Chris POV
Damien walked on the opposite side of the hallway as we cleared the rumble from the south wing. We have already cleared two other paths so the staff can collect more supplies.
As we approached piles of cement blocks, we picked up the largest ones to carry outside. It was getting ridiculous how we both couldn't help but try to outdo the other.
I wouldn't look like some weak Beta to this little Alpha. Damien had an edge to his attitude because he thought being an Alpha meant more. I was a Shadow wolf, born with Alpha blood, too.
Damien was part of the Trio, so he needed to die no matter what. I had no reason to hate him other than that, but I also convinced myself Damien was just as malice and evil as all the other Alphas in his line. The more time I spent around these kids, the more it muddled my head.
I noticed the heavy, continuous labor warring on him and smiled. He was an Alpha but didn't train like Shadow wolves. It would be close in a fight, but in endurance, I would have Damien beat without question.
The last rubble that Damien grabbed, he swayed backward, almost losing his balance. I just smirked at him as I easily picked up a larger one and walked away.
Damien rolled his eyes and huffed the whole way outside. He didn't want to seem weaker, and I'm sure he was already questioning how I was outdoing him.
Then, Damien picked up the following two pieces, and he had a look of pain on his face. I couldn't help but feel a little impressed.
He may be weaker than me, but at least he was relentless. Damien fell over the next piece he grabbed, and I stopped myself from helping him up.
At first, competing to see who was stronger was fun, but it made me giddy. I was clearly winning, but now it was getting to the point that Damien was going to hurt himself. I tried brushing it off as he was a wolf, a strong Alpha. Even if he dropped the cement on his leg, it would eventually heal.
Damien went to roll a piece of rubble from the top of more rubble when I saw a spark.
"Stop!" I yelled, but it was too late. Damien shot backward, and I jumped in his path to catch him. We fell to the floor, and I frantically checked him for injuries.
As I lifted his shirt, I saw a huge gash at his side oozing clear and silver liquids. "What the fuck?" How did he get this, and why the fuck wasn't it being treated?
Damien eyes slowly opened, and then he quickly jumped out of my lap.
"What the fuck, Chris," Damien shouted at me. I may have acted like I was above everyone, but I didn't like watching them die, especially in my arms.
I was born to protect all werewolves, which was the primary duty of a shadow wolf. Sometimes, we had to kill a few to keep the majority alive, though. If our goddess ordered it, then so it was.
At least, that is what I told myself. In truth, I hated it. How can I protect only some but murder others in good conscience?
"Relax, little Alpha. Your dumbass electrocuted yourself. You probably would have seen the wire if you weren't so weak from a fucking stab wound." I gave him a questioning look, then shook my head.
"I'm fine," Damien said, going to get another block to clear the path.
I grabbed his shoulder. "Whoa! What are you stupid or something?"
"Fuck off, Chris. My people need the supplies past this mess. If you don't want to help, then leave. No one asked you for your help anyway."
"You're an idiot."
"No, I'm their Alpha."
"No, you're their neighboring Alpha. Besides, that would make you more of an idiot anyway. What good are you to your people dead? Did your mommy tell you that Alphas are invincible, and you believed her like a good little pup?"
Damien gave me the finger and then picked up another piece of cement. I sighed at his arrogance but threw my hands up as he passed me. That was on him if the stupid Alpha didn't want to listen.
I picked up another piece and followed Damien outside. We were a few feet from the door when Damien finally collapsed. Idiot!
"Fuck." He said as he took deep breaths from the pain. Despite the pain, Damien stood and bent to pick up the cement piece again.
I growled in frustration, throwing my piece to the ground and shattering it. I walked to Damien, snatched the piece from his hands, and threw it at the wall he was braced against.
Damien closed his eyes, thinking it was coming straight to his face. He was surprised when it shattered next to him.
"Get fucking treatment now, or I will knock your stupid ass out and drag you by your neck to the doctor." I didn't know why I was losing it, but I wasn't going to watch Damien kill himself.
The guilt had been weighing on me since I walked into that hospital. After spending the last few hours talking with Nate and watching how even my brother got along with the heirs so well, I was ready to explode. Like all the other times, this was supposed to be an easy kill.
Now, I was second-guessing the moon goddess as to why she would want these kids dead. The kids are close to the same age as Ryker and me. It was the first time I realized how easily the tables could be turned. The first time, I felt the frustration that Ryker had been going through since the first night arriving in this town.
Damien looked at me in fear. My eyes were completely black, and I felt my Shadow Wolf pushing forward. He was about to keel over from the pain and exhaustion, so he just nodded in defeat.
Damien took a deep breath and pushed off the wall, heading back to the makeshift ER. He texted Elena to send someone to finish the last hallway.
Damien's sight was becoming blurry, and his steps were wobbly. I sighed, grabbing his arm to put around me. We got down the first two hallways with Damien leaning on me for support, but I could feel himself slipping in and out of consciousness.
I had a bad feeling that Damien wasn't going to make it. He was an Alpha, and it was a small gash. I really shouldn't be so worried, yet my stomach was in complete knots.
"I can't..." Damien slid from my grip, hitting the ground face-first. His body just went completely limp, forcing all his weight down.
"Shit," I said, looking around for help, but there was no one in sight. "Motherfucker, I swear." I rolled him over and panicked when I saw blood coming from his nose. It wasn't the blood as much as the fact that it wasn't healing that worried me.
I picked him up and ran down the corridor. I was exhausted, both mentally and physically, but I had to push through it. I couldn't let him die like this.
"It couldn't be a tiny she-wolf I rescued. No, it's a huge ass Alpha that weighs more than me that I have to carry after the fucking day I had. I should leave you here and walk away." I wanted to feel this way but knew it wasn't true.
I wouldn't just walk away and let him die. Whatever was happening to me emotionally wasn't good. If Ryker fails, the goddess, our whole pack loses our Shadow wolf.
"Doctor! Get the fucking Doctor!" I roared as I burst into the room, making everyone jump into action. I was so frustrated my own aura was pouring out of me, making anyone below me jump to attention.
Nate and Serenity came rushing out of the lab and then froze in their spot at the site. I was holding a half-dead Damien limp in my arms as I yelled for help.
"What the fuck happened?" Ryker questioned, walking out of the same doors and froze beside Nate. He gave me a confused look at what I was doing.
Was I seriously trying to save an heir? No, I wasn't just saving an heir; I was worried about him. Ryker may have thought I was losing my humanity, but this showed him I was just lost. I was lost to our cause, who I was, and what lengths I could handle on this mission.
"Stop fucking staring and help!" I yelled at them.
Elena rushed from the doors straight to me, grabbed Damien, and helped bring him to an empty bed.
"What...?" Nate could barely form words as he approached Damien's side.
"He's been cut. I don't know how long ago, but the idiot let it fester this whole time until he finally passed out."
"Serenity, get a blood bag. Nate get the toxin shots. We need to try and flush the wolfsbane and fast." Elena picked up Damien's shirt and gasped.
He must have been cut early on, and by the looks of silver, blood, and clear fluids oozing from the cut, it was deep.
"Ryker, we need clean bandages and alcohol. This looks septic. His blood is probably filled with wolfsbane, and whatever internal bleeding he has won't heal. Chris, find a needle and thread." Elena grabbed a towel, dipping it in a glass of water to try and pat some of the dried discharge around the wound as everyone ran to get what was ordered of them.
Serenity came with the blood bag and tied a rubber string around his arm, then slapped his forearm for a vein to pop out. Elena grabbed a pole from across the room to his bedside, then hung the blood bag. She ripped an IV kit open with her teeth and then stuck the needle in his vein as Serenity attached the lines.
"How do you girls know how to do... all that you just did?" Ryker asked, opening bandages on a metal tray.
He had experience carrying for the wounded as our pack was once small and sometimes even homeless. We waged wars across the country, so we knew that Elena not only knew the proper care but apparently the proper procedures, too.
"I'm in the advanced medical track at school. I know almost everything a nurse does and can assist in most operations. Serenity has always been my study partner, so she knows just as much as I do." Elena responded as she poured alcohol over the wound.
"It's a good thing he is knocked out, or that would have hurt like a bitch." Serenity said with a scrunched nose. His wound turned angry as Elena disinfectant and cleared the infected area.
"Nate! Shots?" Elena held out her hand to him. She injected the charcoal into his IV, and the herb shot into his arm. "We will wait 15 mins to let everything run through his system, then we need to open the wound and sanitize it. Serenity, get a monitor just in case. I don't want his heart to give out."
"What? Heart give out?" Nate screeched out. He barely said a word since he saw his brother half dead in my arms. Losing Damien wasn't an option he could ever consider.
"Sorry, Nate, I didn't mean to scare you. He will be ok. I promise. I just want to monitor him closely until he wakes. Ok?" Elena said, lacing her hands into his.
Nate's eyes were empty this whole time, but now his world was crumbling around him. I felt a strong Luna aura offering a blanket of comfort around us. Nate seemed to be repulsed by it, though.
"Stop! Don't fucking do that. Why are you even treating him? You're a princess, not a doctor. You don't know about any of this; maybe you even made it worse. We need the doctor, not some little girl pretending to be one." Nate poured all his anger at her.
"What the fuck is your problem? She probably just saved him, and you scream at her." Ryker growled, making Nate growl right back.
"Now, now, boys. Everything's fine, and your friend will be okay." The doctor said, checking the wound and then the IV. "Impressive, Elena. It looks like our future Queen could moonlight as a doctor with the skills you've shown me today."
"I'm so sorry, Elena. I didn't mean to snap at you. I don't even know what I feel right now. I just need him to be ok. I can't lose my little brother." Nate stared at her with pleading eyes.
Ryker and I softened instantly at his words. We had a brotherly bond just as strong as them, maybe even stronger. We saw ourselves in them and shuddered at the idea of how it would feel to lose each other. We already lost one brother, and neither of us could handle that pain again.
"You don't have to apologize, Nate. I understand. I won't use my aura on you again. I promise." She slowly wrapped her arms around him for comfort, and Nate hugged her back tightly, staring at his brother's wounded and broken body.
Elena used her Luna power to try to comfort Nate. That's what set him off. He was breaking into a million pieces; he didn't want to be comforted.
Wolfs didn't think loved ones could be this way. Broken bones or even deep knife wounds didn't mean long-term injury or death for us. It was pretty much a beheading or heart-stopping that would kill a wolf. Nothing permanently damaged us unless it was laced with wolfsbane.
The doctor reset his nose and cleaned his face of blood. Serenity came and hooked up the monitors. The doctor gave her an impressed look that a servant was so knowledgeable.
After observing the monitors for a few minutes, Carmelita grabbed a scalp and held it out to Elena. "He is stable. Let's get the wound cleaned out."
Elena looked up to Nate and kissed him on his cheek. "Are you ok with me assisting?"
"You don't have to ask. You're the future Queen." Carmelita said.
"I know who I am. Nate, I'm asking as your friend. Are you ok with me helping?"
"Of course, Elena. I trust you." He said with a kiss on her head.
I noticed Ryker glaring at Nate. He didn't like the exchange between them, and that annoyed me. My brother quickly shook it off, but he was jealous. How we felt about these kids, especially the process, wasn't good.
Elena and Serenity drained the wound and sewed him up inside and out with a bit of help from the doctor.
"I hope you continue that medical track, princess. You would make one hell of a doctor if you wanted." Carmelita said, giving her a gentle nudge on the shoulder.
"Thank you, Doctor. It means a lot, but I'm not allowed to attend university. I have other skills to learn to be a proper Queen."
Damien's eyes fluttered open, trying to take in everything around him. His brother was washed out with the look of death on his face, Elena and Serenity had scrubs on covered in blood, and goddess knows what else, and then there was Ryker watching everyone intently and me staring at Damien.
"You're lucky, shithead," I said, punching him in the arm.
"Fuck. I nearly died. Can you not fucking hit me, asshole?" Damien said, rubbing his shoulder. I rolled my eyes and gave him a smirk.
"Thank the goddess, Damien," Nate said, hugging his brother a little too tightly.
"Ok, ok, you're hurting me, bro," Damien said with a smile. He could feel his brother's love pouring into him.
"I'm glad you're back. Never liked you much, but it would suck for Nate to lose you." Serenity said with a wink
"Thanks, S. Always so honest."
"Hey, Damien. You really scared us. Promise me if you're ever injured again, you will tell us and not let it fester trying to be the strong Alpha. You being here is more important to us than your pride." Elena spoke, rubbing his arm.
"Yeah, yeah. You're in love with me. I get it, princess."
Elena rolled her eyes and giggled. "S and I are going to get cleaned up. Try to take it easy, please."
Ryker and I got the rest of the hallway cleared, then raided a local restaurant for some food to bring to everyone. The town that once held such beauty and mystery was now in complete disarray. Neither of us spoke as we walked through the destruction we caused.
