38: Find the cure.
**The healer pov**
I watched Zion from aside, trying to make sense of what I had witnessed.
His chest rose and fell with an almost fragile rhythm, and the sweat on his skin told me how much effort it had taken for him to survive the night. I had to remind myself that, for all appearances, he was back to being human, yet every instinct screamed at me not to trust appearances.
My helper shuffled beside me, his eyes darting between the papers and the tent entrance. “He’s awake,” he whispered, acting as if he wasn’t allowed to be overheard.
“Yes,” I said, rubbing my temples. “He’s awake, but that doesn’t mean the venom is gone, that’s what worries me.”
From the look my helper gave me, it was clear I had said more than I was willing to admit without actually saying the words. He glanced at Zion again and leaned closer to whisper, “I still think he’s lucky. He bled out, didn’t he? It’s crazy, but it might have purged enough of the venom to let him recover.”
I nodded. “I almost didn’t believe it at first. His wolf instincts forced him to bleed to get rid of the venom.” I ran a hand through my hair, thinking about the implications. “Brilliant, in theory, but very risky. The blood loss alone could have killed him. And yet, here he is, alive and apparently cured.”
My helper glanced at me, hesitating before he spoke again. “Do you think he really is cured? Or is this just a pause before the venom finishes its work?”
I glanced at my notes and wrote down a few quick calculations. “That’s the danger, we don’t know what this venom is capable of once it has settled. Even with his blood loss, the leftover could still attack organs, or worse. And the fact that he reacted the way he did could be misleading, it might give us a false sense of security.”
The helper frowned. “So, you think he could get worse again?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Exactly, this isn’t like anything I’ve treated before. Most toxins are predictable, or at least we know their chemical makeup. But this,” I gestured vaguely toward where Zion rested, “this is both biological and magical in nature. It’s adaptive and unpredictable.”
The helper’s brows furrowed. “Adaptive? So, it learns or what?”
“Yes,” I whisper-hissed. “I believe it adapts to survive. And right now, Zion has survived it, which is why we can’t let our guard down and absolutely must keep our eyes on him.”
I glanced again toward Zion and thought of the raw energy that had forced his own survival, and I shivered despite myself. “His wolf isn’t the enemy, it fought the venom with him, but that doesn’t mean it can’t fail next time there’s still any venom in his system.”
The helper shifted nervously and swallowed. “You want me to get more samples from the beast, then?”
I nodded, my mind already calculating new approaches. “Yes, we need fresh samples. Saliva, canine extract and I want his blood too.”
“Do you think the beast is stable enough to provide them?” The helper muttered.
Fuck me, of course he was scared to approach the beast. I was too, but I would still collect the samples if I could, which I couldn’t because my primary responsibility was to observe Zoon.
“Right now, we have no other choice but to try to get the samples.” I finally told the helper. “And check on the kids Enzo sent to my tent after you deliver the samples.”
The helper nodded and left while I neared Zion. I froze in my step as I heard a sharp intake of breath, followed by a low growl. Zion was already sitting up, his chest heaving with heavy breaths.
“Alive, he’s still alive,” I whispered, making a note in my notebook.
I turned to look over my shoulder and noticed that the helper was already returning, hands empty. I frowned and tried to wave him off. “Bring me anything the beast can give. Every sample counts.”
He looked at me like I was mad before he stuttered, “there’s something you need to know.”
I raised an eyebrow. “What?”
The helper hesitated for a moment, “the beast shifted back. He’s, well, you know, human now? Like fully human. And he’s not touching the girl? I think you need to see this.”
“He.. what?” I dropped into a chair, trying to recover from the shock. “He managed it?”
“Yes,” the helper said. “Seems like the shift is stable. He’s himself again.”
If Bane could stabilize his form while the beast still existed within, it could help us..
I closed my eyes for a moment and kept my voice even. “Prepare the sampling kit immediately. We can’t afford to wait, the data we collect now will guide every step from this point forward.”
The helper nodded again, already moving, and I returned my gaze to Zion. He was sitting upright, alert and watching, and I couldn’t help but think that the boy had been through hell and survived because of a combination of sheer instinct and the wolf’s intervention.
It was truly remarkable and terrifying at the same time.
I leaned back in my chair, running a hand across my face. “Whatever else happens,” I muttered, to myself, “this is our only chance to understand the venom fully. If Zion’s recovery is genuine, it’s a miracle, but miracles are rarely permanent.”
I scribbled a few more notes, carefully detailing the reactions I had observed in Zion. I recorded everything, knowing that each observation might hold the key to the next phase of treatment.
Finally, I turned my attention to the helper returning from Bane’s tent, eyes wide in awe.
I didn’t question him, just motioned for him to set the samples down. “I need you to carefully document the exact state of each sample.”
He nodded, carefully writing down each note, and I felt the weight of responsibility settle onto my shoulders. The fate of the camp, of Zion, of everyone involved, might rest entirely on our ability to process this data correctly.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that despite all the recent events, we were still on a knife’s edge, yet seeing Bane in human form and watching Zion and the change in his condition offered the smallest glimmer of hope.
“Let’s see if we can turn this into something more than hope.” I muttered to myself as I watched my helper work on the notes.
He glanced at me, eyebrows raised. “You think it’s possible?”
I didn’t answer, instead I focused my gaze on the samples, the notes, and the human wolf we’d been studying so closely. “It has to be possible, if it isn’t, I fear we won’t be offered a second chance to fix the mistakes we might make during the process of working with the venom.”
Zion still sat there, looking around, not really listening, so I rolled up my sleeves and got to work, reaching for the samples one by one, determined to find the cure.
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