“Not all shifters are good people,” I admit softly, but with conviction. “Why do you think the dragons finally came out of hiding? It was time to clean house.”
The officer blanches, but doesn’t say anything, not even to scoff and call me crazy.
“If it’s any consolation, I’m a doctor. I’ll do what I can, but we’re both aware of how limited our options are without a hospital. There’s nothing else you can do for her, so you might want to check on the rest of the people in the bank to make sure no one else is hurt.”
The officer nods, jogging the short distance to the building. As soon as he opens the door, he curses. Tapping the button on his radio, he demands, “I don’t give a rat’s ass that they can’t get through the roads, they can fucking run like I did, but I need some goddamn back upnow!”
Pressing two fingers to the side of her neck, I shoot a repentant look at Amara, dropping my voice to a low murmur. “Her pulse is thready and weak. Even if an ambulance got here in the next two minutes, I doubt she’d make it to the hospital.”
Amara’s conviction breaks and she looks down at the woman with a heartbreaking expression. “There’s got to besomethingyou can do. What about my-” she nods down at her stomach.
I shake my head adamantly. “Thatremains in your hands atalltimes; you promised. Besides, even if I considered it as a possibility, the effects are too gradual to be useful in this case.”
Her words spark an idea though, and I glance down at the stone still hanging from the cord around my neck, carrying the alpha wolf's siphoning ability.
What the hell, the cat’s out of the bag anyway…
Taking a deep breath, instead of using the ability to siphon feral energy, I reverse it, funneling it into the woman’s body. I can’t swear that it’ll accelerate her healing, but if I do nothing, she’s as good as dead anyway. No fault, no foul, but I’m the one that has to live with myself if I refuse to even try.
Amara sets a tentative hand on my arm. “Stone?”
I can’t answer her, concentrating completely on trying to repair the internal damage enough to give this girl a chance. There’s more going on though than the slashes across her stomach. I can’t tell what exactly, just thatsomethinghas been taking a toll on her body.
My head jerks up at the sudden crash of a door, a man in a rumpled suit stumbling out, bruised and split lip bleeding. Amara jumps to a defensive stance, but something in his face must give her pause. A moment later he crashes to his knees beside me, reaching out to the woman, but withdrawing his hand before he makes contact, hovering like he doesn’t want to hurt her, but desperate to dosomethingto comfort her.
“Katana?” he whispers brokenly. “It’s okay, sweetheart, just hold on a little longer.” Turning to address me, I get a better view of his face, beaten to hell. “Who are you? What did they do to my daughter? How much longer until the ambulance arrives?”
Amara saves me from fielding his questions, allowing me to focus. “He’s a doctor. And right now, he’s the only thing keeping her alive, so shut up and let him concentrate.”
I tune them both out, focusing on burning away everything that feels wrong. I’m expending energy at an exponential rate, but I don’t stop, following my instincts. Within minutes, I’m feeling the strain, but I keep funneling energy into her, repairing the damage. A small eternity later, I fall back onto my heels, sweaty and wrung out.
Breathlessly, I hold out a hand. “Water bottle?”
Amara slaps one into my waiting palm, and I open it with trembling fingers. Pouring the water over the woman’s stomach, I watch the blood roll off of her stomach and further stain the cement beneath her. After all of the gore is washed away, all that’s left are four faint scars raking across her stomach, and I’m barely remaining upright.
The girl’s father whips his gaze between his daughter’s stomach and my face in shock. “What? But… how?”
I’m too exhausted to come up with an excuse, and I’m thrilled not to need to. For the first time in millennia, I feel at peace. Like the universe has finally shifted back into balance.
The woman stirs and mumbles, “Dad?“
“Right here, sweetheart.” He strokes her cheek. “Everything’s going to be okay now.” Nervously looking between me and Amara, he blinks back watery eyes. “I don’t know how you did it, and I don’t need to. Thank you for saving my daughter.”
“Before this, was she sick?”
Stiffening, he gives a terse nod. “Last few years. We still haven’t found a solid diagnosis. Why, do you-” he swallows “- no, I don’t need to know. Have you seen something like this before? Do you know what’s wrong with her?”
Extending my senses once more to be absolutely certain, I offer him a tired smile. “No, but it’s not a problem anymore. She’s going to be okay now.”
The guy starts crying in earnest, clutching his daughter to his chest and sobbing his thanks.
Finally, the sounds of sirens reach us. I roll my eyes at how useless they are at this point, but it’ll at least establish a record of what happened here today. Nobody will believe it except this girl and her father, but anything that paints shifters in a positive light is a win.
Amara grabs my elbow. “We should go.”
“Yeah, probably.” I try to get to my feet, but my legs give out on the first attempt and I fall back on my ass, breathing labored. “What are the chances of you carrying me back to the hotel?”
Grimacing, she looks around at our options. “Pretty fucking low, but there’s a cardboard box by that dumpster, so I can probably drag you there.”
