Chapter 232

Julian’s POV

I left Alice behind with Aunt Kathy as I stood and approached the supervisor, ready for the update on Amber. He seemed grim, so I braced myself for what he might say to me, trying to prepare myself for the worst.

No matter what, I had to be strong for Alice.

“Tell me good news,” I said. I attempted to sound calm, but there was desperation in my voice that gave me away.

“We’ve successfully removed the silver bullets from her body,” the supervisor told me. The dark shadows under his eyes told me how grueling of a process that truly was.

The supervisor and Amber were something like friends. I could only imagine how difficult it would be to attempt surgery on a friend.

“That’s good, right?” I asked.

“Yes, but the amount of silver that was in her poisoned her. She’s fighting it, but, as I’m sure you know, werewolves have a difficult time fighting off the burn of silver,” he said.

I knew that even better than most. Sometimes, despite my Alpha healing, my legs still burned where the shotgun silver pellets had cut into my skin. That had been another of Tony’s deceptions.

“I don’t want to seem bleak,” the supervisor said, “but neither will I fill you with false hope. This is an upward battle. Amber barely used her wolf so it is weak.”

While speaking with him, I glanced over to the door of my mother’s room, where, within, she was fighting against the wolfsbane, not all that dissimilar to silver poisoning.

What had Amber done to help her? Something that triggered and strengthened her wolf? Could something similar be done to help Amber?

“The treatment Amber created for my mother,” I said. “Is it possible to use it to help Amber, too?”

I wasn’t a healer, and even though I had become something of an apprentice under Amber, the nuances of healing were still lost to me. I understood numbers and equations and sequences. Even some chemistry, I could follow. But the steps from there to how it actually helped people, I wasn’t as sure about.

I had to rely on others’ experience. That trust came easy when it was Amber I was depending on. The supervisor didn’t get to be the head of the hospital by being naïve, but it was still difficult to trust.

Gods, I wished Amber was here. She would know what to do and how to help. I was just a fool, fumbling in the dark.

The supervisor appeared thoughtful. “Yes. The treatment merely boosted Gloria’s wolf. It could work for Amber too. If we give her wolf the boost it needs, it certainly couldn’t hurt our other efforts.” He nodded. “Good suggestion, Alpha.”

“Is there anything else I can do?” I asked, hoping there was something. I needed a task, something to work towards. Just sitting around waiting helplessly was not doing me any good. I was spiraling.

“Just be here for her,” the supervisor said.

That wasn’t a good answer, but it still felt like the right one. Not being a healer, any further attempt I would make to help would only have me getting in everyone’s way. For the healers’ sake, and for Amber, I just had to stay out of it.

But I wouldn’t go far. I’d be right here, and when I was able, I would go in and see her. Until then, I could only sit out here and hope that she could sense me here. That she knew I was never going to leave her again.

I waited with Alice for a little bit longer, while the supervisor and the other healers administered the treatments. Then, I was allowed to go inside, but warned that Alice should stay in the waiting room for now.

“We wouldn’t want to frighten the girl,” the supervisor said.

Anxiety coiled in my own stomach. What about seeing her mother could frighten Alice?

But then I walked into Amber’s room and saw her on the bed. My heart stopped. Gods, she looked dead.

Her face was pale, her skin splotchy. Her arms were covered in long black tracks, the silver burning through her bloodstream. She looked like she was on the verge of death.

But she was still alive, and that’s what gave me hope.

I moved toward her side. Even sickly as she looked, she was still so beautiful.

Carefully, not wanting to hurt her, I touched her hand and held it gently in mine. Her hand was warm, which could only mean she was fighting.

Voice soft, I told her, “You can’t give up, Amber. You have to keep fighting. Alice needs you. I need you.”

More than anything, I wanted her to open her eyes, but I knew she needed time. Her wolf was fighting and her body was slowly healing itself.

The supervisor was right, the most I could do was be here for her. It didn’t feel like enough, but holding her hand, supporting her quietly… If that was all I could, then I would do it with pride and devotion.

In my pocket, my phone buzzed again, but I ignored it, just as I had all the times it had rung before. It almost seemed to be on some kind of loop, with someone calling me every hour on the hour. I didn’t have time for anyone but my mate and my family right now.

I trusted my Beta and the council to take care of things.

Unfortunately, an hour later, instead of my phone ringing again, this time the head of the council showed up at the hospital. A nurse entered Amber’s room to tell me he had arrived and was looking for me.

While I didn’t want to leave Amber’s side even for a moment, I knew if I didn’t deal with the head of the council that he would bother my family. He might even barge in here to try to speak with me, and I wasn’t going to allow him to disturb my mate.

Squeezing Amber’s hand, I promised her, “I’ll be right back.” Then I let her go and walked outside to deal with the councilor.

As soon as I stepped into the waiting room, he stormed toward me.

“Alpha, you haven’t been answering your phone.”

“I’ve had other things on my mind, councilor,” I said. “Important things. I trusted you to understand that, yet you still showed up here.”

Looking at him, some of my anger returned to me. This man was responsible for many of the present hardships of me and my family.

“I should have known better than to trust you at all,” I said. “You sided with Tony over me, despite having no evidence that I was bad for the pack. You allowed him to make every move against me that he could, and you did nothing to stop him. It’s only because you did this, that everything worsened. Now Amber is here, fighting for her life. My mother is poisoned…

“Yet still you come here to ask for more.” I took an intimidating step toward him.

He slunk back a little. He was shorter and thinner than me, and made himself seem even smaller.

“Tell me what you think you can ask of me,” I demanded. “And pray to the Moon Goddess that I continue to tolerate you.”