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The whimper Liam let out was so much like a pitiful wolf, Scott was almost glad Stiles wasn’t there to comment. It wouldn’t have gone over well while Scott was actively tamping down his own anger, and the protective pull that was shouting at him to hide Liam, and go after the threat.
“One foot after another, you got it,” Scott encouraged, trying to shoulder more of Liam’s weight, and subtly drawing out his pain.
“It really hurts,” Liam confessed in a small voice.
“I know, but we’re almost there.”
Scott glanced furtively around the forest. He believed he scared off the hunters, at least for the night, but it wasn’t in time to stop Liam from taking a wolfsbane bullet to his shoulder. It was a humbling thing to remember that even after all they’d faced, after literally escaping death, an overeager human with enough family history in hunting could take them down.
Liam grew heavier on Scott’s arm, taking a trudging step forward.
“Liam?” Scott questioned.
“I feel a little light-headed,” he said, taking a labored breath as he paused in his walking. “I think…I think it’s killing me.” Liam whimpered again, straining to breathe in.
“Not yet, it’s not,” Scott said firmly. “We’ll get you to Deaton’s, and you’ll be just fine.”
Liam didn’t respond, but rather gripped harder onto Scott’s shoulder, trying to keep himself upright.
Scott made himself a mental checklist: turn down the upcoming road to get to Deaton’s clinic, remember to take enough of Liam’s pain that they both can think clearly, use your key, get out the mini blowtorch they keep for instances like this, burn out the wolfsbane.
Easy.
The walk down the road had the slowest pace yet, with Liam stopping every few seconds, or dipping his head onto Scott’s shoulder. Scott wanted to shout for joy when the clinic finally came into sight.
“We’re here, Liam!” Scott said, trying to keep him alert.
“Great,” he rasped out.
Scott deposited Liam on the side of the building, hoping he could keep himself standing long enough for Scott to open the door. He caught sight of Liam’s unfocused eyes as he reached to help him walk once again.
The smell of pain and fear was potent, and Scott was sure his chemosignals were anything but pleasant to Liam. Still, he tried to project confidence, or at least mask his scent, and not put Liam in any more distress.
Scott helped him up onto the exam table.
“You’ll feel so much better…ten minutes from now,” Scott babbled, too aware that Liam’s breathing was sounding even worse. Even having grown up with asthma attacks, it just made losing breath all the more scary to Scott. A few minutes without air stood between someone and death. It’s one of the few things that cannot be powered through, a lack of oxygen.
Scott helped Liam take off his mostly ripped shirt, wincing at the choked yell Liam let out as his arm moved. Scott checked Liam’s torso for the tell-tale black underneath his skin. It was clearly an aggressive strain of wolfsbane, but they had gotten out of danger quickly, and luckily, the wolfsbane was still mostly localized to the original injury point in his shoulder.
“Lie down,” Scott instructed, as he turned to find the blowtorch, hidden way behind all the ordinary veterinary tools Deaton had in his closet. Successful, he placed it on the counter, and then found a clean washcloth. At the sink, he let the water run as cold as it would get, and soaked the washcloth. It would be needed once they were done, but first they had to get the wolfsbane out.
Scott mentally prepared himself as he fidgeted with the washcloth for an extra second. He knew firsthand how horrible wolfsbane was, from start to finish, and he hated to have to do this to Liam. He steadied himself, and grabbed the blowtorch.
“Oh God,” Liam whispered, seeing the blowtorch in Scott’s hand. “Scott, please…”
Scott stroked Liam’s hair as Liam squeezed his eyes tight, and felt his own stomach twist as chemosignals of fear permeated the room. Scott knew this was a plea to his alpha to protect him, and unfortunately, this was the only way.
“I’ll tell you what, I bet I can get all of the wolfsbane out in,” Scott inspected the wound again, “ten seconds. I’ll count, you just breathe.”
Scott flipped on the blowtorch.
“Wait!” Liam squeaked.
Scott paused, but didn’t stop the flame.
“Breathe, Liam. Ten long breaths, and it will all be over,” Scott said.
Liam looked pale, and not just from his struggling lungs, but finally looked up at the ceiling resolutely. Scott nodded, and placed his hand on Liam’s chest to keep him still.
He didn’t give any kind of warning, and moved the flame over the wound.
“One,” he started, and almost immediately the screams started.
Liam was clearly trying to keep it down, mostly groaning, but by the time Scott reached four, he was screaming at a maximum volume.
“Five,” Scott said steadily, pushing with some of his body weight onto Liam to keep him from writhing.
“Six.”
“Scott! Please! Scott!” Liam begged.
Scott steeled himself against his nature shouting at him to stop. His pack was in pain, how could he let that continue?
“Seven,” Scott said in a louder voice, trying to drown out Liam’s screams for himself.
He pushed the flame in deeper through Liam’s arm. He needed to ensure the entirety of the wolfsbane was out, or this would be for nothing.
“Stop!” Liam sobbed, thrashing in Scott’s grip.
“Eight.”
Scott was leaning all the way against Liam now, his left forearm pushing down on his chest, and his hand holding his shoulder in an iron grip.
“Nine.” Scott couldn’t see any trace of the wolfsbane, and promptly pulled back the blowtorch, allowing the flame to extinguish.
Liam panted through his sobs, going boneless on the table. Scott rushed to grab the cold washcloth, and laid it over the wound, hoping to draw out heat.
“It’s over,” Scott promised. He flinched as he started to take some of Liam’s pain.
Liam sighed in response, looking completely wiped out. Scott resumed his stroking of Liam’s hair, continuing to remove the pain.
“Hey, I did it faster than I said I could. That’s quality customer service,” Scott joked.
Liam flashed a weak smile. “I don’t think people who set their clients on fire get good Yelp reviews.”
“How about people who save their client’s life?” Scott left to grab a bandage. Now that the wolfsbane was gone, Liam would likely heal within a few days at most, but he didn’t want to leave anything up to chance.
Liam grunted as Scott stopped taking his pain, but Scott was glad to hear his breathing was clear, and he seemed more alert.
“I’ll remember to be grateful when my arm stops throbbing,” Liam said, angling himself to let Scott wrap the bandage around his shoulder.
“No need,” Scott said. “You just get me the next time.”