to me. I can feel the cold, flat mattress beneath me. I can taste nothing but a bitter dryness. Finally, I smell the hospital smell: that stench of chemicals and sharp hand sanitiser masking anything and everything.

I feel my eyelids open slowly. Yes, definitely a hospital. My eyes are focused on the machinery in the corner of my eyes. I cough - a dry, deep groaning.

"Arden?" Lydia says. "Arden? Are you there?"

I make a feeble attempt at pushing myself up. My arms shake, my head feels as if my brain is bouncing against my skull, and my eyes are as dry as sand paper.

"Arden," Lydia repeats softly. Her eyebrows are furrowed and a piece of strawberry blonde hair is hanging haphazardly over her face. She looks dishevelled but still beautiful, in a way that only Lydia Martin can.

"What happened?" I murmur. It comes out as more of a monotonous groaning sound, but Lydia hears me anyway.

She purses her lips. "You were in a coma for two weeks, Arden," she says. "Two weeks."

"Th-Theo?"

"Still rotting in hell," Kai's voice says. He materialises in the doorway.

I groan.

"Arden, you shouldn't have done that to yourself," Lydia proclaims. "He wasn't worth it." Her phone buzzes suddenly. She reads the message and peers at me before back at her phone. "Scott and the others are here. I'll be back. And you —" she looks pointedly at Kai, "you don't aggravate her in any way."

"Will do." Once Lydia leaves, Kai sinks down into the seat at the end of my bed. "Your friend's hot."

"I know."

"Do you wanna know what happened?"

"I don't know."

"Are you in pain?" A pause.

"Yes."

"Will it take you long to heal?"

"I-I don't know." I sigh and sink back down into my bed.

"What do you feel like?"

"Crap," I say. "I don't know how to explain it. Just crap."

He sighs. "I don't know what happened," he says. "One minute she was changing and the next there was a knife through her ribs and a man standing over her. I barely got us out."

"Was it one of Lucien's men?"

"I don't know."

"It doesn't add up," I murmur. "I killed his pack. He shouldn't have anyone left."

Kai bites his lip. "You never know. Maybe you didn't get all of them. Maybe he's started building a new pack."

"Maybe it's someone else."

He's about to open his mouth to say something when the door opens. Lydia walks in, trailed by Liam, Scott and Malia.

"And here she is," Lydia says, pursing her lips.

"Arden," Scott says.

"Long time, no see," I greet them. "Where's —" I cut myself off, unsure of what I was going to say.

"What?" Malia asks.

I shake my head. "I, uh, I don't know. Sorry. It felt like someone was missing. Probably Theo."

"Speaking of," Scott says, "you went into hell."

I roll my eyes. "Obviously," I say, grinning. "So what have I missed?"

Liam cuts in. "Arden, you have no idea. There's these things called the ghost-riders, part of the wild hunt. They erase people. They don't leave anything behind. Not even memories."

I swear under my breath. "Okay," I say. I wince as I sit up.

"We need help to protect people, Arden," Liam says.

"No." I set my jaw. "I don't think I can. I'm sorry, Liam."

"But, Arden —"

"I need to deal with finding Theo and Lucien first," I say. "I can't help you if I'm dead."

"I promise you we'll help find Theo on two conditions," he says. I cock my head to the side in interest.

"Liam..." Scott warns.

"Trust me, Scott," he says. "Please." Scott sighs in response.

"One, you make sure Theo doesn't do anything to put anyone in harm's way. Two, you help us with the ghost-riders."

I bite my lip. "Deal."

"Okay," Liam sighs, relieved. "I'll let you regain your strength and I'll ask if you can be discharged tonight. We'll see you soon, Arden. Hope you're ready to kick some ghost-rider ass soon."

They leave the room, and then it's just Kai and me. There's a brief pause. "We're getting you out of here."

"Kai, you can't just —"

"I can just, Arden," he sighs. "You never healed. You were in a coma for two weeks."

"And? I just got thrown from one dimension to another. I doubt it's normal to be feeling fine."

"But you don't understand, Arden," he says. "Something isn't right here. You should've healed." He sighs. "You don't believe me." He looks from side to side absentmindedly until he finally concludes, "Alright. The next time a nurse comes to visit you I want you to try and control her. Tell her she has to let you go home or something."

I gnaw on my lip. "Fine, I'll do it. Will it shut you up?"

He smiles a little. "Maybe."

I look up at him through the curtains of my lashes. I press my lips together in a lazy smile. "So," I say. "What have you been up to these past few weeks? I mean, you didn't have your bestest friend around so I don't know what you could've done."

"You're right, bestie," he confirms. "I didn't do anything much except eat all your food."

"So what are you gonna do now?" I ask, cocking an eyebrow. "Stay in Beacon Hills or what?"

He smiles, a sort of contemplating and downcast curve of the lips. "Well, I have to protect you, don't I?"

I don't say anything after that. A part of me wants to tell him to leave and let me handle everything on my own. But can I handle everything on my own? In perhaps the first momentary defeat in a long time. I have to admit I do need an accomplice. Ironically, it takes great valiance, I suppose, to admit your defeat.

And it did feel good to have someone in this with me. To have someone counsel me. After all, I was still newer to this world than Kai, and he knew a lot I didn't. As my eyes swept over him, I realised he was sort of attractive in a way I hadn't noticed before. I studied his rich, dark hair, mischievous caramel eyes and the dusting of scruff peppering his jawline.

"What are you looking at?" he asks, drawing his eyebrows together. I'm not sure whether it's in an accusing way.

"Nothing," I say.

"Arden, do you think you'll ever get over Theo?" he asks.

I'm taken aback momentarily. "I'll get him back," I say matter of factly, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"But what if you don't?" he asks, curiosity weaving itself into his otherwise nonchalant demeanour. I mean, of course I'm used to Kai asking tricky questions for the sake of pissing me off, but he genuinely seemed inquisitive this time. "Are you really going to stay in this disillusionment? What about years from now?"

"What the fuck do you want me to say, Kai?" I snap. "That I'll be settled down in some normal human relationship, have fucking kids running around my house and have an ordinary life? Because this isn't a normal life, Kai, and it never will be!"

The door clicks open just as I suck a deep breath in. My cheeks are burning with anger, and when I see my blurry reflection in the window, my cheeks are painted crimson. A small women dressed in a nurse's uniform enters and timidly greets me.

Kai eyes me off, silently implying that I should test my powers on her. I look at him and then back at her and clear my throat. I feel the siren in me rising, hitting a crescendo and then the power is falling. When I open my mouth, my voice comes out completely normal. "You have to let me go home."

She sighs. I hold my breath. "Sorry," she says. "But we have to keep you here until your blood test comes back clear."

I fall apart at the seams.