Chapter 96 — Building the Cure
The steady beep of the monitors beside the little girl’s hospital bed filled the room with a thin sliver of hope. Hope—such a fragile thing. But it lived, flickering stubbornly in my chest, even as fear clawed and gnawed at the edges of my soul.
Liam, Luther, and I stood there for a while longer, just breathing, as Dr. Boyd worked on stabilizing her condition fully. But I knew time was slipping through our fingers.
*We couldn't waste it.*
I forced myself to pull away, lifting my chin as strength flooded my body. “We need more,” I said, my voice clear despite the lingering hoarseness. “More blood, more samples. You need everything you can get.”
Dr. Boyd glanced up from where he was adjusting an IV line. His face was worn, shadowed with exhaustion, but alive with fierce determination. "I do. I need all the immune blood I can gather. Fresh samples." His hands trembled slightly from strain but steadied as he met my gaze. "If we can replicate your antibodies correctly… we can stop this."
Luther nodded sharply beside me. "Tell us what you need, Doc. We’ll get it."
Before Dr. Boyd could reply, hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway, and a familiar, comforting presence rolled over me like a warm tide. Rowan appeared in the doorway, flanked by a handful of his warriors.
His warriors—tough, battered from battle, but standing tall—each had the telltale mark of strength, the same resilience that coursed through me. The same immunity.
Without hesitation, Rowan stepped forward. His gray eyes blazed with determination. "We heard what happened," he said, voice rough. "If you need immune wolves to finish this cure—then you have us. All of us."
The warriors behind him nodded, silent but steadfast.
Emotion swelled in my chest so fiercely I thought it might tear me open. Rowan, the brother I had only just begun to know, offering up his pack to save the one I had chosen as my own. "Thank you," I whispered, my voice cracking. "Thank you, Rowan."
He gave a small, gruff nod, but there was a softness in his eyes that he rarely let show.
Dr. Boyd straightened fully, his spine stiff with renewed energy. "This changes everything," he said. "With fresh samples from multiple immune wolves, we can synthesize a serum strong enough to be administered in mass doses. Not just to slow the disease… but to eradicate it completely."
Hope blazed hotter in my veins.
Liam stepped forward, rubbing the back of his neck with a grimace. "You better tell us what you need before Charlie throws another chair across the room."
I flushed, remembering my earlier tantrum.
Dr. Boyd chuckled under his breath and rattled off the list quickly: blood samples, saliva samples, and even hair follicles if possible.
"We'll need to work fast," he added. "Every minute counts."
"Let's move then," Luther barked, already turning toward the hall.
Rowan followed, rounding up his warriors with silent hand signals, and we moved quickly down the winding corridors, a small army bent on salvation.
***
The next hours blurred into a rush of activity. We set up stations across what remained of the pack’s infirmary. Needles and syringes, gloves and antiseptics, rows of vials carefully labeled and catalogued.
I gave sample after sample, ignoring the sting of each needle, the dizziness that crept in after the third blood draw. Liam hovered at my side like a protective shadow, his touch light but constant—on my wrist, my back, my shoulder—as if afraid that I might vanish if he let go.
Luther coordinated the incoming volunteers with Rowan, ensuring order despite the growing chaos outside. Because even now—even with hope so close we could taste it—the unrest outside the packhouse walls was building.
Wolves were dying. Families were grieving. Fear was a living, breathing thing pressing in from all sides.
And fear made people desperate.
“Almost done, Luna,” one of the nurses said gently, tying off the last vial of my blood. I gave her a tight smile, feeling faint but refusing to show it.
I wasn’t the scared, beaten girl I once was. I was Luna now. I was strong.
And I would see this through if it killed me.
I rose from my chair just as Rowan approached with two of his warriors, both newly arrived and offering fresh samples.
Across the room, Liam was arguing with Dr. Boyd about him needing to rest before collapsing, but the doctor waved him off with a muttered, "I'll sleep when they stop dying."
A lump rose in my throat at those words. Goddess, I wanted to save them all.
As the night deepened, the walls of the packhouse seemed to tighten around us. Tension buzzed in the air, thick and oppressive.
Outside, I could hear the rising noise of the gathered pack—shouts, growls, fear. I stepped toward the window overlooking the back courtyard, my hands curling into fists at the sight.
Dozens of wolves stood in loose clusters, arguing and pacing. Families clutching sick loved ones. Warriors trying to hold back the tide of panic.
I heard snippets of conversation carried on the cold wind.
"—they have the cure, they're hiding it—"
"—my brother is dying, they have to do something—"
"—why should we suffer while they hoard it—"
My stomach twisted painfully. I knew what would happen if we didn’t act soon. The pack wouldn’t just fall into unrest. It would turn on itself. On *us.* On *me.*
I felt Liam come up behind me, his arms wrapping around my waist, grounding me.
Luther stood close, his solid presence a wall of support at my back. "We’re almost there," Liam murmured against my hair.
"Almost," I echoed hollowly, staring out at the desperate faces of my people. I would not let them down.
Not again.
***
Hours later, as the first gray light of dawn began to stain the sky, Dr. Boyd burst into the makeshift med-bay with a wild, triumphant cry. "I have it!" he shouted, waving a small glass vial above his head. "The cure! It’s complete!"
For a heartbeat, the world froze. Then the room erupted into movement. Nurses rushed forward, carefully handling the vial like it was made of solid gold. Rowan whooped and slammed a fist into the nearest wall in celebration.
Liam crushed me against his chest, spinning me around. Tears blurred my vision as I clung to him.
Luther grabbed Dr. Boyd by the shoulders and actually shook him, his face lit with a rare, fierce smile. "You did it," he said, voice raw.
The doctor just laughed breathlessly. "No. *You* did. All of you."
I staggered back a step, staring at the vial. Such a small thing. Such a powerful thing. The key to saving our world.
"How soon can we start?" I asked, my voice shaking.
Dr. Boyd sobered instantly. "Within the hour. I’ve already prepped the first doses."
Relief hit me so hard I almost collapsed. We weren't too late. We could still save them.
Outside, the pack roared with unrest—but they didn’t know.
Not yet.
But they would.
They would know hope again. They would know healing. And maybe, just maybe… we would know peace.
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