Chapter 35
~Kaio~
The journey to the wolves’ den was a tense one. My Lord and his brothers sat together in the spacious vehicle speaking of plans and hatching schemes that would make us all successful in the fight against our leader.
From all outward appearances they seemed optimistic, perhaps even cheerful, and to one who had not grown among them, it would be with confidence that such an assumption would be made. However I knew differently. The stiff set of their shoulders, the slight tightening at their mouth corners, the clasping and unclasping of fists that betrayed either anger or nervousness, perhaps both.
Then there was the way they all spoke. Not loudly by any means, but perhaps a tad louder than I was accustomed. This lot was scared. I knew that I too would have been a quivering mess had I taken on a task such as this, but Lord Riener’s demeanor grounded me.
Of them all, he was the only one who betrayed no form of anxiety. He sat as he typically did; back straight, face calm and devoid of emotion. He did not fidget. In fact, he did not speak unless he had something meaningful to add to the conversation and of course, even his voice remained level.
I needn’t fear the future if my Lord did not. After all, if any soul could save us from the evil that was his father, I had not a flicker of doubt that he could. He was strong, wise beyond all reason and fearless. He was my keeper, my king and my savior and I had the utmost faith in his success. It was this strength and honor that he held that grounded me and it was those same characteristics that made me more ashamed of myself with every passing second.
He had looked upon me, a mere servant, a simple doormat for the feet of the worthy, and had trusted me with the enormous task of caring for his love. Many a time he had done so and twice I had failed him miserably. When would I be worthy of this trust? How could I be when every good intention on my part yielded error?
I contemplated this as I sat in the last row of the vehicle, with my own beloved beside me, holding Tony’s head in his lap. My heart ached at the sight of my lord’s fallen warrior. My friend. He was the first human I had allowed myself to trust and I had quickly discovered the reason Lord Riener could love him as he did. It was because Tony was simply a being deserving of anyone’s love. I had seen his soul and it was good. Burning bright with the essence of his humanity.
And here he lay, a broken bulb in a room that knew no light. I thought of those he would leave behind were he to die. My Lord Riener, his dear friend Noah, the maker of his injury; Lord Christophe and of course, the love of my own life: Mal, whose only wish had always been to live with his brother by his side.
I watched Mal now. I watched the gentle swipe of his hand against Tony’s forehead as he fixed his gaze out the window. I watched the anxiousness in his expression that only grew as time passed. There was love in him, my Mal; A large stream of it that poured out of him in waves whenever he stood in his brother’s presence and I wondered what it was I had done to deserve even a piece of it. I smiled.
It was a simple answer really; I did not in fact deserve it. He had simply chosen to brandish it upon me because that was the way he was; kind, loving. He could not help this.
When Tony whimpered, two sets of eyes travelled down to his face: One belonged to Lord Riener and the other to Malik and I saw in those eyes an almost identical determination. It was as though they willed him to live, willed him to fight and it was then that I realized that though they did not show it, they too were fighting. They fought for a man who deserved it more than anyone else I knew and it was then that I decided that I too would fight.
For Tony. For his life.
……………………………………………
~Six years prior~
-Rien-
“Why must you continue to test my patience?” I questioned in irritation and he frowned.
“You’re acting like I went out and broke my own arm.”
“You might as well have. I warned you of the dangers of fighting. I told you—”
“Jesus, don’t start. You’re not my dad, you’re my boyfriend so start acting like it.” He retorted with a roll of his eyes.
“And how, pray tell, should a boyfriend act? Should I not show concern? Should I not wish for your well-being?”
He stretched out on the narrow hospital bed, turning his bruised face away from me and folding his arms before him. “Well for one, you can stop nagging me.”
If I had not thought it would do him more harm, I would have grasped his shoulders and shaken him until he saw sense.
Instead I chose to say nothing. To do nothing, until the silence became too much for him and he glanced my way. That ever-present frown still in place.
“Aren’t you gonna heal me? It’s starting to throb. I think the medicine they gave me is wearing off.” He stated, inspecting the cast that encased his arm.
“I will not heal you.”
He paused his inspection and looked at me. “What do you mean you won’t heal me?”
“It is time you experience the consequences of your actions. I will not be here to patch you up every time you choose to make a fool of yourself.”
His eyes narrowed. “He attacked me first, what did you expect me to do? Stand there and take it like a coward?”
“Had you not provoked him, he would not have retaliated. You are too reckless. I have told you many times. Yet you continue to put yourself in harm’s way.”
He shook his head and turned to inspect his other hand. He knuckles were badly bruised and already his skin had started to swell. The same could be said of his knees which were skinned bloody and of course his face, which was bruised and swelling.
I shook my head as well. He was a mess. “Perhaps this experience will teach you something.”
“But I’m in pain.” He turned accusing eyes on me.
“Your doctor will soon present you with a prescription. You can find relief in a drug.”
“This is ridiculous.” He grumbled before finally resting his head on the pillows stacked behind him. I could see that he was tired now, which was understandable after the night he had had.
“Hand me that marker.” I instructed, and with a frown, he reached over for the object lying on the clipboard beside him.
I took it, then took hold of his cast and he smiled suddenly. “You’re gonna sign it?”
He watched me while I scrawled the words onto the white plaster and when I released his arm and recapped the marker, he frowned.
“Next time it could be your neck. – love Rien.”
He read the words aloud, then regarded me with an expression of mild irritation. “Gee, thanks for the sweet words.” The sarcasm dripped from his lips and I smiled.
“If it is sweet words that you desire then of course I can be of service.” And so I leaned in to place a kiss upon his cheek. “I love you.”
“Then heal me.” His expression was one of such misery that I could not look away.
It was in moments like these that I wished I could harden my heart against him, but as was usually the case; a single soulful look and I could deny him nothing.
So I healed him.
…………………………………………..
~Present~
We came to a stop before two large metal gates and there was no doubt in my mind that we had finally arrived at our destination. The scent of the wolves permeated the air. Tangy yet woodsy; a strange combination, but not unpleasant.
The two creatures who stood by the entrance, stepped aside when the large gates creaked open and we were allowed to enter the premises. It was certainly an interesting place, I thought. Certainly nowhere near the magnificence of our own coven grounds, but it held a certain charm that the coven lacked. There was almost as much forestry inside as there was beyond the camp walls. Luscious trees, rich dirt and everything a lover of nature could dream of.
The buildings were not made of wood, but concrete and stone. Solid and practical and despite the fact that night had fallen long ago, many of the creatures roamed about outside, some watching as the vehicle passed by and others simply partaking in their own private conversations and activities.
We were directed by wolves who stood along the roads, and five minutes later we came to a stop before a building I guessed to be the medical Centre, if the potent smell of chemicals was anything to go by.
It was Lord Riener who lifted Tony from the vehicle and onto the stretcher which had been rolled up to the van and we were greeted by two wolves, who I learned were the Alpha and his Beta. They were large, capable beasts whose exuded an aura that I could not readily identify. I could sense their fierceness behind their stoic expressions.
These were not a friendly lot, I decided. Or if they were, it did not transfer to blood-drinkers.
We were also greeted by the camp doctor, who was as gruff as his leaders, but quick and clinical as he rattled off questions, before finally rolling the stretcher into the medical Centre.
We were made to follow and when I entered the large room I was surprised to see that it was empty of patients despite the many beds that lined the walls. I found myself hoping that the emptiness was due to his superb medical skills and not his lack thereof, but of course, if Lord Riener was comfortable leaving his mate in the doctor’s care, then he must have been worth his salt.
“I’ve never seen anything like this. You said you’ve tried painkillers? Morphine?”
“Yes I have tried everything. My brothers tell me that all we can do is wait. Eventually he will awaken pain-free. However, if you find something that can aid him then by all means, do what you can.” Lord Riener told him.
It was an odd feeling, standing in the room with the wolves and the masterclass as they discussed Tony’s treatment. Odd because it felt as though I were a part of an important moment in history. Though perhaps odd was not an accurate way to describe such a moment.
The wolves and the blood drinkers working together to save the life of a human. I had never before heard of such a thing, but it was certainly something for which I was grateful. Two different species with vast knowledge. I was sure that between them, a cure could be found.
When the talks came to an end and the doctor had left with the intention of returning much later that night, I stepped aside to allow Lord Riener a moment with his mate.
He said nothing as he stood by Tony’s bedside, staring down at him. Then very gently, he reached out to run a finger across his cheek. It was but for a moment, where everyone in the room watched him, then he turned away—his face betraying no expression—and exited the room. His brothers filed out after he did, and finally the wolves, until I was left there with Malik and the sleeping Tony.
“I’m going to get some air.” Mal announced just as quickly and I nodded in response. When he was gone, I took a seat by Tony’s bedside.
“He’s in good hands you know.”
I glanced up and spotted the human I had met earlier. So insignificant he had seemed to me at the time, that I had not even remembered that he had entered the room when we did. He had stood quietly in the corner while the discussions had taken place and it seemed, he had not felt the need to leave with the others.
“I suppose that is good to hear.” I told him and for the first time, he took a few steps closer.
“So, fang face has a human for a mate. Interesting.”
I bristled at the insult and he shrugged upon seeing my expression. “No offence. I just thought he hated humans.”
“Well he certainly has no love for them.” I told him honestly. “It is only Tony that he cares for.”
“Yeah I can see that. As crazy as this might sound, you should be glad your friend here is hurt.”
“Why should that make me glad?”
“Because if we hadn’t found out he had an injured human mate, Thomas and Carson never would have given you guys a chance.”
I frowned. “I do not understand why that should have mattered.”
“Having a human mate means that he understands restraint. It means he has to be careful when he’s with him. It means he has a heart. He’s not just some cold, bloodthirsty bloodsucker with nothing to lose.”
“It still seems a bit foolish for you lot to place such importance into that factor. What if my Lord knew it was a sure way to your hearts and simply plucked some random human from the streets and brought him here?”
He nodded slowly. “Yeah well after that little display, we have no reason to doubt him.” he said. “You can’t fake that kind of emotion. The dude’s in love and if he double crosses us we have leverage.”
I raised a brow. “Are you threatening—“
“I don’t do threats. It’s just a fact.” He shrugged, then he glanced at the closed door.
“What I’d like to know is why Malik Laironov is running around with a pack of vampires.”
His words surprised me so much that for a moment my mind blanked.
“You know him?”
He snorted. “He’s that billionaire whose face pops up on my TV screen almost every damn week. I think the whole world knows who he is by now. Throwing money around like it’s nothing. Us normal folk tend to notice shit like that.”
Ah. That would explain it I suppose. “Tony is his brother.” I told the human and he nodded thoughtfully.
“Never knew he had a brother.”
“It is a complicated situation.”
“It always is.”
“Kaio.” We both glanced toward the door where Lord Riener appeared and I stood.
“Yes my lord?”
“Come with me.” he commanded and with a nod at the human, I did as my master bid.
I followed behind him in silence, taking in what I could of the wolf camp as we walked, but too soon we entered another building and I found myself standing among my Lord and his brothers. Before us, stood the Alpha and Beta.
“Alright, now that we’re all here, we’ve got a few ground rules.” The Alpha began.
“This is wolf territory, which means you don’t feed here. There’s a town not far from here and that’s off limits too. You want blood, you go as far away from here as possible to get it. Or better yet, find a rabbit or two. Humans aren’t food.”
Beside me Lord Marcan’s fists clenched by his sides, but he remained silent.
“You’ve probably noticed that there’s a human living here in the camp.” The Beta picked up and my mind went immediately to the human I’d spoken to in the medical Centre.
“He’s also off limits. Don’t mess with anyone and if you have a problem, you take it up with me or my Alpha. Got it?”
“Very well. Is that all?” Lord Riener questioned and the Beta frowned.
“One more thing.” He continued. “When the time comes you don’t lay a finger on the vamps who betrayed us. They lived among us and for all intents and purposes they were a part of our pack, so we wish to reserve the right to deal with them our own way.”
“That will not be a problem.” Lord Jorlon spoke for the group and after a moment of silence, the Beta nodded.
“Good. Now that we understand each other, let’s talk strategy.”
AUTHOR'S NOTES
THANKS FOR READING!
-DoUbLe.A
-unedited.