"Not this many."
"Adam."
"A day here and there is different from running out completely with no refill available and a doctor who won't be back fortwo fucking weeks." His words come out faster and faster, his voice climbing with each one. "Those are not the same, Cliff. They aren’t the sameat all.”
"You're right," I say, trying to calm him. "They're not." I hold his gaze. "But we are going to fix this. I promise you."
He searches my face for a moment, before asking, "How?" And the single word is so devastating leaving his lips, that I have no fucking clue how to answer.
"I don't know yet," I say honestly. "But there are other doctors. Other pharmacies. We’ll figure this out, even if I have to fucking steal those meds." I squeeze his leg. "I am not going to let you suffer.”
Adam looks at me for a long moment.
Then he looks back at the shop, at the warm light spilling out through the open bay doors, at Elowen saying something that's making Perrin smile.
"Okay," he says quietly.
"Okay," I say, patting his leg before opening my door.
Elowen’s giggling when she looks up andfinds me across the shop. Her expression shifts slightly, and she gives me the softest, prettiest smile I've seen all day.
And that's when it hits me.
I round the hood, and grab Adam’s hand.
"Hey."
He turns, then immediately starts rambling. “I’m sorry, I’m just worried. My joints already hurt, and my skin is tight, and it feels like there’s no one that can actually help me. It’s like I’m screaming into a void.”
"Elowen is a pharmacist," I say, before he can get another word out.
Adam blinks, staring at me for a full three seconds.
"She makes drugs for a living…I think." I frown slightly, realizing I have absolutely no idea what pharmacists actually do beyond stand behind a counter. “She’ll be able to help,” I say with complete confidence.
Something bright moves through Adam’s eyes, like a light being switched on. His brows lift and his mouth falls open. He looks genuinely stunned that this didn't occur to him sooner, and honestly, so am I.
"She's a pharmacist," he repeats softly.
"Yeah. And she spent six months working at the Morder," I say. "If anyone knows how to manage weird symptoms with very few resources, it's her."
Adam turns and looks through the bay doors at Elowen, her legs swinging, completely unaware of what I volunteered her for.
But if anyone can figure out how to help Adam, it's a woman who's been hiding her own biology for three years using stolen medications and sheer willpower.
“Elowen,” Adam whispers her name like she's the north fucking star. "Well, shit.” He snorts before looking up at me. “I take back every complicated feeling I've ever had abouther," he says, then he starts walking into the shop like his ass is on fire.
I follow him through the bay door, and the smell of my pack and warm metal immediately settles around me.
Raff clocks us, his gray eyes move from me to Adam. He frowns slightly as he watches the beta rush right toward Elle.
Perrin looks up from the tool chest and grins. "Hey. How was Montclare?”
“Did you learn anything?” Elowen asks as her eyes zero in on the intense look on Adam’s face.
"Not really," I say, which is true and covers enough ground for now.
“Hey.” Adam stops right in front of our omega, so close her eyes go wide. His hands are already moving at his sides, fingers flexing open and closed the way they do when he's trying not to freak out.
