Chapter 271 Home Remedy

Author

The show was supposed to be slow television. By hour three, Elara’s numbers were beating the other three streams combined.

People just liked watching her fail.

She’d burned her grilled cheese at lunch. Dropped a spatula in the sink. Somehow got pancake batter on the ceiling. The chat was loving it.

Then she made the mistake of taking a nap.

She woke up with her right cheek pounding like someone had hit her with a baseball bat from the inside. She stumbled to the bathroom mirror and found half her face swollen, red, and hot to the touch.

Two wisdom teeth. Decided to make their grand entrance today. Of course.

She walked out to the living room, holding her cheek like a Victorian child dying of consumption.

Linda took one look at her and put down her Kindle. "Oh no. Tooth?"

"They’re coming in. Both of them. On the same side."

She collapsed onto the couch. The deep, drilling ache in her jaw made it impossible to think about anything else.

Linda put her Kindle down and stood up. "Ice first. Then I’ll call Dr. Hayes."

She went to the kitchen, wrapped a few ice cubes in a clean dish towel, and came back. "Press this against your cheek. It won’t fix it, but it’ll take the edge off."

Elara pressed the ice pack against her swollen jaw. The cold was a shock at first, then a dull comfort.

Linda was already scrolling through her contacts. She stepped into the kitchen for privacy but left the door open, keeping one eye on Elara through the glass.

Dr. Hayes answered on the third ring.

"Linda. What’s going on?"

"It’s the Luna. She’s having wisdom tooth pain — both on the right side, coming in at the same time. What can she take?"

A pause. "Is there fever?"

"No. I checked. Cool to the touch."

"Any visible pus or drainage around the gum?"

"I haven’t looked that closely. She’s in too much pain to let me near it."

"Alright. Don’t give her anything yet. No ibuprofen, no aspirin. Tylenol is safe but it won’t do much for tooth pain. The best option is topical lidocaine — the kind they make for teething babies. Orajel or the store brand. Same active ingredient. Have you got any in the house?"

"Not yet. I can send someone to the pharmacy."

"Do that. In the meantime, salt water rinse every hour. Ice on the outside, twenty on, twenty off. If the swelling gets worse or she starts running a fever, call me immediately. Otherwise, the lidocaine should hold her over until we can get her into the dental clinic after the baby’s born."

"Got it. Thank you, Doctor."

"Tell the Alpha to keep an eye on her. Hybrid pregnancies are unpredictable. If her wolf gets too agitated, he might need to step in."

Linda hung up and walked back to the living room. "Good news. Dr. Hayes said topical lidocaine is safe. I’m sending someone to the pharmacy now."

She was already texting the concierge.

Elara let out a breath. "Thank you."

She pressed her cheek against the cold water bottle. The clock on the wall said 3:15 PM. Two more hours until the livestream ended.

She could survive two hours.

Probably.

--

Thirty minutes later, the gel arrived. A staffer dropped it at the door. Linda brought it to the living room, but Elara hadn’t moved. She was still curled up on the couch, face half-buried in a cushion, the ice pack forgotten on the floor.

Linda sat on the coffee table in front of her. "Luna. Tilt your head back."

Elara did. Linda dabbed the gel onto her swollen gum. It stung for a second, then went numb.

"Better?"

"Yeah. Give it a minute."

They waited. The clock ticked.

The pain got quieter but didn’t go away. It was like someone turned the volume down from ten to four. And four was still annoying.

Elara shifted on the couch. Pressed the ice harder against her cheek. Shifted again. Nothing helped.

The frustration started building.Her teeth were clenched. Her jaw was throbbing.

The gel was working — just not fast enough, not enough.

She was stuck here. Pregnant. In pain. She couldn’t do anything about it.

Her wolf was pacing under her skin, restless and trapped. She wanted to run.

She wanted to hit something. She wanted to crawl out of her own body.

She wanted Alpha Dominic .

Not because he could fix the tooth. Not because he had a better plan. Just because having him there would quiet everything down.

She didn’t say that out loud. She just lay there with her jaw tight, staring at the wall.

Linda watched her from the doorway. She saw the tension in Elara’s shoulders. The way she was gripping the ice pack. The way her wolf kept flickering under the surface.

Linda didn’t ask. She just stepped out onto the balcony and slid the door shut behind her, keeping one eye on Elara through the glass. The Luna was curled on the couch, face buried in a cushion. Miserable.

Linda pulled out her phone and called Alpha Dominic .

It went to voicemail.

She tried again. Voicemail.

She sent a text: [Luna’s tooth is bad. Dr. Hayes said lidocaine is safe. We’ve got it on her. But her wolf is agitated. She needs you.]

Three dots appeared immediately.

[On my way.]

No questions. No follow-up. Just that.

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