Chapter 59
+25 Points
Jake walked into the hospital room, his eyes scanning first over Russ, then to Bran, who sat stiffly on the exam table. Dylan Rockwell leaned over Bran’s arm, frowning deeply.
“What happened?” Jake asked, shutting the door behind him with more force than necessary.
“That freak burned me,” Bran snapped.
Russ cuffed him in the back of the head like he was a misbehaving pup. “This i***t thought it’d be a good idea to start name–calling Lyra. Then he knocked Donovan out of his damn wheelchair and
grabbed him by the throat.”
Rome snarled in Jake’s head, demanding blood. His own pulse roared as he forced himself to stay
calm, to breathe.
“You’re skipping the part where the freak–show’s brother burned me,” Bran growled.
Dylan, ever the smart one, took a careful step back, pressing himself against the wall like he’d seen this movie before and didn’t want a front–row seat.
Jake didn’t remember moving, but suddenly his hand was wrapped around Bran’s throat. He slammed him back against the table, leaning over him. Bran’s eyes went wide with fear as Jake squeezed, cutting off his air.
“You will not speak of my mate like that,” Jake bellowed, his face inches from Bran’s, rage spilling from every word. “If you even think that way about her or her brother again, I will rip your f*****g
throat out.”
Bran clawed at Jake’s arm, his face darkening to a blotchy purple.
“Alpha,” Dylan said mildly, from behind him, “please don’t kill the patient before I’ve had the chance
to treat him.”
Russ thumped Jake hard in the shoulder. “You can’t kill the dumbass yet, Jake.”
With a growl, Jake let go and stepped back. Bran collapsed forward, sucking in air like a drowning man. His hands flew to his throat, massaging the bruised skin as he stared at the ceiling with wide, terrified eyes.
Jake turned to Russ. “Tell me what happened. The real part. With Donovan.”
“Bran grabbed Donovan by the throat,” Russ explained. “Donnie grabbed Bran’s arm and just…” He shrugged, seemingly lost for words.
Dylan straightened his glasses and nodded toward Bran’s forearm, where a nasty red burn curled across the skin. It was clearly two handprints, the way Donovan grabbed Bran’s arm was clear.
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“I don’t think Bran was burned by anything physical. No flame. No chemical. I think it was… Donova
n.”
Russ raised a brow. “The hell do you mean by that?
“I mean, the moment Donovan grabbed, this happened.” Dylan gestured at the burn again. “And Donovan didn’t do anything. No strike, no weapon, not even a shift. But this burn matches silver poisoning. It has the same blistering pattern.”
Jake frowned, heart thudding. “Are you saying Donovan had silver on him?”
“No.” Dylan hesitated, his tone cautious. “Silver would still affect Donovan. Even without a wolf, Donovan is technically still of werewolf blood, plus the blood of his mother. And his mother was also clearly affected by silver as well, given her death. Donovan would not be immune to the effects. If he had silver on him, he should have burned the same.”
“So…” Jake rubbed his forehead. “So how did he burn Bran like this?”
Dylan shrugged slowly. “If I had to go out on a limb, my best guess is it has something to do with his mother’s heritage. Perhaps the silver poisoning during her pregnancy affected him somehow.” He shook his head. “I really don’t know, Alpha. I’m grasping at straws. There’s no reasonable explanation for why Donovan was able to do this.”
Jake’s thoughts spun. “This could have to do with Veriscents?”
“I don’t know enough about their variations,” Dylan admitted. “But it’s possible Donovan is manifesting… something.”
Bran croaked from behind them. “You’re telling me got cursed just for touching him?”
Jake turned, eyes like ice. “You’re lucky that’s all you got.”
Dylan crossed his arms. “I’ll need to run tests. Quietly. If Donovan’s manifesting something, we’ll need to understand it before anyone else finds out and panics.”
Jake gave a short nod. “Do it. And keep it between us.”
Russ stepped up beside him. “What do we do about this one?” He jerked his chin toward Bran.
Jake looked down at the pathetic excuse for a warrior. “Put him on leave. And let the others know he was disciplined for attacking a disabled packmate.”
“You want to tell them what actually happened?” Russ asked quietly.
Jake shook his head. “Not yet. Let’s keep it about the assault. When Donovan’s ready, we’ll talk about the rest.”
Bran grumbled something under his breath.
Jake leaned in again, his voice deathly calm. “You’re lucky I didn’t let Rome take over. You’d be a
< Chapter 59
smear on the wall.”
Bran paled.
Jake turned to Dylan. “Keep me updated.”
Dylan nodded. “Of course.”
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As Jake and Russ walked out, the air between them heavy with unspoken tension, Jake muttered, ” We need to tell Lyra. But not until we know exactly what this means.”
**
Jake found Lyra pacing in his office when he returned. Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest, worry etched into every line of her face. She looked up the second he stepped inside, and relief flickered across her features, but it didn’t last.
“Is he okay?” she asked.
“Bran?” Jake snorted. “He’ll be lucky if Russ doesn’t break his arm just for being stupid.”
She nodded, but the tension in her expression didn’t ease at all.
“What’s wrong?” Jake asked, stepping closer and gently uncrossing her arms.
“Donnie’s locked himself in his room. He won’t come out.” Her voice cracked. “He thinks he hurt
Bran.”
Jake ran his hands up and down her arms. “He did hurt Bran, Lyra. But only because Bran attacked
him.”
She swallowed hard. “He thinks he’s dangerous.”
Jake nodded slowly. “Then we should probably go convince him he’s not.”
**
Donovan’s door was shut and locked when they got there, but Jake wasn’t concerned. Perks of being Alpha meant he had the master key to the packhouse, which he pulled from his pocket without hesitation.
He knocked once. “Donovan, I’m coming in.”
No answer.
Jake slid the key into the lock. “I hope you’ve got clothes on, man, because there are things I really don’t want to see.”
Lyra huffed beside him and rolled her eyes.
“I’m just saying, Jake muttered as he turned the key. “You don’t want to see his junk any more than
Chapter 59
I do.”
“Open the damn door,” she said, giving him a shove. A grin tugged at his lips.
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He opened the door and stepped inside. The room was dark. The curtains were drawn tight and the lights were off. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust before he spotted Donovan sitting in his wheelchair by the window. He was hunched forward, gripping the wheels so hard his knuckles had
gone white.
“You shouldn’t come in here,” Donovan muttered, not looking at them.
“Too late,” Jake replied, walking farther into the room. He leaned casually against the edge of the dresser, giving Donovan a little space.
“Donnie,” Lyra said softly, stepping toward her brother. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I hurt him,” he said flatly. “I don’t even know how. But I burned him with my hands, Lyra.” Donovan lifted his hands and stared at them like he expected the answer to be written on his palms.
“You were defending yourself,” Jake said, crossing his arms.
“That’s not the point.” Donovan looked away. “You don’t understand. I didn’t just fight back. I did something unnatural. There was silver in his burn. Silver. It came out of me.”
Lyra knelt beside his chair. “You didn’t do it on purpose.”
“Isn’t that worse?” he asked, meeting her eyes. “I couldn’t control it. Who knows what will happen the next time I touch someone?”
“Let’s find out,” Jake said, shrugging.
Both Lyra and Donovan looked at him in surprise.
Jake extended his arm as he stepped forward. “Grab my arm. Let’s see what happens.”
Donovan’s face went pale. “Alpha…”
“I’m serious.” Jake stopped in front of him, calm and steady. “Grab my arm. Let’s find out if you’ve got what it takes to knock me on my ass.”
Donovan shook his head, his expression pleading.
Jake raised his arm a little higher and shook it. “Come on, Don. Just do it. Worst–case scenario, I end up with some cool scars to match my mate.”
A faint smile tugged at Donovan’s mouth and Lyra shook her head at him.
After a few more seconds, Donovan reached out with trembling fingers and gripped Jake’s
forearm.
Nothing happened.
< Chapter 59
Jake raised an eyebrow. “Nothing. That’s a shame.”
Donovan let go, his shoulders slumping in obvious relief.
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“You’re not dangerous,” Jake said. “You were attacked, and something inside you reacted. That isn’t evil. That’s instinct. We’ll figure out what happened and why. That’s all this is.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt him,” Donovan whispered.
“I know.” Jake’s voice was firm. “But honestly? He deserved it. And if he ever lays a hand on you again, or talks about your sister like that, you won’t need to lift a finger. I’ll handle it myself.”
Donovan managed a real smile this time, faint but there.
Lyra squeezed his hand. “You’re not a monster, Donnie.”
He gave a soft scoff. “I guess I’m just even more different than I already was.”
Jake clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Go big or go home.”
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