Haunted Prey Ch. 05

"You just did it again." Alauria turned to stare at the window again and tried to force herself to keep from leaning into him. His presence was much appreciated and until now, she wasn't aware of how much she wanted him there. "I decided to help her."

Lindsay sat down on the bed next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him, and it was then that he realized that she was too involved in what was to happen to remember that she hated him. He didn't care either way; she couldn't be alone, not when she was about to do something so important.

"The doctor says that it's going to be really painful, but that I'll be able to go home later. They should be starting soon."

Lindsay remained quiet. It seemed as if she needed to talk to calm herself. He gently ran his hand over the expanse of her back and found himself sending gentle shocks of electricity through her to relax her tense muscles. She relaxed immediately, he was happy to see, and went so far as to take hold of his other hand for comfort. "Do you want me to be there with you?"

Alauria found herself nodding despite herself. She stood when the intern arrived to collect her and listened quietly as Lindsay informed him that he would be there in the procedure room with her. Luckily, hospital rules allowed him to be there as the procedure was non-invasive. Within ten minutes, he was dressed in hospital scrubs and holding her hand as she was wheeled to the procedure room. Alauria thought it best to remain quiet as Lindsay introduced himself to Dr. Monroe and allowed the intern to help her onto the table. She didn't look at anything, only focused on Lindsay's face. She winced when iodine was swabbed on her back and hips; the more work they did, the tenser she became. The sound of Lindsay's voice afforded her a little bit of comfort, but it wasn't quite enough to calm her heart rate.

Lindsay sat down on the extra stool placed in the room and immediately took hold of Alauria's hand. It only took the doctor five minutes to prepare. The menacing-looking needle was long and gleamed in the bright lights of the room. He became nauseated on Alauria's behalf. "It's going to be ok," he ensured, "Just hold onto my hand."

Alauria nodded and waited for the inevitable. She cried out at the first injection of the needle and would have jumped off the table hand Lindsay not stepped in to hold her down. She buried her face in his forearm as she fought to remain still. Her body felt as if it was on fire and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Alauria became lightheaded from the pain and all too soon, she could take no more. "How much more?"

"We're halfway there," Dr. Monroe replied.

Lindsay felt his heart break at her tortured cries and whimpers. Part of him wanted to beat the life out of the doctor for causing her so much pain, but another part of him, the rational part of him understood why he had to endure the hot tears that coated his arms. Dr. Monroe explained Alauria's allergy to anesthesia, as well as her aversion to any form of sedation. He was slightly annoyed that she was willing to go through this by herself. But at the same time, he was proud of her strength and her gentle heart. Not many people would have gone through such pain for someone they did not know. Lindsay wasn't even sure if he would. As much as he loved his brothers, he'd had time to care for them. Alauria didn't know anything about Raedyn other than the fact that they were sisters and that she was sixteen. "I have twelve brothers," he said.

"That's a lot," Alauria gasped.

"Yeah, but you can't help but love all of them."

Alauria listened gratefully as Lindsay ran down his mile long list of brothers. They each had different personalities, which was expected, but based on the way he described them, their traits were extreme. For some inexplicable reason, she wanted to meet them all, especially the one called Liam who liked to yell all the time. There was also Giles, the musical genius of the family who would appreciate her love of the art form. But the one she wanted to know the most about, the one she couldn't get out of her mind, was the man who couldn't decide if he wanted to be around her or not. His skin smelled like fresh cedar and the heat that radiated off it comforted her. "When is the last time you saw them?"

"It's been a while since I've seen them, but I talk to Alexis quite regularly."

"Alexis and Lindsay... Were you two supposed to be the pansies of the family?"

"Those names were once only allotted for men."

"Yea, like a trillion years ago. Oh God," she gasped as a sharp pain shot through her back.

"You're ok," Lindsay comforted.

"Just a little more to go," Dr. Monroe added.

Alauria nodded as she tightened her grip on Lindsay's hand. "Tell me more about Liam."

"He's a hot head. The smallest thing sets him off."

"So you and your brothers make sure you piss him off daily."

Lindsay laughed as he nodded. "Caleb loves to torture him. He's good at reading people so he makes it a point of messing with everyone he meets."

"I'll make it a point to stay away from him then."

The statement made his stomach clench. "Does this mean you plan on meeting them?"

"Does this mean that you plan on sticking around long enough for me to meet them?"

As much as he wanted to answer the question, Lindsay remained silent. That wasn't the kind of conversation people had in the middle of a bone marrow harvest. To ensure her confidence, he kissed the palm of her hand. He would have preferred kissing her lips, but that would have been highly inappropriate.

The remainder of the procedure was quiet, primarily because Alauria preferred to keep from speaking. Lindsay watched as her marrow was taken out of the room. Dr. Monroe nodded at him, a signal that everything was fine. He sighed in relief. The nurses took little time cleaning Alauria and placing small bandages on the areas of skin that still bled. Within ten minutes, she was in a wheelchair and on her way to recovery. Lindsay remained beside her as he'd refused to let go of her hand. In her room, he'd taken it upon himself to settle her into bed; he felt his heart break with every groan and whimper of pain. She was sweating by the time he had her settled in bed. "Do you need anything?"

"A huge slice of red velvet cake would be fantastic."

Lindsay smiled at the comment and waited until they were the only ones in the room before he said, "I know of a place on Lee Street that sells the best red velvet in the state."

Alauria stared at Lindsay in disbelief for a moment before she laughed cynically. Then she groaned at the pain that came with the action. "You can't ask me out."

"Why not?"

"I told you I didn't want to see you anymore, remember?"

"I'm sorry I'm being such a dick. It's been a really long time since I've done this dating thing."

"To say that we're dating would mean that we've gone on at least one date." She shook her head when he shrugged indifferently. Apparently he was the kind of man who did what he wanted no matter what other people thought. "I should have known you would be trouble."

"Does this mean you're saying yes?"

"It means I'll think about it."

"I can accept that. For now." This gave him plenty of time to find the demon Raife had on his tail. Seeing her in the hospital only made him realize that as a human, Alauria didn't have a lot of time to deal with his antics. She deserved better than that. She deserved better than him, but he would be damned if he let anyone else have her.

He had to deal with Raife before it as too late.