Chapter 325: Chapter 325

Lila’s POV

I gasped as air slammed into my lungs. My eyes flew open to peer at a light that was shining directly in my face. Pain shot throughout my body as I felt tubes and wires sticking out of me.

As my body trembled, I tried to grasp my surroundings. I had no idea where I was, and I wasn’t even quite sure what had happened. All I remembered was losing my shit in the cage and then I couldn’t breathe.

Now air was being forced into my lungs at a strength I couldn’t handle.

Something was inside of my mouth, deep in my throat, forcing this air into me.

“Val?” I tried to reach my wolf, hoping to hear her comforting voice.

I needed her to confirm that I was still alive.

“I’m here…” Her small voice whispered, much to my relief. “Our pups are here as well, and they are fine.”

My heart swelled at the news. My pups were okay; they were alive, and they were well. My wolf managed to protect them from whatever had happened. I tried so hard to remember, but everything was such a blur.

“But I am so tired…” Val continued. “I used the rest of my strength to protect them.”

“Rest,” I told her gently. “You did well.”

I watched through my mind’s eyes as Val lowered her head and closed her eyes.

My heart began to pound rapidly against my ribcage as the pressure between my throat and my lungs grew too intense for me to handle. I needed to get this tube out of my body.

I reached my hands up and tugged at the tube but the movement of it triggered my gag reflex and I suddenly couldn’t breathe. I started to gag and cough as air quickly left my lungs.

“Oh, goddess!” I heard from a distance.

I wasn’t alone as I had thought.

Someone rushed over to me and started to dismantle the tube. Soon, the tube was removed from my mouth, and I was able to breathe again. I coughed, rubbed my aching throat, and took greedy gulps of natural air.

“You’re okay,” a woman breathed, patting my back as I leaned over the bed and coughed.

I didn’t know I vomited until she brought me a towel and a glass of water. I peered up at the woman and narrowed my eyes. My eyes finally adjusted to the lighting and her face became clear to me.

“Dr. Laureen?” I managed to say in a raspy tone.

“I’m so happy you are awake,” she breathed.

She motioned for me to lie back down and then she placed a cool cloth on my forehead. I was burning up; I must have had a fever.

“Do you remember what happened?” She asked me, glancing at me briefly before checking my heart rate and my breath intake.

I tried to think harder about the events that unfolded. I just remembered being angry and trying to break out of the cage. I threatened those rogues, but I don’t remember much else.

However, when I thought about the anger, it didn’t feel genuine. I was angry for sure, but I wasn’t angry enough to lose my mind like that. It didn’t seem like something I would do; so, why would I?

I didn’t say any of that to Dr. Laureen though; I knew she wasn’t on my side. She was on the side of my kidnappers. I had to tread lightly when speaking to her.

So, I shook my head slowly.

“You were injected with Starlight,” she told me softly. “And you are highly allergic to Starlight.”

My heart fell deep into my stomach. I knew I was allergic to Starlight. Did those rogues inject me with it?

Before I could ask any questions, the door of the clinic opened.

“How is she? We only have about an hour before the ritual,” Jazzy said as she rushed into the room.

“She’s awake,” Dr. Laureen stated. “But she’s going to need to rest for a little while.”

“We don’t have a little while,” Jazzy hissed through her teeth. “We only have an hour.”

“Then get everything set up. By the time you are finished, she will be well enough. She has a fever and I’m pumping her with antibiotics. I’m testing her blood now to make sure it’s no longer contaminated.”

Jazzy glared at me as if I had done something wrong. As if I was the one who injected me with—

Soon, the memory flooded into my mind.

I set this up.

I convinced those rogues to inject me with something I knew I was allergic to. Val promised she would protect my pups and she did.

But why would I do such a thing knowing that I could have died?

I broke eye contact with Jazzy and looked up at Dr. Laureen who was finishing running tests before she turned to Jazzy.

“Get Sarah ready for the ritual,” Dr. Laureen said to her. “We won’t be much longer.”

Sarah…

She was in the clinic.

I needed to get to the clinic, and this was the only way I knew how to do it. I needed to get to Sarah. If she knew what was going on, she wouldn’t want this. If Alpha Jonathan knew that they were trying to turn Sarah into a mindless Volana vessel, he wouldn’t want this either. But he thinks Jazzy is trying to save his daughter's life and free her from that curse.

He has no idea that Sarah is technically going to die tonight as well.

“I need to get some extra stuff first,” Jazzy muttered, turning away. “I’ll be back soon to collect them both.”

She soon left the clinic, leaving me alone with Dr. Laureen.

I looked at Dr. Laureen as she traveled around the room to clean up her supplies. I was in survival mode, and I didn’t have much time. I knew getting out of here was my only option.

“Why are you helping her?” I found myself asking.

Dr. Laureen, who seemed surprised by my question, paused, and looked at me.

“Excuse me?” She asked, raising her brows.

“Why are you helping Jazzy? What’s in it for you?”

She was quiet for a moment as she ate at my question. Then she turned away and continued to clean up her supplies.

“I have been her coven healer for many years,” Dr. Laureen explained. “She wasn’t always like this. But I’ve always been by her side. Jazzy means well in her own dark way.”

“She’s trying to kill me and she’s trying to kill Sarah. She’s using Alpha Jonathan to get what she wants,” I told her, narrowing my eyes at her. “How does she mean well?”

Dr. Laureen was quiet and for a moment, I didn’t think she was going to answer the question. But then she sighed and turned back to face me.

“Jazzy had a lot of wrongdoings in her life,” she explained. “She lost her parents because of a Volana wolf. She’s trying to make the world a safer place. That’s all.”

“We aren’t a threat to her,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m not a threat.”

“You are the strongest Volana ever to exist. Volanas are very difficult to kill, borderline impossible without the right tools. You have enough power and strength to kill them easily. But we also know you wouldn’t do it willingly, so we are planning on transferring your abilities and putting them in Sarah.”

While she spoke, I managed to pull out some of the wires and tubes that were sticking out of my arms. I might not have strong senses right now and my wolf was asleep, but I’ve trained enough with Xander over the month to utilize the strength of the human that I am.

It felt like Xander was preparing me for something and now I think I know what it was.

I kept my ears open for any sound around me.

I heard a light heart monitor coming from another room and I wondered if that’s where Sarah was being held.

I kept my eyes on Dr. Laureen as she spoke and traveled around the room to clean her supplies. She wasn’t paying any attention to me as she continued to speak about Jazzy like she was nothing more than a misunderstood woman.

My eyes trialed around the room, and I saw that there was a fire hydrant on the far side of the wall. There seemed to be four latches keeping it in place. They looked like the type I needed to twist to loosen.I glanced at Dr. Laureen again who was standing at a counter and taking some notes on her clipboard.

“Where is Jazzy from and how long did her parents die? How old was she?” I asked, not caring about the answer. I just needed to keep her talking.

As she began to answer my questions, she sounded thoughtful and spoke carefully. She probably didn’t want to give out too much information. I pulled the IVs out of my arm, wincing at the stinging sensation.

I managed to get my hands free, but I kept them under the blanket that covered me. I was pleased that they put me in a hospital gown, so at least I wasn’t naked anymore.

Realizing that Dr. Laureen stopped speaking, I decided to say something else.

“You aren’t planning on saving Sarah… right? You are planning on turning her into a Volana vessel.”“Maybe so; but a vessel that Jazzy can control,” Dr. Laureen shrugged. “It isn’t personally against you. You just happen to be the only Volana strong enough to make all of this happen.”

“You are planning on killing all of us regardless,” I murmured. “It’s personal.”

“I’m afraid it’s out of our hands,” Dr. Laureen shrugged again. “The best we can do is just let fate take its course.”

She placed the clipboard down on the counter and opened one of her drawers to rummage through. While she was making noise, I reached over to the heart monitor and turned off the switch to silence it before removing the pads that were stuck to my chest.

I glanced back at Dr. Lareen and saw that she had taken out a syringe and was filling it with fluid. I tried to focus my eyes on it, but without my wolf’s vision, I had trouble reading the label.

While she poured the liquid into the syringe, I sat up and slid out of bed. I was trying to keep as quiet as I could. I took in my surroundings, making sure nobody was watching from a distance to alert Dr. Laureen.

I walked as quickly and as quietly as I could over to the fire hydrant.

There were four latches I had to undo. I glanced over my shoulder at Dr. Laureen who was screwing the top over the lid of the mystery liquid before putting it back in the drawer.

My heart was racing as I undid the latches as quickly and quietly as I could. I didn’t have long before she turned around and realized I wasn’t in bed.

Just as Dr. Laureen lifted the syringe to her eyes and flicked it a couple of times, I snuck up behind her, holding the hydrant firmly.

She turned, facing the bed and then her light smile dropped, and her eyes widened as she realized I was no longer there.

I lifted the hydrant and slammed it across the back of her head.