I didn't really regain consciousness for a long time. I kept coming to, but was only aware of voices and a harsh light, before the darkness overtook again.

It felt like days until I was able to make out actual words. Snippets of conversations floated past me, not really making much sense at all.

"...apart, symptoms heighten..." "heart rate down..." "if possible....close..." "...can't just follow her..." "...system...not for humans..."

Eventually I was able to open my eyes and keep them open. The room was bright and harsh, and I felt like I was in some kind of haze.

"Don't scratch that, you'll rip the IV out," a voice to my left said. I turned my head to see a familiar face smiling at me. How did I know her.... I'd definitely met her. Amara... Anna... Amanda!

"What...." I mumbled, trying to sit up.

"Careful, don't try to get up too fast. Do you know where you are?" Amanda asked.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to get the room to stop spinning. "I, I was in the corridor with that pretty girl. Um what's her name... I think she told me."

"Estelle?" Amanda asked. I frowned. "Maybe."

A person cleared their throat slightly, and another figure entered my line of vision. "Her!" I said excitedly, sounding like a drunk toddler. Man, what kind of stuff did they have me on?!

Estelle smiled at me, tucking her hair behind her head. "How are you feeling?"

I frowned. "Much better. Kind of drunk though."

The girls laughed. "That'll be the drugs. You were seizing, so we put you on a cocktail with some morphine so you may feel a little out of it." Amanda explained, checking my pulse.

"Seized?! Why?"

They looked at each other. "There's that nasty bug going around," Estelle offered and Amanda nodded. I propped myself up a little. "Huh."

The room wasn't spinning as much now. It was a small room, fit out with medical equipment with the school logo etched onto it. Must be the school hospital. Haha, school hospital. I laughed. Estelle smiled at me, then looked nervously towards the door.

My head was pounding, so I lay back down and sighed. "Hey Estelle?"

"Yeah?" I was just about to ask her about that crazy boyfriend of hers from yesterday, when none other than the psycho himself walked in.

Except he didn't look like a psycho.

He actually looked kind of sick. A bit concerned. But mostly he looked like the sun. He looked like I was staring into the middle of the sun on a clear summer day. Man, these were some wacky drugs.

I stared at him, wide eyed. Estelle and Amanda had inhaled sharply as soon as the door opened. Were they seeing the sun too?

He was staring at me, not with the crazy eyes from yesterday but with a whole mix of emotions that I was probably too high to figure out.

No one spoke, it was like someone had pushed pause on our TV and we were waiting for the play button.

The guy looked like he was in physical pain. His knuckles were white and he was breathing heavily. A guy as strong looking as him would probably break the door, if he didn't let go of the handle soon.

I had to look away, the sun hurts to stare at.

"Your boyfriend's here, Estelle," I said clumsily. I hated the taste of those words in my mouth. But at least I broke the tension.

Estelle laughed. "Oh honey, no. This is my brother, Levi."

My mouth formed a small 'o', and I giggled. "Oops. You can't date your brother."

Levi. Levi. Nice word. Le-vi.

Levi looked at Estelle in confusion. She grinned. "She's very high right now, we may have overestimated the amount of morphine she'd need."

A corner of Levi's mouth turned up in a crooked smile, and my heart lost it. "Woah there," Amanda moved to check my monitor. I frowned, remembering the boy was a psycho who lost it at school yesterday.

"Well the good news is that you're responding well to the, uh, medicine. We'll keep you here for another hour or so, then Alex can come pick you up and you can rest at home." Amanda announced. The relief in the room was almost palpable.

"We should go, let you rest," Estelle suggested. I nodded slowly. She squeezed my arm gently and headed for the door. Levi slowly walked right next to my bed, looking down on me with a hint of confidence in his eyes. His fingers reached out and brushed against my right forearm, sending electrical lightning bolts down my arm. I couldn't do anything but stare at him with wide eyes.

"Goodbye, Danielle," he said, his voice deep and soothing.

They closed the door behind them and I looked at Amanda. "You have got to give me some of this stuff to take home."

Estelle's POV

Shit. Shit shit shit. I stared down at Danielle, limp on the ground. With our kind, we never had this happen. There was always an instant connection. The withdrawal could kill her. Could kill them both.

The doors at the end of the corridor crashed open and Amanda came running out of her office.

"We need to get her on an IV now. Did you call your brother?"

I nodded. We picked her up and carried her to the infirmary. She was burning up again.

"Her pulse is too low and she's barely breathing. Can you ventilate?" I nodded, bringing back the basic first aid my father had taught me when I was eight.

Amanda was struggling to insert the IV and her heart rate was dropping.

C'mon Danielle, just hold on... I'd never seen anything like this.

I heard Levi before I saw him, his loud footsteps pounding down the hallway. He nearly ripped the door off as he came crashing in.

"What do I do?" He asked, looking even sicker than when I'd left him this morning. His eyes were desperate and wild.

"Touch her, kiss her, anything. There just needs to be some contact or else her body is going to shut down. She's not designed to withstand this," Amanda said, concern laced in her voice. She'd finally gotten the IV in and was how flushing it out.

Levi was at the edge of the bed in an instant. I stepped aside, knowing he could do more than the lousy ventilation I was attempting. He hesitated before reaching out and gently cupping her face. Instantly, she gasped, inhaling deep, finally breathing properly.

"Keep doing that," Amanda encouraged. We locked eyes, and she came to stand next to me. It was almost too intimate to watch. I'd never seen my brother like this - he was usually the poster boy for indifference, believing too many emotions would get in the way of his job. And being so gentle...

He leant down and kissed her forehead, and her heart rate picked up. The monitors stopped beeping angrily at us. I slumped against the wall in relief. She would be okay.

After a few minutes, Amanda cleared her throat and made her way back to the patient.

"Can I help?" Levi said. Amanda smiled at him.

"Hold her hand till she wakes up. I'd suggest not touching her once she's awake though, remember she is human and has no idea what's going on. She probably can't even decipher what she feels for you. It would probably scare her."

Levi nodded. I could feel his anger at being told he should keep his distance. I'm sure the whole pack could feel the anger. He didn't like taking orders. Not many alphas do. He didn't say anything though. I guess things were different when it came to Danielle.