Donovan's Desire

Sick Hen

Addy's hands fluttered uselessly in the air as she ran around the garage, gathering things and glancing back at the half-dead wolf spirit. Well, if a spirit could be dead anyway.

Grabbing the sides of a water trough she used to raise chicks in, she dumped out all the supplies, feeders, and heat lamps onto the floor, kicking them away. She snatched the garden hose and started filling the trough, hastily adding the same ingredients she had mixed just weeks prior, except this time she emptied her stores entirely. The broom handle was the only thing long enough to stir the thick stuff through to the bottom, creating her foul-smelling mixture once more, almost choking her with the fumes.

"Hurry, Doggie. Put it in here," she said, not knowing whether the second guardian was a male or female until he leaned against the trough to let her slid into the muck, back first.

Slowly, Berlin sunk. Seren wrapped a hand around her muzzle to keep just her nose above the surface, submerging the hanging remnants of her face and the exposed globe of her eye.

"What happened?" She asked her companion, beginning to focus on repairing the damage inside of the body first.

The wolf's ears fell back against his head and he whined pitifully.

"Is she a guardian, too?"

Donovan looked away, unsure how to answer, then reluctantly nodded.

Addy's eyes widened, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Were you...were you fighting it?"

The wolf hesitated, thinking, then shook his head. He lifted a paw up to the height of one of the not-children, mid-thigh on Addy.

Addy's lips pursed. "Windigos. They start appearing around this time of year. Won't go near the town, but will kill and eat anything they come across. They can become immaterial, but I'm sure you were able to kill them because you are magical yourselves...This one isn't as powerful as you though."

There were so many questions Donovan had for his female. If only he could speak. He watched her shoulders tense as she closed her eyes and leaned over the tub, concentrating.

"I've never tried to heal wounds this severe. If I faint, Charles should be asleep on the couch. I know you don't like each other, but you must get him. At least pull me out of here first though," she muttered.

Donovan rolled his eyes behind her back. As if he would every rely on that stupid human to help her if she truly needed it. It was only because of that hair-raising thing out there that he even tolerated Charles around Addy, and it was only to keep an eye on her.

Minutes ticked by and the only noticeable sound in the room was Berlin's weak breaths through her nose. Donovan grumbled slightly when time continued to pass without Addy moving a muscle, laboring internally to bond Berlin's flesh back together, holding completely still.

After what seemed like too long, Donovan moved over to his mate and nudged her, watching in horror as she slumped over sideways and slid onto the cement floor. At the same time, she had released Berlin's nose, which slowly began to descend into the foul mud.

Without a choice, he shifted into his human form, one hand shooting to grab his friend's muzzle, the other jumping to his mate's neck to check her pulse. Finding it, and the static sensation of touching her, he turned to his pack mate. There was a small bar towel hanging by the work sink that he hurriedly rolled up and pressed down into the fetid goo to ease behind her neck, keeping her head elevated enough that she didn't need to be held.

Satisfied, he pulled his mate into his arms, worrying over how clammy her skin was and how her normally bronze skin had turned sallow. Even her heart sounded slow and weak. He felt no buzzing connection between them, no magic in the air, none of the static that normally surrounded his vibrant female.