Chapter 117: Rhys
Minutes passed, and every muscle in Grace’s body was tense. She never made a sound, but her nails were digging into my skin.
Sandra was chanting something as she ‘drew’ on Grace with the moonstone knife. True to her word though, it didn’t cut her skin, it only drew shapes on her skin that nearly immediately faded. We were now well over the two-hour mark, and Grace was still holding on, even if it was just barely. I could feel that she was on the brink of unconsciousness, but still, she fought it with nearly everything in her being, and luckily, I didn’t have to hold her down because I wasn’t sure I’d be able to go through with it if I did.
Sandra ripped at Grace’s dress, exposing her chest and began to draw. Grace squirmed, but I sent calming energy down our bond, and that was enough, but small noises of pain escaped her lips.
“Shh, it’s okay, you’re doing great, hang in there, my love, hang in there.” I tried to soothe, but I knew there was no way my words meant anything to her right now. She was locked in a battle that I really knew nothing about.
Suddenly her scream pierced the air, and I looked up frantically as Sandra’s chanting grew louder. I wrapped my arms around her head, trying my best to comfort her to the best of my ability, but there was nothing I could do to make it better.
And just as quick as her screams and Sandra’s chanting had filled the air, both ceased. Grace laid limply on the cushions, and Sandra stood breathlessly a few feet from us and had aged at least 20 years. Her hair was no longer a pale blonde, but now a soft brown with streaks of grey, and her face, while still looking young, had age lines, that she just couldn’t hide.
“Gracie?” I tried, even though I knew it was hopeless. I had known from the beginning that she would probably pass out, but now 3 and a half hours later, I was having serious reservations about this whole thing.
“Should I get Sawyer?” Leon asked anxiously.
“No,” Sandra answered, still trying to fully catch her breath. “There is nothing he can do for her at this time. It is all a part of the process. We are onto the last step.”
Leon looked at me to see if I accepted her answer. I looked down at Grace and brushed the flyaways from her forehead. She was practically grey and very sweaty, but she seemed to be in less pain than before. “Not yet.” I said finally.
I hadn’t exactly told Sawyer why we needed him to be around, and I didn’t think he would think too kindly about what we were doing here. He worried about Grace being unbound and the process of it, especially when we first found out. But the truth was, she was lot stronger than either of us ever gave her credit for. She was slowly gaining weight and putting on some muscle the more she worked with Maizie. She had grown so much in such a short time. I mean, she would have fought me if I had tried to free her Lycan three weeks ago, but here we were, and the only thing she had really been worried about was that Sandra was going to double-cross us. And honestly, seeing her lay there, completely helpless, I understood the fear. But we were here, and she had agreed to it, so we would see it out. When the process was done, Sawyer could check her out.
“This is the last step.” Sandra stated as she began to fill two different syringes with a variety of things.
“What are those?” I asked.
“The first one she will get is wolfsbane, mixed with a very small amount of silver and holly.”
“What?” I interrupted. “That will kill her!”
“That’s what this one is for,” She held up the other syringe. “This is the antidote. We need to kill off what’s left of the bonds. It will get kind of intense, but this is the only way.”
She sounded so sure of herself, but I wasn’t in the slightest. I was spiraling. What had I agreed to when I allowed this witch to touch my mate? Why hadn’t I asked more questions? Why hadn’t I cared what the process was like Grace had? She had trusted me, and I had just let her down when all I was trying to do was make her better.
Sandra didn’t hesitate even a little. She just stabbed the needle into Grace with no hesitation. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. This couldn’t be happening. I could not lose her because I had my head too far up my ass to see the bigger picture.
“Hold it together, Rhys,” Leon growled through the bond. “She’s going to need you if this goes south, so pull it together.”
We all sat in silence as we waited. I didn’t take my eyes off Grace for any reason. Her body was writhing in pain, and I couldn’t feel any of it. Our connection was completely dead due to the wolfsbane, and that really scared me.
“How long do we wait?” I asked, Sandra after about a half an hour.
“Till her heart slows.” Sandra responded casually.
“I’m sorry, what?!” I exclaimed angrily.
“We are inside, Alpha King Rhys, please keep your voice down,” She scolded as she continued to clean up all of the things she gotten out for the ritual. “The timing of the next dose has to be perfect, and we aren’t there yet. Her heartrate has to get down to 25 beats a minute, and then we will administer the antidote.”
“Won’t that be too late?!”
“No.” Sandra seemed completely unbothered by my anger. “She needs to kill it off. After the next dose, it’s all up to her on whether or not she survives it. She will wake up after when she is ready to, or not at all.”