Chapter 20: Ferrin

I had Miranda help me get Willa into her pajamas and out of her robe without waking her. I wasn’t surprised, knowing she hadn’t slept for days and the emotional toll her body had endured. I tucked us under the covers and lay next to her, holding her against my chest, too afraid to stop touching her. I could tell the contact was helping, even in her unconscious state. I wasn’t about to take that away again. I stayed there with her for hours. I had drifted off when I was awoken by a familiar voice.

“Holy shit.”

I opened my eyes to see Rebekah standing by the bed.

“And ow,” she said, holding her hand to her heart. “You’ve got a hell of a lot of explaining to do, big brother.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I griped as I sat up, gently prying my fingers from Willa’s. “There would be less explaining if you hadn’t decided to live across the country,” I teased.

I looked over to see Miranda standing by the dining table. I nodded for her to come and sit with Willa as I climbed out of bed. Rebekah came around the bed to meet me, throwing her arms around me in a big hug. I squeezed her as I lifted her off the ground.

“I’ve missed you,” I said, setting her back on her feet.

“Likewise. And apparently, I’ve missed a lot of other things too.” She looked over at the sleeping werewolf she had just seen me wrapped around. My eyes followed. I relaxed a little as I watched Miranda affectionately stroking her hair as she held her hand.

“Come with me,” I said, pulling my discarded shirt over my head and heading out of the room. My stomach clenched at having to leave Willa, but I needed to speak with my sister privately. I had a feeling this wouldn’t be a quiet conversation.

I walked her to the suite below Willa’s, and the moment the door was shut, Rebekah turned on me.

“What the actual fuck, Ferrin?” she yelled. “The alpha is your mate?”

I grimaced and was about to ask her how she could tell, but she stopped me with a look. It was a stupid question.

“How long have you known?” she asked.

“About a week,” I said.

“A week?” she exclaimed. She punched me hard in the shoulder. “Why the hell didn’t you call me?”

“I’m sorry,” I said, blocking another punch. “I’ve kind of had a lot going on.” I indicated the room above us with my sleeping mate.

She crossed her arms over her chest in a huff. She glared at me as if she was waiting for me to speak. “Alright then, fill me in.”

I told her everything that had happened over the last week, ending with how I found Willa today.

“Shit,” she said when I was finished. “You sure have gotten yourself in a mess this time, big brother. So, what do you need me to do?”

I looked up at her. “I was hoping you could use your ability to suppress her aura.”

“Ferrin, no,” she said.

“Rebekah, I don’t know what else to do. She can’t stay up there. She needs to be a part of a pack. If I can’t find a way to give that to her here…” I looked her in the eye, silently pleading with her.

“Ferrin,” she said gently, “this isn’t an injury or an illness. This is who she is.”

“And the council will kill her for who she is. You know they will.”

Rebekah sighed. “Okay. I will do this on one condition — I get to talk to her first. She has to be okay with this. And I’m still not making any guarantees I can do it. That’s not really what I use my abilities for.”

“I know,” I said as I grabbed her in a hug, feeling some relief. “Thank you, sis.”

“Hey, I’ve always wanted a sister. The least I can do is keep those pompous assholes from executing her on sight.”

I smiled at her and led her back upstairs. Rebekah had brought her medical bag with her and asked for a few minutes to examine her before waking her up. She took out a few tools and checked some vitals, making notes. Then she sat on the bed next to her and rested a hand on Willa’s forehead and another on her chest. She sat like that for a while. Her head down and her eyes closed.

When she finally stood, she turned to me, a strained expression on her face.

“What is it?”

“I think I can do it,” she said. “But there’s something odd. There are traces of a suppressant already in her system. It’s strange. I can tell the effect it had on her but not what it is. I’d like to run some blood tests if she agrees.”

“Are you saying this is her aura already being suppressed?” Miranda asked.

Rebekah shook her head. “No, most of the effect has worn off. It’s likely she’s at full strength now, or close at least. But that could explain why you’ve seen a difference in her abilities.”

“You think someone was dosing her with something?” I asked, trying to wrap my head around all of this.

“Possibly,” Rebekah said. “I’ll know when I run the tests. You can wake her now if you would like.”

I nodded. I would have preferred to let her sleep longer, but this needed to be done as soon as possible. If it didn’t work, I would need time to find another option. I sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed my hand along Willa’s shoulder, gently nudging her as I spoke her name. It took a minute, but her eyes slowly fluttered open, and she shifted her position.

“Ferrin?” she said, still a little disoriented.

“Yes, sweetheart, I’m here,” I said with a smile, brushing her hair back.

She pushed herself up on the bed and noticed we weren’t alone. Concern spread across her face. “What’s going on?”

“How are you feeling?” I asked.

She offered me a sad smile. “Better.”

“Do you know what happened?”

Her eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry,” she said, putting her head in her hands. “Everything just got to me, I guess. I’ll be okay now.”

“Shh, you have nothing to be sorry about, Willa. I’m the one that should be sorry. I should have seen an alpha as strong as you wouldn’t do well isolated like this.”

She looked up at me. “What do you mean?”

I shook my head. “I’ll explain that later. Right now, I want to figure out how to get you out of this room safely. We may have found a solution for that.”

She looked at me hopefully.

“Willa, this is my sister, Rebekah,” I said, motioning Rebekah over.

Willa shot up straighter in the bed, her hand going up to smooth her hair. “Oh, hello,” she said, reaching her hand out. “Willa.”

Rebekah smiled brightly and shook her hand. “It’s lovely to meet you, Willa.”

“Do you know anything about female lycans’ abilities?” I asked Willa.

She shrugged. “A little.”

“Well,” Rebekah started, “some of us have extra abilities that allow us to do things that others can’t. For example, I can influence an illness or injury.”

“Like a healer?”

“Sort of. I more so manipulate the ailment. I can lessen the effects, but I can intensify them as well,” Rebekah said as she glanced at me. “That’s what Ferrin and I would like to try. There may be a way to suppress your aura. To make it so that you don’t appear as an alpha.”

Willa looked at me, and I offered a supportive smile as I grabbed her hand. “We’ll only do this if you’re okay with trying it, okay?”

“Will it be permanent?” she asked.

Rebekah shook her head. “No. Although I’m not sure how long it will last, it will wear off eventually. Or I can reverse it at any time.”

She looked at my sister. “Will it make me different? Will I feel different?”

“If I’m honest, I don’t really know. But, in theory, it’s likely you won’t feel any different than you did a week ago.”

Willa thought for a minute. “Okay, I’ll do it.”

I released a deep breath in relief, pulling her to me and kissing her. Rebekah cleared her throat behind me.

I turned to her. “Like I didn’t have to see worse between you and Henry.”

“Oh, I’m sure you’re up for paying me back for that,” she said, winking at my mate. “But let’s get started. I’m not sure how long this will take and, girl, this” — she waved a hand in a circle, indicating Willa’s energy filling the room — “is a little intense.”

Willa blushed. Rebekah went and grabbed two chairs from the dining table and brought them closer. Willa threw the covers off her and slid to the edge of the bed. I moved to help her up, but she swatted my hand away.

“I can walk, Ferrin,” she said. “Stop fussing.”

I sighed and followed her to the chair, standing behind her as my sister sat in front of her.

“Okay, Willa,” she started, taking Willa’s hands in hers, “I have to maintain contact through the process. This shouldn’t hurt at all, but it may be a little uncomfortable. But if at any point you want to stop, just say the word, okay?”

“Okay,” Willa replied, sounding determined.

“Good,” Rebekah said with a smile. Her eyes went up to me, hovering behind Willa nervously. “Do I need to send you outside?”

I glared at her.

“Bro, give us a little space. Go stand over there.” She nodded to the other side of the room.

I reluctantly moved away from them but didn’t go far.

“Okay, Willa, deep breaths,” Rebekah instructed as she closed her eyes. Her thumbs began to rub circles on the backs of Willa’s hands, her grip gentle. Their breathing slowed. After what seemed like hours but was probably only about fifteen minutes, I started to feel the shift in the room. The atmosphere was less heavy, and there was no longer an underlying sadness that sank into my bones. I could feel Willa’s aura pulling back, receding into her.

A few minutes later, Rebekah opened her eyes and squeezed Willa’s hands. Willa looked back at her.

“How do you feel?” my sister asked.

“Good,” Willa said with a smile, but she seemed weak. I moved back to her side, kneeling beside the chair and turning her face to look at me.

“You’re going to feel tired for a while. So you should get some rest.” Rebekah stood and retrieved her medical bag. “Willa, I would like to do some blood tests. Just to see what effect the suppression has. Are you okay with that?”

She looked a little confused.

“Rebekah is a doctor,” I told her.

“So you are a healer,” Willa said with a wry smile.

Rebekah laughed. “Yeah, I guess you were right.”

Willa agreed to the blood tests and sat patiently as my sister drew some samples. Rebekah said to wait at least twenty-four hours before leaving. She wanted to come back and do another examination to see how well the process was working. She would make a decision then.