17
Getting Better
“He’s been through a massive trauma,”the doctor confirmed. “I don’t know what you’ve done to him, but his muscles and bones appear to have been broken and ripped in ways I’ve not seen outside the morgue. He’s suffering from rhabdomyolysis. I’ve started a drip that should help.”
“Is he going to survive?”
“I think so. Yes. But whatever was done to him can never be done again. I hope you understand, it almost killed him.”
“I do. Thank you, doctor.”
“It’s so strange because I can’t detect any actual current injury. But his blood…”
“Thank you, doctor,” Maddox interrupted. He had no intention of letting the legend of the werewolf become anything like fact for humans. The revelation of vampire existence, limited as it was, had caused more than enough chaos.
With the doctor dismissed, Maddox returned to sit beside Will’s bed for hours and then days. Will’s sleep was deep, the IV providing fluids to keep him alive. Maddox tended him as carefully as he would have an infant, changing the bedding when it needed to be changed.
Lorien was not overly helpful, but he did keep his mouth shut which was a blessing and a gift. And he kept things quiet. Maddox refused to be pulled from Will’s bedside for any reason. He was determined to be there when his whelp awoke.
These were days of quiet, meditative patience. He wanted desperately to speak with Will, to hear his voice and to see his bright gaze, but he knew it would take time. Before Will, time slipped along in a meaningless sort of river. Maddox barely remembered any of the events of the last thirty years or so at all, but these thirty days with Will each stood out as unique in his mind, and now the wait was as excruciating as any anticipation could be.
Thirty days later…
Will opened his eyes and smiled. He’d never smiled upon waking before. It was a novel experience in the extreme. For a second, he didn’t remember anything. He had vague impressions of power and freedom beyond any he had ever experienced before, of fully inhabiting his body in a way he never had before.
“Fuck yes,” he cursed.
“Yes what, boy?”
Maddox was there, sitting above him. “How are you feeling, boy?” Maddox stroked his head gently.
“That was… amazing.”
He had relished the feeling of being a beast, of being able to tear onto flesh, even undead flesh. There had been none of the human limitations he had become accustomed to; two hands and a mouth full of general-purpose teeth were nothing compared to a maw full of fangs and paws with massive claws attached.
“Amazing? You know, it almost killed you.”
“Everything always almost kills me,” Will said, trying to sit up. It was a more ambitious plan than he had imagined, sending immediate bolts of pain through his flesh. “Ow, goddamn, what the fuck?”
“As I said, boy. It was close to killing you.”
“Yeah. Feels like it. Fuck,” Will cursed. “I might lie down for a minute.” He flopped back down and felt blessed relief at doing so. The haze in front of his eyes cleared, and the room stopped spinning in the concerning way it had been doing.
“What do you remember?” Maddox’s question was quiet and concerned.
“One minute those assholes were trying to kill us, the next I was eating them. It didn’t feel like anything happened to me. It was just flow.” He paused. “I killed Chauvelin, right?”
“Hard to say when all that’s left of anybody is ash.”
“You got him,” Lorien appeared from the shadows. He was never far away, even when he wasn’t present. “Nice to see you again, Will. So glad you’re alive.”
Will looked at Lorien, and this time it was him who wore the smirk. He said nothing, but his gaze said everything. He was no longer the helpless human misfit to be taunted and tormented by Lorien. He was a beast of power and mystery — and he had saved Lorien’s worthless life.
“I owe you thanks,” Lorien said. “I didn’t want to be sent to the eternal void that day, and you ensured it did not happen.”
Will paused for a moment, as if considering his response. Finally, he seemed to know what to say.
“I really need to pee.”