After a couple of minutes, Will returned and slumped against the bar.
“What about Eli?” I asked, looking back at the unconscious man beside me. His chest was rising and falling, but he hadn’t so much as shifted his position since I’d gotten close to him. I concentrated on him for a moment, feeling out at him with whatever it is that makes me what I am. I blinked in surprise. “He feels wrong. Twisted and sick.”
Will rubbed his face. “Physically, he’s going to be fine. The wolfberry won’t hurt him in human form. The pack knows a doctor, in Orange County. I called him right after I called you. He has a…well, it isn’t really an antidote, but it’s a sedative designed for werewolves. It’ll knock Eli out until the wolfberry leaves his system.”
“You don’t keep it here?” I nodded toward the woman who was still collapsed at the bar. “Like that sedative?”
He shook his head, with some bitterness. “He won’t let me. It’s…well, let’s say it’s a controlled substance. A lot of the ingredients aren’t legal.”
It sounded like there was a story behind all that, but I was in no mood to ask for it. “Is Eli going to wake up before the doctor gets here?”
Will eyed the man on the floor. “I would think so. I’m not exactly sure what made him pass out, unless it was just the shock of changing so fast after all those other changes.” His gaze moved over to me. “Um, Scarlett…”
“What?” I said, narrowing my eyes at him.
“You look like a horror movie,” Will said simply. I looked down at myself. My hands were fine, except for the cuts on my left finger pads. But every other part of my body was coated with blood. My bare arms were covered with scratches from the glass, some of which was still in my skin. The bulletproof vest had protected most of my middle, but it was riddled with little holes where larger bits of glass had punctured the Kevlar. My jeans were the same. Will was right—I looked like I’d barely survived an encounter with Freddy Krueger.
“You know, when Bruce Willis rolls through glass, it’s like water off a duck,” I said casually.
Will just looked concerned. “I’m not kidding, Scarlett. That looks really bad.”
Suddenly, Eli shifted a little beside me. A faint smile flickered across his face.
“Scar?” he murmured, and then his eyes opened. He looked at me, then at Will a few feet away, and his face instantly caved in on itself. He remembered. “No,” he moaned. “No.” He curled into a ball on the side, either not seeing or not caring about all the glass. “Will, did I…are they…”
“Yes, Eli,” Will said, his voice empty. “They’re dead.”
“How many?”
“Three.”
“No.” Eli curved even tighter into the fetal position, his face pushing down into the glass. “Not again. You should have killed me first.” There was no accusation in his voice, just a sort of quiet lifelessness. I tried to keep the surprise off my face. Not again? Had Eli killed someone before? This wasn’t the time to ask.
“I tried, my friend,” Will said quietly. “I knew you wouldn’t want this. I’m sorry.”
“Shoot me now,” he whispered to Will. “I don’t want to be this thing anymore.” His body began to shake. “I don’t want to hurt anyone else.”
Will looked at me for a moment and said very quietly, “It might be better—”
“No.” I was not going to let Will shoot Eli. There had been enough damage tonight, enough lives lost. Olivia had already taken too much away from me. And maybe that was selfish, but I’d work the ethics out later.
I glared up at Will, but the alpha werewolf was focused on Eli. “We’ll talk about this when you’re well again,” he said at last.
Eli’s body spasmed with grief, dry sobs escaping his throat in a desperate, wild sound that was more wolf than human. I had no idea what to say, so I put my hands lightly on his shoulders, trying to calm him down—but he didn’t seem to be aware of me anymore. His arms went above his head, instinctively protecting it as he sobbed and sobbed. I looked up at Will, tears in my own eyes. “Give him the sedative,” I demanded.
Will checked his watch. “The doctor won’t—”
“Not that one,” I snapped. “The one you gave that girl.” I nodded toward the woman sleeping on the bar.
Will hesitated. “The doctor will be here in a couple of minutes, then he can have the really serious stuff—”
“Look at him,” I shouted. “Give him the goddamned sedative.” My jaw trembled, but I didn’t look away from Will as he stared at me. He may have been in human form, but he was still the alpha. He wasn’t in the habit of taking orders, especially from a human employee. After a moment, though, he looked away. I had won the staring contest. Bully for me. Wordlessly, Will disappeared into the back office again. When he returned he was carrying a first-aid kit the size of a carry-on suitcase.
“Hold him still,” he said grimly, and I leaned onto Eli’s jackknifing body.
“Shh, Eli, it’ll be okay,” I soothed, but Eli was too far gone to even look at me. Between the two of us, we were able to hold him steady long enough for Will to get the needle in, and a moment later Eli’s whole body went limp under me. I hadn’t realized until then that he’d been straining every muscle he had.
I looked across Eli’s body at Will. “Thank you,” I said sincerely. My voice must have sounded calm, because I think we were both surprised when I burst into tears.
Chapter 25