Chapter 36

Elena

I resurfaced from the basement of the prison, feeling hollowed out inside. The state of the prisoner was frightening to be sure, but something else was bothering me. I couldn’t immediately name, like trying to reach an elusive itch in an unreachable corner of my brain.

“Are you alright?” Killian asked me as we made our way home together.

I didn’t know how to answer, so I didn’t. Also part of me still enjoyed not giving him the satisfaction of knowing my inner thoughts. I glanced at him sideways but kept walking.

“Elena.”

His voice in my head stopped me, our telepathic bond having more of an effect on my free will. I sighed heavily and looked at him.

“I’m alright, just…” I scrunched my face, but he just waited. I had never know Killian to be patient before, but it seemed he was trying to practice it more and more. “I just wish there was something we could do to help him out of this. Even a criminal doesn’t deserve whatever ailment is tormenting him.”

His face softened. “I don’t disagree with you. It seems whatever punishment we might prescribe him couldn’t be worse than what’s already happening to him.”

“And the medical team has no idea what’s causing this?” I asked, investing in this exchange. “Could it be contagious? We’d need to take precautions to protect the Pack—“

“They’re trying,” he said, lowering his voice to show me how much I’d raised mine. “We were finally able to get a blood sample, but so far tests have been inconclusive.”

“And he won’t talk?”

“No,” he looked down, disappointed. “Or at least he is not to any of the guards or prison staff, so far. I’ve been advised to terminate the issue if it doesn’t improve soon.”

Were the Alpha’s trusted advisors really promoting execution instead of seeking understanding? Maybe my past self would have accepted this as a fact of life, a tough call to make when you want the Pack to run smoothly. But I was no longer accepting things that I had the capability to change.

“Terminate? Seriously?”

“It is a last resort, Elena,” Killian defended. “And a decision I would not take lightly. If I wanted him dead, he already would be.”

There was the Killian I knew: opportunistic to the point of ruthlessness. Maybe he hadn’t changed after all.

“Let’s not give up on him yet,” I said, the seed of a plan rooting in my brain. “At least until we’ve tried everything. As Luna, I’d like to be involved in his treatment and observation.”

Killian gave me an odd look, but didn’t try to dissuade me.

“Very well.”

We continued walking towards home. I could feel how he kept looking over at me, quizzically, as if he expected me to say more or to spontaneously grow a pair of wings.

“What is it?” I asked him.

He paused before speaking. “It’s nothing,” he said, “I’m just trying to figure out what’s changed in you. I’ve never known you to take such an interest in a matter like this.”

I’ve never known myself to act like this either.

“I am trying to live up to my title as Luna,” I said haughtily. “And I know what it’s like to feel misunderstood, mentally or emotionally trapped in a false narrative written by others.”

His lifted his head slightly as he took a breath in, perhaps seeing the double meaning in my words.

“We all want our true story to be heard, even when it is…inconvenient.”

“Right,” he said, nodding stiffly. “Well, if you come up with anything, I hope you’ll share it with me.”

“Of course,” I said casually, knowing it was a lie.

We parted ways when we got back to the Alpha mansion, but before I fully turned away from him I felt the light touch of his hand on my arm. I turned slightly, looking from my arm to his face. His eyes were half-closed, almost sultry, but there was a desperate question in their depths. I’d never noticed the flecks of green in the blue irises staring into mine.

“I hope you’ll join me for dinner,” he said in a low voice. “I’m making your favorite.”

I scoffed at his presumptuousness. “Oh really?”

He shrugged, so unbothered by my skepticism.

“Lamp chops and apple sauce.”

My jaw actually dropped open, and he used his free hand to lift it back up. His thumb brushed my lower lip, almost an accident.

“I know you better than you think.”

His fingers traced a delicate line down my arm as he released me from his grip. A shiver went up my spine, and I gulped out loud before I could stop myself. Amusement lit up his eyes, and it made me want to punch him in the face.

Killian walked backwards a few steps, his eyes trained on me, then turned gracefully and walked towards his office. He looked back over his shoulder once before going out of sight, and caught me watching him walk away.

He winked at me, the bastard, then disappeared down the hall.

I kept my cool until I was back in the privacy of my own room, then shoved my face into a pillow and screamed. The other alternative involved giving into my lustful fantasies, so instead I shoved them down into a dark pit of my mind.

Thoughts of Killian aside, I turned my focus back to the prisoner. In the undisturbed space of my bedroom, I could dig digger into the recesses of my mind. His behavior seemed to be linked to an intense mental disorder, but possibly triggered by something foreign in the body.

It occurred to me why I had been bothered by his erratic behavior.

I had seen it all before.

In my past life, there was a time when members of the Pack had come to display similar episodes where there had never been an issue before. Perfectly sane werewolves were suddenly a danger to themselves and others. It happened out of the blue, but not randomly.

It began when Natalie returned.

———

I returned to the prison the next day, having spent time comparing herbal remedies and researching how natural toxins can create unnatural personality disorders. If the modern medical team couldn’t figure out what was going on, I would turn to nature to find a cure.

“Luna…”

His voice was soft but clear, almost childlike, and he greeted me before I was even near the door of his cell.

Killian had approved of me returning to see him, but sent me with Tiffany and Lucas as extra safeguards. He seemed concerned for my safety which I found to be rich considering what I knew he was capable of doing to me. For some reason, though, I had no fear as I walked up to the prisoner.

“Hello…” I said evenly, “I’m sorry— no one told me your name.”

Light reached his eyes. “No one calls me by it,” he said, his opinion neutral. “My name is Graham.”

“Graham,” I said with a nod. “It is nice to meet you.”

He blinked, unsure if he agreed with me. The open expression on his face made him look like an over-tired owl.

“I’d like to help you,” I went on, “if I can. And if you’ll let me.”

“Prisoners do not grant allowance.”

“Right,” I said, his insertion like a bump in the road of my speech. “I believe your…ailment is related to a mind-alteration from an outside substance. Others think you are simply mad, but I find that diagnosis lazy.”

At this, his eyelids fluttered in brief surprise.

“I can’t say I have all the answers, but I do have a possible solution. I’d like to start you on a herbal remedy, mainly plants with calming effects— lavender, willow, snakeroot— to see how you react.”

“Are you a witch?”

I smiled. “Not quite, though if I was I probably wouldn’t admit to it.” He titled his head, wondering about me. “Are you open to the idea?”

He closed his mouth firmly, slightly wary of my offering. But then he nodded and I felt my shoulders relax.

“We’ll start with a low dosage,” I said, stepping closer, “and I will check in once a day to see how the herbal therapy is working. I would like to ask you some questions about where you came from, your Pack.”

His face changed instantly into something horrid, and he lunged toward the door of his cell. Lucas was is front of me immediately even as I took a step back, though of door was heavily locked and bolted.

Graham’s mouth was open, panting, and his saliva almost foaming at the corners as he spat his words in my direction.

“He won’t like it— he wants to kill us all!”