Page 65 of Alpha's Revenge Luna
His heavy footsteps echo through the room as I turn back to Emery, her shallow breaths a haunting whisper that sets my nerves on edge.
“Emery,” I murmur, running my thumb across her cold, pallid cheek.The fading mark on her neck stands out like a cruelreminder of our bond fraying before my very eyes.My heart clenches at the thought, fear threatening to choke me.
As Kyrio leaves the room, I brace myself for what comes next.The weight of responsibility, of my role as Alpha, bears down on me with crushing force.She got eight men killed, two of them had chosen mates.
“Damn it!”I mutter under my breath, clenching my fists.With a deep breath, I scoop Emery up into my arms, her unconscious form light and barely stirring.Her head lolls against my shoulder, her dark hair spilling over her face.As I carry her toward the infirmary, each step is punctuated by the racing of my heart.As I get to the stairs, I mind link Kyrio to tell the pack doctor to meet me in the infirmary.
She’s still, too still.The snarling of my wolf is an incessant noise in the back of my mind, urging me to move faster.
“He’s already there,” Kyrio mind links back, and I pick up my pace, ignoring the staring of my pack members as I move past them.
“Doc!”I call out sharply as I stride through the door, my voice betraying the panic that threatens to consume me.
“Alpha,” the Doc acknowledges as he steps into view, his eyes wide upon seeing Emery’s limp figure.He immediately moves closer, his hands hovering over her body, assessing her condition.
“Her mark is fading and turning black,” I explain, the words feeling like shards of glass lodged in my throat.“I don’t know what it means.”
“Let me take a look.”The Doc gently steps aside, and I place her onto a sterile examination table.He studies the discolored mark on her neck, a furrowed brow betraying his concern.
“Doc, what’s wrong with her?She’ll be alright, right?”I demand, my fingers clenching into fists at my side.
“Has she not woken at all since you marked her?”he asks, prodding the mark with his fingers.
“She’s been in and out of it.I gave her my blood after Imarked her,”
“It didn’t heal her mark?”he murmurs, more to himself than to me.
“Alpha, this is rare,” he says hesitantly, eyes not leaving Emery.“There are a few possibilities, but I need to run some tests first.”
“Easy, Alpha,” the Doc warns as he steps forward, his hands outstretched in a calming gesture.“She’s going to be alright.”
My breath comes in ragged gasps, my heart pounding like a wild animal trapped within me.I’m helpless, powerless to do anything for her.
“Alpha?”the Doc questions softly, his voice breaking through the haze of my thoughts.
“Tell me what’s wrong with her,” I demand, my tone laced with barely contained fury.
“Your mate is strong,” he begins cautiously, searching for the right words.“But this…this blackening mark is something I’ve never encountered before.”
My gaze lingers on the blackening mark on her neck, bile rising in my throat.
“What does it mean, Doc?”I demand, my voice a low growl.
Doc’s hands hover above Emery, his brow furrowed as he contemplates the situation.“It’s rare for a mark between fated mates to fade like this.It could be due to high doses of wolfsbane or Belladonna.Or because she isn’t of age to shift.”
The words hit like a blow, a sinister dance of possibilities that I’m not ready to face.My fists clench at my sides, anger and desperation warring within me.
“She hasn’t shifted,” I tell Doc, each word laden with the strain of frustration.
Doc sighs, his brow furrowed in contemplation.“You must remember, Dion, the trauma Emery has endured is not insignificant,” he says, his voice measured and calm.“It reminds me of what Anastasia went through.”
“Emery is not Anastasia!”I snap, my eyes never leaving her prone form.“She won’t crumble under the weight of this.”
“Of course, Alpha,” Doc concedes, his hands raised placating.
“But we cannot ignore the fact the healing process takes time, physically and emotionally.”
I know his words are true, but they do little to pacify the storm of emotions brewing within me.As Alpha, I’m accustomed to taking action, to solving problems with decisive force.But here, with Emery’s life hanging in a precarious balance, I can’t shake the feeling that I’m powerless.
