The phone call to Dr. Thorne didn’t go as smoothly as they’d hoped.
Silas had her on speaker in the sitting room, all four of them crowded around to hear. It was nearly 1:30 in the morning, but when dealing with supernatural ergencies, ti beca irrelevant.
"You want to do what?" Dr. Thorne’s voice ca through sharp with disbelief. Even half-asleep, she sounded incredulous.
"Monitor Eve while we’re gone," Silas repeated patiently. "For three days, possibly four. Watch for signs the binding spell is breaking. Be prepared to provide dical support if she begins to transform."
"Absolutely not," Dr. Thorne said flatly. "Do you have any idea what you’re asking? I’m a researcher, not a trauma physician. I study transformations after they happen, analyze the data, understand the chanisms. I don’t treat them. I don’t manage them. And I certainly don’t handle them solo when the person transforming is bonded to three alphas who should be present but aren’t."
"We don’t have a choice," Damian said, his voice hard with authority. "There’s a pack ergency. We have to respond."
"Then take her with you," Dr. Thorne countered. "Keep her close. Don’t leave her alone during the most dangerous period of her transformation."
"We can’t," Damon said. "We’re heading into a conflict situation. Fifty hostile wolves. It’s not safe for her."
"And you think leaving her alone while her binding spell breaks is safe?" Dr. Thorne’s voice rose. "Have any of you actually considered what happens when that spell shatters? The amount of raw magical energy that will be released? The physical trauma her body will endure? The psychological impact of her entire identity shifting?"
"That’s why we need you there," Silas said. "To help her through it. To provide dical support. To make sure she doesn’t...." He stopped, unable to finish.
"Doesn’t die?" Dr. Thorne finished bluntly. "Because that’s a very real possibility. Transformation mortality rates for bound supernatural beings are approximately thirty-five percent. And that’s with proper support, with their bonds present, with ideal conditions. You’re asking to monitor her under the worst possible circumstances."
Eve felt ice in her veins. Thirty-five percent mortality rate. More than one in three didn’t survive their transformation.
"What can we do to improve those odds?" Damian asked, his voice tight.
"Don’t leave," Dr. Thorne said imdiately. "Stay with her. Maintain physical contact throughout the transformation. Use the bond to anchor her. That drops the mortality rate to less than five percent."
"We can’t stay," Damian repeated. "I need you to tell what we can do given that we’re leaving. What increases her chances of survival without us there?"
A long pause. Then: "I need to be there before you leave. Not hours after, not the next day....I need to be physically present before you walk out that door. I need to examine her, assess the stability of the binding, set up monitoring equipnt, establish baseline vitals. I need to know what I’m working with."
"How fast can you get here?" Silas asked.
"I’m in Boston. It’s....." A pause, presumably checking the ti. "One-thirty in the morning. If I leave right now, charter a private plane, I could be there by six AM. Maybe seven if there are delays."
"We leave at dawn," Damian said. "Six AM."
"Then I’ll be cutting it extrely close," Dr. Thorne said. "I’ll need to leave imdiately. No ti to pack properly, no ti to bring specialized equipnt beyond what I can carry. You’ll need to have basic dical supplies ready.....IV fluids, pain dication, sedatives if she becos violent during transformation."
"Violent?" Eve asked, speaking for the first ti.
"Miss Chen," Dr. Thorne’s voice softened slightly. "Transformations are rarely peaceful. Your body will be fundantally restructuring itself. Pain, confusion, possibly hallucinations or loss of control are all common. In so cases, the person transforming lashes out at anyone nearby. It’s not intentional, just a survival response to extre trauma."
"So I might hurt Mrs. Blackwood," Eve said. "Or you. Or anyone trying to help ."
"It’s a possibility I need to prepare for," Dr. Thorne confird. "Which is another reason why having your bonded mates present would be ideal.....you’d be less likely to perceive them as threats. But yes, there’s a risk to anyone in proximity during your transformation."
"We’ll set up restraints," Damian said imdiately. "Soft ones. Just in case."
"Good," Dr. Thorne said. "I’ll also need you to clear the imdiate area of anything she could use as a weapon or hurt herself on. Transformations can involve a loss of rational thought. She might not recognize danger."
Eve felt sick. This was so much worse than she’d imagined. She’d been thinking about the physical pain, about surviving the change itself. She hadn’t considered that she might lose her mind in the process. Might beco a danger to others.
"What else?" Silas asked, pulling out his phone to take notes.
"Constant monitoring," Dr. Thorne listed. "Temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate.....I’ll bring portable equipnt for that. Visual observation of any physical changes. Docuntation of any magical phenona....the glow you ntioned, any other manifestations of power. And most critically, psychological assessnt. I need to know if she’s still herself, still aware, still capable of rational thought."
"And if she’s not?" Damon asked.
"Then I sedate her and try to keep her stable until you return," Dr. Thorne said bluntly. "There’s not much else I can do. Without the bond to anchor her, if she loses herself in the transformation, I won’t be able to bring her back. Only you three can do that."
"Then we co back as fast as possible," Damian said, his jaw set.
"How fast is that realistically?" Dr. Thorne asked.
"Ten-hour drive north. Handle the situation....could be a few hours, could be a full day depending on complications. Ten-hour drive back. Minimum three days. Possibly four."
"Seventy-two to ninety-six hours," Dr. Thorne calculated. "And you expect the binding spell to hold that long?"
"We’re hoping," Silas said.
"Hope is not a dical strategy," Dr. Thorne said sharply. "Elder Markov assessed the spell as days from breaking. How many days specifically?"
"He wasn’t certain. He said days, maybe a week."
"Maybe a week was probably optimistic," Dr. Thorne said. "Binding spells don’t degrade slowly and then suddenly snap. They deteriorate exponentially. If it was ’days away’ when he examined her, and that was....when?"
"Two days ago," Silas said.
"Then you probably have less than forty-eight hours before it breaks completely," Dr. Thorne said. "Possibly less than twenty-four if sothing triggers accelerated degradation."
"Like what?" Eve asked, dreading the answer.
"Stress. Strong emotions. Physical trauma. Separation from bonded mates." Dr. Thorne’s aning was clear. "The very act of them leaving could be the trigger that makes the spell break faster."
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