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She took a deep breath, pushing it back out slowly.

“I’m fine,” Alice smiled.

“You know you don’t have to be, right?” Peter asked.

Alice nodded.

“Maybe someday,” she said gently. “But today, I’m the answer to Myka’s problems, so… I’m fine.”

Alice shrugged her eyebrows playfully and smiled brightly.

“Let’s get to work, shall we?”

“Alice…” Peter began.

“Peter,” Alice cut him off as she stood up from her chair. “There is no time. You must double-check the results and set up everything so we can get this done.”

She moved past him, heading toward the door.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

Alice looked back over her shoulder.

“Axel and I are bonded,” she said. “If I don’t tell him what’s going to happen, he’ll think I’m dying. That won’t be good for anyone.”

“Good call,” Peter replied with honest gratitude.

Alice nodded and then left the room.

Turning back to the computer, Peter took a deep breath as he prepared to read through all of the experiments and results once more.

They had assumed that the virus was attacking Myka’s fae genetics, but that was a mistake. Instead, as they read through Holden’s reports and rechecked Myka’s blood samples, they realized that the virus was infecting him with its own fae code and then consuming it again.

Myka got worse when he healed because the higher amount of fae in his genetic makeup was not only recovering but replicating the foreign code and resetting the cycle of the virus each time.

Because the werewolves were created from fae blood and magic, every wolf did have at least a small portion of fae code within their system. The virus relied on that part of the wolf code to spread within the system and begin the mutations.

All wolves, except for the ones born human.

Just as they had already seen with Alice, the virus could lay dormant within the system of a human wolf, but it wouldn’t attack them.

This was perfect for Holden’s testing. A subject that held a measurable amount of the virus but wasn’t at risk of mutating and being able to tell the creator of the virus what Holden was trying to accomplish.

So, he spent two years torturing Sadie to find the cure, and he had.

After reading the barbaric practices Holden had resorted to and watching the videos, Peter was thankful that Sadie’s mind had been more accepting of the tea than Alice’s had.

He hoped, for her sake, that she would never remember what she went through. On the other hand, though, he suspected that Alice would keep an eye on Sadie from this day forward. So, if she ever did remember, at least she would have someone to talk to that might be able to understand.

***

Axel had been reading reports and deployment arrangements for days.

Jonas and Galen were managing most of the southern territories without issue, and the scouts outside the borders were not seeing any sign of an attack toward Winter. Still, more and more of the lesser packs were being targeted.

Axel wasn’t an idiot; he could see what was happening. They were being spread out. Attacks in all directions, at varying strengths. It was clear to him that the enemy was doing their best to thin out the defenses of Winter and Summer.

They knew that both packs had made alliances with the lesser packs. They could not and would not abandon them, but it put both great packs at risk of invasion.

He did not see the numbers of Autumn or Spring for all the reports he had received on the enemies they faced.

Fae monsters had been reported all across the territories. Hybrid wolves had been spotted, but as of this morning, Axel had not received news of anyone else being attacked the way that Myka had.

As far as any scout could say, Spring remained locked behind their borders, and Autumn… had been forsaken.

Penelope and Mateas had taken the Autumn assignment personally.

Their report described the central hub of Autumn in ruins. Buildings were torn down, fires burned uncontrolled, and bodies were mangled in the streets.

Among the ruins, monsters roamed.

It appeared as though a massive force of fae had overwhelmed the city and destroyed the remains of the once-great pack.

A sad tale… one that Axel simply didn’t believe.

He didn’t know what had happened, where they had gone. But one thing he knew without a doubt in his mind, Roman was still out there.

Axel clenched his jaw as the memory of the bastard fell over his thoughts.

Roman stood over him, his knee pressed to Axel’s throat as he held tightly to the braid of Alice’s hair ripped from Axel’s scalp in his hand.

“Where did you get this?!” he hissed venomously. His rage blazing in his eyes. “Who is Alice to you?!”

Axel took a deep breath through his nose as he shook away the memory.

Her scent filled him with warmth in an instant. He raised his eyes to the door before the handle even turned.

As Alice pushed open the door, she was pulled into his embrace before she could even clear the threshold. She laughed softly as he burrowed his nose against the crook of her neck and pulled her into him.

He closed the door, pressing her back against it and kissing the soft, warm skin of her throat while his hands settled on her hips.

Alice smiled and hugged him, breathing him in and allowing his warmth to fall over her.

“I have missed you,” he whispered.

“The feeling is mutual,” she replied, nuzzling her head to his.

Axel wanted to feel every part of her, to taste her. It had been days since he could last be alone with her. But he felt the hesitation in her, the distraction, the concern.

“It seems I will continue to miss you,” he sighed, pulling his lips away from her throat and resting his head on her shoulder.

Alice sighed.

“Yea…” she whispered. “There is something we need to talk about.”

Axel pulled back, looking into her eyes.

“Are you all right?” he asked. “Is Myka?”

Alice nodded.

“For now,” she said. “But he needs a cure… and we found one.”

“What?” Axel replied with disbelief. “That’s wonderful!”

Alice nodded.

“We need to talk about it,” she said.

Axel pulled back; she was avoiding his gaze.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“Let’s sit,” she said, pushing off the door and moving toward the couch, pulling him along with her.

Once they were settled on the couch, Axel observed her movements. She was pulling back from him, hiding behind her walls.

“Tell me,” he said.

She swallowed, but she did as he asked. She told him about Sadie and about Holden. Finally, she told him about the cure.

Axel sat back against the sofa, taking everything in.

“Alice…” he whispered.

“I’m doing it,” she interrupted. “Don’t try to convince me otherwise.”

“Alice,” Axel sighed, sitting forward to look at her.

“It’s not just for Myka,” she said softly. “It’s for all of you.”

Axel closed his eyes and lowered his head.

Alice lifted his chin, he opened his eyes, and she smiled.

“We both know things will get so much worse very soon. And you will be on the battlefield,” she whispered. “If one of these creatures gets you….”

Axel reached his hand up over hers, rubbing the back of her hand reassuringly.

“I won’t let that happen…” she said, a small crack in her voice. “Not if I can stop it.”

Axel sighed.

“I don’t understand. If Holden proved his theory by experimenting on Sadie, then why can’t we get the cure from her?”

“Because the virus wasn’t finished when Holden died,” Alice replied. “They didn’t have your blood yet. So, the fae code he used on her isn’t the same as the one the virus uses.”

Axel leaned back and pulled Alice into his arms. She didn’t resist, allowing him to comfort her.

“I don’t want you to go through this,” he whispered.

Alice smiled.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “But I’d rather it be me than anyone else.”

Axel bent down and kissed the top of her head, squeezing her shoulder.

“I know,” he whispered.

***

“Are you sure about this?” Peter asked, looking down at her.

“Of course,” Alice nodded, looking up at him. “Don’t worry, I won’t blame you, and neither will Axel.”

“I mean, I wasn’t worried about that before, but now I am, so thanks for that,” Peter said with a playful sigh.

Alice lifted her arms. The restraints stopped several inches off the bed.

“You need to tighten these,” she said. “If they aren’t tight enough, I’ll snap them.”

“Right…” he said, “I’m not used to strapping people in to withstand torture.”

“Well, I guess you’ll need to acquiesce to my expertise in being tortured then,” she smiled.

Peter swallowed.

“Come on, Peter,” she said. “Time to put on your big boy pants and do what needs to be done.”

Peter took a deep breath.

“Just so you know, insulting me and trying to make me feel like this is no big deal for you isn’t going to put me at ease with doing this.”

“Then just think of Myka,” she said. “Because I’m doing this for him and Axel.”

Peter closed his eyes and nodded. He swallowed his unease and the lump in his throat and then reached down and tightened the restraints on her wrists and across her chest and forehead so that she could barely move.

Alice attempted to struggle but couldn’t.

“Good,” she nodded at him.

Peter began to turn on the machines and set up the IV.

“Ten seconds after I turn this on, the iron will enter your veins. For the next hour, iron will continue to pour into you, burning through your body and weakening your immune system. After that, I will give you a transfusion of my own blood, an average wolf with average fae remnants.

“According to Holden’s experiments, this should kickstart your healing. Since you already have it in your system, it will activate the virus simultaneously.”

Peter paused, swallowing and taking another deep breath.

“And then… I will once more… flood your body with iron.”

“And I won’t die,” Alice said, more to Peter than herself. “Because a human wolf is not a true wolf. Iron will burn me; it will be excruciating. But it won’t kill me, just the virus.”

Peter swallowed and nodded.

“Do it.”

Peter clenched his jaw and turned on the machine. Just as he said, ten seconds passed, and then twelve. Her body shuddered, and her jaw clenched tight. Peter could see her strain through the veins in her throat. But still, she did not let out a sound.

Miles away, in a small bunker kept for prisoners considered too dangerous to be held with others, the Alpha of Winter was bound in chains as he roared out the pain his mate was experiencing.