Page 35 of Born Wicked

“Get him inside,” I bark as Diana rushes outside. “Dr. Roshan!”

Mason is a bloodied and broken mess. He’s covered in lacerations, exactly like he’s been showered with broken glass. I can tell both of his legs are broken. From his wet, raspy breathing, I think he’s got internal bleeding, maybe a collapsed or punctured lung.

“Mason, hold on,” I say in panic, trying to make sure every bit of medical training I have doesn’t fly out the window now that it’s someone I love lying on the gurney. “We’re going to fix this. We’re going to fix this.”

Dr. Roshan rushes into the room as we wheel Mason inside. He’s immediately followed by Lily.

I begin cutting Mason’s jacket and shirt off. And it’s so much worse than I thought. He’s a palette of blue and black and red. He has so much internal bleeding. All of his ribs must be broken.

I know.

I know what that means.

But that doesn’t stop me from doing everything.

We’re a flurry of activity, desperate to save his life.

We stabilize his neck.

We check his pupils for dilation.

He gets a shot of morphine.

But tears prick my eyes as we work.

Broken. He’s so damn broken.

Mason’s heart monitor spikes, beating faster and faster. And as I press an oxygen mask into his face, I watch as his eyes flutter.

“Mason?” I breathe, my voice quivering. “Mason. No. Mason!”

His monitor flatlines, a loud beeping sound ringing through the entire room.

“Starting chest compressions,” Lily declares, never hesitating. She puts her hands on his sternum, elbows straight, and begins compressing, up and down, up and down.

“Mason,” I call, dread filling my voice. “Come on! Mason, you cannot leave me. It is not your time!”

“Dr. Doe,” Dev says. His tone is wary, filled with sympathy. “He’s too far gone. His body would take years to recover from this, even if he made it through the next twenty-four hours.”

“He wasn’t ready yet,” I bark as tears prick my eyes. I’m still whirlwinding around the room, doing everything and anything I can think of. “He wasn’t ready.”

All I can think about is the weeks we spent together. The honest conversations we had about the pressure on his shoulders. His parents were murdered. The company fell onto his and Elena’s shoulders when they were still so young. Billions of dollars run through Godfrey Enterprises every year, and they had the board to answer to.

I endured vile, bitter words because everyone knew Mason needed to create an heir to the company. Elena pushed me at Mason before I Resurrected, hoping we would be a happily ever after. But it all changed when I died my second death. As a vampire, I couldn’t give Mason any heirs.

I’m just not ready, Mason had said to me.

There are so many dangerous ways to die here in Chicago. With vampires and gifted occupying one of the deadliest cities in the country, there are so many ways you could die.

But it is a car accident that’s going to take out the golden prince of Chicago.

“It’s been two minutes,” Dev announces. He’s still working, but the passion, the conviction is gone from his movements.

“We keep trying,” Lily says as she continues pumping at Mason’s chest. Her eyes meet mine, and I find compassion there. She understands how hard this is. I don’t know her yet. She doesn’t really know me, or Mason.

But in this moment of terror and pain, she has compassion.

“We keep trying,” she repeats, holding my gaze.

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