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“I doubt that is the purpose, considering the small amount and the wound’s shape. It appears as if someone merely wanted a sample, but I can’t see why someone would need it. No one in the medical department has requested any tests, and we would have had her come to us so a proper biopsy could be done in a controlled, sterile environment. We would have made a formal request to both the Order, explaining our need for such a procedure, and to her.”

He lowered Blaire’s arm to the bed and looked at Riley again.

“A skin biopsy doesn’t bleed in this manner. Yes, they bleed a little… but this doesn’t appear to be the same thing. Whoever took her skin had no training and cut deep, causing excessive venous bleeding—which is why she is in the state she is in. She’s lucky her radial artery wasn’t severed.”

Seth asked, “Why would a student use needles and not bite her? Why cut her skin?”

“A student didn’t do this,” the professor said quietly, staring at Blaire’s arm.

Lukas stared at the professor, his brows drawing together in confusion.

Aiden speared his fingers through his hair, gripping the top. “Just fucking tell us what you’re talking about!”

Riley gasped and looked at her brother.

“I’m sorry, it’s just…” Aiden squeezed his eyes shut. His struggle was obvious.

The professor frowned and shook from her thoughts, nodding. “You need not apologize. You’re concerned, and I understand. I am happy to know that Miss Wilcox—”

“Blaire,” Lukas growled.

“Yes, Blaire. My apologies,” she said, giving Lukas a pitying glance. “I am happy to know Blaire has found people who care about her within these walls. She has suffered for a long time, from what I gathered from our background checks, and it would be beneficial to her to find her place here. I also understand it is likely difficult for all of you to be around this much human blood.”

Seth turned his head away and Riley bit her lip, her fang catching the flesh there.

Turning serious, the professor looked at Lukas. “You need to let her go.”

The nurse placed his fingers on Blaire’s wrist to check her pulse. He reported it was weak, something Lukas already knew. It had been weak for way too long.

“You need to lay her down and get off the bed so I can hook her up to an IV line. Our time is running out.” He sighed in frustration. “I would much prefer to do this in a sterile environment, but the situation outside is dangerous for the human, and we don’t have much time. While there is pressure applied to avoid excess bleeding, she is still in a critical state. We need to get her replenished, and the wound stitched as soon as possible. There is no telling how long it would take us to transfer her to the medical department while dealing with what’s outside that door.”

Lukas tightened his hold on Blaire and Aiden stomped over to tower over them on the bed.

“If you don’t get up, I am going to beat your ass, man… because if you don’t get up, Blaire is going to die. Do you understand? She’s going to die.” His voice cracked. “Snap out of it.”

That got Lukas’s attention as he stiffened in fear. Not fear of his friend’s threats, but the reminder that Blaire was dying in his arms.

Lukas slid from the bed and gently laid Blaire down before he stood and backed away. He ran his bloody hands through his hair, streaking it red.

The big male nurse stood and got to work right away, the female nurse moving the drip stand over next to Blaire’s bed. She opened the chest, which wasn’t a cooler, but a blood warmer. She removed a blood bag and prepared the Y-tubing, readying the blood in an infusion pump.

“When Miss”—the professor paused and shook her head, correcting herself as she watched the nurses work—“When Blaire first came to Blackthorn, we tested her blood type and obtained a reserve of blood that we kept on hand in case something ever happened to her.”

The female nurse tested Blaire’s vitals, and after she finished setting Blaire’s transfusion to begin, she motioned toward Lukas’s desk. “Please give me the chair.”

Aiden grabbed the desk chair and took it over to her. She sat down beside the bed.

“I need to keep a close eye on her for about fifteen minutes to ensure there is no negative reaction to the donor blood.”

Riley’s brows pinched together. “Negative reaction?”

“Yes, it is possible for humans to have reactions to a donor’s blood if it doesn’t agree with them. This usually will manifest itself in the first fifteen minutes, and I need to be prepared to stop the transfusion and produce another solution should her body reject the blood,” the nurse said.

“Wait… she might not be able to take the blood?” Riley exclaimed loudly.

The male nurse looked over from where he was writing in a notebook he’d taken from his bag. “It’s a possibility, but I believe she will be fine. Once the fifteen-minute window passes, then we only have to assess her vitals each hour.”

The professor sighed. “I had hoped never to have to need this blood, but I am immensely glad I took the precaution.”