Page 22 of Freed Wolfsbane

My shriveled, black heart breaks for the girl and everything she must’ve been through here. I shake my head because that’s not the most pressing problem right now. I need to figure out what happened to my mate so the mages can heal her.

Standing up, I rush to Briar’s side and kneel on the cold, hard floor. I grasp her clammy, blood-covered hand in mine as I turn to the girl. “Do you know what happened to her?”

Rhys and four of his mages also drop to their knees around Briar. His eyes are pinched with worry as he uncertainly hovers his hands over Briar’s injuries, not seeming to know where to start fixing her. My heart feels like it’s in my throat as I try hard not to think about what happens if they can’t heal everything wrong with her.

“Fuck. Finn, you heal more often than I do, but I know we’re gonna need my power for this. Where in the hell do I even start so I don’t heal her wrong?” Rhys hisses quietly to one of the mages, trying to keep his voice down so he doesn’t worry the little girl.

The mage shakes his head as he shoves a rough hand through his red hair, his blue eyes staring helplessly at my mate and the state she’s in. “I don’t know, man. I don’t think I’ve ever healed someone with injuries this bad. They’re usually dead at this point.” As soon as he says that, he winces and looks over at me, like he expects me to leap over there and tear out his throat for mentioning Briar and dying in the same sentence.

Honestly, he’s right to be worried, but that’s not the most important thing right now. Healing my mate is.

Instead, a half growl half whine makes its way out of my throat at the prospect of my mate dying. I’m trying desperately to cling to my rage at what the Knights did to her because I know it’s the only thing keeping me and my wolf from drowning in our worry and grief.

“I got stabbed and shot,” Briar’s weak voice answers my question dryly, tearing my attention away from the frantic mages still desperately trying to figure out how to heal her. I didn’t realize that the state Briar’s in is so far outside of what they usually deal with, which makes it feel like someone is crushing my heart as I try not to think about it too hard.

My gaze snaps to her half-open icy eyes. Whereas Briar’s light blue eyes are usually crystal clear, they’re hazy with pain, or maybe blood loss, right now. “You’re awake.” My words are choked out as I stare at Briar, all the fear and heartache and worry roughening my voice.

She makes a humming sound. “That’s debatable. There’s still, like, an eighty percent chance I’m hallucinating this whole thing as I die.”

I force my lips to twitch up the slightest amount at her retort, not wanting to worry Briar with how I’m doing. All my little mate should be focusing on right now is healing, and it kills me that I can’t do anything to help her, unlike the mages. “You’re not hallucinating, baby girl, and you’re not dying,” I grit out between clenched teeth.

Her gaze softens. “I’m not doing too hot, Malachi. I was already in rough shape after Ryker shanked me, which was really freaking rude if you ask me. Anson shooting me, again, rude, just made the situation a million times worse. I’m all out of magic to heal myself, and I’ve lost a lot of blood.” She attempts to squeeze my hand in reassurance or apology, but she’s barely able to twitch her fingers.

“Good fucking thing we brought mages, then,” I growl at her, the lump in my throat making it hard to speak. My eyes prick with tears that I refuse to let fall. I need to be strong for Briar, not come apart at the seams at the state we found her in. If the mages don’t start doing something soon, I’m going to lose it, though. I’m tired of them whispering to each other instead of healing her. “You’re not allowed to die, goddamn it.”

She doesn’t seem to know it, but I need Briar more than I need my heart to beat or my lungs to breathe. In the short time I’ve known her, she’s become the center of my entire fucking universe. I can’t live in a world without her.

Briar glances at the mages around us and all of the people behind them in surprise, not having noticed the collection of mages, enforcers, and scared shifters standing there. The enforcers form a line between my mate and the other shifters as a precaution. “Oh, well, that’s nifty. And I’m doing my best not to, Mr. Bossy Pants.”

I can’t even force a smile at her calling me bossy. Normally, I find it funny when she tells me how controlling I am, but, right now, I can’t feel anything other than all-consuming rage and fear for her.

The little girl lets out a hiccupping half sob half giggle. Briar turns her head to look at her in surprise. “Annabel, what are you still doing here, honey?”

“I didn’t wanna go away.” She wrings her hands nervously. “Please don’t leave.” Annabel’s voice breaks, and her shoulders shake with silent sobs.

Briar’s face looks devastated at Annabel’s tears. “I’m not going anywhere. The Knights will have to try harder than this to get rid of me. And you heard Malachi, they brought some fancy-dancy mages to patch me up. I’ll be A-okay.” She weakly reaches out a hand to the little girl before realizing it’s smeared with blood. Before Briar can pull away, Annabel desperately clutches her crimson-stained palm.

Annabel’s lower lip trembles. “Promise?”

Giving her a solemn nod, Briar says, “I swear it.”

The mages abruptly stop their whispering amongst themselves, and Rhys looks down at Briar with apprehension and worry. He tries to give my mate a reassuring smile, but it comes out as a grimace instead. “Hey, Briar. I don’t know if you remember me, but you were in my little sister’s class for a couple years. Sorry about the delay. We’re just trying to figure out the best way to heal you without any… complications.” His face twists when he mentions complications, and I feel a pit form in my stomach as I wonder what the possible problems are. “I’m going to patch you up, but I need to know what happened in order to fix everything properly.”

The normally collected mage is rambling, the stress of the situation getting to him. He shakes his head at himself before glancing back up at Briar.

“I wanna say you’re one of the Gallagher boys.” Briar attempts to shrug but winces at the movement. She’s the calmest out of all of us, not seeming particularly worried about her injuries. “But I’m honestly barely conscious right now, so take it with a grain of salt. As to what happened, I got stabbed with a serrated knife that was then dragged across my abdomen. My wolf partially healed that, but running around started to reopen the wound. Then I got shot twice in the same spot. I can’t say that’s my favorite thing that’s ever happened, but there you have it.”

I hang my head because I don’t have it in me to keep my expression neutral at everything she’s been through. A tear trails down my cheek at the emotions that are trying to consume me, and I try to subtly wipe it away before Briar notices.

Taking in a deep breath and holding it, I shove all the anxiety and grief and panic behind a curtain in my mind. Later, when Briar’s safe, I can feel all of those emotions and break down. Right now, I need to stay strong for her and do everything I can to get her the healing she needs.

Rhys gives Briar a ghost of a smile, although his eyes swim with worry for her. “Your guess was correct. I’m Rhys, the older Gallagher boy. It sounds like you have a lot of internal damage. I’ll do my best to heal you all the way, but I may have to tap out part way through. Is it okay with you if either Finn or Cian take over if I need to take a break?”

I appreciate him getting Briar’s consent before beginning to heal her. My mate hasn’t had a lot of choices in her life for a while, most likely having even fewer while she was trapped here. Having even the illusion of a choice about getting healed helps, despite the fact that the mages will have to fix her whether she wants them to or not.

“Yep. As long as none of you try to kill me, I really don’t care who heals me. I’m kinda at my limit of people trying to kill me today, ya know?” While Briar tries to keep her voice light, vulnerability slips into her words. It makes me want to go on a rampage to eviscerate everyone who hurt her.

He closes his eyes to gather himself, his calm expression fracturing at the vulnerability in her voice. Blowing out a harsh breath, he opens his eyes to focus on Briar and starts healing her. At least, I assume that’s what he’s doing because I can smell the peppery scent of magic in the air. “That’s reasonable. I’d be pretty done with it too if I were you. And none of us will hurt you. I highly doubt your alpha wolf would let any of us so much as look at you wrong. This will probably hurt, but you’ll feel better once I’m done.”

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