Page 50 of Eclipsed Heart

That spurred me into action, and I took the spot next to him. “What if we can’t get her to vomit?” Our plans depended on extracting information from our captive. Losing her wasn’t an option. I looked at Dina. “Can you heal her?”

Dina shook her head as our captive foamed at the mouth and her body convulsed. Nostrils flaring, Bodey shoved his fingers in deeper, causing her to gag. My wolf snarled in my head.

“That won’t work.” Dina’s shoulders slumped. “It’s too late. I can’t heal her from this sort of poison. I’m drained, and it’s fast-acting.”

My gaze flicked to the thin black string around the dying shifter’s neck from which a small, empty silver container hung.

Bodey removed his fingers from the girl's mouth and wrinkled his nose as he wiped them on his pants. He scooted back from the woman, and my wolf relaxed some, but she was still unsettled.

I tried to ignore my animal side as I considered the severity of the situation.

The woman’s eyes became bloodshot as her body shook harder and her heart slowed.

Her death would be here in moments.

The magnitude of the loss slammed into me, and I dropped, my butt hitting the floor. This was our lead…our chance to get on more even footing with the queen and her plans.

But once again, Queen Kel was two steps ahead of us, and she’d managed to make me even more uncomfortable. She was either able to convince people to believe in her cause enough to sacrifice themselves for her mission, had leverage over them that made them obey, or even alpha willed them. Either option was equally bad.

Who the hell are we up against?I linked with Bodey. Tears burned my eyes, and I clenched my hands. I didn't understand what type of person would do this to her people. How much was the queen willing to sacrifice?

Someone sick and sadistic,Bodey replied, taking my hand.

Silence descended as we all watched the woman die. When she passed, the queen would know. Her pack link would be extinguished.

Then her heart stopped.

After a few seconds, the shifter who’d alerted us said, “I'm so sorry.”

Now that our captive was dead, I turned toward him.

His face was filled with regret, making him appear older, but I guessed he was in his early thirties. He dipped his chin, the lights of the basement reflecting off his shaved head. I knew that his hair was a light brown based on his fur when we’d all been in shifter form. His gray eyes looked stormy. “I hadn’t even considered that she might have poison. She shifted to human form and immediately took it. I didn’t see the necklace until it was too late.”

Of course, with the string being so thin, wolf fur would easily hide it.

“Gary, it's not your fault.” Bodey leaned against me and sighed. “None of us considered that possibility.”

Running a hand down his face, Michael stood at the woman’s feet. “We're going to have to consider all the supernatural and human tactics and weapons they could employ.”

“I scanned her for magic while Jack carried her here.” Dina climbed to her feet and smoothed out her long gray skirt. “The witch was aware of us and our abilities, so she’d know we’d check for spells on anyone we captured. They thought of something I couldn’t detect.”

I glanced at the dead girl, and my heart squeezed painfully. What could be so important to her that she’d pick a horrible death likethat?

“So…what do we do now?” Lucas hovered in a corner of the basement. His eyes held my gaze as if I had all the answers.

When I scanned the room, I found everyone else staring at the body. My skin crawled.

I had no idea what to do.

Bodey’s thumb brushed my hand, and he cleared his throat. “First things first, we stop scrutinizing a dead woman and have Gary bury her.” He helped me to my feet.

Thank you.I squeezed his hand. That was a very good step, and I didn’t want to hang around in the basement with a naked dead woman. She deserved respect. “And we head back to the house to discuss strategy.” Though it wasn’t earth-shattering, at least I’d had something to add.

“I’m all for that.” Miles stared at the ceiling, avoiding looking at the captive.

I smiled. I suspected that was more about Stella than having a problem with seeing a dead person.

The guys hustled out of the room, but when I headed toward the door, Dina leaned over the girl. I paused, wanting to see what had attracted her attention.

---