Chapter 181

Fiona

Rubbing at my bleary eyes, I force myself to focus on the page in front of me.

Healer Asha figured out that the toxin is made up of several poisonous herbs and plants mixed together. While trying to identify the toxin, she found traces of Nightshade in the poison and realized they were having such a hard time figuring out what the toxin is.

My eyes run down the page, searching for any mention of Nightshade. Healer Asha, after find out the ingredient, tasked me with finding all the poisons that have Nightshade in them. She said it would help narrow down the mixtures that Ethan could have been injected with.

“Is this going to help?” I ask, looking up. “What if they didn’t use any of the toxins in this book? Is it possible that they could’ve created their own version of a poison in hopes that we couldn’t heal Ethan?”

“It’s possible, which is why we’ve sent the toxin down to the labs for them to find the components,” Healer Farah says, then she looks up, and our eyes connect. I blink against the heavy feeling in my eyelids, and Healer Farah sighs. “Sweetheart, you should take a break. You can lay down in the bed next to Alpha Ethan and—”

Shaking my head, I stand and stretch, hoping to get rid of the exhaustion. I can’t stop. Ethan is counting on me, on us, to make him better, and I can’t do that if I’m sleeping.

“I’m fine. I just need to find the antidote,” I mutter, sitting back down. It’s the only thing that matters right now.

“You can’t do that if you make yourself sick,” Healer Farah says softly, brushing her hand down my hair. I’m thankful for the care, but I shake my head again.

“Could you pass me the next book?” I ask, looking over at Healer Farah. She stares at me silently and is nudged in the arm by Healer Asha.

“What if it was Jacob?” Healer Asha asks, raising a brow. My mind jumps from remedies and ingredients to their conversation. Who the heck is Jacob.

Healer Farah’s face pulls down in a saddened look, and she nods, “I’d do anything it took to heal him. It’s what mates do.”

“Right, and even though she’s human, she still feels that bond just like we do.”

I take a second to let their words soak in, finally understanding. Jacob must be Healer Farah’s mate. The women mutter and fuss with each other as I watch, and it makes me smile. They’re comfortable with each other, like how Isla and I are, and I briefly wonder how long they’ve been friends.

“This is an older volume with some of the more rare poisons and toxins in it,” Healer Sarina says while laying an old, leatherbound book beside the one I’d just finished. The pages are more worn than the previous book, so as I open it, I try to be more careful.

These women are accepting me into their circle, and I don’t want to do anything to change that. I can’t risk it, so I focus back on the pages and begin scanning the words. Some of them are familiar just from my hours of reading, and some from the teas and mixtures I made back home. Though, none of them truly mean anything to me.

As I read and take note of different mixtures, I feel more and more helpless. I don’t know what kind of help this will be in the end. There has to be over thirty toxins or mixtures written on my notepad.

“Fiona.”

Unless we get the report from the lab, they won’t be of any use.

“Fiona.”

A hand touches my shoulder, and I turn, looking away from the book.

“We’re heading out. One of us will be on rotation all night, so if you need anything, or if something strange or alarming happens, or even if you’re too tired, call for a nurse,” Healer Asha tells me. She lays a little remote beside my book and shows me the call button.

“Sarina is on first watch, but she has a few other patients to check on. Are you okay to stay in here by yourself?”

Nodding, I rub at my eyes again. “I’m fine. You’ve been working hard too, so don’t worry about me,” I tell her, not wanting to keep them longer than they need to be here. “I’ll call if I need anything.”

Then I focus back on the page in front of me. Nightshade, Ravensbane, Olean, Thisten Root can create a deadly poison called Shadow Sage that will slowly spread through the body and affect the nervous system and brain function. It sounds similar to what’s happening to Ethan, so I add it to my ever-growing list.

Sighing, I sit back in my chair and close my eyes for a second. Is this going to work?

Pain clenches my chest, and I suck in a deep breath while looking over at Ethan. Is he in a lot of pain? The claw marks on his side seep with pus and have those webby lines coming out of them, which look painful, but can he feel it?

Ethan hasn’t woken up since I got here, and from what the healers said, he has only woken once since he was poisoned.

Standing, I grab the rag from the bedside table and carefully dab it against his wound, wincing when the skin becomes more red.

“Don’t worry. We’ll find a way to save you,” I whisper, reaching up and brushing some hair out of his face. I will. There’s no other option. Nothing in this world will feel right if he’s not in it too.

“I have the right to see my son if I want to,” a male voice growls, making me jump. The angry voice is right outside, and I instantly recognize it.

Ethan’s father.

Crap.

I look around the room for a hiding spot, and just as my eyes land on the little closet on the other side of the room, the voice gets louder.

“Out of my way!”

Darting around the bed, I slip into the closet as quietly as I can and hold my breath. If he finds me, all Ryan’s efforts will be wasted. Also, there’s no telling what this man will do to me if he finds me.

So, even as the door creaks open and a shadow falls over the door, I cover my mouth so I don’t make a sound. I don’t even blink.

“Pathetic.”

My heart thuds against my ribs, and I silently plead for the beeping of the machines to cover it.

“What kind of Alpha lets another poison him?” Ethan’s father grumbles, and I jump when a loud slam sounds. I don’t dare to open the door to see what he’s doing. There’s another growl before he begins speaking again, “If you were going to fail, you shouldn’t have entered in the Challenges in the first place.”

It takes everything in me to stop myself from marching out there and slapping this man. He has no right to come in here and say that to Ethan, especially since he could die. Does he not understand that he pushed Ethan to this point?

“There’s no point in fighting if you can’t win,” he growls again, making me grit my teeth. “And those other bastards should’ve known better than to Challenge the Silverclaw Pack this way. They must think we’re weak, but once I find the one who did this, I’ll be sure to show them that only weak men resort to cheating and deception like this.”

A sinking feeling fills me as I realize just what he’s saying. He may not be happy with Ethan, but he’s also not happy with the person who hurt Ethan.

This is a threat, plain and simple.

A promise of retribution.