Shadows of the Past

Eighteen

"What the hell did you give me?" I groused as she sat me on the edge of the tub again and grabbed a towel. She handed it to me without speaking, but did express a flicker of concern in her eyes as she scanned me head to toe quickly. Wrapping the towel around myself, I glanced down at my body.

I was thinner than usual, but not grotesquely so. I just seemed to have lost a few pounds of muscle and instead of lean and fit, I was just plain and averagely skinny. As I wrung my wet hair out in the towel, I noticed it had lost some of its shine and health, and if I looked in the mirror, I was suddenly sure I would see eyes that weren't as brightly emerald as they should be.

"What the hell did you do to me?" This time, my question was a snarl and if I had had the strength, I would have lunged at her.

Finally she looked me in the eyes and swallowed. "The spray was largely Aconitum napellus."

I knew that word. Written in red letters, and usually bolded in the ancient royal's Information Volumes each pack carried. "Wolfsbane." I muttered. "You poisoned me with Wolfsbane!"

"Yes." She confirmed. "And also hints of Ergot and—"

"Ergot?"

"It's a fungus that grows on rye. It's only rumored to be dangerous to werekind, but I thought I'd give it a go."

"You're insane." I tightened the cloth around myself, my fists curling as I pictured all the ways her little potion or concoction or whatever she wanted to call it would end up killing me. Would it be the weakness that seemed to get worse every day? Or would it be hallucinations? Or convulsions until my heart stopped? She got rid of my wolf with it, and now I was no longer able to heal me of such things.

"Let me guess," I wheezed. "Maybe there's some powdered silver in my system too that's going to shred my muscles from the inside out?"

"Actually no. Good thought, though." She smirked, but it didn't hold her usual spice. "Silver doesn't hurt us unless fashioned as an actual weapon. It's mineral form does not affect us."

My eyes fixated on hers, serious. "Do silver weapons even affect you? Without a wolf?" Would they affect me right now?

Grandma Eden once told me of her experience with silver. A Hunter came after her home pack when she was a teenager and he was smart and well-researched enough to coat his bullets in silver. He even went as far as to wield a silver sword should a wolf get too close. Grandma told me she was shot in the arm and it literally seemed to shred her muscle apart, sinew by sinew. She said it burned like a fire that man had not created yet; so painful, so hot. The doctor was able to save her arm, but a scar as flat and round as a bullet hole lingered on her bicep.

I missed Grandma Eden. She was definitely the grandmother whose presence I would much rather be in today. Mom told me she saved Grandma's life once during a fight, but she wasn't able to save her a second time when it got to be too much and her wolf could no longer survive without her mate. Dad said he was honestly surprised—and proud of her—that she was able to hang on for that many years.

"Time to get dressed." Scarlet said suddenly, snapping me from my memories of Grandma.

"You didn't answer my question." I snapped, but stood up all the same.

"Because I didn't want to." She lifted the green material I had seen her carry in here before. She held it out and I realized it was a dress. Knee length and flowy, it's shape wasn't entirely my style but at least it matched my eyes. I didn't complain and stepped into it.

"Could I order you to give me answers about your no-wolf thing?" I pressed as she buttoned me up from behind.

"No. Now stand in front of the mirror while I do your hair." Her hands pressed against my shoulder blades and put me directly in front of the vanity.