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I expected Father Marius to scold him for his insubordination, especially since it was in front of the others, but he didn't. Instead, his gaze softened, and he cupped Arrow’s cheek in his palm. "My dear boy, the sacrament is for far more important matters than healing an insignificant wound.”
The wound hardly seemed insignificant to me, and I could tell Arrow wanted to argue the same, but he didn't. It wasn't like him to defer to anyone, so I had my suspicions that he was planning on forcing the priest’s hand if he had to. The look on his face suggested he was, indeed, considering it.
To my relief, someone pounded on the door a few minutes later, and I heard the familiar but muffled call of Castor’s voice from the other side. Logan looked at me as if for permission, and I nodded for her to open the door.
Castor came back in, Dr. Kelly at his side, and I was relieved to see them both. Castor and the doctor rushed over to Father Marius, and Renata moved back to make room, since Arrow clearly wasn’t going anywhere. She wandered over to me, a worried look in her eyes.
"I'm so glad you're both all right,” she said. “Baker and Adams are still searching the Abbey, but it looks like there aren't any other wolves left."
“Let’s hope not,” I said, looking over to find Dr. Kelly ordering Father Marius around. Evidently, he was not an ideal patient. I kept my voice low as I asked, “Is he going to be okay?”
The fact that Renata didn’t answer right away was reason enough to be concerned. She had been studying under Dr. Kelly for years, and I had seen her with the other patients enough to trust her opinion.
“He’s lost a lot of blood,” she said, echoing her brother’s words. “He might look all right on the surface, but he’s been taking infusions long enough that the true effects of any internal damage might not be obvious yet.”
That answer made my chest tighten, but at least someone wasn’t sugarcoating things for me, and for that, I was grateful. “My blood will help, though, right?” I asked hopefully.
She hesitated a bit too long for comfort before answering, “I’m sure it will.” She touched my arm before walking over to check on some of the other hunters who had sustained more minor wounds.
I still didn't know how many casualties there had been on our side, but I did know this was far from over. It was an attack, yes, but it was also a message.
The actual war was just beginning.
ChapterThirty-Four
CASTOR
"How is he?" I asked as Dr. Kelly left Father Marius's private quarters.
The doctor looked weary, and I very much doubted he had slept at all over the last twenty-four hours. "Better than he was, which isn't saying much," he answered, confirming what I already feared.
"Why aren't the infusions working?" I asked.
"It's not that they aren't working, it's just that he lost a lot of blood beforehand,” he explained. “And while he's more or less immune to being turned, the venom still has an effect.”
"If he used the reliquary, he would be fine," I muttered.
"You’re preaching to the choir," the doctor said, holding his hands up. "If even Arrow can’t convince him, I have no hope I'll be able to do so."
I sighed. "Is being stubborn a side effect of wolf’s blood?"
The doctor gave me a knowing smile. "Considering you only recently started imbibing, I'm going to say no."
I rolled my eyes. "Fair enough. So… where do we go from here?"
"I was hoping you could tell me," he answered. "Father Marius made it clear you're the one he's chosen to act in his stead when he's incapacitated, or…"
He trailed off, but I knew well enough what he meant. As long as I had wanted to become Father Marius’s successor, I realized I had never actually come to terms with the fact that it would mean he was gone.
"Yeah," I said, clearing my throat. "Right now, I have every hunter we can spare guarding the perimeter so we won’t be caught off guard again."
"You think they’ll attack again?"
"I know they will," I answered. “As long as we have Eddie.”
The doctor grew somber, looking over his shoulder as if he wanted to be sure no one would overhear.
"How did they find out about him?" he asked.
