Free Web NovelChapter 35: Chapter 34: Dr Thorne
The room fell silent.
"So we’re gambling that it holds for three days," Damian said slowly, "but the act of leaving might cause it to break within hours."
"That’s the risk," Dr. Thorne confirmed. "Which is why I’m telling you again....don’t leave. This is a terrible idea. The odds of this going well are vanishingly small."
"The odds of forty-three pack members surviving if we don’t go are zero," Damon said. "We’ll take the vanishingly small odds."
Dr. Thorne sighed heavily. "Then I’ll be there by six AM. I’ll do everything I can. But you need to understand.....if the spell breaks while you’re gone, if she transforms without you there, I’m estimating her survival chances at maybe forty percent. And that’s if everything goes as well as possible."
Forty percent. Even worse than Silas’s earlier estimate.
"What can we do to improve those odds?" Damian asked again.
"Minimize stress before you leave. Keep her calm, keep her grounded, reinforce the bond as much as possible in the time you have left. The stronger the bond connection, the more likely it is to hold even at a distance."
"We can do that," Silas said.
"I’ll also need a detailed medical history," Dr. Thorne continued. "Any known allergies, current medications, previous medical conditions. And I need to know everything about how the binding spell has been degrading. When did she first start showing signs? What symptoms has she experienced? How has it progressed?"
Silas began providing the information while Damian made notes on his phone. Damon stood and moved to Eve, pulling her into his arms.
"Forty percent," he said quietly against her hair. "Those are shit odds."
"Better than zero percent for those children," Eve said, trying to sound brave.
"I hate this," Damon said. "I hate that we found you just to lose you. I hate that we have to choose. I hate that there’s no good option. I hate all of it."
"I know," Eve said, holding him tighter. "But we’re doing the right thing. The hard thing. The thing that saves the most lives."
"The thing that might cost us you," Damon corrected.
"Or the thing that proves I’m strong enough to survive anything," Eve countered. "Have a little faith."
"Faith." Damon laughed bitterly. "I have faith in steel and strength and things I can control. Not in fate and odds and hoping the universe doesn’t fuck us over."
"Then have faith in me," Eve said. "In us. In the bond. You said it yourself—it’s a soul bond. Maybe that means something. Maybe it’s strong enough to keep me anchored even when you’re not here."
"Maybe," Damon repeated. "There’s that word again."
Across the room, Silas was still on the phone with Dr. Thorne, going through medical details. Damian had moved to his computer, pulling up files, preparing documents Dr. Thorne would need.
They were committed now. The decision made. The wheels in motion.
In less than five hours, the brothers would leave. And Eve would be alone for the first time in weeks. Alone with her transforming body, her breaking spell, and her forty percent chance of survival.
"We need to brief Mrs. Blackwood," Damian said, hanging up his own phone. "She needs to understand what she might be dealing with. What to watch for. What to do if things go wrong before Dr. Thorne arrives."
"I’ll get her," Silas said, ending his call with Dr. Thorne. "She should be awake....she’s always up early."
He left, and Damian turned to Eve and Damon. "Dr. Thorne will be here by six. She’s leaving Boston now, chartered a private plane. She’ll have basic supplies but we need to set up a proper medical station. IV equipment, monitoring devices, medications.....I’ll have Marcus send someone to raid the pack medical facility."
"What about restraints?" Damon asked, his arms still around Eve.
"Already handled. We have soft restraints in the security equipment storage. I’ll have them brought up." Damian’s eyes met Eve’s. "I’m sorry. I know it sounds terrible....."
"It’s necessary," Eve interrupted. "If I might hurt someone during the transformation, if I might hurt myself, then yes. Restraints make sense."
But the thought of being tied down, helpless, while her body tore itself apart and rebuilt into something else? That was almost more terrifying than the transformation itself.
"It might not come to that," Damian said, though he didn’t sound convinced. "You might maintain control throughout. But we need to be prepared for worst case."
Worst case. Forty percent survival. Possible violence. Loss of self. Those were the worst cases.
Best case? She survived, transformed successfully, and they came back to find her alive and whole.
Eve clung to that best case like a lifeline.
Silas returned with Mrs. Blackwood, who looked alert despite the early hour. She took in the tense scene.....Eve in Damon’s arms, Damian’s grim expression.....and simply nodded.
"The pack emergency," she said. It wasn’t a question.
"We have to leave at dawn," Damian confirmed. "And we need you to watch over Eve until Dr. Thorne arrives. She should be here by six, but that means Eve will be alone for the first few minutes after we leave."
"I’ll stay with her," Mrs. Blackwood said immediately. "What do I need to know?"
Damian explained quickly....the binding spell, the transformation, the risks. Mrs. Blackwood’s expression remained calm throughout, though Eve saw her hands tighten on her apron.
"I’ve seen transformations before," Mrs. Blackwood said when Damian finished. "Werewolf first changes, mostly. It’s not pleasant, but it’s survivable. I can handle this."
"This might be different," Silas warned. "We don’t know what she’s transforming into. We don’t know what to expect."
"Then we’ll handle whatever comes," Mrs. Blackwood said with simple practicality. "She’ll need someone calm. Someone who won’t panic. I can be that person."
"Thank you," Eve said, her voice thick with emotion. "Thank you for doing this."
"You’re family now, Miss Chen," Mrs. Blackwood said, her stern expression softening. "The masters’ mate. That makes you pack. We take care of our own."
Family. Pack. The words settled something in Eve’s chest. She wasn’t facing this completely alone. She had Mrs. Blackwood, soon she’d have Dr. Thorne. And she had the bond, stretching across whatever distance the brothers traveled, keeping them connected.
It would have to be enough.
"I’ll prepare the medical station," Mrs. Blackwood said. "The masters will need to focus on you for the time they have left. I’ll handle the practical matters."
She left with characteristic efficiency, and the brothers turned back to Eve.
"Four hours," Damian said, checking his watch. "We have four hours before we need to leave. How do you want to spend them?"
Eve looked at the three men who’d become her entire world. The three men who were about to leave her to save innocent lives. The three men she might never see again if the worst happened.
"Together," she said simply. "However we can. Just... together."
They moved as one, pulling her close, surrounding her with their warmth and strength. And for the next few hours, they pretended that dawn would never come.
That they’d never have to say goodbye.
That forty percent was good enough odds.
They pretended, because the truth was too terrible to face.
But dawn was coming.
And with it, the hardest choice any of them had ever made
.
FOUR HOURS LATER - 5:47 AM
Dr. Thorne arrived thirteen minutes before the brothers were scheduled to leave.
Eve heard the car pull up, heard the urgent footsteps on the stairs, and felt her stomach clench with dread. This was it. The moment when pretending stopped and reality crashed back in.
Dr. Thorne burst into the room.....a woman in her fifties, gray-streaked dark hair pulled back in a severe bun, sharp green eyes that took in everything at once. She wore practical clothing and carried two large medical bags.
"Show me everything," she said without preamble. "Medical station, monitoring equipment, where she’ll be during the transformation. I need to see it all. Now."
Mrs. Blackwood stepped forward. "This way, Doctor. We’ve prepared the master bedroom as you requested."
While they went over the setup, while Dr. Thorne fired questions at Mrs. Blackwood and set up equipment with practiced efficiency, the brothers held Eve close.
Dr. Thorne returned, her expression grim. "I need five minutes alone with Miss Chen. To examine her, assess the spell’s stability. Then you can say your goodbyes."
The brothers looked like they wanted to refuse, but finally nodded and stepped outside.
Dr. Thorne moved to Eve, her hands gentle despite her brusque manner. "I need to be honest with you. This is a terrible situation. The odds are not in your favor. But you need to fight. When the transformation starts....and it will start, probably soon.....you need to hold onto yourself. Your memories, your identity, your connection to them. Don’t let the new nature swallow you completely."
"How do I do that?" Eve asked.
"Focus on them. On the bond. On why you’re fighting." Dr. Thorne’s eyes held hers. "And if it gets too bad, if you feel yourself slipping, call for them. Even if they’re too far away to help, call for them anyway. Sometimes just the act of reaching for the bond can stabilize it."
"Okay," Eve managed.
"I’m going to do everything I can to keep you alive," Dr. Thorne said. "But you need to do your part. You need to want to survive. Can you do that?"
"Yes," Eve said with more certainty than she felt.
"Good." Dr. Thorne stepped back. "I’ll get the brothers. You have five minutes. Make them count."
The brothers returned, and Dr. Thorne discreetly left with Mrs. Blackwood, giving them privacy.
"This is it," Silas said, his voice rough.
"Three days," Damian said. "We’ll be back in three days. You hold on. You survive. You fight."
"I will," Eve promised.
"And if the spell breaks," Damon said, gripping her shoulders, "if you start to transform, you hold onto us. You remember us. You don’t let whatever you become erase who you are."
"I won’t," Eve said, tears streaming down her face now.
’’We need to address the pack before we leave,’’ Damien said while placing a soft kiss on her head ’’we’ll be back very soon’’
Dr. Thorne returned, all business. "Let’s get you hooked up to monitors. I want baseline vitals before anything starts happening."
Eve let herself be led to the bed, let the doctor attach equipment, let the medical procedures distract her from the aching emptiness of the brothers’ absence.
Three days.
She could survive three days. ƒrēewebnovel.com
She had to.
