Chapter 26: Will

Chapter 26: Will

Pain glowed like embers throughout my body. Where there was no pain, there was numbness. I opened my eyes to the sight of Alexis on the sofa beside my bed. There were dark circles under her eyes. Her forearms were covered with bandages. When she saw me wake up, Alexis came over to the bed.

“You’re finally awake,” she said. “Thank God.”

“How long was I out for?” My head throbbed loudly. All the lights felt too bright. When I lifted myself upright, I became nauseous. “What happened to me?”

“You don’t remember?”

“Alexis. I don’t feel so good,” I said weakly. After failing to get out of bed, I slunk back into the mattress, wondering why all my muscles felt sore. The last thing I remembered was getting in bed with Alexis, happy that we’d be sleeping in the same bed for the first time.

“Something terrible happened last night,” Alexis said. I looked at her inquisitively for an explanation.

“What happened to your arms?” I could see blotches of blood on the bandages she was wearing.

“Will, promise me you are not going to freak out when I tell you,” Alexis said, digging her nails into her palms.

“I promise,” I said. I was far too weak to protest or argue, not that I intended to.

Alexis slowly filled me in on what had happened last night, how I had lost control while sleeping and shifted into my wolf form. She told me how I slashed at her arms while she was still in bed and how I wrecked the house. As she described how she and Vincent found me in my feral form in the woods, I realized why my body hurt. I must have been thrashing and crashing in the trees in my maddened state. She explained how Vincent tranquilized me and how the pack members brought me back to the commune clinic.

“That’s not all,” she said. “Dr. Morris…he said…”

I did not need to hear what he had said to know what was wrong with me. But when Alexis told me what the doctor had said, it confirmed my suspicion.

“Death or madness, huh?” I asked. “Those are my only two options? Are you sure he didn’t slip in a third?”

“How can you be so casual about this?” Alexis glared at me. “Your life is in danger. Something that has never happened before happened last night! You raged and frenzied. You could have killed someone or worse. You could have died. Why aren’t you worried?”

I took a deep breath and slowly sat up in bed. This time nausea did not intervene as badly. Alexis handed me a glass of water once I was upright. The cool water on my parched lips felt like a blessing. Once I’d drunk it and was feeling relatively refreshed, I said, “I will answer the same as before. I have you. I would have been petrified had I been going through this alone. But you’re here with me, in this room, in my life, and I cannot ask for a better mate to share this with. Mates are for life. They share in the best and the worst. Presumably, this is the worst. But I am glad that you’re here with me, even if it means the end of me.”

“After all those long years of struggling, you’re fine with dying?” Alexis asked.

“I am tired. I’m not going to give up, and I’m not going to run away from this. You know that I am not a coward,” I said. “But long before the doctor told you any of that, I knew that the chemicals were working their way through my body, poisoning me, altering my DNA, and slowly killing me. I had my doubts, yes, but who wants to ponder over the likelihood of their death? In the brief time that I’ve had as a free man, I have enjoyed most of it. A lot of it is with you, in fact. If that’s all I get, then I’m happy with it,” I said.

“What about you and me writing new stories? Was that a lie? Did you already know you were going to die?” Alexis asked.

“That was not a lie. That was hope. I want that to be true. If there’s some way that I can save myself, I’m going to try that. As I said, I’m not giving up,” I said.

“Neither are we,” Alexis said, holding my hand in hers. “We’re going to fight this.”

“Thank you for being with me. For everything,” I said. Alexis kissed me on the cheek in response.

“Get some rest. I’m going to be here when you wake up. I’ll make you some dinner,” she said.

She didn’t need to tell me twice. My body felt like it was breaking at multiple points. The moment she left the room, I reclined in my bed and closed my eyes. It was too difficult to stay awake. My body was telling me by way of aches and pains that it was done.

Death or madness.

Those did not feel like the best two choices in the world.

I was not ready to die. Not that I feared death. All my life, I had known that death was just another part of my life. It was a transition to the next realm. Whether that was heaven, hell, Valhalla, or purgatory, it did not matter. It was a journey everyone was meant to take. There was no point in fearing the inevitable. But that was not why I was not ready to die. I had so much left to do. The pack still needed a lot of training. They still required leadership. Vampires were still a problem last time I checked. Then there was the matter of Blair Beckett.

But that was just the peripheral stuff. The real reason I was not ready to die was that I had only just started to live. It hadn’t been that long ago that I bonded with my mate. I did not want to leave her alone.

Madness or death aside, my body needed the rest right now. I felt compromised. As if I could not trust myself anymore. This is what I had been fearing. By keeping a lid on my anger and my mania for so long, I had somehow unleashed an even worse beast last night.

Amidst all these thoughts, I fell asleep. Even that, I had to do cautiously now. There was no telling when I’d turn berserk again.

***

Thankfully, when I woke up this time, there were no signs that I had shifted or frenzied. I was in bed, tucked in like I was when I fell asleep, and Alexis was sitting beside me. There was a tray laden with food on the bedside table and a vial of some strange elixir set on the table. We were not alone in this room. Vincent was also there.

“Vince,” I said.

“Hey there, Will. You gave us all quite the scare the other night,” Vince said, smiling compassionately. “But I had the tranquilizers, just like you asked.”

“There was always the possibility of this happening,” I said. “I am glad that you were there.”

“Well, then you’ll be gladder that I’m here now,” Vince said, his smile broadening into a full-blown gleam.

Whatever it was, Alexis also knew, as she was smiling just as much. “Vince just did the best thing ever.”

“What happened?” I asked. I groaned as I tried to sit upright. Alexis came to my side at once to help me up.

“When that asshole Dr. Morris was going on about how you were either going to die or go mad, it triggered me. Like, it was such a bleak outlook. I needed to go somewhere. I had to do something. And I have done something.” Vince picked up the vial from the bedside table and brought it over to me. “I call this Moon Presence.”

“A potion?” I looked at the purplish liquid with tiny white specks floating in it. It looked like jelly. The smell coming from the vial was very flowery.

“Not just a potion. It’s a concoction that a dear friend of mine made,” Vince said.

“Vince was just telling me that this concoction was made from ancient white magic recipes used by medieval witches,” Alexis said. “If traditional medicine fails us, we’re going the way of magic.”

“Vince, how do you know someone who has access to witchcraft?” I asked a little warily. In my experience, witches were some of the most powerful beings to walk this earth. Their magic was deep, ancient, and potent. If there was one thing that the people of Germany feared more than werewolves, it was witches.

“I am not going to go into details,” Vince said, shrouding his face. “But let’s just say that we’re not alone in Fiddler’s Green. Other beings reside in the forest. Some of them are our allies, others not so much. This potion came from someone quite close to me. That’s all I want to say on the matter. I explained your situation to them, and they made this concoction.”

“What does this concoction do?” I asked.

“My source tells me that in medieval times, the court alchemists used to imbibe soldiers with strong chemicals to make them more powerful in battle. In small doses, those chemicals were beneficial, but in the long term, they could cause madness, epilepsy, leprosy, and even death. To remedy those chemicals, the alchemists came up with a concoction that would detoxify the soldiers’ bodies after the battle was over. It’s a healing potion that restores your body to its optimal state. It also has a calming effect, from what I’ve been told,” Vince said.

“Do you trust your source?” Alexis asked.

“With my life,” Vince said.

I uncorked the vial, lifted it in the air, said, “Bottom’s up,” and then emptied its contents in my mouth. It tasted overly sweet as it flowed down my throat. I coughed a little as the potion made its way down.

“How are you feeling now?” Alexis asked, staring at me intently. She was also keeping her distance, just like Vince.

“Is the effect supposed to be spontaneous?” I asked Vince. He nodded.

It took a second, but then immediately, I felt the tiredness leaving my body. The veil of brain fog, the lurking rage, and the impulse to be violent were all gone. Just like that. In a manner of seconds.

I laughed loudly and freely for the first time, completely unhindered by any negative emotions. I looked up at Alexis and smiled at her profusely. As I helped myself off the bed, I could feel strength returning to my body. That tray of food had never looked more appetizing.

“Tell your witch friend thanks from me,” I said to Vince as I got up to my feet and stretched my body.

“I didn’t say I had a witch friend,” Vince stuttered, and his face turned red all of a sudden.

“I may not know much about witchcraft, but I know that there are only a handful of witches alive in the entire world who know the recipe to Morrigan’s Death Defying Tincture. That’s what the potion was. Not Moon Presence, although you may call it that if you like. Whoever your ally is and wherever they live, whether in the forest or somewhere else, they’re a very powerful witch.”

“How do you know all this?” Vincent asked.

“I was raised on lore. Stories of Norse and Celtic origin. Morrigan was the Celtic goddess of death. Whoever she granted her tincture was saved from a terrible death. This potion is like a myth among the witchcraft circles. It’s nigh impossible to make it. You’ve got a talented friend, Vince. Thank them for me,” I said. “They have saved my life.”

“I’ll gladly pass on that message,” Vince said, his face still flushed red. “I’ll give you two lovebirds some space now.”

“Much appreciated,” I said. Then I gave him a strong hug and shook his hand. He passed me a solemn smile as he left. I waited for him to leave the house before I turned to Alexis.

She was massaging her temples. Her eyes were closed, and she was sitting on the sofa, breathing heavily.

“What happened to you?”

“Are you kidding me? The past day has been a fucking rollercoaster. One minute the doctor’s telling me that you’re going to die or go mad, and the next moment Vince suddenly comes out with some magical tincture and saves your life. I am having emotional whiplash. But mostly, I’m relieved. Thank God you’re okay.”

“In this particular instance, thank Morrigan,” I said, pulling Alexis by her arms and embracing her in a fierce hug. “But before that, thank you. You saved me. Had you not found me in the forest last night, what would have become of me?”

“I’m just glad that you’re going to be all right,” Alexis said, wrapping her arms around me.

“Looks like neither death nor madness is in the cards for me,” I said. Perhaps it was the relief that I was going to be all right, or perhaps it was the newly rejuvenated vitality that the potion had granted me, but as I stood there, hugging Alexis, I was overcome with sexual desire. Her body was next to mine, her breasts against my chest. Her hair cascaded down my body.

I wanted her.

Alexis looked up at me, a playful look on her face. She reached up and bit my lower lip. She tugged at it with her teeth, then let it go. I sucked on her lips a little bit before fully opening my mouth and kissing her with unbridled passion, feeling every bit of her mouth, her tongue, and her cheeks.

I was getting hard the more I kissed her. With one fluid motion, I threw off my shirt across the room. With another, I took off Alexis’s. She moaned as I nuzzled her breasts and licked her nipples. I took both of them in my hands and kneaded them gently as I lowered my head between her thighs. I yanked her pants off and kissed her moist pussy before I pinned her to the wall and lifted her in my arms.

I unbuckled my pants and took my cock out, rubbing it against her wet pussy. She bit my neck and wrapped her arms around my shoulders.

Feeling quite aroused, I fucked her hard against the wall, moaning with her as our bodies collided and rode the wave of pleasure.

Then Alexis pushed me to the bed and lay on top of me, riding me, moving her hips, letting her hair fall on my face. I reached up to her body and hugged it tightly as I thrust my hips up and pushed my dick deeper inside her.

I let her slide on her stomach and climbed on her back, penetrating her from behind. Alexis moaned loudly and grabbed fistfuls of the sheet as I thrust my cock deep into her pussy, my thrusts cushioned by her supple buttocks.

I came inside her, gushing my hot manhood deep within her. As my cock slid out of her, Alexis lowered herself and licked my shaft.

I lay down beside her and kissed her again, running my fingers through her hair.

As we lay there next to each other, completely naked, I lowered my hand to her pussy and began fingering it slowly. One finger at first, then two, massaging her vulva and rubbing my thumb on her clit.

Upon touching her soft and wet pussy, I found myself getting hard again. Not that I ever had concerns about my libido, but such a small refractory period surprised me pleasantly.

“Oh, Will!” Alexis moaned as she straddled my hand. I could feel her getting wetter down there. Her vagina pulsed and throbbed around my fingers, yearning for something more substantial.

I eased myself on top of her, using my arms as support while I lay upon her, my dick nudging her inner thigh, asking to be let in. She gleamed from under me, her breasts splayed on either side, bouncing as I moved on top of her.

She reached below, guiding my cock inside her again. It slid into her with gentle friction. There it was, that warm, welcome, tight, wet feeling all over my shaft. I went slower, wanting to prolong this bout of pleasure for as long as I could. My movement was steady, gently thrusting inside her, then pulling out when she was on the brink of pleasure. I took my time as I made love to her, leaning to her face, kissing her lips, sucking on her breasts, and holding down her hands as I probed my cock deep into her vagina.

When the surge of pleasure started rising again, I brought my face close to hers, staring straight into her eyes as I began orgasming. Her hips buckled, and her walls constricted around my dick, inviting it to cum deeper inside.

I closed my eyes as I burst forth inside her, the pleasure cresting and troughing in gentle waves. Sweat dripped from my body on top of hers. Alexis held me by my neck and pulled me close, licking my lips. I felt wondrously exhausted after this sexual exertion and wanted nothing more than to lie beside my mate.

This time around, when we fell asleep naked, and in each other’s arms, nothing bad happened.