Page 49 of Primal Call

Kyral blinked, his instincts to eviscerate the stranger momentarily derailed by Jasper's surprising questions. The human's brow furrowed as he seemed to analyze the effects coursing through his body. "My heart rate… is changing... it feels like it's raising my blood pressure..."

The young Borraq warrior nodded curtly. "An antidote to the poison," he said gruffly.

Kyral stared in astonishment. The color was beginning to return to Jasper's cheeks, and the human's breathing evened out, losing its pained rasp.

Jasper blinked rapidly, his medical instincts kicking into high gear as he assessed his own condition. "Y-yeah, this is… My pulse is stabilizing," he murmured, pressing two fingers against his throat. "The dizziness is abating..."

The unknown Borraq warrior relaxed. "The antidote works swiftly. You were fortunate we have it."

Jasper's eyes sharpened as he studied the warrior. "What exactly was that?" he asked intently. "I should know the chemical composition to monitor for side effects."

The Borraq shifted his weight, seeming taken aback by the human's barrage of questions. He looked at his companion, still pale from bloodloss but now stable, who just shrugged. "I... do not know."

Jasper was undeterred. "Then can you at least tell me the common side effects you've observed? Any neurological impacts, respiratory depression?"

The human was only moments back from death, and he wanted to know about side effects. Kyral's head was spinning just listening to the demands for medical jargon that were tumbling from Jasper's lips.

But beneath his confusion, a profound sense of relief washed over him. Jasper was alive — still looking worse for wear, but gloriously alive.

The Borraq looked besieged by the questions. "I am not a healer! It's a remedy used by my clan's healers. I only know it works because the humans in our clan have eaten so many things that disagreed with them."

He turned to Kyral, palms upraised in annoyance. "Gods, they are fragile creatures! Everything can kill them! Our healers worked hard to find counter-poisons to keep them alive—"

Kyral's head snapped up. "Humans in your clan?" His voice was a growl, barely controlled. "Explain."

The two warriors rolled their eyes in unison, their expressions a mix of exasperation and youthful arrogance. The uninjured one huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "We've been trying to tell you that all along," he said, his tone tinged with frustration.

Kyral's gaze darted to Jasper, who was now sitting up and looking as bewildered as he felt.

The uninjured Borraq stepped forward, his posture slightly more relaxed now. "I'm Worrack," he said, his voice still holding an edge of annoyance. He gestured to his companion, who looked up despite still nursing his wound. "And that's Soren."

Soren managed a nod through the pain etched on his face. "We were in the area on a mission for our clan," he began, wincing slightly. "Then we heard rumors about humans being sold nearby. We couldn't just ignore it."

"The humans in our clan are good men," Worrack said earnestly, glancing at Jasper with an almost protective look. "Even if they are humans."

"We couldn't stand by and let more humans suffer."

Worrack sighed deeply, frustrated. "We've been tracking you for weeks... It would've been faster if you didn't keep hiding from us!"

Kyral's mind raced. Humans living among Borraq, accepted into their clan? It went against everything he'd ever known.

Jasper's eyes were wide with shock, but there was also a flicker of hope in them. He looked at Kyral as if seeking confirmation that this wasn't some cruel trick.

Kyral felt a strange mix of emotions roiling within him — disbelief, curiosity, and a glimmer of something else...

Hope?

Kyral looked at Jasper again, seeing the same conflicted emotions mirrored in those blue eyes.

"Tell me more," Kyral demanded, unable to keep the urgency from his voice.

Worrack and Soren nodded in unison, their expressions earnest. "It's true," Worrack said. "Everyone in our clan vowed to never tell anyone, to protect the humans... but we decided to break that silence. It's good that you're good, because otherwise our alpha would kill us."

"We saw the way you cared for Jasper," Soren added. "Then we realized you weren't enslaving him — Jasper is your mate."

The word hit Kyral like a thunderbolt. He'd felt the mating bond with Jasper, a primal connection that defied logic or reason. But hearing it spoken aloud, by another Borraq, made it real in a way he hadn't expected.

He turned to Jasper, who looked equally stunned. Their eyes met, and in that moment, the world fell away. It was just the two of them, bound together by something ancient.

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