Elaine POV
I stared at the Pack House. The house I briefly called home and prison. I just stared and willed myself to breathe. I feared if I walked in there, I would see him. I reminded myself that my Father was dead. He couldn’t hurt me anymore.
“Are we going in or what?” Oliver grumbled.
Azaire rubbed my thigh. “Give her a minute!”
“I-I I’m fine. Let’s go.” I popped the driver’s door open.
I was relieved he let me drive, though he looked terrified most of the drive. Azaire walked to my side and planted his hands on my shoulder.
“Are you sure you’re okay to go inside?”
I nodded. “I won’t leave Fran alone.”
“She isn’t alone. I know how hard this is, sweetheart.”
“I have to face my fears eventually.” I laced my fingers through his, and he squeezed.
Oliver walked ahead of us. Blazer opened the door before we reached it. My older brother scowled as he attempted to pull a shirt over his head.
“Where’s my sister?” Oliver demanded.
“Now you give a damn about her?” Blazer barked.
“Stop,” Azaire barked before they engaged in an Alpha brooding match. “What happened to her?”
Blazer marched up to Azaire and growled. His eyes glowed, showing his wolf coming to the surface. What’s wrong with him? Azaire didn’t hurt Fran.
“Your brother hurt her. That’s what happened!” he yelled.
“What?” I gasped.
“Richie would never- are you talking about Lucas?”
Blazer growled. “Yes. I searched everywhere for him but he had vanished. Fran’s not healing the right way. It’s pretty bad.”
My heart hammered in my chest. Why would Lucas beat up his cousin? Fran was practically his sister.
Oliver brushed past Blazer. “I have to see her.”
“Hey-” Blazer started, but Azaire cut him off.
“Don’t lie to me, Blazer. What happened to her?” Azaire demanded.
“Why would I make this up? She told me herself. Lucas and his girlfriend attacked her. Listen, I don’t care if he’s your brother. You don’t touch another man’s mate.”
Azaire growled. “In our Pack, you need to ask permission before you take a woman from our family as a mate.”
I rolled my eyes. “We’ll discuss that later. Where is she?”
Blazer’s eyes drooped, and his shoulders sagged. I knew he was worried and tense. He really cared about Fran.
“She’s upstairs. She’s seen all the healers, Elaine.”
“She’ll be fine. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”
“I hope so.”
Fran was in Blazer’s room. Her head was wrapped up as were her hands and arms. She had cuts on her face and lips.
“No, Lucas couldn’t have done this,” Azaire said, disbelievingly.
Fran stirred and groaned. I placed a hand over my racing her. She opened her swollen eyes and took us all in.
“B-Blazer, you called them?” her voice cracked.
Blazer walked over to her side and picked up her hand. “I didn’t. They’re worried about you, baby.”
“I’m fine,” she whispered.
“You’re not fine, Francine. What the hell happened? You should have called us immediately.”
A tear rolled down Fran’s cheek. Our eyes made contact, and a part of me broke.
“I didn’t want you guys to see me like this,” she said.
“You need to rest, and I need to find Lucas,” Blazer said, standing.
“No, leave him alone,” Fran protested weakly.
“If he did this, then he’s going to answer for it. Look at you!” Azaire blasted. “She needs to come home. If your healers have failed, ours need to try.”
Blazer’s forehead wrinkled with rage before his gaze softened when he looked at me.
“Elaine, I don’t know if you… you can use your powers,” he said.
I blinked a few times. “I haven’t used my powers since I gave up my magic.”
“Try, please, Elaine,” Blazer begged.
I couldn’t deny my brother, and Fran was my friend.
Azaire grabbed my hand before I took a step. “Are you sure about this? What if your skin opens up?”
“I’m not cursed anymore. Maybe that won’t happen. It might not work either.”
“Let’s find out,” Blazer said.
Oliver watched me from his sister’s right-hand side. I placed a hand on her forehead and her thigh. I hoped this would work and it wouldn’t kill me! All eyes were on me as I concentrated on my healing powers and willed the healing to course through me and fill Fran.
A knot formed in my gut, and I winced.
“What’s wrong?” Azaire demanded.
“I think it’s working.”
Fran whimpered, but I kept my hands on her. I shut my eyes and focused. Her wounds were deep. I felt venom in her blood. Lucas was an Alpha wolf, and all Alphas had deadly venom in their claws. Some Alphas had deadlier venom than others, but it was all dangerous. Fran had done a lot to fight off the venom; now I had to do the rest, but it would cost me a lot of energy.
When every wound and cut in her body healed and closed, I stumbled backwards and hit the window. Azaire was by my side instantly.
“Hey, hey, look at me,” he said.
He held my cheek and searched for the spot where my skin might open up.
“I’m okay.”
Fran ripped off the wrappings around her head and her hands. Her bruises were gone, and the scars left by the cuts would be gone soon.
“What’s wrong with her? Didn’t it work?” Oliver asked as Fran settled in the bed and drifted off to sleep.
I desperately wanted to sleep, too. My limbs were weak, and my eyes drooped.
“It worked. She’s just tired.”
Oliver nodded. “Thank you. I’ll stay with her. I owe it to her.”
“You owe it to her to straighten yourself out, Oliver. You have a family, and it’s only getting bigger.”
Oliver nodded. “Yeah, I want to meet Richie’s kid and be there for the wedding. It’s just not as easy as you all think.”
“You have to meet my son too, but only after you get help,” Azaire said sternly.
Oliver frowned. “You have a kid? I haven’t been gone that long.”
Oliver eyed me up and down. “I wasn’t pregnant.”
Oliver stared at Azaire in horror. “What did you do?”
Azaire raked a hand through his hair. “Now isn’t the best time. Holly gave birth and didn’t tell me. He’s two.”
Oliver shook his head. “What? Damn… I had no idea you got her pregnant.”
This conversation made me uncomfortable.
“Can we leave? It took a lot out of me.”
Azaire rubbed my back. “Of course, mate.”
“What are you going to do about Lucas?” Blazer asked.
“I’ll handle him. He’ll answer to me.”
“He attacked my girlfriend,” Blazer growled.
“She’s my sister, and I’ll handle this. I’ll speak to Richie as soon as we’re home.”
“I expect feedback,” Blazer said.
I stole a glance at Fran. She looked a lot better. She would recover smoothly now that the venom in her veins was gone. I felt a weird knot in my gut as we left the house. It was almost like something was moving inside.
***
“Hey, I need to speak to Richie. I’ll find you upstairs.”
I smiled at Azaire. “Okay. I’ll take a shower and see you later.”
“I’m tempted to join you, but I have to take care of this Lucas thing.”
I rubbed his arm. “I’m sorry.”
He pulled me close and kissed my forehead. “Don’t worry about it.”
While Azaire marched into the living room and turned right into the library where he would have a painful conversation with his younger brother, I went upstairs. My legs were killing me, and the right side of my head hurt.
I strolled into the bathroom and turned on the hot water. I slipped into a robe and waited for the water to heat up. I pulled out a brand new bottle of conditioner from the cabinet. Some self-care wouldn’t hurt.
I opened the bottle and inhaled the relaxing camomile and vanilla scents.
“That’s wonderful.”
I looked up at the mirror. The mirror fogged up from the steam. I was about to run a hand across the glass but froze when my reflection didn’t move. I inched closer, and my blood ran cold.
“W-what?”
The woman staring back at me didn’t resemble me at all.
I stumbled backwards and slipped. It can’t be possible.
“She’s dead. You’re dead!”
Avena’s cold, dead face stared back at me. A scream grew from the pit of my stomach and rattled my body as it escaped me.