Chapter 193

Fiona

“You should rest,” Healer Sarina says, laying a hand on my shoulder. I grind the herbs with the pestle she let me borrow.

“I can’t. I’m so close to being done…” I look to my right, reaching for the detox medicine, but it’s not there. “Could you pass me the Anitraphin?”

She sighs but doesn’t deny me. The little bottle is the last one they have, so I say my prayers and drip the exact milliliters I need into my bowl. Then, I continue mixing and grinding the herbs and plants we found in the forest.

“You’re exhausted, honey,” Healer Asha says from behind me. I shake my head, but the movement only proves them right when a wave of dizziness hits me.

As soon as we got back from the forest, I started working on the antidote. They tried to slow me down, telling me to rest like they are now, but I can’t stop until Ethan is alright. I can sleep when I’m done, when he’s safe.

Laxus was right about his grandmother’s stash of herbs, and with everything I’d found, and the Gammas found, I had all the ingredients.

Why would I wait?

The toxin’s signs were getting worse, and when Laxus and I came back from the forest, the webbed veins were closer to Ethan’s heart.

I don’t care that the higher-level healers aren’t here. If I can do this without them, I will, and since Healer Sarina, Farah, and Asha confirmed that this will work, I made my choice. Ethan doesn’t have much more time, and if I can’t get this done, no amount of CPR is going to bring him back.

So, I push myself through the weakness and the groggy feeling that sits on my shoulders, and I focus on mixing the antidote. As I pour, stir, measure, and combine ingredients, its as if an invisible hand guides me. Instinctively, I know how much of each plant or medicine to use, and a voice seems to find its way into my head.

“Two more drops,” it whispers. I add two more drops of the antitoxin mixture to my concoction. I glance down at the wolf pendant around my neck, wondering briefly if the voice is like the time I saw that woman. She also encouraged me, but I don’t remember her voice.

“Another spoon of Honeydew. Two pinches of ground Icori Root. Mix in an ounce of rainwater from a wolf’s pawprint.”

I do as the voice says, adding more until it goes silent. The mixture in front of me is surprisingly thick and liquid, like a medicine you would find at a regular hospital. I tip the bowl, watching the light purple mixture slide this way and that before I set it back down.

“I-I think I did it,” I call out and in less than five seconds, all three of the healers are at my sides. Healer Farah picks the bowl up and accepts the little paper strip from Healer Asha.

We all hold our breath as she dips the paper in and pulls it out. My eyes don’t stray from the paper as I wait and wait and wait. If it turns blue, the antidote should work. If it turns red, I have to start all over again.

“Oh, thank the Goddess.”

My entire body deflates, and I finally breathe as the paper slowly fades to blue. I jump for a syringe and fill it, stopping at a full dose.

“Good. There seems to be enough for two doses. You should give him one now, and one in a day or two once we know the effects,” Healer Farah says, laying a on my head. She gently tucks a few tendrils of stray hair behind my ear with a soft smile. “You did well, Luna.”

“I’ll show you where to inject,” Healer Asha tells me, gently taking my free hand and leading me over to Ethan’s side. She shows me how to inject the medicine into Ethan’s IV and watches as I push the needle in.

Again, we all wait on bated breath as the heart monitor beeps slowly. My eyes bounce from the monitor to Ethan and back to his torso, where the worst of the damage is.

Slowly, the sounds of the monitors grow closer together, getting back to a more normal beat. His chest rises with a loud sigh before he relaxes into the bed. I lean forward, my eyes moving to his torso as the dark purple spidery veins begin to grow more pale. They still stretch across his torso, but the lighter color gives me a bit of relief.

“It’s working. We did it,” I mutter, unable to hold in the sob of relief.

“Alpha Ethan will be fine, thanks to you, Fiona.”

Nodding, I slip my hand into Ethan’s, holding tightly even as my mind blurs. I try to focus on Ethan, on the numbers on his monitor, on the rise and fall of his chest, but I can’t. A wave of emotions crashes over me, creeping in to accompany the darkness that seeps into my vision.

My body slumps forward and someone yells something, but I’m already too far gone to understand their words as I fall into the darkness.

Ryan POV

Healer Sarina’s voice in my head had me jumping up and sprinting toward the hospital so fast that I nearly slam into the door when I get there.

“Where is she? Is she okay?” I immediately bolt to Fiona’s side, my eyes scanning her from head to toe. She doesn’t look injured, but I still turn to the Healers.

“She’s alright. Her vitals are stable, but she’s exhausted from overexerting herself,” Healer Asha says, coming to my side. “We found her here already working on the antidote when we arrived this morning. We think she worked through the night without telling us.”

I should’ve known she wouldn’t wait.

“Yes, she’s a determined one,” Healer Farah adds. “She created the antidote almost all on her own, and it works. We administered it this morning when she finished making it and will administer the second dose after forty-eight hours.”

I turn back to Fiona, taking in the pale tone of her skin and the dark circles under her eyes.

“The baby? How is it?” I ask, hoping nothing from the past few days has put the pup in danger.

“Fine. Perfectly healthy, actually. We checked once we got her laid down,” Healer Sarina tells me with a smile. I look between the three women and nod, trusting their judgement. They’re not the best healers in our pack for nothing. They’ve seen so much and healed so many people that I’d blindly trust almost anything they said.

“Good. Ethan wouldn’t want—”

“I wouldn’t want what?”

We all turn to find Ethan pushing himself up and back to sit up. The healers rush to his side, chiding him and telling him he needs to lay down, but he doesn’t take his eyes off me as they fuss.

“What are you…” his words trail off as I step aside, letting him see Fiona. Immediately, Ethan’s focus is on her, and I realize I probably should have eased him in because no one, especially a protective Alpha wants to see their mate laying unconscious in a hospital bed.

In seconds, Ethan is on his feet, pushing through all four of us to get to Fiona’s side. He stumbles to the bed, barely managing to get to her bed before his legs give out beneath him. It doesn’t stop him from getting to her, though. In fact, he catches himself on the bed and sits on the edge.

Just as his fingers brush her pale cheek, he growls and pins a heavy glare on us, “What the hell happened to my mate?”