Page 49 of Destined Bear
The healer nods. “As soon as she opened her eyes. She called out for Miss Vivienne, and we all ran right to the door to find you.”
“Mom, I’m right here. Can you say something? Anything?” Vivenne pleads.
Circe licks her lips several times and pats them together.
“She needs water.” I release Circe’s hand and head toward the dresser to fill up her cup.
“Alpha!”
I twist my head around and find Circe looking at me.
“Mom, it’s okay.” Vivienne sits on the bed as I return to her with the water, helping Circe sip through a straw.
She slurps it back and closes her eyes again.
“Circe!” I set the cup down and check her pulse. I find it easily.
Her eyes open again and dart between us, the confusion fading away.
“Stop fussing over me.” Her words are weak but firm, just like her heartbeat. “You better not screw it up with my girl this time.”
The healers squawk happily amongst themselves. I sit on the other side of the bed and take Circe’s hand again, reaching across the mattress for Vivienne’s palm.
“I swear to you both, right here and now, in front of all these healers as my witnesses, that I will not screw it up with your daughter again.”
A smile forms on Circe’s mouth, and she nods approvingly. “Good. Now get me Millie.”
“Oh, Mom…”
“Sorry, Circe, but Millie is not ever coming back. She was conspiring with others in Stonecrest to overthrow our territory.”
“Nonsense.”
“It’s true, Mom.” Vivienne shakes her head.
“Miss Circe.” Isodore stands plaintively at the end of the bed. “We have been discussing your condition extensively, and we believe we have determined the cause.”
Vivienne and I gawk at her.
“It’s about damned time!” I’m on my feet waiting for the mystery to finally unravel itself.
“We believe that your nurse was poisoning you.” Isodore glances back at the others, and they nod in consensus.
“I knew it!” Vivienne is on her feet, too, rage coloring her face crimson. “Take me to her right now!”
I stride toward her, embracing her waist. “Just wait. Let’s hear them out.” I turn back to Isodore. “Why do you think that?”
“Nonsense!” Circe isn’t having it. “I was sick before she arrived, you fools. Your timeline is wrong.”
“That may be true, but whatever you had then is long gone, probably cured not long after Millie showed up. Ever since then, she has been feeding you small doses of hemlock. You almostdied this time because your body has been breaking down from it.”
Circe’s eyes become saucers.
“No.” She sounds far less confident this time. “Millie would not…”
“We have run your blood, and you know that hemlock is very difficult to detect unless you’re looking for it specifically. Your blood tested positive for hemlock.”
Isodore produces a report with the blood test results, and Vivienne snatches it from her hands. “How long have you been sitting on this?”
