Chapter 238

Julian’s POV

I didn’t like leaving Amber alone for very long, so I continued to spend time with her, even while she made progress on the cure. Being in the room with her was enough, even if it could be trying, especially as she had a breakthrough and stopped taking her breaks.

In this mood, she didn’t seem to be listening to me at all, instead too focused on the cure.

I tried to support her as much as I could, even stopping her a few times. It was clear from her wincing every now and then when the pain was too much. Left to her own devices, she would keep working.

Knowing she would refuse a break, even if I prompted her, I went closer and said, “Let me help.” If my help could help her finish sooner, after which she could relax for a longer duration, then I was willing to do that.

I would do whatever I could to help her.

She looked at me, and I could see the frustration plain in her eyes.

“Are you stuck?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No, but it’s irritating. Physically, I can’t do everything that I want to do right now. If I could push myself like usual…”

“There’s no need for that,” I told her. “In time you will recover, but in the meantime, I am here, ready to offer my assistance.” I paused a moment. No, that didn’t feel like enough. “No, in the future, too. Whenever you need me, I will be here.”

She turned toward me more fully in the chair. “You really mean that?” Hope rose in her voice.

My only question was why would she doubt me.

Yet before I could reassure her, she smiled.

“That was a foolish question, wasn’t it? I know you mean it. I know you love me.”

She sounded so sure that it made me feel proud. I was also relieved that I had convinced her of my affections, after all.

“You’re right,” I told her. “I do.”

“Julian,” she said. “I would like your help, but I’d like something else too.”

“Anything,” I told her. “Name it.”

Her smile turned playful. “Kiss me?”

Happily, I leaned in at once and pressed my lips to hers. I kept the kiss light, not willing to push her in this way when she was still recovering. Yet even with a simple peck, she hummed, pleased.

“I needed that,” she said. “Now I feel recharged.”

I wasn’t sure I believed her, but it was nice to hear. Still, I stayed beside her. “You know the things I can do. Let me help. Direct me however you need.”

As I’d trained as her assistant, I trusted that she knew the best places to put me to good use. She did, having me run the mixing machines.

After the mixtures were concocted, we both ran the tests to make sure the mixture was both effective against the curse but also safe for werewolf consumption.

This mixture failed our tests, so we tried again. And again.

Finally, around midnight, Amber finally looked at me and said, “This is it.”

After another round of testing, she was certain. With that certainty, I immediately helped her up from the stool and out of the room.

“Where are we going?” she asked me, though she followed along without a fight, proving her trust in me.

“I am taking you back to your room,” I said.

“But Tony –”

“I know how to administer the cure,” I told her. “You need rest.”

She pouted for a moment, but eventually relented. “Fine.” From the way she limped, she mustn’t have been feeling well. Her body needed time and rest to fully heal, and as a Healer, she knew that.

She had done what she set out to do. Now it was time for her to worry about healing herself. She could let me handle the rest.

In her room, I helped her into bed, and kissed her again, though she was already half-asleep for it. The minute her head hit the pillow, it was like the exhaustion crept over her, finally claiming her.

Good. I wanted her to sleep.

“See you tomorrow,” I whispered.

She mumbled something, her eyes closed.

She was fully asleep before I went to the door.

This time of night, the council was asleep, but they were easily roused when they heard what I had to say, that Amber had made a cure and I was ready to administer it.

We met at the facility where Julian was being contained. It was a mix between a jail and a health facility. With healers on staff, they tried to care for their patients as best they could, but the patients here were not ordinary cases. They were dangerous, and needed to be kept under tight security and behind very thick steel doors.

Surrounded by guards and accompanied by the healer on night staff, all of the council members and I were led to where Tony’s cell was located. Even through the thick door, I could hear snarling on the other side as well as the clanking of chains.

“Is it safe to enter?” one of the councilors asked the lead guard.

“We have him restrained,” the lead guard replied. “But security is never guaranteed, especially if he sees any of you as prey.”

The smaller members of the group shrunk back slightly.

I wasn’t intimidated. As Alpha, No one would see me as prey, especially not a creature I had already bested once.

“I will go in alone,” I said.

“But Alpha,” the head of the council said. “We can’t lose you. You know that.”

“If it comes down to a fight, I won’t lose,” I said. I didn’t want to provoke a fight, but I had to administer the cure. I couldn’t just roll it in and expect a feral werewolf to heal himself.

“We can go in with you,” the lead guard said, gesturing to some of the other guards.

They were brave to face this, even at their Alpha’s side, but I shook my head. “If too many of us enter, he will see it as a threat.” A cornered, wounded animal could be a huge danger. “It’s better for me to handle this myself.”

The guards nodded, accepting my judgement. The healer looked nervous but didn’t say a word. The head of the council frowned, but didn’t try to stop me.

I readied the cure, drawing it into a needle from the vial it had been kept in. I doubted I could coax the werewolf to drink it from the vial, so more… direct measures would be needed. Amber and I had tested the cure both ways, from ingestion and injection, and both appeared equally effective.

Confident in Amber and the cure we had made, I nodded to one of the guards, who opened the steel door, and then I walked into the room.

A single light illuminated the room, but it showed me enough.

Tony, still in his shifted, feral form, was chained to the wall, but even now, he strained against those constraints. His red eyes were on me, watching my every move. As I stepped closer, he started to growl.

Outwardly, I showed no reaction. I kept myself calm, showing that I was the Alpha here, the most powerful, the most deserving of respect. In his state, I wasn’t sure if he remembered me, but I hoped he did. Knowing I had already bested him would give me even more of an upper hand.

When I brandished the needle, holding it up, his gaze shifted to it.

Still I came closer at a steady pace.

When I was too close for his taste, he snapped at me, trying to reach me with his sharp teeth. Easily, I dodged him, and then in the opening, plunged the needle into his neck. I pushed the cure down through the needle. Then I pulled the needle away with me as I stepped back a few steps.

I moved out of his range but stayed close enough to observe the results.

I held my breath, waiting.