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Easing my arm out from under her, I slipped out of bed without waking her up. The light wasn’t bothering her, and she snored lightly as I dressed and left the room. After closing the makeshift wooden door to our quarters, I headed down the hall to check on Abel.
The other alpha still hadn’t regained consciousness. I wanted to be one of the first to speak to him and find out if he knew more about whatever serum they’d injected into him and Kira.
Unfortunately, Abel was still unconscious. A witch stood above him, running her hands an inch over his body as she murmured under her breath. She paused when she saw me.
“Good morning,” she said. “I’m afraid your friend hasn’t come around yet.”
“Has there beenanychange?”
“He’s more stable. No more strange night sweats, and his heart rate is back to normal.” She put her hands on her hips and looked at Abel like he was a puzzle she couldn’t figure out. “Not sure what else we can do for now. We’re discussing it, though.” She looked up quickly, like she’d just remembered something. “Ididtry a few spells on your other friend. The feral one? His name is Leif, I think?”
“Really?” I stepped forward, eager to hear any good news. “Did they help?”
She shrugged. “It calmed him down some. I wouldn’t trust him in Haven, but he has been a little less feral. Zoe got up early this morning to work with him.”
My eyebrows shot up. “She’s there now?”
“Yup. Down the corridor, if you want to check in. A few of your other friends are there, too.”
“Thank you,” I said, giving a wave as I hurried down the hall.
In the enclosure room, I found Zoe, Mika, and J.D. Leif sat in his cell in human form, still looking wild and crazed. Instead of rocking in place and trying to tear his hair out, though, he sat on his knees and stared dazedly at Zoe. She was kneeling in front of the steel bars, her hands up as she cast her spells.
“Morning,” Mika whispered as I stepped in.
J.D. kept staring at Leif and Zoe, chewing his thumbnail. He didn’t spare me a single glance.
“How’s it coming along?” I whispered to Mika.
“Not great.” He sighed. “The spells they cast last night pulled him out of his funk, but it’s not enough for him to be considered okay. He still reverts and has outbursts.”
As if on cue, Leif jumped up. “This isn’t working. I can’t feel any-fucking-thing!” He kicked the wall of his cell, sending up a clod of dirt, then began muttering and mumbling to himself. Grabbing a handful of his hair, he tugged hard, trying to rip a clump out.
Zoe heaved a sigh as she rose to her feet. “I’m sorry. This isn’t really my wheelhouse. I’ve got some fun tricks, but healing has never been my strong suit. Especially when I have no clue what caused the issue to begin with. Spell? Potion? Drug? Hypnosis? Gods only knows what that fucker did to cause this.” She cracked a bittersweet smile. “If Leif wanted his fur a different color, I could do that in a snap.”
“Hey,” Mika said, stepping forward, “you’re doing your best.” He lifted an arm like he wanted to put it around her, but stopped himself.
Zoe lowered her eyes. “Doesn’t feel like it.”
“He’s definitely less feral,” J.D. said, his eyes still trained on Leif. “That’s something to be happy about. You guys have done that much, at least.”
“Exactly,” Mika added, finally forcing himself to put a hand on Zoe’s shoulder. “Zoe, without you, this would never have come as far as it has. You and the other wiccans and fae here are doing areally goodjob.”
I stared, trying to stop myself from gaping at Mika. I’d never heard him sound so…sweet.
For her part, Zoe seemed to respond to the flattery. She flashed a brilliant smile at Mika. “Do you really think so?”
“Absolutely,” he said enthusiastically.
“Do you guys want a minute in private?” I asked, grinning at Mika.
The other alpha snapped his head up at me, face flaming with embarrassment.Stop, he mouthed.
Zoe, oblivious to my joke, shook her head. “No, I can work with people around. It doesn’t bother me.”
“I’m starving,” J.D. said with a heavy sigh. “I’m going to grab a bite and come back.” He looked through the bars at Leif. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, okay?” he said to him.
Leif, having calmed down again, nodded. “Okay. Yeah, you need to eat something. I’ll, uh…” He glanced around at the ten-by-ten cell. “I’ll be here, I guess.”
