17 Bullets: becoming the Werewolf Queen

Chapter 33: Aquamarine Ring

33 BULLETS

Three more days, and I was still alive.

Barely.

Though I was stuck in bed and my fever was getting unbearable.

I'd been developing a fever and every day it was getting worse.

I stared at my mud encrusted leg, sitting up in the wolf bed, and tossed the wet washcloth at my forehead to the side.

I'd never felt closer to dying.

My body was giving cold sweats, but I was burning up. My vision was spotting and breathing getting harder.

Thann reapplied the paste every day, and each day the pain from the movement would thrust me into unbearable sharp jabs of agony. I'd scream bloody murder until I passed out.

That tells you how bad it was. If Thann would still work the medicine in when it hurt me that bad, I knew this wound was so much worse than my shoulder ever was.

At least I could move when I needed to, like a change of scenery or the bathroom, but I had to let Thann carry me, or I'd have to keep my leg insanely still. While out and balancing once, I made makeshift branch crunches, and kept them by my bedside, though Thann still hadn't let me use them.

With how much worse it was, I'd dare say that my wound was infected.

And growing.

The poison was eating away to my knee now.

I finally voiced a concern that had been gnawing at me for two days. "Thann?"

He moved from guarding the front of the cave and came and kneeled beside me, hands to my belly.

I swallowed, trying to gather my courage. "You know how you wanted to amputate my arm? Should we amputate my leg? Right now we can cut just below my knee. If the venom eats anymore, I won't be able to keep it."

Thann rubbed down my arms and took my hand in his. "El safe. Baby safe."

I looked away. I knew he wouldn't understand, but I had to speak it. "No. I'm not safe. The baby is not safe." I showed the line at my knee. "Kill. Kill Sukumah hurt." I mimed him holding a dagger and crashing it down against my leg.

He stood up in a blurred movement. "No!" His holler rumbled through the cave. "El medicine. Good."

I gave a sad nod and mumbled. "I sure hope your medicine is good. On Earth you don't just let something burn your whole leg off and not do anything about it."

Before I could say anything else, he turned and strode out of the cave.

"Thann?" I asked the emptiness. I started reaching for the crutches thinking I really offended him, but he appeared a moment later with an armful of orange leaves.

I sat up against the edge of the bed and zinged when I moved my leg to the floor. "What do you have?" I asked through clenched teeth.

He placed the bundle in my lap.

"Leaves? Uh, thanks. Pretty." I smiled up at him, though it was mostly fake.

He gave his own fake smile and sat next to me, moving the top leaves from the pile, until a corner of soft goldenrod leather was peeking out.

"Oh, is this wrapping paper?" I finally giggled. I'd given him a gift in those wide leaves before, maybe he copied it from me.

I picked the leaves off until I held up the leather and it was a pair of pants, no, shorts. Made wide and with a stretchy waistband. Perfect maternity wear as well as easy to get up over my leg without much movement.