Page 52 of The Night Burning

SHANE

“You too, Raika,”Jay said. “P-please.”

I frowned. Why did Jay need Raika and me? I nodded and followed Jay back to the infirmary. Behind me, I heard Raika tell Minsi to go with Rue, that she would meet them at my house and bake the cake together.

Minsi whined but didn’t give Raika a hard time.

Raika and I entered the infirmary, crossed the empty lobby, and walked in the back room, where a dozen beds lined the walls in a large room, and one of them was occupied. Dom and Vallin stayed outside.

Hamill, a middle-aged wolf and council member, who still had some spunk and was an exceptionally good fighter. During training, he showed impressive stamina. But now, in bed, he looked frail and weak, his skin was pale, and his eyes sunken in.

Jay approached his bed.

I followed him. “What’s going on?”

Jay glanced at me and immediately lowered his gaze. “I-I’m not sure.”

“What do you mean?”

Jay twisted his hands. “H-he started feeling ill this morning. Headache, blurred vision, a little fever.” He looked at Raika and she nodded at him, a reassuring smile over her closed lips. “I-I thought he was coming down with a cold. We’re not used to the weather and nature without the barrier. Even with our enhanced biology, we might feel the effects of that.” True, I had been thinking a lot about that lately. “B-but later he came back and showed me his black fingers.” Jay pointed to Hamill’s hands, resting beside his body.

The tips of his fingers were pitch black. I had never seen anything like this before. “Tell me you know what is causing this?”

A trembling grin appeared across Jay’s lips for one second. “Y-yes, I think so.” He glanced at Raika once more. “I ran some tests and it seems it’s some kind of magical poison.” My gaze found Raika. Oh, no. “B-but I’ve never seen this kind of poison before.”

“I can text Lavinia and ask her to stop by,” Raika said, her tone dejected. She picked up her phone. “I think that if this is poison, they will be able to tell.” She texted something fast and three seconds later her phone dinged. “Oh, they’re still at the library and coming this way.”

I nodded, my gaze falling back to Hamill.

First the land, now the wolves. If this was the same poison from the crystals, we would know what was causing it, but how could we make it better? How could we make it stop?

What if more wolves fell ill?

We stood in silence as Jay fussed over Hamill, checking his vitals every three seconds.

Not five minutes later, the infirmary’s door opened and Lavinia and Almae walked in.

“We’re here,” Lavinia said, her gaze darting from side to side. When she saw Hamill, her eyes widened for a moment. “What is it?”

“Can you keep an eye on him?” Raika said to Jay, her tone sweet. Again, she offered that same soft smile.

Jay’s cheeks gained a slight pink hue as he nodded.

Raika glanced at me, and together, we met Lavinia and Almae, away from Jay.

“He trusts you,” I whispered to her.

“I know, and I don’t know why.”

“You took care of him and the others for an entire year. That probably affected some more than others. Jay is a nice guy, but he’s insecure. He was looking for your approval.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “You aren’t jealous of that, are you?”

I shook my head. “Not much. I am proud, though. You’re already doing a great job as the alpha’s mate.”

Raika rolled her eyes at me.

I would have teased her more but we halted in front of Lavinia and Almae.