Chapter 44

I pressed my hands to Mark’s wound, trying to stop the b***d from pouring out. My hands quickly became covered in the red, sticky liquid.

“Why isn’t he healing?” Rie asked. I could hear the panic in her voice. It wasn’t just me on the verge of losing something. This was their alpha.

“I think Theron poisoned him with wolfsbane.” My hands shook. I couldn’t lose Mark like this. He would not be Theron’s second victim.

Heal him, Moon said.

I swallowed hard. What if I can’t?

You have to try. Moon’s voice was steady. Losing Mark wouldn’t hurt her as much as it would hurt Shadow and me, but I was still grateful she was helping.

How?

Imagine the wound closing up. Bring the light from inside of you and send it to Mark, Moon explained.

Don’t let him die, Shadow whimpered.

“We need to get him to a hospital,” Rie said.

“I don’t think he’ll last that long,” Jori said, approaching us. He was helping Percy hobble along. They were both back in their human forms and dressed, but they looked a little worse for wear. They would be okay, though. Every injury they had would heal.

Rie clung onto Scythe and started crying into his shoulder. Scythe held Rie, saying nothing. He stared at Mark solemnly, knowing the truth of his condition.

No, they were wrong. Mark wasn’t going to die. I refused to let it happen. I closed my eyes, pressing harder onto the wound. Deep breaths. Focus.

I could see the ball of light inside of me start to glow. Good. Deep breath. I imagined Mark’s wound healing. I imagined the b***d no longer flowing from his body and him waking up. The glow brightened. Deep breath. I imagined Mark’s blue eyes and healthy body. He would wrap his arms around me, and we both would be okay because we would be together. Deep breath.

He’ll be okay.

Deep breath.

Live. Please.

Deep breath.

I felt the movement in Mark’s chest increase, and I cracked my eyes open. Half of me was expecting his eyes to be staring at me. Instead, I saw his chest stop moving. My eyes didn’t move from his, and I willed him to wake up, to move.

“Come on, Mark,” I whispered.

I heard Rie’s cries turn to sobs, but they sounded so distant.

I couldn’t breathe.

“Mark, you’re not done fighting.” I pushed harder on Mark’s wound.

My jaw was tight. Mark was too still.

“I’m not done fighting for you.” My voice grew louder, fighting off the panic inside of me.

Jori’s hand touched my shoulder. “Adira, he’s gone.”

“No!” I was screaming now as tears poured down my eyes. “He’s not gone.”

My b***d was boiling now. Anger, frustration, regret, all flowing through me. Jori tried to grab me again, but I pushed him away.

No one else said or did anything.

I wasn’t done though.

I screamed again, letting out all of my feelings. I pushed on Mark’s chest, not able to give up.

A burst of light shot through my hands as I touched Mark again. The light lingered and glowed brighter and brighter until I couldn’t see anything but a bright yellow light. I stared into the light, searching for something.

Piercing blue eyes appeared in the distance of the bright light, and I chased after them.

“Mark, come back! You can’t leave me.”

The eyes became brighter and closer until I could see all of Mark. He looked angelic in this light. His skin was pale and radiant. His hair had an unnatural shine to it. I reached out to him, and Mark smiled so brightly, it stopped my heart.

“I’m not done fighting for you,” I whispered.

“I’m not either,” Mark said, grabbing my hand.

The light grew even brighter, blinding me completely. I could still feel Mark’s warmth around me, even if I couldn’t see him. I held onto that feeling. Deep breath. Bring him back to you.

All at once, the light disappeared. For a split second, I could only see darkness. Then my vision came back to me, and I was still sitting in the field, pressing into Mark’s chest as everyone stood around me solemnly.

Mark’s chest rose, and he gasped for air. He flung forward, his blue eyes meeting mine for a moment. He started falling back to the ground, but I flung myself forward, catching him and softening his impact. I could feel his heart beating against my chest and his chest rising up and down.

“What just happened?” Percy asked the question on everyone’s mind.

I didn’t answer, not sure of what to say. I pulled away from Mark and watched his breathing turn steady. His eyes were closed again, but he was alive. I checked his wound, and there was no more b***d pouring out of it. His energy felt weak, but it was there.

“He’s alive,” I whispered, almost not believing it myself.

Rie let go of Scythe and knelt next to Mark. Her eyes were still wet from the tears, but they were no longer flowing out of her eyes. She pressed her fingers against his neck.

“His pulse is weak, but he seems stable,” Rie concluded.

“We need to get him out of here now,” Scythe said. “We don’t know if Theron will come back, and Mark still needs medical attention.”

“I need attention too,” Percy added. “We should leave now.”

I didn’t move right away. I was still in shock about what happened. Scythe was the first to move. He leaned down and wrapped his arm around Mark. With Rie’s help, they lifted him up. I watched them start moving him back to the trail, still unable to find my energy to get up.

He was alive.

He was alive because of me.

I slowly stood up, not wanting to be here anymore. I took a step to follow Rie and Scythe, but something in me told me to stop. I looked back at Jori, who hadn’t moved. He was staring at me with icy eyes. His fists were curled so tight his knuckles were white. His jaw was tense, and he seemed like a statue, not even breathing. I wanted to know what was going on in his head, but something told me I wouldn’t like it.

I opened my mouth to say something, but no words came out. Jori and I were locked in a mournful gaze.

Percy stepped towards Jori. He cradled his injured arm against his body. “Come on. We should get back to the pack.”

Jori finally broke eye contact with me. He nodded to Percy. He glanced back at me, and for the brief moment we made eye contact, my heart wrenched. I could feel his pain, but I couldn’t bring myself to move to him.

“You should go to your mate,” Jori said. His voice was void of all emotion. He started walking, moving past Percy and myself.

I found myself following after, moving deliberately slower so I wouldn’t end up next to him. He and I both knew the truth about who I was going to choose, but neither of us were willing to say it out loud yet.

–

We got back to the pack house, and Mark was instantly taken to the infirmary. It was empty, and the doctor there seemed a little panicked. I could tell he didn’t have a lot of experience, which wasn’t completely surprising. Wolves usually healed at an abnormal rate, so there was very little a doctor had to do other than set bones to make sure they healed properly or put ointment on open wounds to make sure they didn’t get infected until they healed.

I wanted to wait in the room with Mark while he was being checked on, but it was pretty hectic. Whatever I did managed to close Mark’s wound just enough to stop it from bleeding and gave him a little more energy to push through, but it wasn’t enough to completely heal him. Between being poisoned and the amount of b***d Mark lost, Mark was still in poor condition. It would take time to heal, and the doctor and nurses inside were nearly panicking as they tried to figure out what to do.

I couldn’t stand the sight, and I felt like I was just constantly in the way. It left me pacing outside of the room, waiting for any kind of update.

Rie approached me after Mark had been in the room for what felt like hours. She pulled me into a hug, squeezing me tighter than she ever had.

“Thank you so much,” she whispered into my hair. She was taller than me by a good few inches.

I hugged Rie back, not realizing how much I needed that. Tears started silently streaming down my cheeks. “He’s not in the clear yet.”

Rie pulled back, holding my shoulders firmly. “He’s alive, thanks to whatever you did. That’s enough for now. We’ll get him through this.”

I nodded, still feeling anxious. Mark was finally back at the pack house, and so was I, but it felt like it was one thing or another keeping us apart. A part of me wondered if I would ever get my happily ever after with him.

“Umm… so about what you did…” Rie was looking off to the side, biting her l*p. “Can you do it again? Maybe it would help?”

I looked down at the ground, squeezing my eyes tightly. I tried to remember what I did exactly. “I don’t know. I was trying to heal him, but it wasn’t working. When I thought he was… he was gone… I don’t know. Something just snapped in me. I think it might have been the pure emotional terror of losing him that drove me to that point. I don’t know how to control it though.”

“Don’t feel guilty or stressed about it,” Rie said. “I just thought maybe it could help. But you’ve already helped enough.”

I heard footsteps approaching. I looked up and saw Scythe approaching.

“Any updates?” he asked, stopping between Rie and me.

I shook my head. “No, and I’m worried. Whenever I go in there, it seems like they don’t know what they’re doing. I wish we could take him to a better doctor.”

I looked at the door and frowned. I could hear something drop from the inside, and I was worried that the doctor wouldn’t be good enough for Mark.

Scythe smirked at me. “That won’t be necessary.”

I furrowed my eyebrows and titled my head. “Are you a mad man? Mark needs so much more help than a normal wolf. I don’t think his body is doing anything to assist in the healing process.”

“That is where I come in,” a new voice said from behind Rie. I hadn’t even heard anyone approaching.

I looked behind Rie and saw Doctor Zayla standing there. She had a bag slung across her chest, something that looked like a mini ice cooler in one arm, and a bunch of papers in the other. Her hair was tied into a neat bun, and her glasses were sliding down her nose.

“What are you doing here, Doctor Zayla?” I was surprised and relieved to see Doctor Zayla.

Doctor Zayla looked me up and down once. “Scythe called me and said that Alpha needed my help, so I am here.”

I smiled and wrapped my arms around her. She instantly stiffened. “I’m so happy you’re here.”

Doctor Zayla laughed awkwardly, pulling away from the hug. “Please show me where this incompetent doctor is so I know where to begin.”