Alone • Liam Dunbar

Thirty-Six

As the hours passed, Hayden only got worse. Her whimpers grew endless, and no matter how many deep breaths she tried to take, air always left her in gasps. Liam had continued to absorb her pain, but we all eventually agreed he had to stop. Each time he attempted to ease her suffering his efforts only affected him. Hayden's pain had grown too powerful to dwindle and he was just draining himself.

Melissa stood at the head of the table, her eyes focused on her watch while her fingers pressed themselves into Hayden's throat, patiently measuring her pulse. I can tell by the frown that digs into her face that it's not good.

The placement of her hand also draws attention to the jagged bumps on Hayden's neck that began to appear as the day passed. They look like raised half-rosettes of dark gray that go from her clavicle to the base of her jaw, and her arms have smaller scattered partial dots, too.

"Why do they look like that?" Liam asks from over my shoulder. He cringes at the portions of Hayden's lumpy and damp skin as we stand at her side, watching as the time that goes on only weighs on her.

Melissa mirrors his revulsion, and confusion. She shrugs in response to his question, as none of this was taught in traditional graduate programs. She was way out of her depth and has no idea what Hayden's sudden breakout means, but I do.

Hayden's condition truly was failing now. Her body was trying to compensate for that by drawing out her shift so it could heal itself. As a result, the mercury she had been injected with was revealing aspects of her altered DNA. I knew that the blemishes of liquid metal weren't abnormal. They were a sign of what supernatural creature she was outside of a werewolf.

It had been difficult to discern at first, but as the spotting took shape, I recognized them and remembered another who had been cursed with the same marks.

"It's because she's part werejaguar," I force myself to explain.

Melissa and Liam visibly pause at my words, both aware of what they meant.

"Like Kate," the McCall woman mutters knowingly.

I nod numbly, unable to bring myself to do much else. The mention of the Argent woman had done its job to dull my already low spirits. If I didn't know any better, I would assume the Dread Doctors did this on purpose. Turning my best friend into the same creature as her was sadistic, but we had seen them do worse.

Liam's hand comes to hold the side of my arm, the warmth of his palm spreading to the rest of my body. His touch helps to ease a bit of the strain that taints me. I'm thankful for him being here. Through all of the chaos this month brought, he never wavered at my side, and remained there even now. His presence was enough for my sanity to remain intact.

He pulls away after a beat though, his chiming phone requiring attention. He brings out the device from his pocket to check what was the cause of the disruption, and a frown works to downturn his lips.

"What is it?" I watch him carefully, preparing myself for more bad news.

Perhaps Scott texted his Beta to let him know he hadn't found Valerie, and now it was our responsibility to tell a rotting Hayden she couldn't see her sister.

"It's Mason," Liam replies absentmindedly. Most of his focus goes on responding to his best friend. He types rapidly and I don't make any efforts to slow him down, as I was eager to hear from Mason, too.

Last night, we repeatedly reached out to him but stopped when we realized he wasn't going to answer. After what happened to Corey, we assumed he needed some time to be alone. That didn't make the radio silence any easier, though. I wanted to be respectful of Mason, as it was clear he and Corey were in the middle of a blossoming crush, but I also didn't want him to be left in danger without proper support.