127. Don't Leave Me
“Jonah, do you think you could make another cure?” She quickly asks.
“Uh…” He frowns.
“Cure? What cure?” Zidane quickly stands, demanding to know what we were talking about.
“Jonah has made a cure for the fungi disease. It was how Derek was able to survive.” She answers immediately.
“Yeah, but that was just a small dose and took me two days to make by myself. Besides, it wouldn’t have been as effective without Benji already using his healing abilities on him.” Jonah hurriedly explains.
“That may be, but there are two of us now. Perhaps you can show me the components of the formula?” An old man asks eagerly, looking at the young kid.
“We need a large amount of the poison-”
“I’ve been extracting it from the Crown Prince hoping to find a cure myself. I have plenty stored up. Come! We have no time to waste!” The old man takes Jonah’s arm and together they leave the room.
It’s probably best not to tell them we need it for ourselves and not the prince.
I felt like we were risking our own life for a lost cause. Was this really worth doing if we all knew it wasn’t going to work. Even though he didn’t want to admit it, Zidane knew deep down that there was no coming back from this.
He has a dying hope, Benjamin. To him, that’s all he has. My wolf says solemnly.
He was right. He was our prince, now the Crown Prince. Even if he never wanted or expected the title. We trot back to Zander’s side once again and we start the process of licking the large wound. It was cold, stiff, and stank like heavy infection. But regardless, we did what we had to, to give our young prince the peace of mind.
I could feel Derek stiffen and he tried to push into our minds with the mind link, more than pissed of what we were risking. But I block him out and it only made him angrier. But he doesn’t voice it out loud as he stomps to us and sits there, leaning his back against the cave wall, his knee propped up with his forearm resting on top.
He never, not once, takes his eyes away from us as he watches our every move.
Soon we hear collective gasps from those who have never seen my healing ability. Our fur begins to do that golden glowing again and the secretion of our saliva begins to leave hordes amounts dripping out and into the flesh. I could literally taste the bitterness of the poison and it made my stomach turn in the worst way.
Zidane watches us intently, holding onto his brother’s hand tightly. His brows were furrowed with determination, his chest heaving in uneasiness as time went by. Soon, I knew we couldn’t hold out much longer. It’s been past nearly an hour, and nothing has changed since we started.
Finally, Radolf couldn’t take much more.
He stops licking and backs away. Zidane frowns deeply as he watches us move back. It was time for the young prince to accept the reality of his brother’s death. He sits up straighter as his eyes turn fearful.
“What are you doing? Why are you stopping? The poison isn’t gone!” His voice shook with anger.
The room was quiet. Because we all knew what was to come. A man slowly comes to kneel beside the young prince. Gently placing his hands on his shoulders, he carefully says,
“Young master. It’s time we face it.”
Zidane slaps his hands away in rage. “Face it?! Face what?! I’m not giving up! He can still be saved!” He stands up to face the man as his body heaves and shakes uncontrollably.
He looks to everyone with wild eyes. “Why are you all just giving up?! He isn’t dead! He’s not going to die!”
He turns to me with those sad, angry orbs filled with so much anguish and despair. “He is your Crown Prince, your future king! And as the second born I command you to keep going until he is saved!” He yells at me.
But there was nothing I could do. I quietly shift back into my human form, where Derek immediately covers me with his shirt. Then he quickly hands me my clothes.
“What are you doing?! I just gave you an o-order! I did not tell y-you to shift b-back!” He was now starting to break down, tears streaming down his face.
“I’m sorry your highness, but I can’t.” I whisper brokenly as tears swam in my eyes.
He just stares at me as the realization slowly starts to dawn on him. He swings his gaze to the man that had came up to him, who gives him a heartbreaking look. Then his gaze swings to everyone else where their faces were turned down at the ground.
His body begins to tense up and sobs were beginning to release from him. He looks down to his brother and it was like the dam finally broke. He falls nearly on top of him as he yells out,
“You can’t do this to me! Y-You promised me Zander! You p-promised you weren’t ever going to leave m-me behind! You can’t leave me! Please don’t leave me! I’ve already lost mom and dad. I can’t lose you too! Please! P-Please!”
His sobs racked horribly against the walls as other sniffles could be heard from the others. My tears flowed unchecked as I watch him break down in his grief. I couldn’t fathom how he must be feeling right now.
Suddenly the image of my little brother Mikey came to mind. My body stiffened at the thought of ever losing him like this or anyone that I loved dearly. What the hell was the point of this power if it never works? Derek was saved momentarily, but he would have died if it wasn’t for Jonah’s cure.
What was the point of having it at all if it wasn’t going to do any good? I was useless with it. I was only able to stop Shane’s bleeding, but it didn’t heal any of his wounds like it should have. Anger at myself overflew in me and Radolf stayed quiet, agreeing with every thought that I had.
No.
I had to try harder. Like with every ability, it wasn’t going to just come naturally to me. I had to work for it. To get it as strong as I needed it to be, then I needed to put way more effort than what I was afraid of giving.
I quickly put my briefs on with jerky movements as Derek looks to me with a frown. “Babe, what are you doing?” He demands, grabbing the attention of others.
I get up, never taking my eyes away from Zidane. I come to Zander’s side once more.
Pup, what are you up too?
Shoving the young prince off, who looks up to me with confusion, his sobs still ongoing, I climb right on top of Zander’s body.
“Benji! What the hell are you doing?!” Derek yells, as I hear others following with the same question.
Zidane just stares up at me with wide eyes as his crying slows.
“What’s the point of using my ability if it isn’t going to work?!” I scream over all the noise.
That instantly got everyone to shut up.
My body was shaking as I continue to say, “There has to be more than just simple healing, right? I didn’t believe myself to be strong enough because I don’t know how to even use it. But what’s the use if I just let it be useless?”
No one says a word as I place both of my hands, on top of Zander’s chest in the center. “I’m still fairly new with this. I didn’t even know what I could be capable of. There had to be a reason my clan was wiped out right? So, I have to try.”
I look to Derek, who was standing now staring at me.
“I have to try.”
I see his body relax at my admission. I look back down at my hands and close my eyes, concentrating all my energy in that one area. I start to feel a sense of flushing go through me. My body tenses in the effort I was putting through it as I try harder.
I can do this. I know I can. I kept repeating it over and over in my mind. I feel Radolf closing his eyes and concentrating with me. Not once arguing or fighting against me on this. Maybe he was just as desperate as I was.
I feel a wave of coldness leave my back to flow through my arms and straight down to my palms. Opening my eyes again my vision becomes more brighter, more intense, and more sensitive.
Sweat beaded my skin as I kept concentrating. Then the oddest thing happens. My vision begins to see through my hands, through his skin and through all his muscles. I could see him on the inside. All his veins, his organs, his bones…the poison.
I scan everywhere as the poison has nearly infected all his organs. His heart was blackened out and I was about to lose hope, afraid that he was actually dead. Until, just there in the very center where not a speck of poison has invaded.
I gasp in disbelief.
Because right there when there should have been no hope, was a freaking tiny heartbeat.