Wolf Untamed by Alexis Calder

22

Malcom and Kyle helped get Alec situated on the table while the young witch looked on.

“Does she have a name?” I whispered to Sheila.

“Star,” the witch said without looking up.

“Beautiful name,” I said.

“Guess they had big plans for me until my sight was taken. Once my eyes faded, they no longer called me anything.” She moved closer to Alec.

“Parents can be awful.” We had a lot in common.

Star hummed absentmindedly, her attention elsewhere. She was examining Alec’s wounds, her long, thin fingers trailing down his arms, gliding over the cuts on his stomach, then traveled down to his feet.

As far as I could tell, her lack of traditional vision didn’t hold her back at all. Her fingers were nimble and sure, and her brow furrowed as she made her assessments.

“He’s slipping,” she said.

“What do you mean?” Sheila asked.

My chest tightened and I felt like a lead weight fell into the pit of my stomach. “She means he’s dying.”

“He should already be dead, honestly. Whoever gave him that much toxin didn’t intend for him to survive it.”

I sucked in a sharp breath. “It wasn’t meant for him. It was meant for me.”

“Well, I imagine, had the assailant succeeded in striking you, your friends would have had to stop to bury you along the way. His connection with his wolf, and his hunger for life are keeping him alive. I can barely feel your wolf. For a future alpha, you’re not as strong as you should be.”

Every word about me was accurate. I wasn’t as strong as I should be. I wasn’t connecting fully with my wolf. If it had been me, I’d be dead. Instead, Alec was hanging by a thread. My throat stung, and my whole body felt heavy with grief. Alec risked everything for me. I didn’t even care that it had almost been me instead. If he died, I couldn’t live with myself. I’d rather it be me than him. “How do we help him? There has to be a way. Anything. Tell me what to do.”

“Well, we can wait and see if his wolf is strong enough to fight this off. It could take days, and he’s likely to get worse before he gets better. Or…”

“Or, what?” I asked.

“We can test the antidote on him,” she said.

“Is it ready?” Sheila asked.

Star shrugged. “It might be.”

“What does that mean?” Malcom blurted out. “It is or it isn’t.”

“It’s not that simple,” Star said. “I’ve been working on it for years, but I’ve yet to test it on a living shifter.”

“Do you think it will work?” I asked.

“It could,” she said.

“Will it cause more harm?” I asked.

“It shouldn’t, but I could be wrong,” she said.

She didn’t strike me as someone who was wrong often, but I didn’t know her well enough to trust my instincts with that.

I walked over to Alec and set my hand on his heart. His breaths were slow and uneven, his chest making a rattling sound with each exertion. I closed my eyes and focused on his wolf. There was a tiny flicker of recognition. My wolf could sense his, but it was so weak. I wasn’t an expert by any means, but I could tell he was dying.

This was Alec. If there was anything we could do to save him, we had to try. I opened my eyes and stepped away from him before turning to face Star. “His wolf won’t last much longer.”

“Are you sure?” Malcom asked.

“She’s right,” Star said. “I no longer see any visions of his future.”

Panic surged through me. “What do you mean?”

Star turned her white eyes on me. “You know what I mean.”

“Does that mean the antidote won’t work?” Sheila asked.

“It means if we don’t do it, he has no chance,” I said.

Star nodded.

“Do it.” The antidote was everything to Alec. He believed in it and I was completely confident that he’d want to try it. “It’s what he would want, anyway.”

“Are you sure, Lola?” Sheila asked.

I nodded.

Star was already standing in front of the table with the instruments, jars, and tools. She opened a little box and removed a vial holding it up as if it was a sacred object.

In a way, it was. The little vial of antidote was the difference between life and death. And not just for Alec right now. If it worked for him, it would change our world forever.

It has to work.I needed Alec back. He needed to be okay.

“Someone open his mouth,” Star said.

Malcom reached Alec first and quickly aided Star in positioning Alec’s head. I held my breath as Star tipped the liquid into Alec’s mouth.

We all stood around him, watching for any signs of improvement. I had no idea how long it would take for the antidote to work or what to look for as positive signs.

Star walked away, but returned a moment later with a stethoscope in her ears and a pad of paper in her hands. Watching her listen to his heart and make notes was an odd sensation. I realized that Alec would kick himself when he woke for missing the first trial run of the antidote. The thought made me smile. If he woke, when he woke, he was going to want all the details.

Malcom and Kyle were pacing the room. Shelia tapped her fingers against her thigh. I had to remind myself to breathe as I kept my eyes locked on Alec. Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion. I just wanted him to wake up.

After what felt like the longest wait of my life, Star finished her assessment and removed the stethoscope from her ears. “His breathing is improving and his heart rate has returned to normal.”

I knew it was probably still too early to know for sure if it worked but even this small amount of good news was enough to ease some of the knots in my stomach.

Star walked past me and I took her place at Alec’s side. Sheila joined me. “This is going to work.”

“I think so, too,” I said as I gently removed one of the bandages. With all the dried blood and dirt, it was impossible to tell if it was healing. I looked back at Star. “Do you have any antiseptic or something we can clean these wounds with?”

She grabbed a bottle of rubbing alcohol and some washcloths and walked them over to me. “I’m not used to having to clean wounds on shifters. This’ll sting, but it’s the best I’ve got.”

I accepted the items from her. “Thanks.”

Sheila got to work removing all the makeshift bandages and I poured alcohol onto the cloth. Carefully, I started to clean each wound, checking for any signs that they were healing faster. It was difficult to tell if there was any change in them. It was either too small to notice, or he hadn’t yet regained his shifter healing.

After I finished all the cuts and scrapes on his body, I moved to the claw mark on his cheek. I poured fresh alcohol on the towel and carefully dabbed it on the wound.

Alec’s eyes snapped open. “Owww. What are you doing to me?”

I dropped the bottle and the cloth, the alcohol splashing out all over my bare feet. “You’re awake!”

I threw my arms around his neck, pulling him in to a tight squeeze. Tears streamed down my cheeks and anger mixed with joy. I couldn’t imagine what would have happened if I’d lost him. “Why did you do that to me? Why did you push me away? You could have died!”

He grunted and said something into my hair but I was squeezing so tight, I couldn’t hear him. Releasing him, I stepped back. “Please, don’t ever do that to me again.”

“No promises,” he said. “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”

“I’m not worth all that,” I said. “What would I do without you?”

“You’d be fine,” he said.

“No, I wouldn’t,” I admitted.

“I’m okay now,” he said.

“It should have killed you. Good thing you’re stubborn,” I teased.

“Wait, where are we?” He looked around. “Star?”

The witch was walking toward him with a glass of water in hand. “Welcome back.”

He tried to sit up, then fell back down.

“Don’t go too fast,” I said. “You just got the first dose of antidote.”

Star lifted the glass of water as if making a toast. “Congratulations.”

Alec’s face lit up. “It works?”

Star nodded.

He laughed, then started coughing. Star offered him the glass and helped him drink.

“It works,” he said. Then he turned to me. “I fought your mate. He lost. He was going to break the bond…”

“He lied,” I said.

“He didn’t hurt you or anything after I was under, did he?” Alec sounded frantic.

My heart raced, thrilled that he was awake, and overwhelmed with emotion at his concern for me. “No. But he got away.”

“I’m going to kill him,” Alec said as he tried to sit up again.

I pressed gently on his chest. “You need to rest before you try killing anyone.”

“She’s right.” Sheila grabbed Alec’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Besides, you aren’t the only one who wants revenge. This guy was already on my shit list for how he treated Lola. I’m not an eye-for-an-eye kind of girl, but I’ll make an exception for this asshole.”

“You’ll have help,” Malcom said.

“I’m in,” Kyle said.

“Well, before anyone goes off on a man hunt for revenge, the patient needs to recover. He was poisoned. He should be dead. At the very least, let him rest a while,” Star said.

“What about the spell?” Alec asked. “Did you break the claim yet?”

“We were a little busy keeping you alive,” I said.

“Don’t wait on it,” he insisted. “It’s bad enough that your mate is willing to kill you. We don’t need trouble from the royal family, too.”

“If you get some sleep, I’ll do the spell,” Star said. “Deal?”

Alec didn’t look fully convinced, but he nodded.

“I’ll stay with him,” Sheila offered.

“Ready for some magic?” Star asked.

I took a deep breath. My whole life, I’d feared magic. Especially spells cast by witches. In a million years, I never thought I’d agree to have a spell cast on myself. I also never thought I’d have a murderous mate after me or that I’d get the mark of the alpha. “Sure, why not?”

Star grinned. “You don’t sound entirely sold, but I’ll try to pretend you’re excited.”