Whatever aconite mixture the blade had been coated in, it had been deadly enough that Sage couldn’t shift without Jono’s command, and shifting wasn’t healing her. Deirdre had been transported in a second ambulance, iron-sick in a way the fae rarely were when the wound wasn’t deep. No one was taking any chances right now, not with demons in the mix.
It had been five hours since Sage was first rushed into surgery, and Patrick still hadn’t answered his mobile.
Jono stared at Patrick’s number in his call log, having tried calling him every ten minutes since Sage had been loaded into the ambulance, but every attempt went straight to voicemail. The slew of texts in the group chat and the private one between them had all gone unread. He wanted to leave to find Patrick but couldn’t until he knew Sage had made it through her surgery.
Handling all the incoming texts from the pack alphas only distracted him so much before his thoughts started circling again. Looking for a distraction, he tried calling Patrick again but had no luck getting through.
“Why isn’t he answering?” Wade asked after Jono ended the call.
“I don’t know,” Jono said, thinking about what Patrick had said last night.
“What if he was attacked like we were?”
“I’d know.”
Jono knew Patrick was alive and on this side of the veil because the soulbond thrummed between them. It wasn’t like when they were separated by cities or the veil, or even when Andras had taken over Patrick and blocked it, but Patrick wasn’t paying any attention to it.
“But—”
“He went to work this morning. The government is planning the defense of New York City. He’s probably still neck-deep in that meeting.”
Wade lapsed back into silence, worry etched into his face. Jono sighed and flexed his fingers around his mobile, wondering if he should send another text or try calling again. The only other direct number at the SOA he had was Patrick’s office line, but if he was in a meeting, he wouldn’t be there to pick up. Calling was all Jono could do while they continued to wait, but it didn’t feel like enough.
Another hour passed by before they received any news of Sage’s condition. The doctor who entered the waiting room was in clean scrubs, but she still smelled like Sage’s blood to Jono’s nose.
“Family of Sage Taylor?” she asked, gaze tracking around the room.
“Here,” Marek croaked out, shoving himself to his feet and dragging Jono with him. “I’m her husband. Jono’s her alpha.”
The surgeon nodded, taking the information in stride as she stared at them. “We’ll start with the good news first. Your wife made it through surgery and is currently being transported to ICU. The severe allergic reaction she sustained to the aconite poisoning is something we need to monitor since she’s not healing.”
Jono’s eyes burned, and he had to take a moment to wipe away the tears of utter relief those words caused.
Marek opened his mouth, but it took a second for him to speak. “Willshe heal?”
“The aconite needs to be flushed completely out of her system first. We cleaned the wound and sent samples of the poison to the labs to get the results of what sort of structure it has. Aconite is known to impede werecreature healing, but I expected to see some movement toward biological repair already, except nothing has started. That usually indicates some level of magic in the mix. We had to stitch her up since she’s not healing.”
Jono drew in a sharp breath. “What about healing potions?”
The surgeon shook her head. “Until we know what sort of spell was in that poison, we can’t give her healing potions just yet. I won’t risk a bad interaction when she’s barely stable.”
Marek finally let Jono go to wipe the tears from his eyes. “Can I see her?”
“Once we have her established in an ICU room, then yes, but only one person at a time will be permitted to see her.”
“Go,” Jono said, nudging Marek in the side.
“Can I see her after?” Wade asked.
“The ICU wing has its own waiting room. A nurse can escort you all there,” the surgeon said.
As badly as Jono wanted to stay, he knew he had to leave. Sage might still be critical, but she was alive, and he needed to believe she’d remain that way. “I need to find Patrick.”
Marek nodded, not smelling angry at all. “I’ll keep you updated on Sage.”
“Yeah.” Jono half turned, gesturing at Wade. “Stay with Marek and keep an eye on the ICU entrance.”
Wade nodded jerkily, mouth set in a hard line, no hint of scales pushing through his skin despite his fury. “None of those fuckers are getting past me if they show up. I promise.”
