Page 17 of Caligo

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I stood numbly in my room, processing everything that had happened. It was only a few hours ago we had seen Beau, and he was healthy. Happy. Joking.

“He’s alive,” Jasper had told me a few moments earlier. “Stable. But he’s in critical condition. We need to get out to the pack lands now. The leaders want to see us.”

“Us?” I questioned. I wasn’t sure what I had to do with the situation.

“You were one of the last people to see him. But it’s more than that. You’re a Venator now. They are going to want your insight as well.”

I pulled a sweater out, pausing with it over my head. It could have been me laying in that hospital bed. It could have been Jasper. Beau had been attacked on pack lands, where we’d thought they’d be safe, but we thought wrong.

A sharp knock on my doorframe shook me out of my thoughts. “Ava, we need to leave, now.” Jasper’s voice sounded calm, but I knew that was for my benefit alone. I could sense the panic not far beneath. I shook off my negativity and finished putting my sweater on. Jasper didn’t need me worrying about thewhat ifsright now, he needed me to be there for him. I walked out of my bedroom and straight into Jasper.

“Shit! I’m sorry.” Jasper caught me in his arms before I went sprawling.

He smiled. “I got you.”

And he did, he always had my back. So now, I was going to have his. I smiled back at him, staring deep into his beautiful eyes, trying to convey all the things I felt for him without having to say the words stuck in my throat. I righted myself, and moved past him towards the door. “Come on, I’ll drive.”

The snow I’d expected earlier in the day had started to fall, shining in the dark under the glow of the streetlights. I stuck my tongue out, trying to catch one of the delicate flakes. A perfect moment, dissolving before you could even taste it.

“What are you doing?” Jasper asked me, amused. He hadn’t stopped walking towards my car.

I jogged to catch up to him. “It’s a beautiful night. Come on, try it. It’ll take your mind off things for a minute. The pack can wait, and Beau is in good hands.” I held my head back again, spinning in circles, letting the cold drop onto my tongue.

“It is beautiful, isn’t it?” His voice sounded funny, and I snapped my head forward to look at him. He was watching me, an uncertain smile on his face.

I took his hand and squeezed. The look he was giving me made me feel uncomfortable. “Just try it. Then we’ll go.”

He tipped his head back, letting his tongue catch several flakes. Then Jasper bent his head to me, his lips and tongue still cold from the snow as he kissed me. I sank into the kiss, grateful for his touch. All too soon he pulled away, his lips still brushing against my own. “I do feel a hell of a lot better. Now the problem is I’d much rather go back inside and lose myself with you.” He sighed heavily. “But the pack awaits.”

We stopped at the hospital to see Beau. His injuries had been too severe to heal without medical attention, so they had taken him to the nearby emergency room. It was a shock to see him in the bed, tubes sticking out everywhere, his usually tanned skin a pasty white. His arms had countless stitches in them, his head and neck bandaged in a soft gauze. I didn’t want to think about what the rest of his body must look like beneath the hospital sheet. I held myself together as Jasper dropped into the chair next to his bed, holding his best friend’s hand. He spoke to him in a low voice I couldn’t make out. I tried to imagine Beau as I had seen him only hours ago -- laughing, full of life. This immobile body wasn’t him. There must have been some mistake.

Jasper stood abruptly. “I’m going to find a nurse who can give me more information. Can you sit with him for a minute?”

I nodded, taking Jasper’s place in the bedside chair. I squeezed his hand as we swapped, and he gave me a grateful smile. I sat there for a few minutes, watching Beau. Eventually, I reached out to take Beau’s hand in my own, trying to will his eyes to open.

“I’m so sorry, Beau. You were only out there because of me. This is all my fault. I’m going to fix this. I promise.” The words fell out of my mouth before I could stop them.

“He wouldn’t blame you.” I whipped my head around to see Jasper’s dark frame leaning against the door of Beau’s room, arms crossed.

“How long have you been standing there?” I asked him.

“Long enough. Thank you for sitting with him.” He walked towards me, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder. “I mean it though. He wouldn’t blame you. I know I don’t. He would probably make some joke about how he was only there to see me get my ass kicked by my girl. Regardless, it’s not your fault.”

I leaned into his body. “Did you find a nurse?”

“Yeah. Apparently, they found him just in time, and they were able to get him into surgery immediately. They have him pretty heavily sedated for the time being, but she said he’s stable now.”

I kept watching his face. “He’ll be okay.” I felt certain, if only because it seemed impossible to think anything otherwise.

Jasper agreed with me. “He will. I gave the nurse my contact info. She’ll call me if anything comes up.”

“Is that allowed? I mean, you’re not actually related. Would they be allowed to call you?” I questioned.

He smiled. “The nurse is part of the pack. She gets it. How else do you think we could sneak him into the hospital?”

“Hey.” We both turned at the new voice to see Duke joining us in the room.

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