Chapter 56
Chapter 56
Avery’s POV
I arrived in the garden, coffee in hand, before the sun was up.
I had slept fitfully. My mind couldn’t stop thinking about what could have happened if I hadn’t been able to help Gideon and his wolf.
If he had gone berserk, there’s a very good chance I would have been his first victim.
I remembered the way Gideon’s eyes had flashed, the involuntary shifting that had taken him over so quickly.
I didn’t know if my wolf could always hear me, or feel my emotions, but I sent her the most loving thought I could. We might never have shifted, but even I could feel the horror of knowing at any time you might lose your free will and be forced to harm those you cared about the most.
I wasn’t sure, but I thought I felt a faint echo come back from my wolf, reflecting back my expression of love.
The first thing I did was go to the herb garden I had planted and inspect the peppermint plants.
The plants were bruised and broken from where Gideon’s wolf had stuck his head into them.
I leaned closer to inspect the leaves. There were small black spots on most of them, and the plants were beginning to look diseased and sickly.
Whatever they had done, it had somehow helped to absorb the toxins from the wolf’s lungs. That was good to know, but I needed to pull these plants out before they could infect the soil.
I found a pile of bricks and built a small fire pit. With some seasoned wood from the kitchen’s woodshed, I quickly built a small fire.
I was standing next to it, warming my hands, when Madelyn arrived.
“Good morning, Luna.” she said, coming to stand beside me.
“Good morni- oh my goodness. What happened to your face?” I turned to look at her.
One of her eyes was purple and swollen, the eyelid bruised and shut.
“It’s nothing, Luna.” she waved one hand.
“Bullshit.” I swore, “Tell me what happened p>
“I said p>
“You are already here for lying to me once.” I cut her off with a raised hand, “Do you really want to do it again p>
Madelyn lapsed into silence at my point.
“I won’t lie to you, Luna.” she said, “So I hope you will accept that I cannot tell you what happened. Only believe me that I am handling it p>
“This does not look like handling it.” I snapped. “Did Jessica do this to you p>
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Chapter 56
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“No.” Madelyn said firmly, “It wasn’t her. Please drop it p>
We stared at each other in the early sunshine.
“Will you at least allow me to help heal it?” I said finally.
Madelyn nodded slowly, “Yes, that would be fine p>
My knowledge of healing was very basic, but I felt invigorated by my success with my herbalism last night healing Gideon’s wolf.
I had stopped by the library after Gideon evicted me from his office the night before and borrowed a number of grimoires and herbalism compendiums. Most of them seemed very old and out of date, but they were a place to start if I wanted to get better at herbal medicine.
Thankfully Anna already had a large amount of herbs and spices labeled helpfully in the kitchen. Eventually, I hoped to start a true stillroom. A place where I could create things that would help the pack.
Now I looked up one of the remedies listed for bruises and pulled together a few ingredients that I put into a mortar and pounded into a paste.
“What is that?” Madelyn asked curiously.
“Arnica, Wintergreen, Witch Hazel, and Calendula.” I replied, smearing the balm onto one side of a gauze square. “Here, hold this against your eye and I’ll tie this bandage over it to hold it in place. It should help the swelling go down p>
I helped her tie the poultice on and stood back to check my work. Madelyn sighed in relief.
“That feels better already. Thank you, Luna.” She bit her lip and looked like she might cry, “I don’t know why you are so kind to me p>
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