Hunter

26. How to Discover Lycanthropy

Well, I had a feeling the mission wasn't going to end well, and as it turned out, I was right.

I didn't remember much of what happened. Rebecca, going through what looked light a very painful transition. The wolf, lunging at me without warning. Pain exploding across my chest. Falling to the ground...

Then nothing.

When I awoke, I was back in the infirmary. In the bed I had previously been occupying, as a matter of fact. It was like I'd never left.

That was the look Tristan, the healer or whatever they called him, gave me when I managed to orient myself. I tried to sit up, hissing as a burning sensation flared awake across my chest.

"No," he said calmly, ambling over and gently pushing me back down. "You are still injured. Don't try to sit up."

I went to speak, but my mouth was dry. Wordlessly, I gestured to the glass of water I'd spotted on the bedside table. Tristan grabbed it, then tried to help me take a sip. I cast a sharp glare, snatched the glass from his hand, and did it myself. It was harder than it needed to be - I think half of the water missed my mouth and ended up across my face. Yay, independency.

"What happened?" I demanded.

He blinked. "You were injured during the mission," he said. "The Alpha brought you back, then muttered something to the Beta about fetching his sister. When Beta Luca left, the Alpha refused to leave." He huffed in annoyance. "It would have been a lot easier to treat you without him breathing down my neck."

"The Alpha was here?" I frowned. I did dimly recall him shouting my name. Telling me to stay back. With... with fear evident in his voice.

Fear for me, or fear for his sister?

His sister. Obviously. He was probably concerned that my Hunter instincts would kick in and I'd deem Rebecca as a threat.

But... that hadn't happened. Even though she'd attacked me, even though I'd realized that being close to her wasn't safe, my instincts stayed dormant. If they'd worked like they were supposed to, I probably would have recognized the danger sooner and wouldn't be back in this stupid place.

But Tristan didn't know any of that. He'd only nodded in response to my question. "He kept shouting at me to find the witch to come heal you, but..." He trailed off.

"Opal was here, too?" Damn. That was twice I'd been in the same room as Opal without being able to see her. Twice she's had to see me lying unconscious and probably half-dead here, practically helpless -

But Tristan was shaking his head. "No. I told him that it wouldn't have made a difference, not with Rebecca's..." He bit his lip. "Anyway, you should be well soon. You had another concussion by the way, along with the wounds across your chest."

I struggled to sit up again, but said wounds flared up in response. Oh, for crying out loud. "My head feels fine," I said.

The werewolf healer merely shrugged. "You had vampire venom in your system, too, but I got rid of most of it." He nodded to my neck. Instinctively, I raised my hand, feeling the bandage resting against the wound. The cool, familiar feel of the medication spread across the inside of the bandage was reassuring. I wouldn't be turning into a Blood Bag anytime soon. Plus, it was useful to know that Opal wasn't the only one who knew how to counteract the effects of vampire venom.