Page 120 of Stolen By the Alpha Hunter
I come to stand on the opposite side of the bed, resting my hand on one of Javi’s legs. I wish he would shift back—it feels like I’m here with an alien, which I guess, in some ways, I am. I never really saw him shifted before, and I miss the way he looked at me, the way he’s so hesitant to smile…
I want his arms around me.
I sniffle and feel Maggie at my side again, her hand on my shoulder. She doesn’t say anything. She doesn’t have to. I know she’s here.
Suyin turns around and grabs something from the counter, then reaches back for Javi with a needle in her hand.
“Suyin, don’t!” I say, alarm bells ringing in my head. “He was an addict, any sedative will make it worse?—”
“It’s not a sedative,” she says. “I’m just going to draw some blood to figure out what’s happening to him. Will…I hate to ask, but can you be ready to hold him down if he reacts poorly?”
Will nods and I hold Javi’s leg a little tighter, but he doesn’t react at all when the needle goes in. Suyin draws blood into the vial, and I notice a strange, shimmery sheen to it. My stomach flips.
“Is that normal?” I ask, even though I already know the answer.
Suyin frowns. “Shit…I think I know what this is.”
“That sounds bad,” I murmur, my throat dry.
Maggie squeezes my shoulder.
“It’s something that appeared after the Convergence,” Suyin explains. “Usually in coastal cities. They call it kraken, but its real name is amphoria…”
“I know,” I say quietly. “I’ve seen it before. I used to live in New Orleans—it’s everywhere down there. It ruins people.”
Her eyes meet mine, understanding flickering between us.
“Did he tell you much about his history?” she asks gently.
I bite my lip and glance down at him. Javi’s still out cold, barely even breathing. My chest aches.
“I don’t actually know him that well,” I whisper. “But I want to.”
Please wake up so you can tell me all your stories.
Suyin nods, already turning toward the cabinet. “I have something for this,” she says. “Just…give me a second.”
She busies herself in the medicine cabinet and I stay with Javi, idly stroking his fur. Charlotte comes in with hot tea and a muffin and somehow convinces me to sit down and eat while I watch Suyin work. She gets a new syringe and pulls clear fluid into it, then goes back to Javi.
“This was used to help people detox before the Convergence,” she says. “It will enhance his body’s ability to filter out foreign substances. Amphoria can be used as a party drug in small doses, but if it’s overused, it’s also a potent neurotoxin, and it makes your body do strange things—your adrenaline andserotonin spike. We need to bring those levels down, at least so we can get him back to his human form so he’s easier to treat.”
“I don’t know what that means,” I say.
“All you need to know is that this should help,” she says. “He’s alive and that’s what counts.”
I start to tear up again and swallow a big mouthful of muffin to keep myself from crying.
“Go ahead,” I say.
She puts another needle into his leg and I wince as something twinges in my right arm. I realize a second later that it’s the bond—a whisper where it was a roar before, but it’s there and that’s what matters. I reach out to him through our connection, but all I feel is the pain…then a cool, soothing sensation that runs from my elbow up to my heart.
“I think it’s working,” I say. “I can feel him.”
“Good,” Suyin says. “And if it is, we can…oh!”
She stands back and I get to my feet, my eyes wide.
He’s changing back right in front of us, his muscles clenching and shifting. I’ve never seen someone do this without initiating it themselves, and it’s a little scary to see how much it seems to hurt. But his hand is there, human, his fingers curled and shaking.
