The Lycan King's Healer
The Lycan King’s Healer – Chapter 48

Nothing happened.

I stood there for one moment. Then two, then three, then four. Five minutes turned into ten minutes, and soon, I was staring at a dead body with a film of b***d over its chest for more than twenty minutes.

Exhausted, I collapsed onto the floor next to his cot. I must have been too late; his organs had turned cold. Maybe I took longer than I thought I did, too delirious to notice.

The shock invading my system must have forced me into a forced sleep. I slipped into unconsciousness, right through the cracks. My mental fingers dug into the consciousness to avoid falling through, but there was no use; I fell right through like liquid.

“Hey, at least you tried. That’s all I care about,” Alan said to me as he adjusted Theo’s form, narrowing his eyes at the target.

“Trying isn’t enough,” I insisted to him, outraged.

He chuckled, rolling his eyes. He didn’t even bother to look at me. “You’re too hard on yourself. It’s either you save the day or you’re a piece of shit,” he pulled the arrow back and allowed for Theo to release it, “no wonder why you and Aldrich are so good for each other.”

“You’re my best friend. Who just lets their best friend die?” I demanded, throwing my arms out in a fit of dramatics.

“Your only friend,” he corrected. Theo shot just above the target. “See? He didn’t get the bullseye, but he got a centimeter close to it. That’s worthy of celebration.”

“There will be no celebration besides the toasts at your funeral,” I muttered. I didn’t care how glum I sounded.

There was b***d all over him, as if he was a piece of paper pierced by a thousand bullets. I looked at him, defeated. I tried so hard to save him, and it didn’t matter in the end. How could I even call myself a healer?

But I didn’t want to give up. I didn’t want to let go.

I began to place my hand over all his wounds. On his chest, his legs, his head. Wherever there was b***d, I pressed my palm against it. As if I was blocking holes in a sinking ship, the flow stopped under the pressure. I gasped, beginning to quickly press my hands against his wounds. But there were too many. Just as I ended the flow of one, another started. In a haste, I covered one then the other in a row with panicked hope.

“Cathy, what are you doing?” he asked, looking at me in puzzlement. “Cathy….

“Cathy.”

I woke up to someone saying my name. My eyes fluttered open,

“Cathy?’

I looked up to find auburn hair dangling over the side of the bed, framing the face of a boyish looking young man with freckles and a dimple.

“Alan?” I breathed through my dry lips, wondering if he was alive or if I was dead.

“What the hell are you on the floor for?” he rasped. I nearly passed out at the sound of his voice.

It gave me the strength to scramble from my broken toy looking position off the tiled floor and knee beside his bed. His eyes were bloodshot, he looked mostly immobile, and his chest was heaving as it was hard for him to breathe.

But he was breathing.

I cried out, lunging for him. My whole body flung itself onto the hospital cot, wrapping my arms around him while pressing my face against his neck. He whimpered in pain, and I immediately cursed.

“F**k, sorry, sorry,” I gasped, climbing off him, “did I break anything?”

“I think everything is already broken on its own,” he g*****d, squeezing his eyes shut.

“Do you…do you remember anything?” I asked, collecting my composure. I substituted my painful bear hug with a hand upon his shoulder. It trembled, and he looked at it with a raised eyebrow.

“I remember nothing,” he said, frowning, “what happened to me? Why do you look like a chick from a horror play?” For someone who was completely handicapped, he didn’t seem in too much despair. As a warrior, he must be used to receiving such effective injuries.

I didn’t know whether to tell him now or later; Clement’s b***d would still be healing his body, and I didn’t want to damage his nervous system that was probably still slowly coming back to life. If each bone was still broken, the only thing working must be his consciousness, his heart, and lungs.

He g*****d out in agony, and I never thought such a warrior would allow for someone to see them in this state. They were trained not to. But that was how badly Alan was injured; his entire body was broken, and he had no casting nor pain medication. Clement’s b***d was not a pain killer.

“F**k,” I muttered, trying to think through the names of the medics. They would have to be awakened, and I’d have to find an excuse. “I’ll be right back with a doctor.”

I sprinted down the hallways to the foyer, where I knew guards would be stationed. They looked at me like I was putrid now; I recognized one as the guy I jut my elbow into.

“We need nurses!” I yelled, breathless, “doctors, medics, surgeons! Alan is awake.”

The man perked up at that. “What? That’s impossible.”

“Go see for yourself,” I gasped, and the guard flanking the other side of the palace entrance shot him a look. It was not a hopeful one, but one that questioned my sanity. I’m sure I did not present otherwise.

“Wake the medics! We need medics,” I amplified my tone, and the guard sank back. He grumbled something to the other, and then he was off, padding up the foyer staircase.

“What is going on down here?” Danika asked, passing the guard on her way down.

“Alan is awake!” I exclaimed with a mad grin, then shot her a meaningful look. She looked like she had not been sleeping, her eyes swollen. Immediately, she understood, and ran over to engulf me into a hug.

“I’m so proud of you,” she said, holding me to her tightly. I cried into her shoulder, exhausted. I did not mention that it was Clement’s doing; I did not want to overwhelm her about our species. I would let her believe it was me for now.

“Is Theo okay?” I asked, my face smushed on her shoulder.

She nodded. “He knows there was a horrible accident, but nothing else.”

“Is Aldrich–”

“No,” she answered, pulling back from the hug while chewing her l*p with slight concern. “He has not returned. We have no idea where he is.”

***

As Benjamin and Elias conspired how they were to murder Aldrich, Emily walked into the room with their newest weapon.

“It seems we are not very successful in our plans so far,” Emily purred, “all we have accomplished is killing Aldrich’s ankle biter dog. We are nowhere closer to the throne.”

Benjamin rolled his eyes. “If it wasn’t for–”

“Enough,” she interrupted him, and Elias looked at her, confused.

“You have not told me about our next move,” he said, frowning.

“Because I just found it,” she said, smiling maliciously. The boys watched her walk into the room, shadowed by a mysterious, alluring man. “Meet our new healer.”