0047
Dane
I sit at her bedside, watching every little muscle twitch, willing Neah to open her eyes. She wasn't dead. I would have felt it if her soul had crossed over. This meant the antidote had worked on some level, but what irreparable damage had the Blood of Wolfsand done?
We wouldn't know until she woke.
Eric still hadn't linked me either and my patience was waning. It wasn't like him to go so long without checking in and when I tried speaking to him through Mindlink, he cut me off without a single word
"You should get some rest." Raven mutters from the doorway. "It's almost midnight and you have the pack run."
"I'm not leaving her side."
"I can sit with her."
"Like I said, I am not leaving her side."
She steps in and passes me a folded shirt, "At least change your top, you still have her blood on you."
I glance down at my blood splattered shirt and agree that it is probably not what Neah would want to see when she wakes up.
"You haven't said anything since you have been back, about Veronica." Raven mumbles
"She's dead. That is all you need to know."
"You hunted her, didn't you?"
"Did you expect me to let her final breath be easy?"
She gives me one final glance and backs out of the room
'I hate this.' Aero mutters
'You and me both.'
'We have been in control of everything for so long, but things keep slipping through, Dane. Important shit.'
'Are you trying to tell me you saw this coming?' I snap at my Wolf
'No, of course not.'
'Then you should have seen it. We both should have. Veronica has done some dark things in her past. I should have known that she would find a way to hurt Neah, especially after I told her she had no chance.' 'Blood of Wolfsbane?' He mutters, 'That is something we couldn't prepare for.'
'Raven did! She knew there was a chance it could happen.'
Aero drops into silence, he knew I was internally punishing myself and that wasn't going to change any time soon.
Changing into the black shirt, I see Neah's fingers twitch a little. Immediately grabbing her hand, I talked to her, hoping that my voice would somehow help her wake up.
Raven is soon replaced with Klaus, he lightly knocks on the door and frowns as he scans Neah.
"Did you find it?" I ask without looking up.
"Yes, and there was plenty of it."
"What do you mean?"
"She had a room full of them. Easily forty or fifty individual plants. She knew what she was doing. Not only were there plants, but she also had waders, a thick jacket and gloves, and one of those beekeeper hats. The girl knew what she was doing. And she was planning something big. She had enough to do some serious damage to the pack."
"And?"
"We burned the entire room. Nothing remains, including Veronica's bones." He takes a step towards Neah and sighs.
"What?"
"Neah has more enemies than you, Dane. For someone who knew nothing about her own life, how could she have made so many enemies?"
"Her enemies are my enemies." I mutter.
Klaus takes a seat in the only empty chair. "I assume the brother doesn't know."
"He and Eric are yet to return."
"I'm sure they are fine. Maybe they have a lead and are tracking them."
"You sound confident."
"I have to be hopeful." Klaus gives me a small smile
"Hopeful?"
"Think about it, she is some kind of miracle. Who else can say they have been bound this many times and live to tell the tale? And now poisoned by something so deadly to our kind" He frowns as he stares at my mate.
"Has she made any progress?" "No. Her heart rhythm is steady. Raven says that everything is spot on."
"Maybe her brain just needs time to process. Maybe the shock of what has happened has made her body shut down."
"Her mind is a mess." I sigh. "None of it makes any sense. I can't tell if she is reliving memories, or whether she's dreaming. I just know she is confused."
"So talk to her. Use your voice to guide her."
"You believe in that?"
"I've heard of stranger things happening. Or if you feel uncomfortable doing that, I can read to her." He pulls a small book out from the inside of his jacket.
"Go ahead," I mutter, "It can't hurt."
As Klaus reads to her.
I watch for any signs that she could hear him, but there is little more than a finger twitch here and there.
But it did seem to be bringing her peace.
Her mnd wasn't so hectic. Footsteps echo in the hallway as feet come running towards us. Klaus and I quickly move to the end of Neah's bed, blocking her from view just as Devon crashes in through the door.
"Is she okay? Please tell me she is okay!"
I take a step to the side so that he could see her.
"Who the fuck did this? Was it that fucking blonde bitch?"
"Yes," Klaus answers when I find myself unable to answer. Devon's reactions are strong, similar to how I would protect my sister
"I will kill her!"
"You are a little behind. Dane already had her killed." Klaus tells him
He moves around me to get closer to Neah, taking her hand in his. "Why won't she wake up?"
"We don't know." Klaus mutters while watching me. "She has had an antidote, all her vitals are good. I think that after years of abuse, her brain has shut down, just temporarily, to recover." "Where's Eric?" I mutter,
"He went to check on his boys. Today, made him realize a lot of things."
My eyes narrow, "Why didn't he answer me when I linked him?"
"We ran into a spot of trouble."
"In the city?"
"It looks like you were right. He is creating more Lycans. They were waiting for us."
As the light catches his skin, I notice old stains of blood that hadn't been wiped away properly.
No one from my businesses had informed me that they were having problems.
"Where too in the city?"
"Eric called it the Southbank, you know, down by the river that passes through. We were attacked, we killed as many as we could. There was no sign of Trey or Cassandra anywhere." "You couldn't sense them?" Klaus asks
"Yes and No."
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"
"It means that Trey is doing the biting, connecting more to him. It means that he knows what he is doing. He is making it difficult for me to single him out in a place that is packed. I never thought of the idiot as smart, which makes me think this is Cassandra's idea too." He bends down close to Neah. "Wake up, you are safe. You are protected. You are loved."
Still, there is nothing. If it wasn't for her heartbeat, she would be presumed dead.
When Klaus leaves, Devon takes the empty seat opposite me.
He holds her left hand as I hold her right.
Unlike the others, he doesn't tell me to leave or to get some rest. He sits in silence, which is unlike him. He was really playing the doting brother but Aero still didn't trust him.
A few hours after the sun has come up, Raven returns, checking all Neah's vitals again. "I don't understand." She murmurs.
"What's wrong?" Devon demands.
"That's just it. There is nothing wrong. She should be awake."
"Are you sure you haven't missed anything?"
She frowns at him and turns a monitor around, pointing to the different lines. "Heartbeat, good, oxygen levels, brilliant, blood pressure, perfect."
Raven leans over Neah, shining a torch light into her eyes, "Pupils, reactive."
"Raven?"
"There's nothing more I can do Dane. She just needs time."
"That wasn't what I was going to ask. Who was the Witch you saw?"
"For the antidote? The one that you get information from. Madame Curie."
"Madame Curie?"
"Yep, she was very helpful." Raven smiles, "Told me that it wouldn't be an easy antidote to make, but that it was possible."
"Madame Curie is the one who got Neah in this mess in the first place. She was the one that bound her originally. Why would she help?"
"I never said it was for Neah. I asked her if there was a way. I told her it was for the well-being of the pack and she agreed."
"She agreed?"
"Yes. As simple as that."