Chapter 18

18

EMMA

Hunter's eyes have a twinge of worry as he watches me take the flower bundle to the lab. He doesn’t know that plant molecular biology was one of my favorite classes in college. The act of decoction or withdrawing the plant extract fascinated me. It is how essential oils are made and used in Eastern medicine, so I tried to create my own.

The project was cut short when Cole came home one day and said it looked like a meth lab and had me throw it all away. I cried for a few days for the small garden beds of herbs I had to throw out.

The sting of Cole's memory is quickly washed away as I rinse the flowers and separate them from the stock, placing each on a paper towel.

“What’re you doing?” Hunter's voice is close to my back. I can feel the heat of his body soaking into mine, and I want to lean back into him.

I ignore that urge and focus on my task. “To make an antitoxin, I first need to make a toxin. So I will wash and dry each flower.”

My hands pluck the last of the flowers off the stem and place them on the counter. I turn around, keeping my arms wide and away from Hunter as I do. “Now, I need to find a container to microwave them in. It'll be the fastest way to dry them out so I can crush them.”

Hunter nods. I slip by, pulling the blue rubber gloves off from the inside wrist, flipping them inside out, and tossing them in the garbage.

I go to a cabinet with glass containers and take out two small petri dishes. “Hunter, this will take time, and you don’t need to stay here.”

“Emma, I could watch you work all day.” he says, leaning back against the counter, crossing his arms over that broad chest. I watch his arms strain against his henley, and a smirk plays across his mouth as my eyes pull up to his. He asks, “How long do you think this will take? Once you have the toxin, what happens then?”

Question of the day.

“Honestly, if the dose that Cole gave Amy is anything above three milliliters, she only has days. Her body is probably already trying to heal itself, throwing her wolf into a state of upheaval. It's also why the wound on her head took nearly an hour to heal when, according to my research, that should have healed within minutes.”

I work on a new pair of gloves, then ensure that each flower lies flat in the Petri dishes. Hunter is close behind, watching each step I make. I secretly love the attention he’s paying me, whether it's curiosity or protectiveness.

Jackson’s sharp bark makes me jump, and Hunter immediately wraps me up in his arms, careful of the flowers.

“Hunter, let's go. Trevor has been briefed, and the women won’t leave the clinic until someone, you or I, comes to get them.”

I turn to face Hunter while he has me encased in his embrace. My hands are still full of dishes as he carefully leans down and kisses my lips leisurely, only pulling back slightly. “Emma, be careful, stay here until I’m back.”

“I will.” My toes press me back up to meet his mouth. He growls slightly, then leans his forehead on mine. The whispered, respectful tone of his voice as he says, “Mate,” sends a chill down my spine.

Hunter doesn’t seem to miss my reaction and lets his hand slip to my ass, squeezing slightly before standing up and reluctantly heading to the front, following his brother. My feet stay glued to the spot as I watch them both leave. A sudden wave of loss washes through me, missing his presence.

“You okay, Boss?” Trevor's voice fills the hallway as he comes from Amy’s room. My eyes break from staring at where Hunter disappeared and transfer to Trevor’s large frame. He's tall but not nearly as bulky as Hunter or Jackson.

I hum, clearing my throat of the extra emotion, “I don't want either you or Amy working with the wolfsbane, so I’ll handle this,” lifting the dishes in my hands, “but could you take labs from Amy and get those into the hematology analyzer?” He nods, and just as he grabs the handle to return to her room, I add, “Trevor, see if you can program the computer system to search the blood for Aconite.”

“Will do, Boss.”

I shake my head at his informal nickname as I go to the breakroom to microwave the Petri dishes. This process of drying and crushing the flowers is the quickest. I need some sort of system to extract the compounds from the flowers, and I don’t have a Soxhlet extractor.

My back rests against the counter in the lab as I slip the gloves off once more, throw them away, and head to the sink to wash my hands. My eyes scan over my machines and the cabinets labeled with basic clinic supplies. Trevor pushes into the lab with three EDTA tubes and sets them in the blood analyzers.

“How’s she doing?” I ask as the feeling of being responsible for her situation weighs on me. I should be there helping her.

Trevor sits at the computer analyzer, setting it up as he looks at me. “Her symptoms are so much quicker than the others. She's already lethargic. I tried to help her drink water, and she threw that up within minutes. Her eyes keep shifting to her wolf’s. It’s probably best you stay out of there in case she does shift.” The tendril of worry in his voice breaks my heart, and I realize that this is my fault. I brought Cole here, and he’s after me.

Trevor must see my emotions flit across my face as he looks my way from the screen. “This was happening before you came, and honestly, you have given our pack the first big clues since this started nearly a year ago.”

I nod, not hearing his words.

“Emma, if it weren’t for you, Amy would simply be dead in days. You being here gives her a fucking chance.” His tone is firm and tinged with anger as he turns back to the computer screen.

His anger bleeds into me that Cole would dare touch the people I care about most. Amy is young like I am, but she is so bright and has so much potential that Cole came in and hurt her. I’m tired of Cole hurting me and the people I love. I think about how scared Kyler was the other night and the fact that Cole tried to touch a child.

The anger floods my body and replaces every fear and trepidation as my hands clench. Trevor looks towards me. His words are a battle cry, “No one fucks with our pack, Dr. Fawnsbeck. Now, what do you need?”

I quickly explain the extraction process, and Trevor helps me devise a way to soak and extract the poison from the flowers. The first few batches go quickly, and we repeat the process until we are left with a high concentration of the poison.

My hands and feet ache from the amount of work and not sitting but a few times. The remnants of anger still linger, and I’d love nothing more than to inject Cole with the poison he continues to fuse into the lives of everyone I love.

It’s close to seven by the time Hunter comes back for me. Weirdly enough, I smell his woodsy scent before his body appears in my office doorway. The relief I feel seeing him again pulls a smile to my lips as I stand from my desk.

He clears the space between us, and his eyes flick to my hands. “Can I touch you?”

I nod, and a silly smile fills my face. Hunter holds me in his arms and then tips my head back, “Why were you so angry all day?” I forgot that he can feel my emotions through the bond.

I give him a soft peck on the lips, and he must see my exhaustion as he pulls me to his truck, holding my hand until we are safely home.

My gaze falls to my hands in my lap as I say, “I’m so tired of Cole hurting me. Hurting the people I care about.” A warmness fills my chest while admitting my feelings for everyone in this town. “Holly is sick, and Amy is now sick. He has terrorized a small boy…” My hands clench.

Hunter slowly peels my fingers apart, “Emma, let my brothers and I handle him.” There is a thread of worry in his voice as if he can sense my desire to kill Cole slowly.

“Hunter, I…” How do I tell him that earlier, when he admitted to protecting me for years, changed everything? It changed every worry I had, every fear that threatened to drown me. “I want you to claim me. I want to be your mate. I want to fight this together.”

Hunter's hand slips down to my thigh and grips me possessively, his blue ocean eyes flick between mine, assessing my reaction, “You sure?”

I nod. “I’ve never felt so sure of something in my life.” There’s a flutter in my chest, but it's the good kind of flutter—the kind that comes with excitement and nerves and knowing you’re about to embark on something that will change your life—hopefully for the better—forever.

Hunter hastily throws his door open and is helping me out of his truck within seconds. He carries me inside the house and sets me on my feet in the front living room.