Viola's Risk (The Twin Destinies Saga Book 2) Page 11

  Sage’s eyebrows knit close together when he heard Thomas’ loud voice boom through the doors ordering Dominic out of the room and Dominic’s loud and rude reply. He and Liam pushed past the nurse, who threw her hands up in exasperation, to go assist Thomas in removing Dominic from the room. They both understood why Dominic was refusing to leave his mate’s side, but he had to for her to be treated, and every second he fought them, was a second she lost getting better.

  As he stepped inside of the exam room with Liam, he saw Dominic still holding tight to Viola’s hand and Thomas standing nose to nose with him. Both had switched to low outraged voices and were arguing back and forth as the doctor and nurses stood back against the wall watching in fear. They’d never heard Thomas roar at anyone like that before.

  Even though Dominic saw them, Sage and Liam moved behind him, one at each of his arms to grab hold and physically remove him if necessary.

  “Come on man, you’re getting in the way. You need to come out and wait with us while they take care of her,” Sage said, sensing the terror thrumming through the man’s veins as if it was the blood he lived on.

  “I am not leaving her alone with people she doesn’t know,” Dominic grated out.

  “You are leaving this room right now,” Thomas growled.

  “Hey, calm down both of you,” Sage said, trying his best to mediate. “Dominic, you need to listen to reason here. The longer you fight us on this, the longer it takes them to find out what’s going on with her and help her get better. I know you want to protect her, but right now you may be hurting her more than you realize.”

  Dominic’s head and shoulders slumped as the truth of Sage’s words sunk in. He leaned down and placed a kiss on Viola’s forehead as he laid her hand gently down on the gurney. Sage put his arm around the man’s shoulders and helped him walk out of the room so he couldn’t change his mind and go back to her side.

  Thomas met Sage’s eyes over Dominic’s bowed head and mouthed “Thank you” to him. Liam and Thomas trailed the two men from the room.

  Dr. Brown and the nurses went right back to work on Viola with the doctor barking out orders and the nurses running around to do what they were told.

  Once the four men were out in the waiting room with the women, Dominic sank down into one of the chairs and put his face in his hands. Cora went over and wrapped her arms around him and spoke in a low voice to him.

  Judging from Cora’s emotional signature, she was telling him about Liam’s trip to medical after Anna had kidnapped and tortured him. It was awful standing by and waiting while the doctor’s did their thing and made your loved one better, so he and Cora knew first-hand how Dominic was feeling.

  He seemed to respond to Cora’s gentle comfort and commiseration and lifted his eyes to hers. They began to talk in low voices nobody else could hear and even Liam wasn’t intruding on their intimate conversation.

  The longer the doctor was in with Viola without updating them, the higher the tension level in the waiting room rose, until Sage was getting a migraine. He rubbed his temples trying to ease the pressure, but it was no use. He looked up at the others, and excused himself to go outside to get some fresh air and decompress.

  He was worried about Viola, like the rest of them, but their emotions overwhelmed him. He turned as he heard the door open behind him and saw Liam coming up to stand beside him, the look of sympathy in his eyes driving him nuts.

  “Are you doing okay?” Liam asked Sage, the concern in his voice calming Sage’s irritation.

  “Yeah, I’m good. The tension in there started giving me a migraine so I had to get some air. Have you heard anything yet?” Sage asked with hope in his voice.

  “Not yet. I think they’re running tests on her to find out what’s wrong,” Liam said, the sadness and worry Sage was feeling from him made him feel even worse about Viola’s predicament.

  “I hope they figure it out soon and they can help her,” Sage said and looked over at Liam. “How’s Cora holding up?”

  “From what I can tell, she’s deflecting her feelings and focusing on helping Dominic through this. She’ll break down later,” Liam said with a shrug.

  The brothers stood there saying nothing for a while before Sage looked over and said, “I guess we should head back in to see if there’s any news.”

  “Yeah. I hate dealing with medical,” Liam said, shaking his head.

  “Me too, Bro. I’m sure she’ll pull through and be outta here soon,” Sage said and clapped Liam on the back as they turned around and headed inside. They arrived in the waiting room just before Dr. Brown stepped in looking bewildered.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “Is Viola okay?” Cora asked standing up from her seat beside Dominic at the same time Angelica asked, “Can we go see her?” and Thomas asked, “Is she awake?”

  Dominic just sat there looking up at the doctor with hope in his eyes, but weariness on his face. Sage understood just how much he’d been through in that moment.

  “We’ve run every test we can think of and come back with nothing. I have no explanation for any of this,” Dr. Brown informed them with shake of his head. “We’re moving her to a room and working to get her body temperature down. We’ve got to get that down quickly or we risk brain damage. There are nurses tending to her constantly with regards to her body temperature. Other than that, she’s resting comfortably at the moment and is showing no signs of pain, other than the scrapes and bruises she obtained from jumping from a moving vehicle. We’ve got her hooked up to an IV to make sure she’s getting plenty of fluids which is all we can do for the moment, until she wakes up.”

  Dominic’s head dropped back into his hands and Cora let out a soft sob. Liam moved to Cora’s side and wrapped his arms tight around her shaking shoulders.

  Angelica let out a wail as her legs gave out from under her and Thomas had to catch her before she hit the floor as grief wrapped a fist around her heart.

  “I am so sorry that I could not find what is causing this. I will keep reviewing the test results and run more tests as I see fit, until I can find something that might be a causing factor for her condition,” Dr. Brown said, his helplessness evident.

  “Please keep us updated with any new information. We’d like to see her as soon as possible,” Thomas told the doctor as he held his mate in his arms, moved over to the seating area and sat down with her on his lap sobbing into his neck.

  “I will make sure you know of all new developments. A nurse will come out and notify you as soon as you can go to visit her. Please keep the number of visitors down to no more than two at a time so she’s not overwhelmed when she wakes up,” Dr. Brown requested and left the room after each person nodded their understanding.

  “Shhh, my dear. She’s young and strong. I’m positive she will pull through this,” Thomas soothed and did his best to calm her.

  Liam was doing the same for Cora, but Dominic seemed to be on his own with his fear and grief. Sage went over and laid a hand on the man’s shoulder. As Dominic looked up, Sage motioned with his head for Dominic to follow him as he turned around and headed out of the waiting room.

  Dominic caught up quickly and Sage could tell from a quick glance the man had been crying behind the hands that had covered his face. The man’s emotional grid was unstable at the moment so he was trying to get him somewhere they could talk.

  “Where are we going?” Dominic asked, looking disoriented.

  “We’re going to get a breath of fresh air. You look like you could use it and sitting there wasn’t helping you at all. Viola needs you clear-headed and strong when she wakes up,” Sage said, compassion in his eyes and his voice.

  “I don’t want to be out of reach if there’s any news,” Dominic stated, starting to turn around and go back.

  “You won’t be. All of them know how to reach you if there’s any news. They know how to reach me as well. You’ve gotta take care of yourself, or you’ll be useless to her,” Sage told him with confidence.

&n
bsp; Dominic looked over at Sage and wondered how he knew so much and then he remembered Cora telling him about Liam’s visit to medical and how Sage had kept her from losing her cool while they waited for news of Liam’s condition.

  “How do you do it?” Dominic asked him.

  “Do what?” Sage asked, confused.

  “You helped Cora when Liam was injured and now you’re helping me through this. How do you do it when you’re as connected to both people as the ones you’re helping. You’ve got to be in pain too,” Dominic said, trying his best to clarify his question even though his brain was foggy and could only seem to focus on the last time he’d seen Viola’s pale face before leaving the examination room inside.

  “It’s what I do. I have the power to sense other’s emotions. It’s a blessing and a curse,” Sage said with a shrug of his broad shoulders, as if it was no big deal. In truth, he did wish he had someone to be there for him and help him through these situations like he did for others.

  “Is that why you left the waiting room earlier? Everyone’s distress over Viola was getting to you?” Dominic asked, curious and concerned.

  “Yeah. If it gets to be too much, I start getting a migraine. I just needed to get some fresh air and clear my head for a few minutes,” Sage shrugged again.

  “Man, I am so sorry,” Dominic said with a pat on the shoulder.

  “It’s really no big deal. I’ve learned to handle it. I’m more concerned about you right now and how you’re handling all of this. I know you lost your family at a young age and you feel as if Viola’s all you’ve got. I want you to know that’s not true. You are our family now. You have Cora, Liam, Thomas, Angelica and me to lean on for support now. Don’t shut us out,” Sage said, shoving his hands into his pockets, but looking directly at Dominic as they stopped, before pushing through the door leading outside.

  “I don’t know what to say,” Dominic said, surprised.

  “If you need to talk about what’s going on, just do it. I won’t judge you, none of us will. Like I said, you’re a part of our family now,” Sage said, looking the man dead in the eyes.

  “I just don’t understand what happened. I’m sure they tested her for internal bleeding and broken bones because of her jump out of the SUV. They had to have done testing on her brain to see if she has a concussion or swelling of the brain. What else could it be? What would cause her body temperature to spike as high as it did?” Dominic asked, baffled.

  “I can’t answer those questions for you,” Sage said, feeling useless.

  Dominic remained silent, lost in his own thoughts for a few moments. Sage watched him concentrate as if he was figuring something out.

  “What are you thinking?” Sage finally asked.

  “When Viola attacked Anna, you were the only one conscious in the room and saw what happened right?” Dominic asked, raising his blazing eyes to meet Sage’s.

  “No, Cora was there too, but it was pretty intense. I have to say, she scared me,” Sage admitted.

  “I’m sure it was impressive. I need you to remember, what powers did she use on Anna? Were they her Lunarian powers, Solarian powers or a combination of the two?” Dominic asked, his voice becoming more and more on edge as he progressed.

  Sage was quiet for a moment as he thought back to their time in that room and replayed the scene in his mind. He pictured how furious Viola had been. Her emotions had been running hot and he could see the heat coming off of her. “Viola only used her Solarian powers. Cora used a combination of both.”

  “That’s it? She didn’t use any of her Lunarian powers?” Dominic pressed.

  “Not that I could see. Where are you going with this?” Sage asked, starting to pick up on Dominic’s train of thought, but wanting to make sure they were thinking the same thing.

  “What if this is caused by an imbalance in her powers? What if, by using only the Solarian powers, she’s got too much of the heat from them raging through her body and not enough of the Lunarian to balance it out? I’m Lunarian only so my body can take just that power being used,” Dominic said and Sage brightened.

  “Cora!” he exclaimed. “When she attacked Anna both times, she used a combination of her powers and didn’t have a problem. Come on, let’s go find Dr. Brown.”

  Sage turned on his heel and rushed back toward medical with Dominic striding right along-side him even though he almost running.

  “Man, I hope you’re right about this,” Sage said, hope surging through them both.

  “Me too man. Me too,” Dominic said as they entered medical and caught the first nurse they came to and asked where Dr. Brown could be found.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  As soon as Sage and Dominic found Dr. Brown, Dominic launched into filling the doctor in on his theory. The doctor seemed to be contemplating whether or not that could be the problem while the two men stood impatiently before him.

  “I’ve never dealt with anyone who possessed both powers, other than when the twins were born. I guess it is a possibility, but I have no idea how to test your theory without putting her in danger,” Dr. Brown told them, regret filling his voice.

  “Can’t we just try to balance it out with Lunarian powers?” Dominic asked.

  “I would advise against it. We don’t know how much damage it could do to her if that doesn’t work. You could create an imbalance of power in her if that isn’t the problem to begin with, and that’s not a risk I’m willing to take,” Dr. Brown said, studying the two men.

  “We understand sir,” Sage said as he pulled Dominic back by the arm. “We won’t take up anymore of your time.”

  Dominic looked over at Sage, fury in his eyes. Sage gave him an almost imperceptible shake of the head and then nodded to the doctor.

  “I’m sorry. I wish I could tell you that is definitely the problem and we know how to fix it. We just don’t know and it’s too risky to test it out on her,” the sadness in the doctor’s voice pulled at Sage, but a plan was forming in his mind. He just hoped Dominic would follow his lead. The man was looking like he could strangle the life from the good doctor.

  “Thank you for listening to us. We’re going to go check on the rest of her family now. Please let us know if there is any news,” Sage said and pulled Dominic in the opposite direction down the hallway.

  The doctor watched them with a suspicious look until they turned a corner out of sight before he turned and went back into his office with sad eyes.

  “What are you doing?” Dominic hissed at Sage after they’d rounded the corner.

  “We need to talk to Cora right now,” Sage said and continued back toward the waiting room.

  “Why?” Dominic asked, suspicious of what Sage was up to.

  “Because, she was somehow able to send a surge of Solarian powers into Liam when he was killed during the twins unbinding ceremony and brought him back to life. If anyone would know the safest way to pull this off without harming Viola, she would,” Sage informed Dominic with a determined look on his face. From that point on, Dominic didn’t fight him.

  When they entered the waiting room, everyone looked up at them. The purpose of their strides and the determination on their faces alerted everyone that they were on a mission. They didn’t stop walking until they were standing in front of Cora.

  Dominic knelt down and took her hands in his own.

  “What’s going on? Did something happen with Viola?” Cora asked, terror in her voice.

  “We think we might have figured out what is wrong with her, but the doctor is unwilling to test our theory. You are the only one who might have the knowledge we need to test it without harming her,” Sage told her from behind Dominic. Her eyes grew wide as she looked back and forth between the two. Thomas and Angelica rose to their feet and moved over to the small group, listening intently to every word.

  “How can I help? I have no idea what’s going on with her,” Cora asked, confused.

  “When you brought back Liam, you infused Solarian powers into him which pu
t his body back into balance. We need to know how to infuse Lunarian powers into Viola without harming her. Our theory is that because she only used her Solarian powers on Anna during her attack, it put her out of balance and there’s too much Solarian running through her right now,” Sage told her.

  “Please Cora. We have to do something,” Dominic pleaded.

  “I didn’t really do anything though. My body did what it needed to do from instinct when I was lying across his chest,” Cora said with a shake of her head.

  “Thank you,” Dominic said and stood.

  “Where are you going?” Thomas demanded.

  “To help your daughter and my mate sir. Her body can only withstand being out of balance for so long before she’ll die,” Dominic said and took off from the room without waiting for a reply. Everyone followed him, in a hurry to keep up.

  Dominic followed his senses to where Viola’s room was and was irritated to find the doctor and several security guards standing in front of the door, blocking his path.

  “You are not testing any theories out on my patient that could harm her,” Dr. Brown said in a threatening tone.

  “Get out of my way,” Dominic ground out between gritted teeth.

  Thomas put his hand on Dominic’s shoulder and moved in front of him.

  “You and your guards will move out of our way right now,” Thomas ordered, his tone leaving no room for debate.

  “With all due respect sir, no,” Dr. Brown said and stood his ground. The security guards standing behind him fidgeted nervously.

  “You will move out of the way or find yourself somewhere else to work. I can find another doctor for this facility without any problems,” Thomas threatened. He would not allow anyone to stand in their way when they could possibly save his daughter right here and now.

  “Please sir, if you allow this, you could be putting her at further risk,” the doctor pleaded with Thomas.