THIRD PERSON POV:
Hazel's world blurred as she heard the news, and she felt her heart stop momentarily. Riley was dead, and she hadn't gotten to spend time with him. It was her fault; she had been foolish, and she should have loved him more, she told herself as tears flowed down her eyes.
The world around her became a blur. As the security men let go of the triplets, they rushed to Hazel, who was stiff with her knees on the ground.
"Hazel!"
"Hazel!"
They called out to her, but she could barely hear them as her entire being froze. Riley was gone.
Kai grabbed her hand, trying to pull her up, but she grabbed his legs, burying her head in them, bawling out her eyes.
"No! No!" she screamed, her body shaking against his knees.
Ryder wrapped his hands around her stomach from behind, pulling her up to her feet.
"Come on, we need to get you out of here," he said, and Hazel shook her head, struggling against his grip.
He knew how much it hurt, but if it was true, she had to get away from the scene.
"I have to see him. I need to see his body." She fought hard against his grip, but Ryder lifted her up, her legs kicking in the air, fighting to get free.
She bit his hands with her fangs, causing him to loosen his grip. Then she took off, rushing toward the path where she was obstructed by the security.
"Let me through! Let me through!" Her voice came out as a screech as she pushed against the men blocking the path to the woods.
She screamed, tugged, and pulled. The triplets rushed to her, grabbing her from behind, and Ryder lifted her off the ground.
At that moment, Bella's scent engulfed the air, grabbing the attention of the triplets. They turned around at once. "Bella," they called out as they saw her figure emerging from the woods with someone on her back. "Clothes, Riley," she managed to let out.
The security made way for the triplets, who rushed toward her, and with one more step, she let go of Riley, whom she had been carrying for a while. Then she collapsed, but Finn caught her before she hit the ground.
Riley's head slammed on the ground, further heightening his condition.
"Riley!" Kai exclaimed, taking off his shirt and tossing it on Riley's naked body.
When Ryder heard this, he rushed to the scene with Hazel, who jumped off his body the moment she saw Riley on the floor.
"Riley!" she screamed, crouching beside him. She ran her hand over his face, which was still with his eyes closed, then she fell on him, bawling her eyes out.
In that moment, he let out a huge breath, his chest rising, which made her know he was alive. The security men came around, pulling her off his body as they wrapped him in a blanket.
They took Bella from Finn's arms, wrapping her in a blanket as they made their way back to camp with the two injured students. Evelyn, who had been uneasy for the past few minutes as everything was unfolding, clutched Alpha Fred, who wrapped his arms around her.
"She will be fine," he said, and she shook her head.
"I try to protect her, but she will never listen. Now look," Evelyn sniffed. "Thank goodness Herald isn't around to witness this," she said as Fred patted her back.
The triplets walked behind the men as they took Bella and Riley to the emergency unit. Ryder took Hazel's hand in his, trying to comfort her from what had happened. A few steps in, Hazel's eyes shut against the world, and she collapsed on Ryder's body.
**
The next time Hazel opened her eyes, the rays of the morning sun captured her face like a paparazzi camera, causing her to squint as she placed her hand over her face.
"You're awake," she heard someone say, and she turned to the left to see Ryder sitting on a couch in the room with dark circles under his eyes.
He was sleep-deprived.
"Yeah," she said, sitting up.
Ryder got up, walking up to her. "How do you feel?"
"Okay, I guess." She placed a hand on her head, then the memory of last night crept in, causing her to gasp. "Riley." She pulled the cover off her body.
Then she pushed her legs off the bed.
"Relax, he's fine," Ryder said, grabbing her shoulder. "The doctor says your blood pressure is really high, and you shouldn't go around scaring yourself, or it could lead to something dangerous, so relax," he said in a soothing tone, but she wasn't convinced.
Riley had been in a terrible state the previous night, and she wanted to see him to be sure he was okay.
"Then take me to him, please," she said to him, and he took a deep breath. "Please, I promise I won't overwork my heart. I know he's still alive, and I just want to see him, please." Ryder nodded, then he grabbed her hand, helping her to her feet.
He walked her out of her room to the room Riley was in. As he opened the door and she saw him on the bed, her heart sank. She took deep breaths, trying to keep her heart rate steady as she made her way to his bed.
"Can you give us a moment, please," she said to Ryder, who turned around and shut the door.
Hazel walked slowly to Riley, with tears building around her eyes. His head and his left foot were bandaged. She sat on the bed, reaching for his face.
"I'm sorry, Riley," she said as soon as her hands felt his soft skin. She caressed it, speaking to him, "I was foolish to leave you hanging like that, and I promise it will be better. Please come back to me."
She kept her hand on his face, running her thumb over it for a while. When she could no longer take the tightness she felt in her chest, she got up. Then she turned to leave, wiping the tears in her eyes with the back of her hand.
"Hazel," Riley called out in a low tone as soon as she grabbed the door handle.
Ryder, who was sitting on a bench in the hall, saw the twins approaching.
"Bella is up. How is Hazel?" Finn asked.
"She's fine," Ryder said, getting to his feet to leave. "Please stay with Hazel. I've been with her all night, and I need to see Bella," he said, and they nodded.
"Did you hear? Noah Crowley was the student killed last night."
Ryder froze for a moment when he heard this.
"Apparently it was a rogue attack, and..."
"We cannot tell Hazel," Ryder finished, but it was too late, as Hazel had already rushed out into the hallway to tell him Riley was alive. But the news caused her to freeze in her tracks...
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