Page 20 of Wild Heart

"She’s strong."

"She has to be okay, so I can make it up to her."

They stood together, watching the helicopter rise into the clouds. Mason made his way down as the last of the wind settled into silence. His face was streaked with rain, but his eyes locked on Natalie’s the moment he reached her. No words were exchanged, only a look. One of silent gratitude. Of recognition.

The wolf was safe. Olivia was alive. And the forest had gone quiet again. But none of them would forget the storm-banshee and the havoc she had wreaked.

8

The hospital waiting room smelled like antiseptic and machine coffee, the air stale with anxiety. Fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, reflecting too brightly on white walls and cheap plastic chairs. Natalie sat between Mason and Davey, a Styrofoam cup of lukewarm tea clenched in her hands, her fingers raw from the cold of the mountain. It had been hours.

They'd scrubbed the dirt and blood from their clothes in the ER’s family restroom, borrowed scratchy secondhand sweats and hoodies from a nurse who took one look at them and said nothing. Davey had barely spoken since they arrived. He sat hunched forward, elbows on his knees, hands loosely clasped, eyes vacant.

Natalie kept glancing at him, aching to say something comforting, but knowing he wasn’t ready to hear it yet. Across from them, Mason paced slowly by the vending machines, arms crossed tightly, jaw locked. Finally, the surgeon entered, a tall woman in her late fifties with silver-streaked cropped hair. Her scrubs were stained with iodine, her voice calm and clipped.

"She’s stable," she said. "Ms. Hayes sustained a compound fracture to her left femur, four fractured ribs, and a dislocatedshoulder. We were able to successfully reset the joint and pin the femur. There was some soft tissue damage and internal bleeding, but no organ compromise."

Davey exhaled for what felt like the first time since the fall. "Will she walk again?" he asked, voice hoarse.

"Eventually. With extensive physical therapy. She’ll be immobilized for at least six weeks. Non-weight-bearing for longer. Pain management and wound monitoring will be crucial for the first two."

"Can we see her?" Natalie asked.

The surgeon nodded. "She’s in recovery now. Still under anesthesia. One of you can sit with her until she wakes."

"Go," Mason said quietly to Davey.

The boy hesitated, then nodded and stood, disappearing through the swinging doors behind the nurse. Natalie sagged back into her seat. Mason returned to sit beside her, the space between them pulsing with shared exhaustion.

"You okay?" he asked.

She let out a shaky breath. "I don’t know."

They sat in silence for a while. Every now and then a monitor beeped down the hall. The intercom called for someone in pediatrics. Rain still pattered lightly against the windows.

"You didn’t leave that wolf," she said finally.

Mason rubbed his palms together. "Couldn’t. He was scared. And alone."

She nodded slowly. "So was Olivia. So was Davey."

Mason turned to her. "So were you."

That hit harder than she expected. The truth of it echoed inside her chest like the crack of distant thunder.

"We need to reevaluate the trail protocols," Natalie said, her voice quiet but firm. "That descent was dangerous, even withoutthe storm. We should have had an emergency back-up team. Better communication tools. We got lucky."

"You’re right," Mason said. He didn’t argue. Didn’t deflect. Just accepted it.

She looked at him. "That’s rare."

"What is?"

"Someone like you admitting that."

He gave a small smile. "Maybe I trust you now." The air between them shifted.

Davey returned an hour later, his eyes rimmed red but steadier.

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