Free Web NovelChapter 109: Served Her Purpose
Soren frowned. "We can’t just―"
"Just do as she says," Rowan said firmly, backing me up. "If she faints, we can carry her with us."
Soren let out a quiet huff before drawing my blood again. "If you’re not feeling well, you have to tell us," Soren said as he injected the second syringe into Willow’s body.
"Of course," I said, blatantly lying through my teeth. I had no intention of letting them stop, unless Willow was alive and well.
Syringe after syringe, my blood slowly and surely went into Willow’s body. I had lost count of how much I lost, staring at Willow’s wolf with rapt attention. I held my breath as I felt her heart beat grow stronger underneath my palm.
My attention was fully cast on Willow that I hadn’t noticed Violet taking a step back, her eyebrows knitting themselves tightly together the more time passed. She frowned, her nails digging into her palms as she watched Willow slowly regain her strength while I lost mine. Neither of the triplets noticed her small reactions either.
Slowly but surely, Willow’s open wounds were steadily healing, leaving behind scabs. The larger wounds, however, slowly started to stitch themselves back together, but it wasn’t able to fully heal themselves. At the very least, they no longer looked as raw and infected as before.
Her eyes stirred underneath her eyelids, while her breathing turned steady. I might be hallucinating it, but it also seemed as though she had a little more color back. I let out a shaky breath.
"This is enough," Rowan said, placing a hand on Soren’s shoulder. "She’s fine now." He turned to look at me. "You cannot donate more."
I squinted at the wounds that hadn’t properly closed up yet. Willow’s eyes still weren’t open. Maybe with a little more, she would be able to wake up.
She had to wake up.
I gritted my teeth. My head was already feeling a little light, but I could already taste success. It was just within my reach. As long as Willow was able to make a full recovery, I would be able to clear my name. Additionally, the guilt of her death would be off my shoulders.
Even though I was never the one who killed her, and I knew I was being framed, there was never any proof. Willow being alive was the biggest proof I could possibly get.
I owed it to myself to clear my name. Additionally, I owed it to Willow for being the only family member who didn’t treat me like a servant rather than an Argyris.
Thus, I gritted my teeth and insisted, "Just a little more―"
"No," Rowan firmly said.
At the same time, Soren safely kept the needle as well, placing it into a ziplock bag with the intention of discarding it as soon as we returned. My shoulders sagged in defeat as I watched him shove the carefully stored needle away, refusing to continue the blood transfusion.
"She will be fine, Briar," Soren said. He wore a small frown. "Not even werewolves can heal instantaneously. These things take time. She will be awake very soon."
"Are you sure?" I asked, slowly turning my gaze to Soren.
He nodded confidently.
"You, on the other hand, need to rest. You’re malnourished. This is way too much blood for a human to give. Any more and you might die."
Cassian scoffed on one side. "And how will you know that Willow won’t suffer a more painful death after receiving Briar’s blood? Did you guys conveniently forget? Briar is the reason why Willow turned weak in the first place."
My first instinct was to retort with something snappy, but I couldn’t find the strength to utter a single word. I let out a shaky breath, feeling too weak to argue.
Thankfully, Soren said the exact thing I had on my mind. "Briar’s blood is the reason why her wounds healed. It’s evidently not Briar’s problem."
"But the facts cannot be changed," Violet said meekly, coming forward. She worriedly glanced at her supposed best friend, her eyes watery. "Briar’s return did poison Willow. If Briar never came back, Willow might not even be in such a state. She would’ve been strong enough to heal on her own."
My eyes were starting to close. Now that Willow’s condition had turned a little more stable than before, my entire body felt light and floaty with relief. Violet and Cassian’s voices were starting to distort in my head, and I could no longer properly register the meaning behind their words, even if my ears could catch them.
"Briar?" Soren called out.
However, I barely even heard him. My body felt light, and I swayed slightly. Then, before I realized, my body started falling to the side.
"Briar!"
I could faintly register someone screaming my name before darkness clouded my vision.
***
[ROWAN POV]
Before I knew what was happening, my body instinctively reacted. I dropped to my knees and caught Briar in my arms before her head could hit the ground. Even Soren hadn’t reacted in time, his eyes merely widening with surprise.
To his credit, he stretched out his arms with the intention to catch her, but he wasn’t nearly as swift.
Soren bit his bottom lip, softly exhaling with relief when he realized that I had managed to catch Briar just in time. His shoulders slumped, relaxed.
On the other hand, I held Briar carefully in my arms, cradling her against my body. I carefully adjusted her head so that she leaned against my chest, rather than hung limply to the side.
"Shit," Soren muttered under his breath. "We need to bring her back to Shadowclaw as soon as possible. She needs a healer."
Cassian, on the other hand, looked at Briar with a complicated expression. He looked as though he was at war with himself. Finally, he choked out the words after a long time of silence.
"She has served her purpose," he muttered bitterly before standing to his feet. "Come on. Let’s go."
Several warriors came forward with an emergency stretcher, and they worked quickly to move Willow onto it.
She was too weak to shift back, and yet, she could still fit on the stretcher that was originally meant for Briar in case of emergencies. Willow was so frail that she was basically nothing more than skin and bones. For a fully grown adult wolf, she probably only weighed half as much as the average.
"How could you say that?" Soren asked with a frown. He stared at Cassian in disbelief, as though it was the first day he truly knew his own brother. "That’s our fated mate."
"I don’t recall ever marking her," Cassian hotly said, glaring at me, "or attempting to mark her." Then, he turned his glare to Soren. His bitterness clung to his every word. "As far as I am concerned, she isn’t my mate. Fated, maybe, but not a mate."
He turned and walked away. Violet tottered to his side, glancing back and forth between Cassian and us worriedly. Cassian raised his hand, allowing it to hover in the air for a short while, seemingly having an internal debate. Then, he finally awkwardly placed his hand on Violet’s head, gently patting it as he turned his back to us.
Anger boiled within me, coursing through my veins.
"In that case, reject her," I plainly said. "Or better yet, accept her rejection. There’s no need for you to agree with the rest of us. We are our own individuals. You can set yourself free whenever you wish to."
Cassian instantly stilled. He was originally set on walking away with Violet, but the moment he heard me, his feet were frozen to the ground. He turned back sharply, his lips curdling into an angry sneer.
"You think I wouldn’t dare?" he asked, his eyebrows scrunching tightly together. He took a couple of steps back, pointing sharply at Briar, who still laid in my arms. "At least I am not led around by the nose by this wicked woman like you two are. Have you forgotten that we already have a chosen mate? Do pack laws mean nothing to you two?"
He then gestured towards Violet.
"Under pack law, Violet is already the Luna," he said. "She is who we chose to marry, and we ought to hold up our end of the promise. If you intend on accepting Briar as your mate, then do not lead her on."
Violet’s eyes widened the moment her name was suddenly mentioned. She worriedly glanced at us, and I watched as her face blanched pale in an instant. She quickly shook her head, her eyes turning watery with unshed tears.
"I... I completely understand," she said. "Briar is who the Moon Goddess chose for the three of you. I understand that you hold some affection for her. I just..." She sobbed, sniffling. "I am just happy to be your chosen mate."
Her large, watery eyes glanced at the three of us, finally settling on Cassian.
"You’re not going to reject me, are you?" she worriedly asked, her voice cracking.
