Page 67 of Wolf Crowned

I flexed my fingers and then felt around my chest. “A little better I think.”

Willa wrapped her hand around my wrist and plucked it off my chest. “Try not to touch the salve Sawyer. I think it’s helping, and I don’t want you to rub it off.”

A thought occurred to me now that I was thinking clearer. “We need to warn them. The wolfsbane is different than any type my father has used before. The effects are immediate and far worse than what he used on Lincoln or in other attacks.”

Willa patted my hand. “We know. We think that he’s mixing silver with it.” She patted the bag. “Don’t worry. We brought plenty of salve and wolfsbane of our own to use.”

I gritted my teeth as I thought about it. It wouldn’t take much for Dad to melt down silver and mix it in to the wolfsbane we kept here. There was no shortage of silver in the house either and a little bit would go a long way.

I pushed up so that I was leaning against the rock wall, using it to support me. “One hit with that wolfsbane and it will be bad for whoever gets it. I don’t think he can dip the nails in it like he usually does though. It’s so potent it would effect whoever was using it too. I guess there’s that.”

At least there was a silver lining. No pun intended.

Willa pulled out a few rolls of white gauze and cocked her head to the side as she stared at me. “Do you think you can stay like that?”

I tried to sit up taller. “Yeah. I can stand I think. We have to get to them and help.”

Willa swatted and tutted at me as she unwrapped the gauze. “I want to be out there too, Sawyer. Jacob‘s out there, and I don’t know what’s happening. I get it.”

Her face fell as she met my eyes. She licked her lips and sniffled. “You wouldn’t do them any good out there right now. And neither will I. They know what they’re doing. I promise.”

I moved my arm so that she could pull the gauze around me. “What’s the plan, then?”

She wrapped the bandage around me a few times before answering. “I get you patched up and then we get out of here. We start making our way back to the homestead.”

My throat tightened. “I can’t just leave them.”

Willa huffed and rolled her eyes. “Sawyer, you are in no condition for a fight. You can barely even sit up straight. You’ll never make it to them and even if you could you’d be more of a hindrance than a help.”

She finished with the second roll of gauze and plucked out a third. “I promised Sloane that if I came I would do what she asked. This is what she wanted me to do.”

I ground my teeth and glared at her. “How do you plan for us to get out of this cave?”

She hesitated a moment as she tied off my bandage before pulling out a vial and holding it up between her pointer and thumb fingers. “I have some adrenaline to give you. I think the dosage should be strong enough to help you get to the car. Then we just need to drive home.”

Adrenaline. Another thought occurred to me. It was going to piss my mates off, but...they should’ve known they couldn’t sideline me. “How many of those do you have?”

Willa eyed me as she shifted the needle in her hand. “A few dozen is all we could get. But these others are for people in case they’re injured. I’m supposed to leave the bag outside the cave to be picked up by one of our scouts.” She pulled the bag closer to her chest. “They are for those who can’t make it back to the cars in the event we need to evacuate.

I’d never been dosed with adrenaline before, but surely the effects would last a bit. I only needed thirty minutes, maybe an hour. Was that enough time? How many injections would I have to take? How many could I take?

Willa waggled her finger at me. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking, Sawyer. Absolutely not.”

I’d forgot how observant she could be when she wanted. “Please. I have to see this through.”

Her face softened, and she gave me a sad smile. “I’m sorry, Sawyer. But I can’t. I won’t let Sloane down. I gave her my word.”

Willa had given her word, but I hadn’t. I just needed to work a way to get the adrenaline shots from her. Without hurting her.

She poked at the dressing on my chest, smiling nervously. “It’s not too tight, is it?”

I put a hand over the gauze. It pressed against the wounds, but it wasn’t exactly uncomfortable. “I think it’s okay.”

Willa reached back into her bag and pulled out one needle. She pulled the cap off and stared at the edge, her eyes widening. “I’ve never given someone a shot before, just fair warning.”

She said something to herself like she was repeating directions. She gulped. “Kathleen said to give it to you in the chest.”

She pointed the sharp edge toward me. “She said it should go through the gauze.”

---