Paige's head was swimming. Noises all around her. She could hear Emily's voice somewhere close by. It was like there was a fog over her mind. She could hear Spencer and Toby yelling something, but couldn't make out the words. She tried to move. Someone was holding her down. She could feel hands on her shoulders.
Every time she would try to move, someone kept holding her down. Paige opened her eyes a crack and slammed them back shut at what she saw. She couldn't believe it. She knew it couldn't be true, just her fogged mind playing a trick on her. Opening her eyes back up the figure was gone. Replaced by Emily. Emily. She had to keep her safe.
Paige stood up and shook off her feelings of being in a fog, her eyes scanning the tree line for Alison. Paige spotted her and took off in the direction of the blonde, everyone behind her screaming her name. Alison was now screaming taunts at Paige, making her even more angry. In a flash Paige turned into her wolf form and sprinted as fast as she could towards Alison. Close enough to reach the girl Paige lept into the air high above her, aiming to knock her down.
At the last minute Alison pulled out a knife with her gloved hand. Paige didn't see it in time and Alison took full advantage, ramming it into Paige's abdomen. Paige let out a piercing howl as she fell to the ground, whimpering. Toby, Caleb and Spencer took off after Alison into the woods. Emily, Hannah and Lisa knelt beside Paige.
Emily could see blood all over Paige's side from the angle she was laying at. She picked up Paige's head and rested it in her lap, crying over her and whispering things in her ear. Hannah and Lisa both went to work on Paige, having experience with wolf wounds. Lisa was having a hard time seeing what had happened to Paige's stomach.
"Paige you need to change back. I can't see what has happened to you." Lisa was calm through the whole demand. She knew that Paige would be able to heal herself. Paige did as she was told and soon Emily was pushing hair behind Paige's ear, the girl moving her head back and forth in her lap.
"Some...thing...is.." Paige started to say but screamed when Lisa touched her stomach.
"What is happening!" Hannah asked, "she should be healing." Out of the corner of Hannah's eyes she saw what Alison must have used on Paige. It was a hunting knife covered in crimson blood. She went over to it and knew immediately why Paige wasn't healing. "Lisa, we need to get her into the house, now." Hannah said, closing her eyes and calling Caleb back. Within minutes of the sentence escaping her mouth, the three wolves appeared before them and turned back into their human forms.
"She needs to go inside now." Hannah said to the boys, holding up the knife. "Wolfsbane."
When the word left her mouth the boys lept into action. Picking Paige up off of Emily and carrying her to the house. Lisa ran ahead of them to get sheets and towels, knowing this was going to be a messy task to clean her wound. Hannah turned to Spencer and told her to go into town and collect as much boric acid as she could from the pharmacy. Spencer nodded and took off in the direction of the town.
Hannah followed Lisa into the house as the boys followed with Paige. Emily had never seen so much blood. What scared her more is that when Paige turned back from the wolf, her skin was as pale as her fur had been. She made her way into the guest room, on the first floor, where Lisa had told the boys to lay her. She was laying on top of several sheets and Lisa and Hannah had towels in their hands.
"Boys go get ready for Spencer to come back. You need to start mixing the acid with hot water, make sure to leave me one bottle of just the powder." Hannah instructed them as she moved closer to Paige. She knew that in the state Paige would be more alert to someone touching her, that wasn't Emily. "Emily I really need you to get up by her head and keep talking to her, get her to focus on you. This is going to hurt her."
With that Emily moved to the bed, easily sliding under the girls head and craddeling it in her lap. She began to whisper to Paige and kiss her forehead, until the girl made eye contact with her. When Hannah saw thay Emily had Paige's full attention she moved closer to Paige, rolling her shirt back so she could see the damage the knife had done. Alison must have gotten it all the way in before Paige had fallen, the knife leaving a jagged cut about six inches long down her stomach. It was just as deep Hannah could tell.
Paige started whimpering when Hannah was touching her. Spencer could be heard entering the house, the boys telling her to take Hannah a bottle of the powder. Spencer did so, and a few minutes later the boys came in with glasses full of the mixture. They set it down and walked out with Spencer to wait in the living room.
"Emily, I'm going to have to poor this on her. It is going to burn her really bad, but if I don't, we will lose her. I know you don't want that, so I need you to keep her as calm as you can, and try not to let her sit up. She isn't as strong right now, so it shouldn't be too much trouble. Lisa, when I get done, we need stitch it over for her, she won't heal as fast as she normally does and we cant let her bleed out, luckily it missed any organs." Hannah said.
Hannah looked at Emily and nodded, the girl started calming Paige down as Hannah went to work. First she dumped half the bottle of powder on Paige, making the girl scream out. Hannah then poured cup after cup of the mixture onto Paige's stomach. After each glass she would wipe away what blood clots would bubble out of Paige. After the last glass was poured and wiped away Hannah dumped the last of the powder on Paige. The girl was in so much pain at this point that it caused her to pass out.
Tears started rolling down Emily's eyes. She watched as Hannah worked to stitch Paige's stomach up. She trusted Hannah. She then watched as Hannah used the guaze and tape that Lisa had just walked in with to cover the wound. Hannah checked Paige's shoulder to make sure that that wound had healed. It did, so Hannah knew that the bullet did not have Wolfsbane on it.
Emily sat with Paige for an hour before the girl started to stir. She kissed Paige's forehead and nose, making Paige wiggle in her seat, before she realized that she had been stitched up and let out a yelp of surprise at the pain.
"Try not to move, Hannah had to stitch you up." Emily explained to Paige.
Paige just looked up at the girl leaning over her. She stretched up and kissed Emily's lips, whincing at the pain. "Hannah said it would be a few days until the Wolfsbanes effects wore all the way off, and then you will slowly heal. I love you Paige, but I am so mad at you. Why did you go after her? She shot you, yet you got up and ran after her?" Emily wanted to scream at Paige, but instead chose to ask her calmly.
"You Emily. My main duty to you is to make sure you are safe. No matter what the cost. I love you, you are safe." Paige replied.
Emily knew better than to argue with Paige right now. Right now she was just content to sit and hold the girl. But Paige had different ideas, calling the two boys into the room. She asked them to lift her up enough to get all the bloody towels off the bed. Emily cleared the bed, making sure to get everything that was dirty and bloody off. The boys layed Paige carefully back down and left the room. Once settled Paige pulled Emily down on the bed to her, taking her hand and holding it over Emily's heart.
"This. This is why I breath." Paige said to her, looking into Emily's eyes. Emily started crying before Paige pulled her down her.
"I don't think we should fool around tonight Paige." Emily said after Paige had kissed her a few times.
"I don't wan to do anything but lay here with you tonight. You being close helps me heal faster, remember? So just lay down her beside me until I fall asleep, please." Paige begged.
Emily did as she asked, laying her head on Paige's chest and intertwining their legs. She rested her hand low on Paige's hips as to not touch the stitches, but she kept one finger on the tape that was holding the guaze in place. A reminder that just because Paige was different, didn't mean she couldn't lose her. And Emily would do anything to not lose Paige.