-Chapter 8-
-VPOV-
Ari…I love you.
-APOV-
Cam was brilliant. She had already hacked the security and disabled alarms and now we just had to find him. Problem 1: The place he was being held was an old warehouse and it was huge. Problem 2: The guards were on steroids. Major steroids. But I pushed those thoughts out of my head and focused on finding him.
"Well well well, we knew she'd come eventually." Someone said behind me before they fell to the ground and Elena put her Taser away. We high fived and then finally found the room Vlad was in surrounded by 3 guards. Shaun and Elena moved forward but I held them back.
"They're mine." I hissed and pulled out my 12 gauge that Vlad had taught me to shoot a few weeks ago. 'Remember, breathe in and out. Focus on your target.' His voice whispered and I pulled the trigger 3 times. When it didn't make any sound but the men went down, I looked at the gun and realized that it had been equipped with a silencer. Cam was brilliant. We ran into his prison and saw him lying there in his blood dirty and unconscious. We slowly carried him out to the car and as we drove off the building exploded like one of those action movies. Elena looked at Cam and she pulled out a small detonator and claimed she didn't have room for a bigger one. Yeah right. We were still a half hour from the hospital when he started to come to.
"Ari?" He asked in such a weak and broken voice I started to cry.
"It's me, I'm here. You're safe now. We're taking you to the hospital." But he didn't reply as he stroked my now cat like ears and stared up at me with a soft smile.
"It's really you Ari." I nodded as he tried to sit up and I pushed him back as gently as I could.
"No Vlad, you have to be still. We'll be there soon. Just hold on. Please." I begged and he motioned for me to come closer. I bent over him as weakly reached up and tried to wipe the tears that were coming faster now away as brushed the hair away from his eyes. Then he kissed me with such a surprising passion that it made my heart turn over. As he started to blink more slowly I shook him and pleaded with God to save him.
"Vlad, you can't! Stay with me! Don't leave me. Please I need you!"
"I love you Ari." He said as he closed his eyes.
-CPOV-
When we finally reached the hospital we made up this story about how he had gotten separated from us when were hiking and they rushed to fix his injuries while we all waited for news. Luckily for Ari, his kiss had reversed the curse so she was no longer an animal and she paced the room wiping her tears away.
-EPOV-
As soon as we saw Ari transform, Shaun and I kissed and we transformed as well which made it a lot easier to get into the hospital. But poor Ari was a mess as we waited for the doctor to come out and give us news. We tried to convince her to eat something but she refused to eat or even drink the coffee we got her. Finally the doctor came out and gave us the news that he had stabilized the internal bleeding and had given him some morphine but Vlad was in the ICU with serious blood loss, and risk of infection with his fever. As soon as he gave us the instructions for the ICU and permission to see him, she sprinted to his side. When we all caught up, she was on her knees by his bed praying to God to save him. He shifted in his sleep and she shot up and tried to hide the tears when she realized he wasn't awake. She pushed the hair out of his eyes and just sat there quietly murmuring to him and eventually we convinced her to get some food with us. She gave the doctor her cell phone number and promised to keep it on vibrate as she reluctantly went to eat.
-APOV-
As we ate I kept checking my phone but nothing came up and I was just about to put it away at Cam and Elena's insistence when my heart dropped into the pit of my stomach. Something was horribly wrong. I ran back to ICU and saw the doctors running around and people working over Vlad. I watched from the windows of the ICU as they shocked him over and over again, each time I tried not to scream. I dropped to my knees as that song "Don't take the girl" ran through my head.
Take the very breath you gave me, take the heart from my chest. I'll gladly take her place if you'll let me, make this my last request. Take me out of this world, but God please don't take the girl.
'Please God, I'll do anything, I'll even leave him, as long as he's safe I don't care. Just don't take him.'
Suddenly a hand on my shoulder made me turn and the doctor stood there and I braced myself for the worst.
"We got him breathing again and his fever broke. He's going to be okay. You can see him again. I almost fainted but the doctor caught my arm and led me to the chair in Vlad's room. I pulled the chair up to his bed and laid my head on his bed and slowly let myself breathe again. He was gonna be okay. He was gonna live. As the hours passed I memorized his face, knowing I would never take him for granted. Then as the sun began to rise, I praised God for another day with him. I was watching the sun rise when I heard him groan. I flew to his side and eagerly watched as he finally opened his eyes. He tried to say something but the feeding tube in his throat made it impossible. Instead he pulled me into a hug and I kissed him gently on the cheek and tears of happiness made their way down my face and onto his. He wiped them away and squeezed my hand as he made the sign for I love you with his hands and I did the same. Then the doctor came in and made me leave so he could give Vlad a checkup. Everyone was waiting outside and I gave them all hugs and we discussed what had happened. The doctor said that he wanted Vlad to stay another night for observation but they were moving him to a regular room and taking out his feeding tube. As we all walked while a nurse pushed him in a wheelchair and his IV I another nurse pulled ours aside and asked if "that poor boy was gonna be damaged forever" and I glared at her but our nurse came to my rescue and saved me from life in prison for murdering a nurse and told her to keep her mouth shut unless she knew what she was talking about. We smirked at her and left to get Vlad settled. Sheri—the nurse—also brought us all lunch and left us all to talk.
"So what you're saying is that you were half animal—but only at night—and when I kissed you I cured you?" Vlad asked and I nodded and waited for him to claim insanity and leave. But he didn't. He got his usual cocky grin on and started acting like he had saved the whole world. I told him this and he suddenly got serious.
"But I did. I saved you. You are my world." I sighed at this like a love struck tween. Just then Cam and Elena made gagging sounds and started teasing us and we all started laughing at their imitation of us. Finally the sun set and I marveled at my still human skin. Everyone else left and Elena promised to bring clean clothes for both of us when they came to pick me and Vlad up tomorrow. He started to drift off and I grabbed his hand and tried to convince myself that he was just sleeping but he saw right through that and pulled me next to him.
"Vlad! We'll get in trouble if someone sees us! C'mon let go!" I said as he only held me tighter and he kissed me up and down my neck as he convinced me to stay. Besides what was the harm? No one did bed checks or anything and his doctor had said that he would see him tomorrow. I rolled my eyes and gave in and let him tuck me into his side as I tried not to sigh with pure satisfaction. As he fell asleep I kissed his cheek and slowly fell asleep too.
-VPOV-
As much as I love Ari I hated myself more. She woke up 3 times during the night convinced that I was dead and each time I felt a pang of guilt for not being able to escape those creeps. But something else weighed in on me. The doctor had told me because of some injuries I'd received, I couldn't have children anymore. Somehow I had to tell her.
