Free Web NovelChapter 137: Chapter 136: The Hospital Visit
Eve found Raphael in the training room early the next morning.
He was already there when she arrived, standing in the center of the space with his eyes closed, his arms slightly extended at his sides. Soft golden light moved around him in slow, rhythmic pulses....like breathing, like a heartbeat.....his power cycling through him in careful, controlled waves.
He looked peaceful. Rested. Whatever Elena had given him last night had clearly restored him considerably, because the exhaustion that had shadowed his features after their first training session was completely gone. He looked vibrant, powerful, fully himself. freewёbnoνel.com
Eve stopped in the doorway and watched him for a moment, struck again by how much he looked like her father from the dream. The same sharp features, the same elegant bearing, the same amber eyes that were now opening to find her watching him from across the room.
"Good morning," Raphael said, letting the golden light fade. "You look better than yesterday."
"So do you," Eve replied, moving into the room. "Good night’s sleep?"
Something shifted in his expression....amusement, satisfaction, a hint of color that on any other person would have been a blush. "Something like that."
Eve bit down hard on the smile threatening to escape, thinking of Damian’s revelation yesterday about Elena’s very audible nights. "I’m glad you’re feeling restored," she said carefully.
"Your mates are very... considerate hosts," Raphael said, and the knowing look in his amber eyes suggested he was fully aware of exactly what the brothers’ hospitality had been designed to accomplish.
"They have their moments," Eve agreed.
They regarded each other for a moment, both clearly aware of the subtext floating between them, both choosing to let it go unaddressed with dignified mutual silence.
"Before we begin today’s session," Eve said, breaking the moment. "I need to ask you something. About Margaret."
Raphael’s expression softened immediately. "You want to go to the hospital."
"You promised," Eve said. "When you arrived, you said you had techniques. Ancient healing methods that might help her. Might buy her more time."
"I remember my promise," Raphael confirmed. He studied Eve’s face carefully, reading the anxiety and desperate hope in her expression with those perceptive eyes that missed nothing. "Are you prepared for the possibility that it might not work? That her condition may be beyond even what ancient Seraphim techniques can address?"
"I’m prepared for that," Eve said, though her voice wavered slightly on the words. "But I have to try. I can’t watch her die without trying everything possible."
Raphael nodded, and there was no hesitation in his response. "Then we go today. This morning, before training. Margaret’s wellbeing takes priority over combat exercises."
Eve felt a rush of gratitude so intense it made her chest tight. "Thank you."
"Don’t thank me yet," Raphael said gently. "Wait until we see whether I can actually help her."
He moved toward the door, pausing to look back at her. "Tell your mates. We’ll leave within the hour."
The discussion with the brothers was easier than Eve had expected.
Damian had concerns....naturally, because Damian always had concerns. He wanted to bring security. Insisted on a covered vehicle, a route that changed from their usual path to the hospital, pack members stationed at the hospital entrance.
Eve agreed to the security measures without argument, recognizing that they came from a place of genuine protectiveness rather than controlling behavior. Damon offered to drive, his knowledge of the surrounding territory making him the obvious choice for route planning. Silas volunteered to stay behind and manage the estate, maintaining security protocols while the others were away.
"I want to come," Maya said from the doorway of the dining room where they’d been discussing logistics over breakfast.
Everyone turned to look at her.
Maya stood with her coffee mug held in both hands, her expression firm but slightly uncertain....like she knew she might be overstepping but had decided to push anyway. "Margaret practically raised Eve. I’ve known her for years. I should be there."
Eve looked at the brothers, who exchanged glances. The decision passed between them silently.
"You can come," Damian said finally. "But you stay close to the group. No wandering off, You follow instructions immediately if we give them. Clear?"
Maya looked slightly taken aback by the directness, but she nodded. "Crystal clear."
"Good," Damian said, and turned back to his coffee like the matter was settled.
Maya caught Eve’s eye across the table and mouthed: Is he always like this?
Eve mouthed back: Always.
Maya suppressed a grin and went back to her breakfast.
The journey to the hospital was quiet.
Eve sat in the back of the large SUV between Maya and Raphael, watching the city pass outside the tinted windows. Damon drove with focused efficiency, navigating the changing route without comment. Damian sat in the front passenger seat, his attention split between his phone and monitoring their surroundings with that constant alpha vigilance that never truly switched off.
Maya was quiet beside Eve, her earlier energy subdued. She was thinking about Margaret....Eve could tell from the set of her expression, the way her hands wrapped around nothing in her lap like she was looking for something to hold.
Raphael was quiet on Eve’s other side, his presence steady and grounding. Occasionally he glanced at her, checking without words. His energy was calm, controlled, professional. This was a man who had faced far worse than hospital visits and knew how to prepare himself accordingly.
"She doesn’t know you’re coming," Eve said to him quietly, not wanting to disturb the others.
"I know," Raphael said. "There’s no way to prepare her for this. We’ll just have to handle her reaction as it comes."
"She knows about you," Eve said. "Margaret told me before I left for the estate....she mentioned a shadow. Someone who had been watching over me since I was a baby. She knew about you without knowing your name."
Something crossed Raphael’s face that wasn’t quite pain but was adjacent to it. "She’s perceptive. She must have sensed the protective magic I wove around your home environment. I tried to keep it subtle enough that it wouldn’t frighten her."
"It didn’t frighten her," Eve said. "I think it comforted her. Knowing that I had someone else watching over me when she couldn’t be there."
Raphael turned to look at her fully, his amber eyes....her eyes....warm with emotion. "She raised you well, Evangeline. Your parents would have loved her for that. For taking their daughter and giving her a real home. Real love."
Eve’s throat tightened. "She did everything right," Eve agreed softly. "She gave me everything she had." ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
"Then let’s see if I can give her something in return," Raphael said, and the quiet determination in his voice settled something in Eve’s chest.
