The Protector (Complete)

Chapter 14

"Miss Klassen," Isabella whispered as she knelt on the ground next to Greta. "I think she's dead," she said to Patrick. Her face had paled to a near white.

"Izzy," Patrick said, "she's passed out not dead. If you listen, you can hear her heart beating. Dead people's hearts don't beat."

Isabella looked around her. "See if you can find me something to stop the bleeding." She pointed to Patrick's school sweater. "Give me your sweater."

Patrick obediently shucked off his sweater and handed it to Isabella. He grabbed the bucket of water near the door and placed it on the floor next to Isabella. "Soak part of it in this."

Isabella put the sleeve of the sweater in the water. She rung out the excess water and wiped away the blood from the seeping wound. She grimaced when Greta moaned under the ministrations.

"You have to keep going," Patrick said. "Miss Klassen would want you to."

Isabella nodded and once more wiped at the wound. The blood was still seeping, but the wound was slowly clotting, preventing the flow of blood that had stained most of her face. Using the other sleeve, Isabella wiped off the blood from Greta's face. She stopped when Greta's eyelashes fluttered.

Greta managed to open her eyes. Her head felt as if it had been split open. She wanted to sleep, but her duty forced her to keep her eyes open. She had her students to think about. She winced when Isabella pressed the sweater to her head.

"I don't mean to hurt you, Miss Klassen."

"I know, Isabella," Greta whispered. She coughed as the words hurt her throat, which only led to immense pain in her chest. Some of her ribs must have been broken in the beating. Holding tightly to her chest, she managed to breathe without the burn in her chest. "I think my head is fine now."

Isabella moved the sweater and winced herself when she saw the wound. "It's still bleeding but only a little."

Still holding her ribs, Greta managed to push herself to a sitting position. For a moment, her head spun at the sudden movement. Closing her eyes, she waited for nausea to pass. When she opened her eyes, she caught the worried looks from Patrick and Isabella. She managed a smile to calm them. "I'm okay. You don't need to worry."

Patrick stuffed his hands into his pockets. "They shouldn't have hit you. You're a female and a human."

Greta couldn't have agreed more. She was about to tell Patrick the same when she noticed the missing student. Her voice rose in concern. "Where is Sofia?"

"They had one of their men take her to the airport," Patrick said. "She isn't one of us. No Lycan would kidnap a human child."

"It might," Isabella added, "bring the Lycan world into the human world. Most humans don't know that our kind exists. We have to keep it that way."

Greta rested against the wall. Her breath came out in shallow gasps to lessen the pain to her broken ribs. "That's why you were surprised when Patrick told me about your kind?"

Isabella nodded. Her face was riddled with fear, and it spilled over into her voice. "Seekers go after humans who know about us. They are killed."

"Or imprisoned for life," Patrick added.

Greta could see the worry on Patrick's face. "Patrick, I told you to tell me. You are not to blame for anything that happened or will happen when we get back to the States."

"Besides," Isabella said to Patrick, "Mr. Waslow is her protector. He won't let a Seeker near her."

"He's not my protector," Greta said, slightly irritated that Alexander's nonsense had spilled over to the students.