It was midday when Visena finally awoke, blood stores completely refilled.
"Kora?"
The old healer was standing over Jed checking his pupils. "Yes, dear?"
Visena appreciated the informality from her. Even when they first met, she had always shown her respect without all the stifling titles.
"Is there a way you could draw some blood, and I can give it to the Vampires because I can't repeat what happened last night again. It was so ineffective...."
"I agree," Gideon spoke from the door. His skin glistened beneath a dark singlet and basketball shorts. Darkness shadowed his eyes, but he hid it with a bright smile. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine." Visena blushed under his heavy gaze before turning back to the healer. "Kora? Would that work?"
"I don't see why not. I can draw five hundred millilitres so that it won't affect you too much."
"That sounds great."
"What sounds great?" Another male voice spoke from behind Gideon.
"Mihnea! Just the person I wanted to see."
Gideon's scowl had Visena clutching her stomach from giggling. "Both of you, get in here, please and sit down."
The men followed orders, one with a frown, the other with a smirk.
Kora drew the blood quickly and offered Visena a tall glass of orange juice. After guzzling it down, she realised she was famished. She plopped the warm blood bag in Mihnea's lap and marched for the kitchen.
"Let me know when you need more!" Visena shouted on her way out.
Four pieces of jam toast, two peaches, and a punnet of strawberries later, Visena was interrupted by a stranger. She quickly wiped a hand across her face to hide the evidence of her feasting and raised her brows at the visitor. "Can I help you?"
The woman pulled a face and wrung her hands nervously. Her auburn hair hung limply around sallow cheeks.
"My Queen, I'm one of the defectors from Malum-"
"You escaped?" Visena interrupted, moving closer to the woman and grasping her hands gently. "I'm so happy you're safe!"
The woman blushed and turned her head away. Her palms were clammy, and her skin was so pale.
"What's your name?"
"Zahrah." She appeared taken aback by Visena's pure joy at being in her presence. The Alpha held Zahrah's hands so tenderly that the new Invictus wolf had tears helplessly rolling down her cheeks.
"What a beautiful name. What did you need?" Visena pulled Zahrah into the room and sat with her at the dining table.
"I left Malum once Zeir and Daeva started experimenting on all the unmated wolves."
"Daeva?"
"Our pack witch. She was the one who discovered Darius and Esmerelda together and told us all about the Prophecy. About you."
"I had wondered about that," Visena nodded, swallowing down the grief of her late parents again. Every intrusive thought of them felt like a punch to the gut.
"Well, after he murdered Darius, he changed. He imprisoned our Blood Witch and started forcing young unmated wolves to mark each other. So many of us died. But the children... Some children stayed in a bunker near the Packhouse. They could still be there. Please can you come with me to find them?"
Visena's mouth dropped open, and coldness gripped her. "How long have they been in there?"
"Once Alpha Zeir started killing us, we hid them all in the bunker. I should have helped them out, but I was a coward. I ran here hoping to find you, but you were with the council by then, and I never had the chance...." Zahrah hiccuped as the words poured from her body like vomit.
"The bunker had three weeks' rations. As long as they stayed hidden, they should be okay still. I need to go now...." The chair screeched beneath Zahrah as she headed for the door.
"Wait! I'll come. Let me get a few others." Visena called after her while jogging to the door.
"What is it?" Eve appeared in the entryway, blocking Zahrah's path with her muscled body.
Liam jogged down the stairs, pulling a shirt over his rippling abdomen. "Let's go, E. Time to save some kids."
"Eavesdropper," Visena muttered before reaching for Zahrah's hand again. "We will all go together, okay. It's not safe to go on your own when the Earth Fae are still around."
Zahrah swallowed and nodded as Visena brushed past.
Gideon met her around the side of the packhouse. "I heard," he stated, pulling the Fae into a quick kiss. "I can't leave Jed right now, I think he's about to wake up, and I need to be there for him."
Visena melted at Gideon's tenderness and squeezed him tight around the waist. "That's okay. I'll be fine-"
Gideon pulled back and cradled her face. "But take everyone else, okay? Everyone. I'm serious. I want you safe."
He kissed her again after a reassuring affirmation and waved goodbye as she ran back to the front of the Packhouse. Liam, Prim, Orion, Eve and twenty other wolves stood ready to take on the world.
"Oh... Gideon mind linked you all already?"
"Yes, Vi. Stop staring, and let's go!" Prim was cradling her tiny, invisible bump and seemed nervous to get going.
"You didn't think Gideon would let you go into Malum territory without the cavalry, did you?" Liam's questioning had her rolling her eyes, but deep down, she was swooning over the perfection of her mate. She needed him in more ways than one,
Goddamn.
"Let's go! Zahrah, lead the way."
She shifted into a skinny copper coloured wolf and sprinted towards Malum with a familiar blue bundle in her mouth. Visena ran in human form along with half of her pack. Eve shifted and ran beside Zahrah alone until a mahogany wolf saddled up beside her. Thyra.
They reached the borders in record time, and Visena felt uneasiness tickle along her nape. "Liam?"
"Yeah?"
"Tell everyone to stay close. Earth Fae are around."
It wasn't surprising that the Fae decided to take residence in the Malum forest. It just made it difficult to retrieve the children if they chose to attack. Visena found herself thinking of ways to kill them without Invictus casualties. They were almost immune to Visena; they used wolfsbane as a cloak, and their bodies were made of earth and roots instead of blood and water.
Liam quickly mind linked the pack, and they drew back into a tight crowd.
You better stay hidden, you assholes.
They all shuffled cautiously, eyes roaming the towering trees and rustling shrubs. The forest was undoubtedly eerie.
"It's here!" Zahrah called suddenly after shifting into her human form and throwing on a T-shirt and shorts. "Dina? Cael?" Her hands clawed at the earth, revealing an eroding metal hatch. Eve stepped in and helped Zahrah lift the opening before she ripped all her nails from the bed. Three grubby cherubs were directly beneath the door, faces peering nervously at the sky above. "Oh my god. Is everyone still alive, Dina?"
"Yes, but Cassia won't wake up..." Dina snivelled, running to the back of the bunker and reappearing with a baby that couldn't have been more than a year old.
Visena fell to her knees and reached down. "Pass her up to me, sweetie."
Dina only had a brief moment of hesitation before lifting Cassia towards Visena. She scooped her into her arms and stroked her face. She was slender but still had a healthy chunkiness to her thighs and face. Eve helped the rest of the children out as Visena sat with the baby.
Cassia's breathing was quick, and her stomach retracted into her ribs slightly. If they had been an hour later, the child would have died.
Visena used the gentle coaxing of her magic and sent energy into the child's blood. It raced through her system, and Cassia started to rouse, kicking her legs and bringing her thumb to her mouth. Big amber eyes peered up at Visena, and her blond brows furrowed slightly. "Hi, Cassia. I'm Visena. I'm going to take you somewhere safe." The child seemed to understand and remained still as Visena stood taking in the scene around them.
Seven children from four to twelve years old stood before the pack. They looked around warily and were clearly hungry.
"Cael, where is everyone else?" Zahrah sunk to her knees and grabbed onto the boy's arms. He just shook his head and turned his red-rimmed eyes from hers. "Where's Lola and Melanie?"
Dina sniffled then, "They went to look for food two days ago. We heard their screams."
Zahrah turned and vomited into the soggy leaves, retching long after her stomach was empty.
Tiny, pinching fingers drew Visena's attention back to the baby in her arms. "Let's go. There's no one else alive out here. At least not Wolf."
The Invictus Wolves rounded the children and kept them in the middle of the group alongside Visena and Cassia. A few creaks and groans from the brush increased the groups' pace, but not one Earth Fae appeared. Visena returned to Invictus without incident, and everyone stood near the pack borders waiting for her command.
"Cael and Dina. You can either come with me to Invictus or go with Thyra to Praelia. It's your choice. The rest of the children will come to Invictus with me until they are old enough to choose."
"What's the difference?" Cael asked bravely.
"The difference is, young pup, "Thyra said, kneeling before the child, "My pack trains warriors. That is our duty, while Invictus is more balanced. You train, but only as much as you desire to achieve."
"Um, I think I'll go with the other kids...." Cael said with an awkward smile, shuffling away from the fierce Alpha.
Dina, however, looked on with wonder. "I want to be like you," she said, awestruck. "I want to be a warrior."
Thyra looked pleased while Zahrah squeaked, "Wait! You can't go on your own...." She looked between the Alpha's stricken. "Can I... Would you-"
"You can join them if you want."
"You can join us-"
Both women answered simultaneously, and Zahrah nearly fell to the floor from relief. "Thank you so much!"
Cassia wriggled in Visena's grip, and she babbled quietly. "Ma, ma, ma."
The Fae smiled and tucked a curl behind the child's ear. "We're going to leave soon, Cassia. I just need to say goodbye to Thyra, Eve, Zahrah and Dina."
"Dee, Dee," she repeated, looking over to the older girl.
"Bye, Cassi. I love you," Dina said with a wave which Cassia returned with a floppy wrist.
"I'll see you soon," Visena directed her words to Eve and Thyra, who nodded with tightlipped smiles.
"Stay safe."
~~~
A/N
I'm backkk ! Hi everyone - a bit of a longer chapter, as I've been away.
Say hello to baby Cassia :) I thought we all needed a bit of sweetness after such an intense showdown with Zeir... so here's the gentle lull in the story before things pick up again x
Until next time,
K <3