Regina’s expression darkened. “We had him moved to the hospital. He partially shifted about twenty minutes ago, and now he’s passed out and sweating a fever. Mira—one of our nurses—is looking after him now, along with a few others. She’s a werewolf so maybe she can understand what he’s going through—but I’m not sure there is anything we can do for him or the others.”
Savy dug her fingers into my arm. “Fuck. He’s got to be going out of his mind. This is definitely his worst nightmare.”
Regina’s eyes narrowed, and she crossed her arms. “He has been—difficult. Apparently, he keeps moaning ‘I don’t want to eat people. Do people taste okay?’ Let’s just say it hasn’t won him any sympathy from the hospital staff. Mira deserves a sainthood.”
“There must be something we can do,” I growled.
Savannah bit her lip. “Alia was going to try to make a Lycanthropy cure for my condition. Maybe she knows what to do.”
That was one potion, for one disease. Mass disease was an entirely different story. “Any idea how many are infected?”
Regina shook her head. “No firm count but brace yourself for the worst—I’m certain it’s going to be in the hundreds, not dozens.”
I pulled out my cell, and although the screen was shattered, it still worked. “Fuck. Okay, I’ll call Alia now.”
Savannah looked over to where her aunt was sitting on the curb, her head drooped between her knees. “I need to go tell Laurel and Uncle Pete about Casey. I don’t want them getting a call from the hospital. It should come from me.”
“Do it.” I dialed Alia.
The potion maker picked up in half a ring. “Jaxson? What the hell is going on in Dockside? Local news has been blacked out, and I can’t get a straight answer. My demons tell me all the werewolves have gone rabid and are running all over town.”
“Your demons are idiots,” I growled. “But I do have a werewolf problem. Can you make a lycanthropy cure? For hundreds of people?”
“Shit. It’s true—”
“Whatever you heard is certainly not true. I’ll explain everything when there’s time. Right now, I need you brewing potions. Whatever it costs.”
She released an exasperated hiss. “It’s not that easy Jaxson—brewing is going to take time. It’s got to be in small batches, and I’m going to need to reduce a shit ton of wolfsbane.”
I glanced over at Savannah and Laurel. “I can get you all the wolfsbane you could imagine. The LaSalles will be very motivated to expedite the process.”
“Okay, I can have the first batch done in three days if you get me the ingredients tonight. But it will only be fifty or sixty doses.”
“Are you willing to teach Pete LaSalle? I’ll make it worth your while. This is an emergency. Name your price.”
There was a pause. “I’ll teach him. But giving up a recipe to that family, that’s going to be expensive.”
“Send me an invoice and a list of what you need. Get going now, and I’ll let you know how many infections we’re talking about but think in the hundreds.” I hung up and pocketed my phone.
Regina raised her eyebrows.
“Don’t look so worried. The hard part’s over. We’ll get through this.”
She nodded. “I know.”
I grasped her arm. “Thank you. For stepping up while Savy and I were gone. For protecting our pack. I know I put a lot on your shoulders.”
“I can take it,” she grumbled. “But dealing with the LaSalles was like herding cats. Big, bad tempered, sabretooth cats.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. Did the council give you any help?”
She shook her head. “Not much. Camila and Mac sent people. Not many of the others—but it was for the best. Their wolves got possessed, just like ours. With a bigger response, the city might have been overrun before you got back.”
“That doesn’t matter. They’re fucking cowards,” I snarled, balling my fists. “We put out a call for help, and they turned their back.”
Rage clouding my vision, I called Camila.
“Jaxson?” She answered, a tremor of fear in her voice. “What’s happened? I’m getting conflicting reports.”
“It’s over. Savy got her wolf back and defeated the Dark God. We sealed the rift that he’d opened and chained him in the Dreamlands for good. But it was fucking close. And if we had fallen, if Savannah hadn’t stepped up, the Great Lakes would have been overrun with thousands of blood-thirsty wolves. Not one of you would have stood a chance.”
“Fates,” was all she could muster.
I tried to keep my voice steady, but I wanted to rage. “Regina tells me your people were here and helping. Thank you. I won’t forget that. But I won’t forget that you are the one who put Savannah and me on trial.”
“I’m sorry for that, Jaxson. But if what you say is true, then I think the council should no longer have any problem with either you or your mate.”
My fingers tightened around the phone. “Oh, they have a problem. The fucking Dockside alpha is pissed. I think they’ve all forgotten who I am and what part of their livelihood I control. Call a meeting for three days from now. There will be a reckoning.”
She hesitated a second. “Understood.”