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Margo
“How did it go?”I asked Dorian when he returned from the pack meeting.
He sat on the floor in front of my chair. “Good enough.”
Judging by the knot in his jaw, the meeting had been rough on him. I squeezed his shoulder. He turned his head to kiss the back of my hand, but he didn’t volunteer any further information.
Amelia was scribbling in the corner, speaking with Perdita’s father in low tones. My parents huddled together on a sofa, looking incredibly small. Vira sat alone by the window, gazing outside to avoid looking at me. I had bundled up under half a dozen heavy blankets, but my body continued to shake.
Dorian looked up at me then, his soft brown eyes clear and resolute. There was no backing away for him. I found every ounce of strength I needed in his gaze. A warmth worked its way around my body, urging me to believe that we were doing the right thing.
Nathan burst into the room, closely followed by Evelyn. Amelia took one look at her, rolled her eyes, then went back to work.
“What are you doing here?” Dorian asked. “What about the baby and Perdita?”
“Ryan’s with them,” Nathan said. “Evelyn visited, so I persuaded her to help out here.” He nodded at Dorian. “Couldn’t leave you alone to deal with this, little man.”
Dorian smiled, but it was a sad ghost of a smile that made me long to comfort him. Instead, he crossed the room to hug Nathan. Seeing the support given to Dorian made me glad. Even if it went wrong, they would take care of him, give him everything he needed. My parents had one another. Vira and the pack would help each other. We all had the knowledge that we had done whatever we could. My worries were drifting away, making my path clear.
Evelyn sat next to me. “How are you feeling?”
“Bit cold, but okay.”
She took my trembling hands into hers. “It’s normal to be scared,” she continued. “We could get you something to calm you down.”
“We don’t think that’s a good idea,” Amelia said loudly. “In case it affects the process.”
“Modern medicine and this sort of thing tend not to be compatible,” Dr Rivers said wryly.
Perdita had told me about his situation before. He might have turned into a werewolf himself after a near-fatal werewolf attack, but a blood transfusion had made things go very wrong. He’d been bitten again purposely, then cleansed to reset the damage, but his personality had completely changed for a while.
And now I was begging for that to happen to me. No wonder Dorian had been reluctant. He knew those stories, knew about things I didn’t, most likely.
Byron entered the room with an old lady I recognised. Perdita had recently befriended her when she realised the woman was carrying the guilt of her relatives. She was so old, she had known the previous alpha in his youth. If anybody had information, it didn’t surprise me that it would be her.
“This is Heddy,” Byron announced. “She knew Vin, and she even met my father. She has some stories that might help us.”
“I don’t know,” she said hastily. “Maybe not.”
He held her gaze, giving her hand a warm squeeze. “You’re helping, Heddy. Information is very important to us right now. It’s very useful for us to have you around.”
Her wrinkled cheeks flushed, her eyes brightening as though they had lit up from within.
“Take a seat, Heddy,” Evelyn said, guiding her to the chair. “You’ve met Margo, haven't you?”
Heddy smiled at me. She seemed better now, less nervous than before. She wasn’t a werewolf herself, but she had given birth to a werewolf son who had been murdered by the last alpha. She had been punishing herself over her grandson’s past actions which had landed him in prison.
“I wasn’t there in person for his mother’s turning,” she said, gesturing to Byron. “But I was there for some of Vin’s experiments. I was a nurse before he found me and mated me to one of his werewolves. I had no idea about this sort of thing before then. I was very young, and I didn’t believe in superstitions. I heard he went crazy, that he was desperate to create more werewolves, more women who could carry the babies he wanted. He tried many times, in different ways, but they died, all of them. I tried to save them, but he wouldn’t listen. As soon as they weakened, he gave up. Some he killed himself, said he was putting them out of their misery.”
Evelyn looked uncomfortable. Her family had managed to hide from the alpha, Vin. Her life might have been very different if she’d been discovered.
“First, they went into shock, so he decided one bite must be enough, but I now believe the shock is a necessary part of the process. One bite makes them suffer longer, takes too long to change the blood. It’s not enough. Many bites are better. It’s over quicker. Some survived the first day only to develop awful infections. Their blood wasn’t right, or outside bacteria got into the wounds. These weren’t healthy wolves making the bites. It could be either problem.”
“I think you’re right,” Amelia said. “According to everything I’ve found, the wounds should be covered.” She glanced at Stephen. “Not like with you, when we tried to draw it out of you. It’s more like a bandage over a wound to keep it clean and safe.”
“I’m worried about her going into shock,” Nathan said. “How will we know what’s right, and what’s not?”
“I can help with that,” Stephen said.
