Content Warning! One F-Bomb dropped.

As it turned out, the talk Lenora planned to have with Aurora and Mathilda never happened.

Lenora looked exhausted by the time she and Tyrone went to bed and was sound asleep before Tyrone turned off the lights. Tyrone felt a disturbance slice through his wolf’s sixth sense while a similar sensation ran through the bond he shared with Lenora. It was Lenora with the psychic abilities, but Tyrone suddenly felt a black sense of foreboding that something was going to happen to his Lenora. He pulled her protectively close, snuggling her against him. Perhaps if he held her tight enough, he could protect her from this darkness he was sensing. 

Tyrone fell into an uneasy sleep full of disjointed, disturbing dreams. He jerked awake around 5AM, gripped in the throes of terror. His heart pounded so hard, he thought it might explode. Cold sweat ran down his back, and he had to swallow a scream. Something happened to Lenora, he just knew it.

With dread, Tyrone turned on the lights and leaned over his wife. The splash of golden hair cascading over Lenora’s pillow was the only color Tyrone saw on her. She was barely breathing. Tyrone didn’t need to put his ear to Lenora’s chest to detect she had an irregular heartbeat; he could feel it in his very being. “Oh, fuck! Lenora!” As he felt a piece of his soul beginning to slide away, he jumped from the bed and effortlessly lifted Lenora in his arms. He had to get her to the hospital immediately.

Tyrone burst through the door and was met by Landon, who stood in the hallway that connected the duplex. “Something’s wrong. I awoke from a nightmare and knew something was wrong.” Landon had been about to knock on their door when Tyrone came barreling through. 

Tyrone didn’t think twice about Landon’s statement. He’d never had an all-out vision, but Landon’s premonitions and intuition was always spot on. “It’s Lenora. She’s a lot sicker than she was letting on. It’s bad, Landon. I need to get her to the hospital. The kids–”

“I’ll bring the car around and ask Crystal to stay with the kids. We’ll call her when we know more,” Landon said.

“Okay. Hurry. Just hurry!”

It was the longest ride Tyrone ever took. As Landon sped toward the hospital, he sat in the backseat with Lenora. “Hold on, Lenora. Don’t you leave me,” he said over and over like a mantra. The strands of their bond sizzled with disorder. The blackness wanted to take his Lenora from him, and the part of him that held Lenora continued its tumultuous slide.

In a blur, Tyrone sprinted through the emergency room doors with Lenora in his arms. “My wife! Please…help my wife!”

“Put her down here, sir,” a man said as a gurney was wheeled close. 

Tyrone hesitated, instinctively tightening his hold on her in protection. How could he let her go? She needed him. “Sir, we can’t examine her if you don’t let her go,” the man said gently but insistently. 

Tyrone lowered her to the gurney, kissing her temple before straightening up. “I want to go with her. I need to go with her.”

“No, sir. Please stay here, and we’ll come for you once we have her stabilized,” the man insisted.

Utter helplessness descended on him as they wheeled his Lenora away to what seemed like parts unknown. As he sank into a chair, he saw that Landon was on his phone, probably with Crystal. Tyrone considered pulling out his phone to call Theresa but dismissed it just as quickly. The twin bond and telepathic link they shared worked quicker. He reached for his twin, who immediately swam into his awareness.

//I knew something was wrong the second you woke up. I could feel it. What’s happened, Tyrone?//

//It’s Lenora. Something’s happened to her…some kind of sickness. I don’t know what. We need Cian here ASAP. Can you reach him?// Tyrone communicated.

//I can try, bro, but he’s in an area where cell reception is spotty at best. I’ll keep trying until I get him. Is she going to be okay?//

//I…I don’t know. She was barely breathing when I brought her here. We’re at the hospital now. Theresa…sis…I can’t lose her. I just couldn’t survive that. How could I break that kind of news to the kids?//

//Sweetie, you won’t. Lenora is strong, and she’s a fighter. Listen, I’m coming over there now. I’ll call Mom and Dad and fill them in, and I’ll keep trying Cian,// Theresa thought back.

//Okay. I’m going to call Grandda Liam and tell him what’s going on. I’m sue he’ll be able to reach Mathilda. Val needs to know, too.//

//Mom can call Val. Hang in there, brother. I love you.//

//Love you, too, sis,// Tyrone communicated before mentally releasing Theresa.

There was still no word on Lenora’s condition by the time Theresa, Erica, and Deus arrived. Erica rushed straight to her son and enfolded him in a tight embrace. “Sweetheart, what happened?”

Tyrone swallowed hard, fighting for composure. “I don’t know, Mom. Lenora hadn’t been feeling well all day, and I was worried. She insisted it was just a bug. I was going to insist she get looked at the next day if she didn’t feel better, but…“ He threw his hands up in a frustrated, helpless gesture. “Mom…I-I think I’m feeling her dying.” He covered his face and sat down hard in the nearest chair.

“Son, you’ve got to hang in there. Lenora needs you. I can only imagine how this must feel, but falling apart won’t do either of you any good,” Deus said, resting a hand on his son’s shoulder. 

“I suppose not.” Tyrone shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. “I’ve never been so frightened in my life. Landon and I didn’t even change out of our night clothes. The children! What am I going to tell the children?”

“You’ll tell them the truth, sweetie, once we know what we’re dealing with. We brought you and Landon some stuff to change into so you’re not running around in your skivvies. I’m going to check on Landon and call Crystal so she knows what we know, at least. Theresa, dear, will you get Tyrone some coffee?” Erica said, taking charge of the situation in her motherly way.

“Of course. Does anyone else want anything?” Theresa asked.

The hands on a nearby clock crawled along at a maddeningly slow pace as Tyrone waited for word of Lenora’s condition. He paced the floor like a caged animal, finding it impossible to just sit still. It took all his will to keep The Wolf at bay. The Wolf, sensing the peril his mate was in, would not be as easily controlled as he usually was. Of that, Tyrone was certain, and he didn’t want to unleash a beast who would totally lose himself if Lenora…if…Lenora…

Tyrone was unable to utter the possibility of Lenora’s dying, even to himself. “Great Drogo, give me strength. Protect my Lenora from this…whatever it is she’s suffering from and release both her and me from this hell. Please make it go away and send her back to me.”

Tyrone jumped when someone touched his shoulder. “Mr. Landgraab?”

He blinked, then narrowed his eyes at the stranger before him. “I’m Dr. Neil Hughes. I’ve been taking care of your wife.”

“Dr. Hughes,” Tyrone said flatly, uncertain of who this man was and what his medical capabilities were. 

The doctor seemed to pick up on Tyrone’s skepticism. “I specialize in supernatural illnesses but also offer my services to the nonmagical realm. I know who your wife is and was called in on her case in the absence of Dr McIntyre.”

“I see,” Tyrone said. He didn’t want to offend the doctor, as this wasn’t his nature, but it was his Lenora and her well-being that mattered more than someone’s would-be ruffled feathers. It was Cian he trusted and Cian who Tyrone wanted here instead of some youngster he didn’t know or trust. “Just what is wrong with my wife?”

“To be honest with you, I don’t know yet. We’re running more tests. In the meantime, I need to ask you some questions.”

“I need to see my wife and be with her. My kids need to know their mother isn’t going to–” Again, Tyrone couldn’t utter the word die. 

“I understand,” the doctor said. “You can be with your wife in just a few minutes. First, I need to ask you some questions. Perhaps your answers will help us determine the nature of her illness.”

Tyrone heaved a frustrated sigh and shrugged. “Fine.”

Dr. Hughes grilled Tyrone for what seemed an eternity. He asked about Lenora’s daily routine, places she traveled to over the past few weeks, what she’d ingested over the last couple days, and if she’d come in contact with anyone who’d been ill. “She hasn’t done anything out of the ordinary for a couple months or so. She’s been working steadily on the current book she’s writing. She’s always been healthy as a horse except for a couple of occurrences when she was younger.”

“Can you tell me about those occurrences, Mr. Landgraab?”

Tyrone filled the doctor in on the curse that had stricken Lenora as a teen as well as her collapse after the death of her first husband and son. “She’s never been sick a day in her life after that.”

Dr. Hughes rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I’m going to run her blood through some more detailed testing and see if that gives us any clues. This may or may not be related. I just don’t know yet.”

“When will you know?”

“I’ll put a rush on this and hopefully have some answers within the hour. In the meantime, you can go in to her. She’s still unconscious, but I firmly believe they know when a loved one is near. Perhaps your presence will help her rally.”

Tyrone didn’t need to be told twice. He hurried to where the doctor indicated and made a beeline to his wife’s side. His heart thundered wildly as he felt his soul balancing precariously on a ledge and waiting to fall into a bottomless pit. Tyrone momentarily squeezed his eyes shut to ward off the unyielding despair that wanted to paralyze him. Taking a steadying breath, he crouched next to his wife and took her hand. “I’m here, Lenora. I’m here, and I’m not leaving.” He kissed her limp fingers and rested his cheek on the back of her hand. “My Lenora, come back to me. I need you. The children need you. We all need you. Please come back, Lenora. I love you so much.”

The only response from Lenora was the slight rise and fall of her chest as she took in shallow sips of air. Once again, the part of Tyrone’s soul that held Lenora slipped, and Tyrone was helpless to stop it. Getting to his feet, he leaned over Lenora as if to breathe life into her with his own breath. “Oh, Lenora…please don’t die. Please…don’t die, my Lenora.”

Author’s Note: For the last two pictures in this chapter, I used poses that were made for me as a request by Blamsart. These particular poses are not on the site as of yet, but they eventually will be. You can find some wonderful poses by going here to Blam’s Poses. Please remember that these are compatible only with Sims 3.

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