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- Ach
Damien closed the bedroom door behind us and turned to me. I sat on the bed and
raked my fingers through my hair, staring at the floor. My hands still shook from seeing Linda’s body. He sat next to me and put his hand on my knee.
“Healers can help in situations like this,” he said.
I looked up at him quick and furrowed my eyebrows. “For what? Like bringing her back?”
He nodded once. “Yeah. They can restart hearts if the wound isn’t too old.”
I shifted on the bed and grabbed his arm. “Why haven’t we used them on the people that have been attacked during the war? All those dead wolves. The pups. Why not bring them back?”
He raked his fingers through his hair and looked at the wall. “We only get one healer. Not all the time. And performing something like that drains so much out of them. They can pass out for days. Sometimes longer.”
I furrowed my eyebrows more. “So we just let people die? Because it’s too hard on the healer?”
He shook his head. “It’s not that simple. The healer has to choose. Strong wolves like betas take less energy. Linda’s a beta so she’s tough. The healer won’t drain as much. But for others it could kill the healer too.”
I let go of his arm and raked my fingers through my hair again. “That’s messed up. So only important people get saved?”
He looked at me. “It’s reality. Usually it takes a long time to recover from healing someone from a deep wound that strong. Enough to restart the heart. Weeks sometimes. We can’t risk losing the healer in war time.”
I nodded slow but my chest felt tight. “Okay. I get it. As long as we get her back that’s what matters.”
He stood up. “We’ll try. Come on. Preparation starts now.”
I followed him downstairs to the infirmary. The room was small with white walls and metal tables. Linda’s body lay on one, covered with a sheet up to her chest. I shifted on my feet and crossed my arms. Rafe stood by the door. Elias brought in a box of herbs and set it on the counter.
“Start crushing these,” Elias said to Rafe. “Need them fine.”
Rafe grabbed a mortar and pestle from the half and dumped green leaves in. He started pounding them hard. “Hc Successfully unlocked!
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Elias checked a paper. “Half the box. Mix with water after.”
I walked closer to Linda and touched her hand. It was cold. “When does the healer get here?”
Damien opened a drawer and pulled out candles. “Soon. Kade’s bringing her.”
I furrowed my eyebrows. “Kade? Why him?”
Damien placed the candles around the table in a circle. “He’s fast. And she trusts him.”
Alice walked in with a bowl of water. She set it next to the herbs. “Salt this. Three
pinches.”
Rafe nodded and grabbed the salt jar. “Got it.”
I shifted on my feet. “What do the candles do?”
Alice looked at me. “Channel energy. Healer needs focus points.”
Theo came in carrying crystals. He placed them at the four corners of the table.” These charged?”
Alice nodded. “Yeah. Full moon last week.”
I raked my fingers through my hair. “This feels like magic. Is it?”
Damien lit the candles one by one. Flames flickered low. “It is. Healers pull from the goddess. Rituals help.”
Kade walked in then with an older woman behind him. She had gray hair tied back and wore a simple robe. She looked tired but strong. Kade stepped aside. “She’s here.”
The healer nodded at Damien. “Alpha. Let’s begin.”
She walked to Linda’s head and placed her hands on her forehead. “Clear the room. Only essentials.”
Everyone but Damien and Alice left. I stayed put. The healer looked at me. “You too,
Luna.”
I shook my head. “No. I stay. She’s my friend.”
Damien looked at me. “Sienna…”
The healer shrugged. “Fine, but stay quiet.”
She closed her eyes and started chanting low. Words I didn’t know. The candles flamed higher. Alice sprinkled the herb mix over Linda’s wound. The healer pressed her hands harder.
Sweat beaded on the healer’s forehead. Her voice got louder. Linda’s body twitched once. I gasped and grabbed Damien’s arm. “Did you see that?”
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He nodded once. “Yeah.”
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The healer kept going. Her hands shook now. The crystals glowed faint. Alice added more herbs. “Keep going. It’s working.”
The healer groaned low. Her face went pale. She chanted faster. Linda’s chest rose once, ten again.
I squeezed Damien’s arm. “She’s breathing.”
The healer collapsed back. Alice caught her quick. “Done. She’s back.”
Linda’s eyes fluttered open. I cried out and ran to her side. “Linda! Oh my god.”
She looked at me weak. “Sienna?”
I hugged her gentle. “You’re okay. You’re back.”
I didn’t know what the heck just happened and I didn’t expect it to happen that quickly either. I was marveled but most of all I was just beyond glad. I didn’t know what to do
or say.
I stood there shaking as the healer leaned back from Linda. She wiped sweat from her forehead and nodded slow. “It worked. She’s stable.”
Relief hit the room hard. Rafe punched the air. “Yes! Beta’s back!”
Elias raked his fingers through his hair and laughed. “Holy shit. That was close.”
Theo slapped kade on the back. “Good call on the healer.”
The alphas crowded around the table. Damien looked at me and squeezed my hand quick. “You okay?”
I nodded but tears spilled over. I wiped my face fast. “Yeah. Just… happy.”
Alice leaned down next to Linda. “You scared us. You’ okay?”
Linda’s eyes fluttered open more. She looked around weak and furrowed her eyebrows. “What… happened?”
Kade stepped closer. “What happened to you?”
Linda looked straight at me, her face going pale, “luna did this, she stabbed me, she tried to kill me.”
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