Chapter 80 – The Cure in Her Bite
Charlie awoke slowly, as though surfacing from the depths of a long, restless ocean. Her mind clung to sleep for a moment longer, the weight of exhaustion still pressing into her bones. She shifted beneath warm blankets, the softness of them unfamiliar, yet comforting. And then she noticed something else—arms, strong and steady, wrapped tightly around her.
Charlie’s eyelids fluttered, heavy with sleep and the weight of the past few days. A dull ache clung to her bones, and for a fleeting moment, she feared she had woken into another nightmare. Her heart thundered in her chest, the echo of anxiety coiling in her belly. The memories came in pieces—her desperate plea to save Luther, the feeling of his blood against her lips, the bond forming as her wolf sank their teeth into his neck.
Was it real?
What if it was just a dream? What if she opened her eyes to find herself alone again, or worse, staring into the vacant, lifeless eyes of the man she loved? What if she had failed, and her desperate act to save him was too little, too late?
She couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak. The silence pressed in from all sides.
Her breath caught as she slowly opened her eyes, half-expecting the dull, lifeless gaze of her mate staring back at her. The crushing fear of loss tightened around her chest. She blinked once. Twice. And then warmth—blessed warmth—washed over her in a wave of relief.
Luther’s bright eyes were wide open and alert, staring down at her with a softness that made her want to weep. His arms were wrapped securely around her, and she was pressed tightly to his chest, safe.
Alive.
A sob slipped past her lips, the knot of terror finally loosening.
“Hey, sunshine,” Luther rasped, his voice rough like gravel but laced with affection.
“You’re alive…I thought you were gone,” Charlie whispered, burying her face into the crook of his neck. Her tears soaked his skin, but she didn’t care. She had almost lost him.
“I thought I was too,” he murmured, his hand brushing through her tangled hair with slow, gentle strokes. “But then I felt you… heard your voice. And I knew I had to fight my way back.”
She pulled back just enough to look into his face. His features were pale and gaunt, but there was strength in his gaze. His sickness-ravaged skin still bore signs of the battle, but his breathing was steady, his color less grey than before.
“You saved me, Charlie,” he whispered, his thumb grazing her jaw with reverence. “You brought me back.”
Her brows furrowed. “I… I don’t understand. I only bit you to complete the bond. How could that have saved you?”
Before Luther could respond, the door creaked open, and the familiar shuffle of footsteps broke the moment. Dr. Boyd appeared in the doorway, a grin stretching his tired face from ear to ear. He looked more alive than he had in weeks.
Charlie’s confusion deepened. “You’re not wearing any gear,” she said, eyeing the doctor as he strode into the room with a bounce in his step.
“Neither is Liam,” Luther added, his voice still weak but steadier now.
Charlie’s gaze snapped to the man following the doctor into the room. Liam stood tall and composed, but there was an edge to his posture. His eyes scanned her first, and then Luther, relief mingling with unspoken emotions.
“You’re both going to get sick,” Charlie said in a panic. “Liam, please—get out of here before it’s too late.”
Her wolf stirred at the edges of her mind, pacing nervously. ‘Something’s changed,’ the wolf murmured. ‘Something’s wrong. Something’s right. I can’t tell… but he doesn’t smell sick anymore. I can feel it… the sickness isn’t here anymore.’
Charlie blinked, not sure whether to believe it.
“You’re not going to believe this,” Dr. Boyd said, practically buzzing with excitement. “But it worked. The mark worked.”
“What do you mean it worked?” Charlie asked slowly, gripping Luther’s hand tighter.
The doctor grinned wider, shaking his head in disbelief. “Your bite. Your saliva, to be specific. That’s what did it. That’s what changed the game.”
Charlie blinked at him. “My… saliva?”
“Yes, yes,” Boyd said, waving his hand as he picked up a clipboard and began reviewing Luther’s vitals. “The disease was destroying his body, suppressing his healing abilities. When you marked him, something miraculous happened. Not only did his vitals stabilize, but within hours, his system started to regenerate. His blood work has changed—dramatically. I ran it three times just to be sure.”
Luther and Charlie exchanged a stunned glance.
“But it wasn’t just the saliva,” Boyd added. “The real magic happened when the bond was completed. That act, that mate bond, altered his DNA to match yours in some way. We’re still trying to understand it, but the change made him immune. His healing abilities kicked in full force, and the disease has stopped spreading.”
Charlie sat up straighter, hope blooming like a flower in her chest. “You mean… he’s going to be okay?”
Dr. Boyd nodded solemnly. “Yes. He’ll recover, thanks to you.”
Relief swept over her, so powerful that her limbs trembled.
Liam stepped closer to the bed now, his eyes fixed on her. Charlie looked up at him, realizing for the first time that he still bore no mark on his neck. A frown tugged at her lips.
“Doctor,” she said slowly, her gaze never leaving Liam, “if the bond made Luther immune…”
“Yes?” Boyd prompted.
“Then… if I mark Liam…”
The doctor turned to her, then to Liam. “If you mark him too, there’s no reason it shouldn’t work the same way.”
Charlie slowly stood from the bed, her legs trembling beneath her. “Then I need to mark him. Now.”
Liam’s mouth opened, but no sound came out.
She walked over to him, eyes locked onto his neck. “I almost lost one of you. I’m not taking that chance again.”
“Charlie,” Liam said softly, reaching for her hand. “You don’t have to do this because you’re afraid.”
“I’m doing this because I love you,” she whispered. “Because I can’t survive losing either of you. And because… maybe now, I finally understand what it means to choose my own path.”
Dr. Boyd cleared his throat. “I’ll leave you to it. But know this—your bite isn’t a cure, Charlie. We still need to study it. To replicate it somehow. We can’t expect you to mark every sick wolf in the pack.”
“I understand,” she said, her voice stronger now. “But if marking my mates saves them, then at least we’ve taken the first step.”
As the doctor exited the room, she looked back at Liam and placed a gentle hand on his chest. His heartbeat thundered beneath her touch, matching her own.
Liam’s eyes darkened with emotion, and he reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “You’re everything to us, Charlie.”
She took a steadying breath, her eyes still filled with determination. “Then let me protect you the way you’ve always tried to protect me.”
Charlie turned back to Luther, who had reclined back into the pillows, his hand resting lightly over the spot where her mark now resided.
“You really saved me,” he murmured again.
She bent and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “No, you saved me first. We just… evened the score.”
Then she turned back to Liam.
And with the fire of their love burning in her chest, she knew what came next.
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