“Are you sure?” Malcom asked.
“She’s right,” Star said. “I no longer see any visions of his future.”
Panic surged through me. “What do you mean?”
Star turned her white eyes on me. “You know what I mean.”
“Does that mean the antidote won’t work?” Sheila asked.
“It means if we don’t do it, he has no chance,” I said.
Star nodded.
“Do it.” The antidote was everything to Alec. He believed in it and I was completely confident that he’d want to try it. “It’s what he would want, anyway.”
“Are you sure, Lola?” Sheila asked.
I nodded.
Star was already standing in front of the table with the instruments, jars, and tools. She opened a little box and removed a vial holding it up as if it was a sacred object.
In a way, it was. The little vial of antidote was the difference between life and death. And not just for Alec right now. If it worked for him, it would change our world forever.
It has to work.I needed Alec back. He needed to be okay.
“Someone open his mouth,” Star said.
Malcom reached Alec first and quickly aided Star in positioning Alec’s head. I held my breath as Star tipped the liquid into Alec’s mouth.
We all stood around him, watching for any signs of improvement. I had no idea how long it would take for the antidote to work or what to look for as positive signs.
Star walked away, but returned a moment later with a stethoscope in her ears and a pad of paper in her hands. Watching her listen to his heart and make notes was an odd sensation. I realized that Alec would kick himself when he woke for missing the first trial run of the antidote. The thought made me smile. If he woke,whenhe woke, he was going to want all the details.
Malcom and Kyle were pacing the room. Shelia tapped her fingers against her thigh. I had to remind myself to breathe as I kept my eyes locked on Alec. Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion. I just wanted him to wake up.
After what felt like the longest wait of my life, Star finished her assessment and removed the stethoscope from her ears. “His breathing is improving and his heart rate has returned to normal.”
I knew it was probably still too early to know for sure if it worked but even this small amount of good news was enough to ease some of the knots in my stomach.
Star walked past me and I took her place at Alec’s side. Sheila joined me. “This is going to work.”
“I think so, too,” I said as I gently removed one of the bandages. With all the dried blood and dirt, it was impossible to tell if it was healing. I looked back at Star. “Do you have any antiseptic or something we can clean these wounds with?”
She grabbed a bottle of rubbing alcohol and some washcloths and walked them over to me. “I’m not used to having to clean wounds on shifters. This’ll sting, but it’s the best I’ve got.”
I accepted the items from her. “Thanks.”
Sheila got to work removing all the makeshift bandages and I poured alcohol onto the cloth. Carefully, I started to clean each wound, checking for any signs that they were healing faster. It was difficult to tell if there was any change in them. It was either too small to notice, or he hadn’t yet regained his shifter healing.
After I finished all the cuts and scrapes on his body, I moved to the claw mark on his cheek. I poured fresh alcohol on the towel and carefully dabbed it on the wound.
Alec’s eyes snapped open. “Owww. What are you doing to me?”
I dropped the bottle and the cloth, the alcohol splashing out all over my bare feet. “You’re awake!”
I threw my arms around his neck, pulling him in to a tight squeeze. Tears streamed down my cheeks and anger mixed with joy. I couldn’t imagine what would have happened if I’d lost him. “Why did you do that to me? Why did you push me away? You could have died!”
He grunted and said something into my hair but I was squeezing so tight, I couldn’t hear him. Releasing him, I stepped back. “Please, don’t ever do that to me again.”