27 Chapter 27: Curse

It was quite dark when the two stepped out of the bathroom. Elize looked at her wrinkly fingers and made a disgusted face at it. She pouted and looked at Zack accusingly.

"What?" Zack asked, laughing at her scrunched face.

"My hands look a hundred years old!" Elize exclaimed, throwing her hands up and walking into the bedroom.

Zack's laughter echoed from the closet. Elize rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue at him. Her mate made kissing motions at her while getting into a pair of shorts. Faking irritation, she took off the towel wrapped around her head, threw it at him and walked towards the king sized bed. She laughed, hearing Zack's pained "ouch" once the wet cloth hit him hard. She shook her head and bent down to pick up the clothes she took out from his closet.

Suddenly Elize was grabbed by her waist from the back and drawn against a solid chest. She gasped, her surprised expression turning into a slow smile at the sudden warmth that filled her. She felt her wet hair being moved to one side gently, his fingertips rubbing against the nape of her neck making her shiver.

"Want me to massage it out of your body baby?" Zack whispered against her ears, temptingly.

Elize bit down on her lip, suppressing a smile. This man had her wrapped around his fingers already, she thought.

"Would you now?" She asked, deliberately rubbing her backside against his crotch.

Zack moaned, his grip on her stomach suddenly tightening. Elize could feel a something slowly hardening against her behind.

*THUD THUD THUD*

The loud banging on the door startled her. Elize quickly jumped out of his hands and onto the bed. She took the huge white blanket and got underneath it, only keeping her head above. Zack chuckled at her panicked reaction. Keeping his eyes on her, Zack shouted towards the door, "Who is it?"

Elize smiled shyly at her mate. How does he look so sexy just standing there and looking at her? She thought to herself.

"It's me! Open up!!" Nina's voice echoed from the other side of the door.

Elize quickly sat up and narrowed her eyes at her mate. Zack gave her wink and walked towards the door. Elize grudgingly grabbed his boxers and t-shirt that was on the bed and started changing inside the sheets, murmuring to herself.

Zack creaked the door open a little bit and asked, "What is it?"

"Is Elize there? I need to speak to her."

"You can tell me what it is." Zack replied, not budging from his position.

"It's Brandt. His fever has gone further up." Nina's voice sounded desperate.

Hearing that, Elize slid out of the bed and walked towards the door. Zack glared at her in warning. She reciprocated the look and shoved her mate aside to open the door fully.

"Is he okay?" Elize asked, her brows arched up in worry. It was true that she only knew the kid for a while, but she kind of liked him. The thought of something happening to him bothered her. After all, he was just a kid.

Nina's expression relaxed as soon as she saw Elize.

"I-" Nina hesitated for a while before opening her mouth again. She asked, "Can you come take a look at him?"

Elize was taken aback. What did she mean by that? What did she expect out of her?

"What can I-"

"Please Elize, can you try healing him? I don't know why his fever isn't going down. Werewolves don't get sick you see. Something is happening to him. He's been burning up ever since you-" Nina bit down on her lips before saying anything more.

But Elize understood it nonetheless. Of course! She had put a spell on him the other day. Is he having a fever because of it? She felt guilty all of a sudden.

"No she won't be coming." Zack said, interrupting her thought process.

"But-" Nina protested.

"I can't take risks. I won't let her out of my sight. What if-"

"Then you can just come with me there." Elize said, interrupting her mate.

Zack glared at her. Without reacting to that, she stepped out of the room and took Nina's hand.

"Take me there." Elize said.

Nina gave her a weak smile and walked towards the stairs. Zack followed the two women grudgingly, unable to say anything. Seeing their Alpha with them, the guards gave way to the women to descend the steps to the second floor. Soon they were in front of one of the various guest rooms in the wing. A crowd of women were gathered inside around a bed. Seeing Elize walk inside, they sneered at her but seeing the Beta's daughter holding her hands their expressions turned to that of surprise .

Elize shrank back under their murderous glares, suddenly feeling very much aware of her shabby attire.

"It's okay, they won't bite." Nina whispered to her reassuringly.

Elize doubted that. But she nodded her head in reply.

"Why did you bring the child here?" A strong powerful voice asked from the direction of the bed. Elize peeped at the direction and saw Zack's mother sitting beside an unconscious Brandt.

Nina replied, "She can heal-"

"Witch!" "She poisoned him!" "Evil!" Loud whispers filled the room before Nina finished her sentence.

"Silence!" Zack's mother shouted, suddenly quieting down the commotion. She then turned her attention towards Elize.

Elize suddenly wished that she could teleport then. The weird part was, she didn't know how to.

The woman kept her eyes on her and said, "She's just a new born. She cannot-"

"I can try." Elize murmured in a low voice.

"What?" Zack's mother asked, surprised.

"I can try." Elize mumbled again, not wanting to offend the woman.

"Speak up child! Are you saying that you want to try?" The woman asked, an amused look on her face. Now she knew where Zack got his scary expressions from.

Elize stepped forward, straightening her head. She took a deep breath and said, "Yes mam, I would like to try. I have healed someone before. So I think I can do it again."

Suddenly she broke out in a laugh. The women in the room looked at their former Luna confused. Elize on the other hand found it a bit scary.

"Mother." Zack said, stepping inside the room.

"Hello son." She replied, managing to tone down her laughter.

"I think you should give her a chance." He said, coming to stand behind his mate.

Meiling smiled at her son, and then directed it towards Elize. Raising her right hand she motioned for her to come closer.

Elize slowly moved forward, dreading every step she took. As soon as she came close to her, Meiling reached out and took hold of her hand. Still smiling, she asked, "Are you sure that you want to do it or is it because little miss bad temper forced you to it?"

Elize smiled awkwardly at the woman in front of her. She didn't know if the woman really liked her or was testing her.

"I came as soon as I knew of it. I'm here on my own will." She replied nervously.

"Good girl. That's how a responsible Luna would behave like." The woman replied, pleased at the answer.

Elize was taken aback. What did she mean by Luna? Didn't she want her son to marry someone else? Or did Aileen brainwash her already? Also why isn't she blaming her for Brandt's state?

As if reading her mind, Meiling said, "Don't blame yourself for what happened. I'm sure it was Brandt's fault. The kid had always been reckless."

"I- uh.." Elize didn't know how to reply to that. She stood there awkwardly, her hand being held by her mate's mother.

"You can begin child. You have my permission." Meiling said, getting up from the bed.

At that, a woman in her mid forties stepped forward and said, "But madame, what if she kills him? She's a-"

Meiling's head whipped towards the woman, silencing her with one look. She then said, "It is exactly because she's a witch that I trust her with this. If any of you have a better idea then please, feel free to express it. If not, then it will be better for you to keep your mouths shut."

Perfect silence followed the warning of the former Luna, although Elize could now feel the sharpness of their glares on her back. Meiling turned towards her and smiled, suddenly making her heart feel at ease. She nodded at the older woman and sat on the bed beside a feverish Brandt.

The kid looked very sick indeed, Elize thought. His face was drained of all its color and he seemed to have grown thin just in a day. She reached out to his forehead and combed his hair away from his face with her hands. As her fingers grazed against his skin, the heat from his body almost scalded her. Elize retracted her hand in surprise. Just how much was his temperature right now? How is he still alive with this much fever? Elize thought.

She looked around to where Zack was standing. His lips were drawn into a thin line, evidently displeased at her. Elize chose to ignore it and turned back towards the boy on the bed.

"I'm going to open his shirt." She said, keeping her eyes on her hand.

"Go on darling." Meiling encouraged.

Taking a deep breath, Elize dragged a finger through the middle of his t-shirt, willing it to tear. The cloth perfectly got cut into two revealing the boy's skinny torso. Without wasting time, she placed her hand on the left side of his chest, fighting her urge to retract her hand due to the heat emanating from his skin. She then closed her eyes and pictured a healthy Brandt, willing her magic to seep into him and heal him.

She kept her hands on his chest for five more minutes and then opened her eyes in confusion. Why wasn't it working? It worked last time with Agatha, Elize thought.

Sensing her confusion, the women in the room began to murmur once again. Elize felt nervous. She knew that if she was not able to heal the boy, the entire pack would blame her for his plight, no matter who tried to defend her.

Suddenly she remembered the voice of the spirit of Ruah Yareach. 'Words matter child.'

Taking a deep breath, Elize closed her eyes again. She thought for a while. The words had to be meaningful. How was she supposed to concoct a spell when she didn't know what exactly his problem was? Although it could be because of her magic, it also could be something else. If she spouted the wrong spell then the kid could possibly die.

As she thought, something tugged at her mind. Confused, she willed her mind to open up, so that she could see what it was.

'Curse.' The words flashed in her mind.

Somehow Elize felt that the words were trying to indicate something to her. A curse? But how did Brandt come under a curse? Nobody practiced black magic on the Island as far as she knew.

Deciding to take the chance, Elize drew a deep breath and whispered the words that came to her naturally, "Hear my plea oh the spirit of Ruah Yareach, cleanse this body of the curse he is under. Let the darkness be put asunder."

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Elize felt something leave her body through her hands and seep into the kid's chest. She heard a few gasps around her, but she didn't dare open her eyes then. She concentrated harder, until she felt the last drop of magic leave her body. She then opened her eyes and looked at boy on the bed.

Brandt was staring back at her with much surprise. His dark brown eyes slowly crunched shut as a huge smile appeared on his face. Before she knew, the kid shot up from the bed and dragged her into a tight embrace.

"You saved me! I love you!" Brandt said excitedly.

Suddenly, she was lifted off from the bed, away from Brandt and his embrace. Elize looked at her mate, who now held her tightly against him possessively. The kid in front of her glared at Zack. Elize chuckled.

Suddenly Brandt was surrounded from all sides by women, who started pinching his face and asking him questions. Zack pulled her away from the crowd towards where his mom stood.

"You did well." Meiling said with a smile, patting Elize on her back.

Elize suddenly felt proud. She really pulled it off!

"I'm taking her now." Zack told his mother who nodded in reply.

Before she could say anything, he lifted her up, swung her over his shoulder and disappeared out of the room.