Chapter 152 – Decision
–ZANE’S POV–
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It rained on the way back. Thunder shook the sky, streaks of silver flashing across, lightening it up like dawn. When the first drops of rain fell, I hoped Lia would wake up.
But she didn’t, sleeping even through the storm.
I rushed all the way to my pack house, cradling her in my arms, yelling for Ajax, Aaron, and Emerald.
The Hounds met me at the door, deep frowns on their faces.
“Get to school,” I told Ajax and Aaron.
“What happened to her?” Ajax asked, while Aaron shifted and set out instantly.
“Blake,” I replied, my jaw clenched. “Get to school, Ajax. Warner and Sheila have been shot.”
Ajax’s eyes turned black, and he followed after Aaron, transforming on the way.
“Emerald!” I shouted, leaping to the upper floor, almost slipping in an Order soldier’s blood.
She rushed out of her room, tears streaking her face, her heart
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thumping.
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The second she saw Lia, she gasped, covering her mouth with both hands. “That’s not your mark, is it?”
“How do you know?” I asked.
“It looks so sloppy, so painful,” she cried, stepping closer to examine Lia’s neck. She wiped away the rain water from her face.
“She won’t wake up,” I said, my voice cracking. “Emerald, did I lose her?”
She met my gaze, frowning. “I don’t know,” she said softly. “Come on.”
She hurried back inside her room, and I followed, getting an unbearable sense of Deja Vu.
This was the second time my Lia was fighting for her life, because of The Order and because of that piece of shit Blake.
He’d better run away before Lia got better, because if I found him, I wouldn’t let him live.
He’d forced himself onto her. He’d hurt her.
I placed her down on the bed, and Emerald approached with her kit. She retrieved cotton and some liquid, using it to clean Lia’s
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wound.
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Lia’s pulse was still faint. She was breathing, but very slowly, like it pained her.
For the first time, I saw Emerald’s hands tremble as she tended to a patient. She kept her expression blank, refusing to show her worry or emotions, but she was barely able to handle her tools. I frowned, grabbing her wrists and turning her towards me.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
She stared up at me with wide eyes.
“Emerald,” I pushed, “what’s wrong?”
A tear left her eye. “I—I’m just shaken up from the attack.”
I pulled her to my chest, hugging her tightly. “You’re okay, Emerald. And so is everybody else. We didn’t lose anyone. A lot of people are injured, but they’re still alive, alright? And you’re the one who can nurse them back to health. You and Kaya.”
Kaya was Emerald’s younger sister, a healer like her, only less experienced.
“We’re gonna need more help,” Emerald said, pulling away to look at me. “Our wolves are poisoned with silver and wolfsbane. We have to treat them all quickly, or they’ll get worse.”
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“So wake Lia up as fast as you can,” I replied. “Do anything you have to. Tell me what to do and I’ll do it. Wake her up before Ajax and Aaron bring back Sheila and Warner. They’ve been shot too.”
Emerald’s eyes widened, and then she nodded. “Okay. Okay, I’ll—I’ll wake her up.”
She turned back to Lia, then hurried to her cupboard, retrieving a small box from it. She opened it with a pop, then using her fingers, scooped out an ugly green salve from it.
I scrunched up my nose as its scent irritated my airways.
“What is that?” I asked, my eyes and throat starting to burn.
“This will hopefully wake her up,” she replied in a raspy voice, before applying the salve all over Lia’s neck and face.
Her body stirred, eye balls moving beneath her lids.
My eyes widened. “She moved. Put more.”
Emerald obliged, then stepped back, staring down at Lia.
Lia moved again, but her eyes did not open.
“Lia!” I yelled, shaking her by the arms. “Wake up.”
Nothing.
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“There’s one more thing,” Emerald muttered, searching through her cupboard again. She cursed under her breath, scrabbling through it, tossing herbs and medicines to the floor. “Got it! Get me some water,” she instructed, retrieving a deep red plant. It too, smelled like shit.
I poured her a glass of water, and she put the plant in it, crushing the mixture like a machine.
She then filled a syringe with the paste and injected it into Lia’s neck.
Lia gasped, eyes shooting open, her entire body shaking uncontrollably.
“What’s happening?” I cried.
“Her vitals are shooting,” Emerald replied.
But Lia fell limp after a few seconds, eyes drooping shut.
Emerald let out a groan, breaking into a sob. She shook her head at me, tears rolling down her cheeks. “I don’t know what else to do,” she cried. “This should have woken her up.”
I took a step back, turning away.
I couldn’t lose my calm. I had to stay focused.
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“Take my blood,” I said, turning to her again. “Fill her up with it. Take it all if you have to.”
“There’s no point, Alpha,” she cried. “This isn’t because of some physical injury. The mark is deep, but she hasn’t lost that much blood. It’s a mental wound. An emotional one. Did… did he force her?”
My eyes turned black, and I let out a growl, punching the wall.
I returned to Lia, taking her face in my hands. “Lia, please,” I begged, tears escaping my eyes. “Please, I beg you. Come back to me. Please, Lia, come back to me.”
Silence filled the room after that, except the pounding of my heart and Emerald’s, and Lia’s faint breathing.
I stared at her, face covered in salve and dirt, eyes closed. Her clothes were stained with blood, dripping wet from the rain. I pushed her hair away from her face.
“She… she must be cold,” I whispered. “Her body is so cold to touch.”
“You can change her,” Emerald replied, “but this is a mental block that isn’t letting her wake up. Not a physical one.”
“I… I’m gonna change her,” I muttered. Emerald turned out to give us privacy, then turned back.
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“What if you do?” she asked, her eyes wide.
“What?”
“What if you change her, Alpha? Turn her?”
I frowned. “But she isn’t dying.”
“You don’t know that,” she replied, making me freeze.
“What do you mean?”
“Vitals like these won’t keep her alive for long.”
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“But she isn’t human,” I said. “She’s something else. She heals quickly. She’s…” I trailed off, unsure of how to say it.
“I know what she is,” Emerald said. “I researched about her as well. I know what the books say. But her transition hasn’t completed yet. So she can still die. If you turn her, you’ll complete it.”
I frowned. “But that’s forcing it. It is her destiny for it to happen on its own. If I force it, I might hurt her.”
“Look, you can wait if you want. Wait and watch what happens. She might wake up in a few hours, a few days, or maybe much later. It’s like trauma, Alpha. As long as it’s hurting her, her mind might not let her wake up. There are major changes going on inside her body because of the mark. And since it was a
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forced one, her heart, mind and soul might be rejecting it. She could die because of it. But if you turn her, speed up the transition…”
My eyes widened. “She’ll wake up, and she’ll accept the mark,” I said softly. “Because of the bond.”
“Yes,” Emerald said. “But…”
I glanced down at Lia, my heart tightening. “But she might fall completely in love with Blake, and lose feelings for me.”
“You’re still bonded to her, right?” Emerald asked. “Are the tingles still there?”
I sniffed, nodding. “But the mark is Blake’s. Her bond with him will become that much stronger.”
Emerald fell silent, staring at me with a look of utter pity on her face.
I closed my eyes, weighing my options.
It didn’t take me too long to make up my mind.
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