Chapter 129
** Paige’s POV **
The cabin is quiet except for the soft hum of my laptop. I’ve been staring at the same line of text for at least five minutes, pretending to work while my mind keeps wandering to the patrol. Ryder and Parker are out with the new enforcers, and I have an uneasy feeling about
I glance toward the window, where the trees sway gently in the moonlight. Everything looks calm and still.
Then it hits me. It’s subtle at first, like someone brushing a cold fingertip along the back of my neck. The tiny hairs on my arms stand up. My heart stutters. The bond that usually thrums steadily in my chest flickers, and then goes silent.
“Ryder?” I whisper, even though I know he can’t hear me out loud. I reach for him through the bond, the way I always do when he’s not near me, but this time, there’s no warmth, no pulse of his presence pushing back. Just emptiness. The air leaves my lungs all at once.
No.
I try again, harder this time, trying with everything I have to open the mind–link. “Ryder, answer me.” Nothing. The more I push, the colder it gets. Panic crawls up my spine.
Something’s very wrong.
I shove back from the desk, nearly sending the chair flying. The laptop clatters to the floor as I grab for the nearest hoodie. My hands are shaking so badly I can barely get it over my head.
The front door bursts open just as I hit the stairs.
“Paige!” Callen’s voice thunders through the hall, raw with fear.
“I can’t feel him,” I gasp before he even reaches me. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ find[ɴ]ovel.net
“I know,” he says, catching my shoulders. His eyes are wild, glowing faintly gold. “Parker just linked with me, Ryder collapsed. He’s taking him to the healer now.”
The words barely register before I’m already moving.
“Go,” Remy says from the doorway where he’d been on the porch with Cal. “I’ll stay with Jax.”
I don’t even stop to thank him, and Callen curses under his breath and follows, shouting orders for Remy to assign someone to take the lead on patrol.
< Chapter 129
The night air is cold against my face as I sprint out the door, my bare feet pounding against the dirt path.
Branches whip against my arms as I run, the path to the healer’s cabin a blur, I don’t
remember crossing half the distance, just the pounding of my pulse and the hollow ache in my chest where Ryder should be.
Callen barely keeps pace beside me, his wolf close to breaking free. “He’ll be fine,” he growls, maybe to reassure me, maybe himself. “He has to be fine.”
The faint scent of antiseptic hits my nose before I even see the cabin. Then I hear voices… Poppy shouting, Parker swearing, Jake’s low urgent tone, and underneath it all, Ryder. His pained groans.
“Ryder!” I scream as I throw the door open.
The scene inside hits me like a blow. Ryder sprawled on the narrow bed, half–covered with a sheet, his skin pale and clammy. His eyes are closed, and his chest is heaving unevenly. Jake’s hands glow faintly as he presses them to Ryder’s arm, and Parker is gripping Ryder’s shoulders, trying to hold him still as his body jerks.
“What’s wrong with him?” I ask, my voice shaking as I stumble toward the bed. I press a hand to Ryder’s chest, desperate to feel warmth, a heartbeat, something.
Jake looks up, his face grim. “Poison. But not one I’ve seen before.”
“Hunters?” Callen asks from behind me.
“Maybe,” Poppy mutters. She’s already pulling more supplies from her kit, setting up a drip. “ It’s not wolfsbane, it’s something else, and it’s attacking his system fast.”
My head spins. “But he’s healing, right? He’s a shifter, so he should…”
“He’s not healing.” Jake cuts me off, his voice tight. “He’s completely cut off from his wolf, and without it he can’t heal, he’s practically human right now.”
The world slows as I look at him and try to comprehend what they’re saying… human, can’t heal, poison. Dark marks spread along his neck and chest and down one arm. My throat
burns.
“Do something,” I whisper. “Please.”
Poppy moves closer, sliding a hand under his wrist to check the pulse again.
“We are, Paige. But whatever’s in his system is spreading fast.” She glances toward Leo, who I hadn’t noticed was here until now. “We haven’t had time to test if it’s the same stuff that Leo
< Chapter 129
was shot with, but that bullet had a similar effect. It stopped him healing and shifting.”
Claim
“Leo didn’t react this badly though, his biggest issue was the wound itself.” Callen shakes his
head.
“I think that’s the key.” Poppy’s eyes flick between the two men. “Leo was actively bleeding, which means most of the toxin would’ve drained out with the blood. Ryder has no open wounds, it’s trapping the poison inside.”
“So… what are you saying?” I ask quietly, dreading the answer.
“I’m saying we need to drain it out.”
The words hang heavy in the air.
Callen stiffens. “Absolutely not.”
“Callen…”
“No, Poppy.” His voice drops, with a barely suppressed growl beneath it. “He’s already weak. You start taking his blood, and you’ll kill him faster.”
Poppy looks up, meeting his glare. “If we don’t, he’s dead within the hour anyway.”
My knees buckle, and Parker catches me before I hit the floor. “Hey,” he murmurs against my hair, voice shaking. “We’re not losing him, Paige. Not like this.”
But I can’t breathe. I can’t stop staring at Ryder’s face, too still, too pale. He’s supposed to be warm and alive and smug, not… like this.
Poppy turns to Jake. “I need more saline, and a transfusion setup. If we drain the blood, we’ll need to replace it fast.”
Every head turns toward Callen.
He blinks, taking a second to catch up before he pulls his hoodie off. I can see the war behind his eyes, his fear, his instinct to protect Ryder, his doubt. He looks at me, and the pain there almost breaks me.
Parker’s jaw tightens. “You think this will work?”
“I don’t know,” Poppy admits. “It might be too late, but it’s the only shot we have.”noveldrama
“Do it,” I whisper. “If there’s even a chance it can save him, we have to try.”
For a moment, no one moves, waiting for Callen to have the final say. He exhales long and rough, and nods.
Jake moves quickly, setting up the equipment with steady hands, even though his jaw is tight with worry. Callen sits in the chair, resting his arm beside Ryder on the bed, and I swear I can feel the tremor that runs through him. Parker moves to help, steadying the tubing while Poppy swabs his arm.
“Ryder,” I whisper, leaning close to his ear. “You’d better fight, you stubborn i***t. You promised me you’d always come back.”
His skin is cold beneath my hand, but I keep my palm pressed to his chest anyway, reassuring myself in the faint rhythm there. While he’s breathing, there’s hope.
Poppy starts the transfusion. The tube fills with dark red, the line running from Ryder’s arm into a collection bag. Another tube connects from Callen’s arm into Ryder’s. Minutes feel like hours as I watch both of their blood drain.
Jake calls out Ryder’s vitals in steady intervals. “Heart rate is dropping. Oxygen is eighty–four. Hold the flow for a second…” The room falls deathly silent whilst we all wait for Jake to speak again. He watches his monitors for what feels like forever before he speaks again. Good. Keep it steady.”
Parker paces behind me, running his hands through his hair. Leo mumbles about something, but I can’t focus on anything except the sound of the machines and Ryder’s uneven breaths.
Poppy’s voice cuts through the quiet. “His colour is coming back slightly,” she murmurs.” That’s good. Come on, big guy, stay with us.”
Ryder groans a soft, broken sound, and every part of me snaps to attention. I grab his hand, tears blurring my vision. “Ryder, can you hear me?”
His lips part, but the words don’t form. He’s trying, though. His fingers twitch in mine. Relief and terror crash over me all at once.
“Paige…” Callen’s voice is rough. He’s pale now too, sweat forming on his brow. Poppy moves quickly, switching out another line, monitoring both their vitals.
“You need to rest,” she says firmly. “You’ve given enough for now.”
Callen ignores her, eyes locked on Ryder. “Is it working?”
“Too early to say.”
I want to scream. I want to break something. Instead, I lower my forehead to Ryder’s arm, my tears falling onto his skin. “Please,” I whisper. “You can’t leave me. Not after everything.”
A memory flashes through my mind, as clear as if I’m right there, back in that moment. With Ryder’s hand on my cheek, his voice low. ‘There’s nothing in this world that could take me
< Chapter 129
from you again. I’m with you, Paige, and I plan to stay.‘
And now he’s slipping away, and I’m useless.
N.O Darling
Clamy
Thank you for all your support. I appreciate you all! I have the next chapter written, but I’m having some issues with my app keep crashing whilst I’m trying to edit it. Please bear with me and I’ll get it published as soon as I can.
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