Chapter 376

“Okay.” I stood up. “I can grab the things I need from the kitchen after dinner. We will do it then, okay?” Everyone nodded. “There is a reason I brought you here, other than the fact that we can speak freely.”

Alannah looked around. “What is it?”

“I need your blood.” I grimaced. I looked around and saw that, once again, my mom was ahead of me. In the bathroom, on the counter, there were five plastic cups, a small knife, and one bandage. I nodded toward the bathroom and waited for everyone to walk in. I sat down on the toilet and gestured to the tiny cups. “It’s not a lot, but where I am going to take you, you need to be added to a spell so that you can’t be traced.”

They just looked at each other before they nodded. Everyone grabbed their cup except Abby; she walked over to me. “Could you help me?” She swallowed loudly. “I’m not supposed to get hurt, because it will make my sickness worse.” She was scared, but I pulled her close.

“Can I tell you a secret?” She nodded. “When I was your age, I got hurt. Real bad. And I was terrified of being hurt again.”

“How did you get past it?” she shook as she raised her arm towards me.

“By doing exactly what you are doing now—being brave.” I smiled, but her eyes were focused on her wrist in my hand. “Hey, look up here. Look at my eyes and tell me a story.”

“Huh?” She looked up, and I smiled.

“Look at my face and tell me a story—your favorite story.” I grabbed her cup, and got it under her hand. Her gaze jumped to me, but I tsked her. “Nope. Up here.” Her eyes snapped to mine. “Good. Now…your story.”

She closed her eyes for a minute, and then she looked back at me. “There once was a little girl who lived in the forest.” She continued the story for a minute before she stopped. “Aren’t you going to cut me?”

I just tapped her nose. “Pay attention to your story. Does closing your eyes help?” She thought about it for a minute and then nodded. “Okay, then close your eyes and focus on your story. Really picture it.”

She started again, eyes closed and her breathing finally evened out. I waited for a few minutes, and I realized everyone had stopped to listen. I gestured for them to keep going, and then I shifted my claw. Abby had gotten to a part of her story where the little girl ventured out of the forest, and I could tell she had finally relaxed enough that cutting into her wouldn’t do more damage than I intended, so I acted. I quickly slid my nail against her, opening a shallow cut. Her blood came quick—quicker than it should have—but she was right. The spell that was making her skin chased after death.

Her quick inhale was her only reaction. She kept telling her story, even if her voice quivered a bit. Once I was sure I had enough blood, I pushed my magic into her, but it was my turn to gasp. My magic flowed through her body, and I could feel all the damage the hex did to her body: her damaged muscle, her weakened organs, but it was her wolf that broke me even more. Her tiny pup inside of her was skin and bones.

I pushed Nix into her with my magic, and she walked over to the pup. Abby, the sweet girl, knew something was happening, and was suddenly beside me in her mind. “How are you here?” She looked up at me.

“Magic, sweetheart.” I walked over with her to her forest, where her tiny pup was hiding just inside of the trees.

“Where are we going?” She trailed behind me.

“To your safe place for your wolf.” I held my hand out to her. She finally caught up and slipped her hand in mine. I could still feel my magic doing its best to heal the damage, even though it wasn’t much. But this, this was too important to ignore.

We walked over to find Nix cuddled around a dull, furred, red wolf. The sickness had leached the vibrancy long ago. She was shivering in the cold, fighting to survive. Nix had barely laid down fully before the tiny wolf pup howled softly and tucked herself closer to her warmth. She looked up at me with horror-filled eyes. “She is close to death.”

“How long do we have to save the pup?” I knelt, pulling Abby with me. I turned to her. “This is your wolf, sweetheart. Comfort her.” Abby hesitated, looking at Nix. “Don’t worry. She is my wolf.” Abby got close then, laying down next to her wolf and cuddled her against Nix’s side.

“Not long,” Nix signed, as she nestled the pup. “Maybe a day.” Abby started to cry when she heard.

“She won’t survive without her wolf, Nix.”

Nix looked up at me with pain written on her face. “I know.”

“It’s okay, Nala.” Her words were soft. “We did our best.”