Damon was covered in bandages, and he had a respirator hooked to his nose, helping him breathe. He was also attached to a wide variety of devices, all beeping in unison. Suddenly, I had a sense of déjà vu― I was sorely reminded of Blaise’s near-death experience with silver poisoning, only this time, it was another brother’s turn in the infirmary bed.

A hopeless gasp escaped from my throat as I approached him gingerly, placing my hand on his cheek. Damon had always ran hot due to his wolf and his metabolism, but now his skin felt barely lukewarm to the touch.

"He can’t breathe without help, so I need the machines to monitor him," Nicole said quietly after she closed the door to the infirmary, Kaine still hovering behind her.

Damon had been sequestered into the corner, and she quickly pulled the curtains to shield all of us from view. If any werewolf caught sight of his condition, it would be highly difficult to explain away the need for so much medical aid, since Damon’s body was extraordinarily gifted at healing itself.

"The bullet entered through his back, narrowly missing his spine, but it managed to puncture his lungs, filling them with blood. If you guys had delayed for even a minute, he might not have made it out with his life," Nicole elaborated.

My blood instantly chilled. We all thought that it had miraculously missed everything that was important, with how little he was bleeding. He even made it all through the flight and journey back home. None of us realized how serious it was until Nicole — someone who actually had medical expertise — took a look at his injuries.

"He is also overcome by exhaustion and showed signs of hypothermia. We’ve managed to reduce the shivering, but we’ll only know if he develops any mental side effects when he wakes up. For now, his breathing is very weak, and that’s my greatest worry," she confessed.

"What?" I asked, surprised to hear there were more things to worry about.

"It’s the ice armor," Blaise said woodenly, gazing down at Damon’s body as though he was staring at a ghost. "He was covered in it from head to toe for protection."

"Oh," I said quietly. I should have known that such a skill came with dire consequences. But without it, Damon would have been nothing more than a plate of mincemeat.

"Without his wolf, healing will be slow and painful," Nicole cautioned. "Please temper your expectations."

"But he will heal," I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt. I grabbed Damon’s clammy hand and squeezed, hoping he could sense my presence and wake up soon. Then I froze. Without the wolf, Damon wouldn’t be able to sense my emotions at all!

My nose clogged up as tears started to fill my eyes. The ache in my heart was almost too painful to bear. What would become of us? What would become of Damon?

"Yes. If humans can heal from such injuries, Damon will be able to do it too. We can only thank the Moon Goddess for her mercy. If the bullet had hit his spine, Damon wouldn’t be able to walk at all," Nicole said. "This is our silver lining― pardon the pun."

A chill crawled down my spine when I realized we had avoided an even more dire fate.

"I’ll give all of you some privacy," Nicole finished. Then she left the infirmary with Kaine, leaving me and Blaise alone with Damon’s battered body.

The moment the door closed, Blaise sagged forward into one of the chairs, as though he was a puppet with his strings cut. I jolted in surprise.

"Fuck... fuck... How could you do this to me, Damon?" Blaise’s head was bowed, and he scrubbed at his face with both of his hands as expletives escaped his mouth. "I can’t believe this actually happened! Damon, you dumb fuck, why did you take the bullet for me?"

Damon’s body offered no reply. The machines hooked up to him only offered a series of slow, even beeps, which only upset Blaise further. If Damon were conscious, I could imagine him shrugging cavalierly, telling Blaise not to overreact.

Then again, if Damon were conscious, Blaise would not be behaving like a man on the verge of lunacy.

"You idiot!" He continued to yell at Damon’s unconscious body. "You’re the alpha, you’re not supposed to get shot on my behalf! That’s my job! Idiot brother! I had years pretending to be human, you can’t even do that! Now you might permanently become one! And I nearly died once already, I’ve got experience dealing with this― But you― you never think―"

Blaise was nearly screaming at this point, hysterical sobs clawing out of his throat. I reached out my other hand to hold his own hand. The guilt that I felt in our bond was threatening to overwhelm me, and I was an equal contributor to it.

If I had not been taken away if I had not left Fangborne, if I had not met them... Damon wouldn’t be in this condition.

The fault was mine. Not Blaise’s. It was me who was related to a sadistic huntress.

"Blaise, it’s not your fault," I said quietly, wiping my eyes. "Without you, Damon would have died... The fault is mine, for pulling the both of you into this mess."

Blaise wheezed in exhaustion, and he sagged back into the chair, his body trembling with unshed tears. He dropped his head on my shoulder and sniffled.

"Harper... what am I going to do?" Blaise asked despondently. "What if Nicole can’t find a cure for him? I can’t be Fangborne’s alpha permanently! And Damon― Damon might not even want to live if he doesn’t have his wolf!"

"We’ll cross that bridge when it comes," I said, because that was better than letting Blaise know that I had no clue. I smiled wanly. "I could take a bullet for him. Maybe that would work on him too."

"Don’t even joke about that!" Blaise sprang up, his eyes blazing with hurt. He tightened his grip on my hand. "Harper, you’re not allowed to do something like that."

"I know, I know," I said consolingly. "That joke is in poor taste."

"You weren’t joking at all," Blaise said accusingly, narrowing his eyes at me. "Can you promise me you won’t put yourself in danger, even if it’s to get Damon’s wolf back?"

I paused. The right thing to do was to assuage Blaise’s worries and promise him I would keep myself safe from harm.

But how could my safety be as important as Damon getting his wolf back?

"I see..." Blaise sunk back into his seat, defeated at my non-response. "I’m going to be sitting here again soon, aren’t I?"