Chapter 21

Lucian

Zara’s scream tore through the fog around my mind. I caught her limp body as she fainted. I looked around the shower, frantic to find the threat. What could have hurt her?

I turned off the water and laid her down on the floor, looking her over for injuries. I couldn’t find anything, not a single mark. There was no blood, and no bruises. She’d grabbed her stomach. Could she have been poisoned?

There was no time to make wild guesses. Her human blood made her so vulnerable to so many dangers. I scooped her back into my arms and ran out of the shower, not even bothering to grab a towel to cover her.

I burst through the door to Kieran’s room.

“Summon the healers,” I ordered.

“What happened?” Kieran demanded. “What did you do?”

“I didn’t hurt her,” I insisted. “I couldn’t have…” I trailed off.

Everything from the moment I found the poison in her hand to the moment she screamed was a haze. My wolf had taken control.

But I remembered her scent. I remembered heat, desire, and pleasure. There had been no fear. I was sure there wasn’t fear. She had been enjoying herself.

Kieran examined her, looking for obvious wounds just like I had.

“No puncture marks,” he noted, “so she wasn’t injected with something at the Ball. Did you see her eat?”

“I wasn’t watching, I had more important things to do,” I growled.

“Right, yeah, your spy hunt. How did that go?” Kieran asked.

“It doesn’t matter right now, we need her alive. Get the healers.”

“Why didn’t you take her straight to them?” Kieran asked. “Why did you bring her to me?”

I growled. “Just go.”

The truth was, I hadn’t thought it through. My feet carried me to my brother without much direction from me.

Kieran shrugged and bolted out of the room. He might actually care about Zara. He might just not want to lose his pet. I could not be sure.

I had worried about how distracted Kieran was with the girl, but at this point it hardly mattered. We hadn’t found our mate. Zara’s touch was the only thing we’d discovered that could hold off the madness of our wolves. If she died, we were lost.

I paced while I waited. I’d been lucky; no one had seen me run through the halls with Zara in my arms. If anyone learned how important she was to us, they would take advantage. They might hurt her in order to strike at us. They might try to get her to manipulate my brother and me. They could take her hostage, like the Rogue in the ballroom had already tried.

And that was another thing. Why had the Rogue grabbed Zara, specifically? She wasn’t even one of the candidates. Something about not being eligible. Kieran might know more about that. I would ask him about it later.

No one should know about Zara’s ability to soothe our wolves. Certainly not a Rogue. But it was possible that someone had told the Rogues about Kieran and me making Zara our personal attendant. I had meant it as a punishment, but someone could mistake it for a sign of favor. And Kieran had put that idiotic collar on her and paraded her around as his ‘pet.’ That might be enough for the Rogues to think she was important enough to take hostage.

I grumbled to himself. We would have to find some way to smother those rumors. The easiest thing would be to banish Zara. But that would only give the rebellious girl what she wanted, letting her out of their bargain. And it would leave us with no way to prevent the wolf-bond from shattering into madness.

Kieran returned with one of the pack’s healers. What had taken so long? Did the healers think they had any more important patients than their Alphas?

“Describe the patient’s symptoms” the healer ordered with barely a glance at me and certainly no bow. She moved to the girl’s side and began checking her vitals.

“She’s unconscious, she fainted,” I said. “She was in the shower. She screamed, and collapsed.”

“Did she strike her head on the floor? The wall? Anything like that?” the healer asked.

“No, I caught her,” I said. “I couldn’t find any wounds.”

“You were with her in the shower?” the healer asked.

“Yes, is that pertinent?” I asked.

The healer shrugged, silently counting Zara’s pulse. Her wrist looked so small in a stranger’s hand.

“Anything could be pertinent. Was the water unusually hot, or cold?” the healer asked.

“I don’t think so,” I said. There had been water, I’d turned the shower off. Hasn’t I? It might still be running. I didn't care.

“Okay. Did she seem all right before she fainted? Complain about dizziness, nausea, anything like that?” the healer continued her assessment.

“No. She seemed fine,” I said.

“Were you and she simply showering together, or were you intimate?” the healer asked.

I shrugged. “We were not intimate… yet. We did kiss. Are you suggesting I somehow harmed her with a kiss?”

“I’m not suggesting anything, I’m trying to get an idea what I’m dealing with here,” the healer said, then added, “Alpha.”

I crossed his arms and shrugged, letting the healer off the hook for the lack of protocol. This would go faster if she wasn't wasting time bowing and scraping.

“I’ve told you everything I know. Now do your job,” I said.

“I’m trying to,” the healer muttered. “Can you think of anything, any minor incident, that might have distressed her?”

“There was some violence at the Mate Ball,” I said, “She was involved. But I checked, there was no injury.”

I’d looked over her throat very thoroughly. The knife hadn’t even nicked her skin.

“Not all injuries are physical,” the healer said. “This could be delayed shock. Zara here is part human. You do know that?”

Kieran and I both nodded. We'd been told about her heritage.

“Hybrids are delicate,” the healer informed us. “It doesn’t take much to rattle them. I need to examine her more thoroughly. I’ll take her to the healer’s house. If that is acceptable, Alpha.”

“Do what you must,” I ordered. “Half human or not, she is a part of this pack and deserves the same care you’d offer any wolf.”

“Of course, Alpha,” the healer said with a short bow. “Do you have clothing for her? She won’t want to be carried through the entire Alpha House in the nude.”

Kieran said, “I’ll grab something from her room.”

He ran out the door. I watched him go. My brother was genuinely worried for the girl. I would have to remind him not to let anyone else see that. The healer was safe enough. They took their vows seriously, usually.

“Is the woman your lover, Alpha?” the healer asked.

“Again, is that pertinent?” I asked.

“Not particularly,” the healer said, “but I do need to ask if it’s possible she’s pregnant, for instance.”

I shook my head. “I do not believe it is likely.” I thought about my brother’s near obsession with his pet. “But I suppose it could be possible. I don’t watch her every moment.”

“We’ll run the tests, then,” the healer said, noting something in a little book. “Just to rule it out.”

“Do whatever you feel is necessary,” I said. “I don’t tell healers how to do their jobs.”

“That’s for the best, Alpha,” the healer said.

“So long as the healers don’t try to tell me how to do mine,” I added.

“I would never dare,” the healer replied.

Kieran returned with a soft, oversized shirt.

“She sleeps in this, sometimes,” he informed us. “It’ll work, right?”

“Yes, it’s best she’s comfortable,” the healer informed them.

Kieran helped the healer dress Zara. I stood aside and tried to look unconcerned with the whole process.

“Will you carry her to the healer’s house, or should I have someone else do so?” the healer asked.

“I’ll carry her,” Kieran offered.

“Be careful, brother,” I sent over our link. “You don’t want anyone thinking you care too much about your pet.”

Kieran glared at me. “I just don’t want anyone else touching her.”

I shrugged and stood aside as Kieran and the healer left, taking Zara with them.

Then there was nothing to do but wait and pretend not to be worried.