Page 52 of The Bull's Head

“Theodore!” Ivan shouted, and Teddy snapped his head up. Everyone was staring at him.

“What the fuck do you want?” he snarled.

“I want you to calm down. Your screams are not helping.”

Screams? He didn’t remember that. “Fuck you!” he roared. “Just fuck you. I have never felt for anyone what I do for Byk. I would give my life for him, without question. I want to beat back anyone who comes near him, and… and….” He jammed his palm into his eyes, scrubbing at them. How the hell could he fight this? He wasn’t a doctor or a scientist. He couldn’t be any of the things Byk needed. Just like Hiram’s wife and children, he’d failed someone he cared for.

A touch on his arm infuriated Teddy. How dare anyone lay hands on him! He whirled around and found Cece there, staring into his eyes with such concern, he couldn’t take it. Bad enough this was happening, but to see pity on her face? No.

“Back off, Cece,” he warned.

“Hey! Watch how you speak to my mate,” Damon barked, jumping to his feet.

“All of you calm the fuck down!” Alp screeched. “This whole display isn’t doing Callum a damn bit of good. You should all be ashamed of yourselves for being so fucking selfish.”

His words jerked Teddy’s mind back to the here and now. Adrenalin still surged through him, and he found the idea of tearing someone limb from limb a delightful prospect, but Alp was right. Now was not the time, and Cece definitely wasn’t the person.

“I’m so sorry,” he murmured.

Cece pulled him into a hug. “Don’t be. I wish I could do something.”

He stroked a hand over her shoulder. “You are. You all came to be with me, and I’m grateful for that.” He turned his head toward Damon. “Please, First. Forgive me.”

Damon gave a sharp nod. “Forgiven.” He gave Gwyneth his attention. “Please, continue.”

“I… don’t really know what to say,” she uttered. “It wouldn’t do me any good to tell you what they did, because as far as I know, it can’t be undone. It will take someone far smarter than me to understand the details, and I’ll be honest, I don’t know that I want to. I mean, I knew they were monstrous, but this goes beyond anything I would have imagined.”

“Isn’t there anything we can do?” Alp asked, his hands twisting around each other.

“If I had to guess, I would say that Callum’s body is rejecting the things they… added to his brain.”

“Why now?” Teddy demanded. “It’s been over a year.”

“My best idea? The shifter in him has been struggling to heal since then. Shifting back to human, his brain returning to this body, exacerbated it. I think it’s likely his bull was also affected, but the human brain is far more complex, and therefore much more delicate.”

“What if he shifts again?” Damon asked, his brow furrowed. “That should help his body heal, right?”

Gwyneth shook her head. “I’m not sure. It might, but then again, it would only be a delay. I don’t think he can adapt fast enough.”

“So he’s going to die? No, I can’t—won’t—accept that!”

“When Mal got hurt, you had me lay with my head on his chest so he could sense my distress. What if Teddy did that?”

“This is his brain, Alpin,” Gwyneth said soothingly. “It’s not even remotely the same.”

“Then what can we do?” he wailed. “We can’t let him die.”

“Like I said, this is beyond my knowledge. I can’t even begin to understand any of what they did.”

“Then nothing we do can make the situation worse, right?” Mal asked. “Why not try something—anything? If it doesn’t work, we’re no worse off.”

Teddy’s heart was breaking. He wasn’t above pleading for the life of his mate. “Please, Gwyneth, I have to do something.”

She stared into his eyes, then her shoulders slumped. “Go ahead. Try. I’ll see if I can track down someone with more knowledge about the brain, but we can’t undo the surgery. Callum’s body will have to accept it, or we will lose him.”

The bluntness scared Teddy. Gwyneth had never been the most subtle person, but now that it was aimed at him, he hated it.

“Okay, Teddy, here’s what we’re going to do,” Cece said. “We’re going to put a different bed in there, and you’re going to climb in with Callum. You’ll hold him, sleep beside him, talk to him. Whatever it takes to engage his brain and his shifter abilities.”

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