Sapphire Flame

FIVE

   Who are they? His demanding voice echoed inside her head.

   We have no new information yet but--

   Twice. She almost died twice.

   I'm doing everything I can Alpha--

   They were face to face in seconds, him having shifted into his second form. 

   IT ISN'T ENOUGH! he snarled, causing to Cya stumble back from him in fear. If I have to rip off the head of another defiant piece of shit trying to kill my queen, yours will be next! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!

   She stayed silent.

   Leave me, he ordered.

   Yes, Alpha, she finally said after staring into the eyes of the monster for a while. She then turned away and walked off. With anger still burning through him, he paced back and forth, huffing, snarling, and growling.

   He only calmed a little, enough to think about his next move. He knew he had to let Kaena rest for now as much as it hurt him. So the only thing left to do was find out who these people were himself. The so-called hunt for even one member of the clan had become a wild goose chase. It was tiring for everyone involved especially Cya but since they started to pose a threat to his queen Griffin had not stopped searching for them also. It wasn't always such a serious situation, they were just a group of rebels with different beliefs, at least that's what they knew so far.

   "My king?" said a raspy frail voice. Griffin turned, meeting the eyes of one of the caregivers. "There's something you need to see."

   They arrived back in the room where Kaena was held. She was still unconscious and still lying on the bed with the hazel-eyed woman hovering over her more closely than before. Griffin stepped up to the side of the bed, gazing down at her. 

   Is everything alright? Is she okay?

   "She is fine," she said. "More than fine."

   Then why was I summoned?

   The woman softly placed her hand on Kaena's jaw and gently moved her head to the side for him to see blue and purple marks on her neck. 

   He looked away instantly. What is the purpose of this?? he urged her. He couldn't stand to look at what they did to her for long. 

   "Look..." she insisted.

   He looked back slowly. He stared down at the bruises for a moment and before he could ask anything about what he was seeking he saw something amazing. The bruises began to fade back to her normal shade of skin, surely but at an agonizingly slow pace. 

   He wasn't alarmed though, it was very common for that to happen with mates. I thought it was common for mates to heal faster when in each other's presence. That's how I healed.

   "It is. When they're both immortal or have healing abilities." Griffin cocked his head at her. "Either the bond you share is stronger than any other mate bond that I've ever seen... or she's not a mortal."

<><^><>

   Baby Kaena sat legs crossed on the floor of the back porch of her home. She talked and hummed to herself as she played with her Barbie™ dolls and toy cars while her parents laid out orders for the babysitter just on the other side of the clear sliding door. "I'm working some overtime tonight so I'll be a little late but Dean should be here on time to put her to bed so you can leave," her mother, Regina, rambled. Her father, Dean, came into view.