Chapter 15

Duncan mind linked the Doctor to see if there was anything that he could give her to get rid of the heat.
The Doc mind linked back, "I will be there shortly, I have her blood tests back, and there is something there you need to know about. I will also bring an antidote."
Duncan became alarmed, antidote! "What do you mean, Doc, by antidote?"
"It's alright, Alpha. We discovered it in time. As soon as your Beta gets back with one of the elders and shows me the way, I will be right there. Alpha, don't sexually engage with her; it will only worsen things."
Duncan went back to the bathroom to add more ice; Adira was moaning and rolling around as the ice melted more and more. It was good that the ice maker was magically made, or he would be in big trouble right now.
Finally, Duncan heard a knock at the bathroom door; he yanked it open; there stood the doctor and the elder Healer, Sarah. She pushed past them both and shut the door leaving them in the bedroom. She talked through the door,
"Doctor, explain to the Alpha what is going on and what has to be done to save the Luna."
Adira stared at the woman and let out a cry of pain. "Luna, my name is Sarah. I am a pack healer; I will help you through this. It is not the heat, rather the results of a poison that slowly was entered into your bloodstream, once it was there, it would build-up for years till the third year of the poisoning."
"Then it will cause your body to go into a false heat; this heat is far worse than the normal version; if it weren’t for your mate putting you in this ice bath, you would be going insane with need. It wouldn't matter who you were with; it would never be enough."
The Drug is called Aphrodite's Kiss. It is banned just about everywhere. In the were' communities, it is punishable by death if you use it on a female."
Sarah started to roll herbs between her palms and let the leaves hit the water. "These will help ease the burning pain; the antidote, I am afraid to say, will be a painful experience."
Adira began to cry, "I can't get away from them. It doesn't matter how far I go; they still will find a way to hurt me."
Duncan was smashing things left and right as Marco tried to calm him down. He was saying words and breaking at the same time.
"HOW COULD…SMASH!!!!, I’M GOING TO KILL.....SMASH!!! THEY ARE GOING TO......SMASH!!!!, DIE!!!!!!....SMASH!!!"
After a bit of bit, Marco managed to get him to settle down.
"Those bastards, after all the shit she has had to endure, go and do this to her. It wasn't a spur of the moment thing either; they planned this shit out for the long haul."
"How is she ever going to trust anyone ever again? She just got out of that hell hole and was starting to learn to trust, learning to enjoy things without fear of repercussions. Now she has to go through more pain."
It was then that Duncan heard his mate crying; it sent him over the edge and into a killing thrall; he went outside, shifted into Apollo, and just ran. Marco went after him. Marco also mind-linked Marnie and told her to get to the cabin as fast as possible and bring comfort food. He also told Marnie to call Jack Dawson back here to help Duncan.
Jack was about five miles out of Duncan’s borders when he got a phone call from Duncan's sister. He pulled the bike to the side of the road and answered the call.
Jack raced back to the pack to find Duncan; if he were in a killing frenzy, it would be a fight to calm him down. He would calm him down even if it meant he had to beat it out of him; that pretty little mate of his needs him.
Adira was calming down a little, the herbs were helping a little, but the pain was still more manageable. Sarah held her hand and added more herbs, making things more comfortable.
"We will wait just a little longer for the herbs to take more effect, then I am afraid we will have to give you the antidote."
"I don't understand, Sarah; how were they able to poison Artemis and me? We were cautious what we ate or drank; none of our food or drink came from them."
"I am afraid, Luna, that the poison is meant to go on your skin. It could be put in your body wash, shampoo, body lotion, hair gel, etc. It is odorless so that you wouldn't have sniffed it out either."
Adira groaned, "I didn't guard that stuff all that. Well, I didn't think they would mess with that."
Another knock sounded at the bathroom door; Marnie peeked in, "Hey, can I come in to help too?" Adira smiled and nodded. Marnie wasted no time; she came straight to Adira, holding a popsicle out for her to eat; it did help a little. I also have ice cream too, as well as all kinds of chocolate stuff."
Jack and Marco managed to corner an outraged Apollo; It was all Apollo. Both knew that their only chance was to talk Apollo into letting go of the control so they could speak to Duncan.
Jack decided to wait before he shifted; getting Apollo calmed down was the priority here; going to his bear could be seen as a threat, and Apollo would attack.
Marco was sitting in his wolf form, as close to Apollo as he would let him. Then Marco did something almost comical; he started to roll around on the ground with his tongue hanging out like an idiot.
Apollo seemed to calm down upon watching Marco; he sat down but refused to look at Marco or Jack. When Jack came over to his other side and sat down next to him, they stayed that way in silence.
"You know Apollo; your mate needs you at her side right now. Yeah, this is a real shit show for her to have to suffer through. With your help, she might make it with a little less pain."
Apollo mind linked him directly when Jack felt something he never thought he would with his friend.
"You’re a great friend Jack; I will be letting Duncan come back; it was stupid of me to react that way; I couldn't stand to hear them in so much pain anymore; I had to do something to make it right again. If that meant going to that poor excuse of a pack and ripping them all to shreds, then so be it."
Apollo turned and ran back to the cabin, to his mate. Marco and Jack are right behind him.
Duncan shifted just outside the cabin as Marco and Jack did the same; caches of clothes were hidden in the trees. Once they were dressed, they entered the cabin. It was hushed. The Doc came up to them holding a nasty-looking potion in a small flask.
"The Luna has been informed of what is to come; before I give this to her, I want you to know that you can't have any more outbursts like you just did. She needs you to be with her through this; you are her anchor."
"Duncan looked at the Doc and then hung his head; I won't be doing that again, so you don't worry anymore. The fact that you have known me since I was a Pup Means that I will forget about the tone you used with your Alpha."
Duncan held up his hand; I am sorry, Doc, I'm still coming down from the thrall."
The Doctor smiled, "I can understand it all, Duncan; I would have done the same thing if this happened to my Betty. Now let’s go get this over with; it will be a long night. Come on, lads, let’s go save our Luna."
Everyone was in the bedroom waiting for Duncan; he requested to have a minute alone with Adira.
Duncan sat on the edge of the tub, holding Adira's hand. "You know that I would never hurt you, that this has to be done to purge your system of the poison. I will be here every moment with you." Adira reached up and touched Duncan's cheek wiping away a tear. To think that this big strong Alpha wolf would shed tears for her was the greatest gift he had given her so far.
He lifted her out of the tub and into a towel and quickly dried her off; he didn't want to touch her any more than he had to. One lingering touch could cause her to go entirely back into heat. He then wrapped her in a soft blanket and carried her to their bed.
The Doctor wasted no time; he uncorked the little flask and poured it down Adira's throat. Adira didn't feel anything at first, and then she started to feel cold. Then it turned to freeze. Her teeth were chattering as Duncan held her tight to him in their bed. Duncan felt Apollo adding his body heat to Duncan's. It seems to help, taking off the bitter edge of the cold.
Then in an instant, Adira's body almost came off the bed as she arched, screaming in pain, every muscle in her body cramped simultaneously. Apollo started to go nuts, yelling to Duncan, “Mark her now!!!!! "Have you gone crazy, Apollo? I can't mark her now. What would it do to her."
MARK HER NOW, OR WE ARE GOING TO LOSE THEM!
"Listen to me, Duncan. We can be linked together; you and I can take on some of the pain."
Duncan didn't waste more time; he put his mouth on her neck and bit down hard. He was joining them together forever. He wasn’t going to lose her, not now, not ever.