Chapter 66 Chapter 66
“Ow!” Suki cried in pain, dropping the beetle on the carpeted floor. “What the hell was that?”
Alarm bells blared in her mates’ minds.
“Ki?” Reynard shot up to his feet. “Are you all right?”
Brendan turned her around and frantically scanned her from head to toe. “What happened?”
“That thing… It bit me.” She rested her palm in her other and watched the small wound on the heel of her hand slowly mend back to normal. She murmured, “It feels like it injected me with something.”
A cold and tingling sensation travelled up her arm. She shivered.
Reynard knelt down, picked up the metal beetle and looked at it thoroughly. “There’s some kind of pink substance in it.”
Suki breathed, “I thought that was a jewel or something. It was liquid?”
He nodded, carefully turning the metal contraption around and around between his index finger and thumb to inspect it.
“Are you feeling okay?” Brendan asked.
She sighed and nodded. “I think so, whatever it was, I don’t think it had any wolfbane in it. It doesn’t burn.”
“We should wrap this up and get it examined, just in case,” Rey declared. “And then we should take you to the doctor, just in case.”
“Good idea.”
Brendan pushed Suki to sit down on the bed and narrowed his eyes at the beetle. “Is there enough of the substance in there to analyse?”
Shrugging, Reynard grimaced at the oddness of the miniature mechanics being designed as some sort of critter. “I don’t know, we’ll have to wait and s–”
Before Rey could finish speaking, the Beetle crumbled into dust, any remaining liquid dissipating with the destruction that crumbled to the ground.
All three of them looked at the dust on the floor, completely baffled.
“That did not seriously just happen?” Suki sputtered.
“What the hell did you do?” Brendan hissed.
Rey growled, “I didn’t do anything. It shattered on its own.”
“You manhandled it too much!”
“Oh, shut up. I barely touched it!”
As the two bickered, Suki muted them from her mind as she tried to piece together what had just happened.
How on earth did that contraption end up in her bag? Did it crawl in there itself, controlled by someone? Or did someone put it in there themself? And, most of all, what was the purpose of that substance?
Nausea bubbled to the brim of Suki’s stomach. She stood up speedily, clenching her fists and breathing heavily.
Reynard and Brendan stopped and looked at her.
“I… I think I need some air,” she exhaled, then walked out of her room, making her way downstairs to the front door.
Of course, her mates followed behind her.
“Ki, wait.” Rey grabbed her hand and slowly made her face him. “You really should see a doctor or even get one of the witches to examine you.”
“Or both,” added Brendan.
Nodding in agreement, Rey repeated, “Or both. Let me take you now.”
Suki sighed loudly. “All right.”
✧ ✧ ✧
In the examination room at the hospital, Suki sat on the bed whilst Reynard paced back and forth. Both impatient for the results of the tests.
“Rey… please can you relax?”
He paused in place and looked at her. “Sorry, I’m just worried.”
“I know.” Suki frowned and held out her hand. She gripped Reynard’s hand tightly as he placed it in hers. “Let’s just talk about something else. Is Brendan outside?”
A nod. “Yeah, I can feel him lurking outside the hospital. He said he was going to wait in the forest so no one would think he was up to no good.”
Suki blinked. “You can feel him right now?”
“Yeah, through the bond we have with you, I think. Can’t you?”
Holding silence for a short moment, Suki looked to the ground and spoke quietly. “Yeah, of course I can.”
‘Are you sure you’re all right?’
Another blip of silence.
“Ki?”
“Huh?”
“I said, are you all right?”
She nodded her head at first, wanting to be brave, but slowly altered her movement to shake her head. No – she was far from all right.
Reynard stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her. “Don’t worry, you’re going to be fine.”
She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed tightly, unsure if his words would prove to be true.
Minutes later, the doctor finally walked in, followed by Cassandra, the witch. “Sorry for the delay, but I have good news,” he said.
In the corner of her eye, Suki could see Reynard’s shoulders relax. Though the heads up for good news approached, there was an inkling of doubt in the back of her mind.
The doctor continued, “All the tests came out clear – your bloodwork looked flawless as always. There’s no wolfbane or tranquilisers in your system, nothing at all that should indicate any harm done to your body.”
Suki offered a weak smile and nodded, then she moved her attention to Cassandra.
She also looked relieved with her findings. “Same results for me, I found no essence of magic tampering with you. My magic touched your wolf spirit with ease; nothing seems to be a call for concern.”
Reynard exhaled a huge sigh. “That’s a relief, right, Ki?”
“Right…”
“Remind us again, what exactly happened?” the doctor asked.
Suki hummed. “I was unpacking my bag and pulled out this beetle-shaped contraption. It was the size of a brooch, but it was clearly a technical contraption someone had made. On its back, there was this circular-looking pink gem, except I was mistaken, it wasn’t a gem, the pink was a substance with the beetle, which then bit me and injected me with it.”
The doctor made a few notes.
Cassandra had her arms crossed and was tapping her index finger against her lips, thinking.
“Have any symptoms emerged since we’ve taken our tests? You’re looking a little flushed,” said the doctor, placing his hand on her forehead.
She chewed her lip for a moment and nodded. “Yes…”
“Oh? What is it?”
“I can’t feel my wolf spirit.”