The Hidden Gemstone

Chapter: 30

Alex's POV:

Elijah's scream pierced through the air.

My instincts forced my feet to move and in an instant, I was at Elijah's side despite the danger. I couldn't do anything to help him though; the werewolf's teeth were already in his arm, blood soaking the sleeve of his jacket. Frantically, I tried to pry off the werewolf but to no avail; it stuck to Elijah like glue.

Beside me, Cody knelt on the ground, his eyes darting back and forth in panic. I could hear his heartbeat speed up, but then I wondered if that was just my own heart beating in my ears.

I heard a whimper and looked up to see Zoe standing at a distance, her hands on her mouth, watching in horror. Even in the dark, I could see the tears shine as they rolled down her cheek.

I turned back to Elijah desperately. He was growing paler by the second, blood draining from his face. My chest rose and fell quickly with short breaths, desperation unfurling in my stomach.

Just as I began to consider frying the werewolf, it suddenly lifted its mouth and Elijah took a deep breath. His screams subsided, and the werewolf began to retreat before slowly disappearing into the trees. The moment it did so, Zoe scrambled forward. She gingerly took Elijah's arm as he grunted in pain.

Cody took his other arm and closed his eyes, a crease forming between his eyebrows from concentration. A moment later, Cody grunted and Elijah relaxed. I focused my vision and saw the dark blue lines traveling up the back of Cody's hand and disappearing under his sleeve.

I gave him a look of gratitude before joining Zoe to examine Elijah's wound. I couldn't tell how deep the bite was, but the blood was flowing out of it endlessly. We needed to patch it up.

"Does our cabin have any bandages?" I asked desperately.

Zoe nodded, wiping her tears. "Yeah, I'll go grab them-"

"No need," said a voice behind us. We all turned to see a man with a beard approach us. He was wearing a T-shirt and jeans, unbothered by the cold wind. His hair was wild and overgrown, but he didn't seem to care in the least. "When it comes to healing, lycanthropy is not as simple as it seems."

We stared at him. Slowly, my brain worked its way to the conclusion. "You bit him."

The man merely shrugged as though we were talking about the weather. His carelessness enraged me and it took me all I had to not launch myself at him.

"What do you mean?" Zoe asked, her eyes red from crying. "What you mean he bit him?" I could see it in her expression that she already knew the answer to her question but wanted someone to prove her wrong. I desperately wished I could.

Instead, I glared at the man. "He's a werewolf."

The man examined me, Zoe, and Cody before resting his gaze on Elijah. "Give the kid some space. If his body doesn't refuse the bite, he should likely start healing now."

I failed to mask my confusion but moved away subconsciously to give Elijah his space. His pain seemed to have diminished, the bleeding slowing by the minute. He sat up, grunting, and rested his back against the tree behind him. Looking down at his arm, he carefully rolled up the sleeve of his jacket, up to his elbow. I could see the bite marks on his inner arm, just below his elbow.

"What does that mean?" He looked up at the man. "How the hell's my body supposed to accept or refuse a bite?"

The man sighed patiently before slowly walking forward. My eyes flashed a warning, my vision filling with a red hue. Seeing that, the man stopped before giving a short laugh.