Chapter 43: Botanical interest 

**Alice’s Point of view**


I call Elliot as soon as I close my door. I'm a little nervous about talking to him again. 
Back at the ball, I couldn't meet his eyes because we were placed back to back. But throughout the meal, I couldn't think of anything else but what happened in the library. 
I lean against the door and close my eyes, the feeling of his tongue on me coming back and I'm still all wet.
"Hello?"
His voice brings me back to reality and I clear my throat. "Hey. Sorry, maybe I should have waited until we took our shower." I say as I kick off my heels and throw them loudly on the floor.
"No, don't worry about it. What was that noise?"
"My Louboutins. The ones I had to buy when I conducted my investigation at the store." I say with a smile.
"Oh yeah. Your heels." He says in a voice laden with desire. "Have you thought about it?"
I know exactly what he is talking about.
I swallow loudly. "No." I say in a feeble attempt to lie.
"I haven't either." He says in an equally unconvincing tone. 
A few seconds pass and the tension builds between us.
"Elliot." I whisper desperately. "I didn't think about it for a minute."
It’s a lie and we both know it.
"And I haven't thought about it for a second." He replies in the same tone.
I’m glad he shares my feelings but there is no time for this.
"I'm calling you because I discovered something this afternoon. I'm more and more convinced that a witch is involved in all this."
"What makes you think that?"
"I was flipping through a potion book, which put me on the trail I showed Ben. But there was another one that caught my eye. You know that Silver hurts us, weakens us, and prevents us from healing and that wolfsbane does the same thing. At least the blue one, the one found in nature."
"Are you saying that there are others?" 
"Yes. There are all kinds of colors, created by witches. I found a whole bunch of books on all the experiments that have been done and I found the grey wolfsbane. It is a fusion of natural wolfsbane and silver. By distilling the flower, an oil is obtained. An oil that has the particularity of cutting any link between the wolf and the human."
He understands. "So that's what the rogues injected us with when they captured us!" 
"Exactly."
"But if there is a plant, there's nothing to stop someone from simply watering it to keep the flower alive and get that oil."
"It's much more complicated than that. Some plants must be put under certain light or can only be harvested at a very specific time. And of course, not all of them can be watered with water but with potions. As I said to Ben, some are just mixtures that anyone can make, but for grey wolfsbane, the potion can only be made by a witch. There is an incantation to say to charge it with magic."
"I can't believe it. There is a real witch alive."
"Not just one in my opinion. I mean, there are whole books on plants that can harm us and no werewolf knows about it. I don't know if it's known among witches, but I can't see one person doing all this research. And if they have at least one stalk of each plant I've seen, that's too much work for one person."
"It's not impossible though."
"You don't realize it I think. There were at least ten books, each as big as an encyclopedia. Some of them are not finished, there are so many parameters to test. The composition of the potion, the time to water it, the light, the harvest time, the plants to cross... "
"It seems to passionate you. " He says with a soft laugh.
"But it's super exciting! Can you believe it? I've seen a totally harmless plant, but if you pick the flower during a full moon, the person is stuck in their wolf until the next full moon. But if you collect it on a moonless night, the person can't shift for an indeterminate time. Isn't that amazing?" 
"No, it's terrifying." He laughs. "Does it say anything about a cure?"
"That's the problem. I think that if they invented plants like this, it's not to cancel their effects. Fortunately, most of them are temporary, but some cause immediate death, and others are slow and painful. And no cure is described."
"Can you imagine if it fell into the wrong hands?" Elliot says, worried, "And it already has! We know that the rogues have the grey wolfsbane, which means they probably have other plants in their possession. This is bad. Very bad."
I sigh. "I didn't dare say anything in front of Ben, I wanted to talk about it with you first. I think we can just show him the books without telling him we know the rogues have at least one plant." 
"Yes, I agree. We can't keep this to ourselves. We'll tell him tomorrow morning after the meeting."
I huff. "Like if it will end well."
"You never know. I dare to hope that our fathers will see reason with the King."
"I hope so too."
The silence falls but I don't want to hang up. I wish he were here with me. I wish I could touch him, I wish...
"I still don't think about it." He says in a playful tone.
"I don't either." I reply in the same tone.
"Fine. Well, I'm going to go take a shower. Nice and hot. And naked."
I don't believe it! He's flirting with me!
And what's even more surprising is that it's stirring me and I like it.
I giggle softly. He wants to play, huh? Well, let's play.  
"All right. Then I'll think of you like that when I will touch myself in the shower. Good night!"
And I hang up on him and throw the phone on the bed, satisfied.
I imagine him gawking, his eyes changing color and drooling slightly at the corner of his gorgeous lips.
I imagine him, unable to fall asleep, all his thoughts turned to me and what I might have done in the shower.
I imagine him taking another shower, trying to relieve his desire for me, moaning and growling my name...
Crap. I'm wet again.
I guess I'll have to keep my promise.