-Tilly-
I didn't know what to do or what to think. I was sitting next to Arch's bed, staring at his face as he slept. He was still pale and immobile, but at least he was at peace now. I was shaken to the core. I couldn't stop thinking about what happened earlier. Arch's condition had gotten worse over the past few months, but I had never seen him like that. He was in so much pain...
For a while, I was alone in the room. Jaden was taking care of Oliver. Natalie was sleeping in the living room, trying to recover from the rescue mission. And Mom... she was walking around the house.
Soon, she stepped into the room and stopped to stare at Arch, arms tightly wrapped around herself. She looked older somehow. And she was sad.
"His parents are coming," she said with a heavy voice. "I feel like a failure. I was unable to protect their son..."
"What can we do against shadows?" I asked, turning my eyes back to Arch.
"Useless..." she breathed out almost angrily. "We are putting our faith in the hands of a sixteen-year-old boy. And there's nothing we can do to help this little one."
I saw her pressing her hand on her chest, so I knew she was talking about the dying spirit.
"I am the Huntress," she muttered with an upset tone in her voice. "I am a guardian of the Blue Moon, the leader of hunters and the right hand of our Luna. I was there when the Shadow Walkers invaded this land and I was there when we kicked them out. And there's still nothing I can do..."
I stood up to hug her. I really needed a hug, but I also hoped to make her feel better. "We'll get through this together."
She hugged me tightly, resting her head on my own. "That son of a bitch will pay for what he's done..." she muttered angrily.
I nodded, feeling a bit better now. I heard noises coming from the living room, and Mom let go of me just in time to see Natalie appearing to the door. She looked almost dead. She had to lean against the wall because she was so weak.
"You should be resting," Mom said to her, but she ignored her words.
"Let me check up on him," Natalie said, lifting her hand in front of my mom, before she closed her eyes.
"How is he?" Mom whispered.
Natalie tilted her head like she was trying to listen. She didn't say a word at first, not until she lowered her hand back down.
"It's too early to say..." she mumbled, before she went to sit down on the bed, taking a few, deep breaths.
"You mean... there's still hope?" Mom asked with a timid voice that was highly unnatural for her.
"Too early to say..." Natalie breathed out and stared at Mom for a moment. "Spirits are unpredictable. Even the tiniest things can bring down the mightiest souls, and even the weakest souls can have remarkable strength."
Mom nodded and placed her hand back on her chest. "I think I can feel him..."
"I'm sure you do," Natalie smiled gently. "Your spirits are taking good care of him. You are taking good care of him, and he knows it."
Mom nodded slowly, but her sadness didn't fade. "Is there anything I can do for him?"
"I think you already know what to do," Natalie said quietly. "You are a mother above all else."
I smiled at Mom when she looked at me. I had the feeling Natalie had heard us earlier. Mom straightened her posture and nodded at Natalie, who turned her attention to Arch.
"How is he?" I asked, feeling worried again.
"He's doing well. His spirits are in turmoil, but he's not in pain anymore," Natalie spoke, looking around in the room. "I have never seen anything this complicated before... I'm surprised I didn't get lost in him."
"We thought he was sick because there was something dangerous in town," I told her.
"I can sense hundreds of connections, and many of them are vibrating... Like a spider's web, but instead of sensing prey, he senses danger coming towards him. But it's so complicated... I truly wish I know more about your kind. The bonds between mates are fascinating," she said, looking at Mom. "I can see a strong link between you and someone else. I can see the growing link between Oliver and Jaden, and," she turned to look at me, "you have one too, but it's... it's hard to spot."
My eyes grew wide and Mom turned to look at me with raised eyebrows.
"I'm sorry – I think you've forgotten to tell me something, young woman," Mom spoke to me.
"Oh, God – I didn't mean to spill your secrets," Natalie hurried to speak with an apologetic look on her face.
"I have no idea what she's talking about," I told Mom with raised hands. "I don't have a mate!" Mom squinted her eyes at me, trying to pressure me into talking. "Honest to Goddess, I have no idea who my mate is!"
She sighed and looked away. "You probably haven't met him yet. Or her."
"Him..." I muttered before I could stop myself. Mom raised her eyebrows at me. "Just a guess – I don't see girls that way," I said.
I was saved from that embarrassing moment, when we heard someone knocking on the door. Banging more like it. I could hear Arch's father's voice coming from behind it, and Mom went to let them in. Natalie placed her hand on Arch's forehead for a moment, letting out a relieved breath.
"So... he's going to be all right?" I asked slowly.
"Yes – he just needs some rest," Natalie spoke. "And I'm terribly sorry for blurting it out like that."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said. "It must be just a possible bond."
Natalie raised an eyebrow at me.
"Okay fine, but just... not now, okay?" I said quietly. "I'm not even sure if it's him..."
"It's active," she said just as quietly. "So... But I promise I won't bring it up again."
"Thanks. There's just way too much going on..." I muttered.
"I understand. But you do have the right to be happy about it," she said, standing up from the bed. "No matter what is going on," she added, patting my shoulder gently.
I smiled when she walked out of the room. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and saw three new messages on the screen. I hadn't even remembered the whole thing until now.
You weren't at school today, the first message said.
Your whole group is gone... Are you doing something you're not supposed to do? was the second message.
Please don't tell me you were in an accident... was the third one.
I hastily typed a message of my own, telling him I was all right and none of us would be coming to school this week. I wished I could give him a better explanation, but I couldn't...
Now I knew why Jaden was having trouble accepting Oliver as his mate. It was surprisingly tricky when the mate was a human. Especially now...
I pressed the phone against my chest after sending the message.
Natalie said it was a bond... An actual bond... Not just a possible one...
"I'm sorry... Ben..." I whispered.
I had no idea what to do.
*****
I slept the night sharing the bed with Arch. I kept waking up to check up on him, and as the time went by, he started looking better and healthier again. He even moved a few times, almost pushing me out of the bed while he was at it. I was glad to see him regaining his strength.
Mom was slowly pacing around the entire night, and sometimes, when I listened carefully enough, I could hear her singing quietly. It reminded me of all those times when I didn't get any sleep or when I was sick. Mom used to carry me around the house and sing for me to help me sleep... Every time I listened in to her voice, I started feeling drowsy again.
Every now and then, I could hear Jaden and Oliver change a few words. It was clear that neither of them could sleep either. Besides Arch, Natalie was probably the only one who did sleep in that house, but she was having nightmares by the sound of her terrified gasps.
I felt like shit when I woke up in the morning, but I forgot all about it when I felt a warm hand caressing my shoulder. I opened my eyes and turned around to see Arch awake.
"Hey, handsome," I breathed out, touching his face. "How are you feeling?"
"Like crap," he muttered. "What happened?"
"Uhm... This is going to be a weird one," I told him. "Natalie found out why you've been so sick lately... and..."
"I'm not going to like this, am I?"
"Welp... There's someone who considers you as his mate," I blurted out, since I had no idea how to be more discreet about it. "And he was possessed by a very bad, very old shadow."
Arch stared at me, blinking a few times. "Could you repeat that?"
I took a deep breath, and told him everything about what happened last night. He listened quietly, looking confused as hell, so I tried to speak slowly.
When I stopped talking, he just stared at me for the longest time.
"Do you have any idea who it could be?" I asked when he didn't start talking.
"A guy?" he said. "A male? You're sure it's a male?"
"I told you that you and Jaden have been way too close," I said, trying to cheer up the mood, but he looked as confused as ever. "So... You don't know who it could be?"
"I didn't even know I had possible mate candidates," he said. "I haven't felt a thing towards anyone."
I let out a deep sigh. "Well... whoever it is, he's now dying. Mom is taking care of his spirit, but..." I trailed off for a moment, before I continued, "I saw him... I thought it was a shadow."
"And your mom has him now?" Arch asked, pushing himself up from the bed, but he stopped to stare at his hands. "He's... dying?"
"Natalie thinks the chances are slim..." I told him, feeling sad. "She said he was feeding the bond, so he must have strong feelings for you. Do you have any idea who it could be? Have you noticed anything?"
"No, not a thing."
I didn't know why I was so eager to know who it was. Would it help the spirit if we got his body back? Probably not...
"Shit..." Arch sighed. "And he's been possessed for a while now?"
"I guess so – the spirit was so badly hurt," I told him. "Arch... could it be possible... that it's Jack?"
"Jack? You mean Jack Thorn?" Arch said and snorted loudly. "I don't think so – he's hated us ever since we met!"
"Yeah, my thoughts exactly," I nodded. "He would never consider any of us as his mate."
"I'm surprised that you even asked," Arch said.
"Natalie asked about it," I shrugged. "Jack has a big, bad shadow in him so she was curious if it could be him."
"Jack?" Arch spoke his name in disbelief. "I'm sorry but I would never consider him as my mate. Never. He's the kind of guy who would work together with the Shadow Walkers!"
"So, it has to be someone else," I said, trying to maintain peace in the room. We all hated Jack so of course he felt offended that I even suggested the idea.
At that moment, the door of the other bedroom opened and Oliver stepped out, looking like he was sleepwalking.
"Ollie?" I heard Jade's voice somewhere behind him.
"Oliver?" I spoke his name as well, but he didn't seem to hear me.
"Oliver? Where are you going?" Jade hurried after him.
Arch and I looked at each other shortly before we jumped out of the bed and followed them. Mom gave us all curious looks when Oliver walked to the door, and opened it.
"Oliver!" Jade grabbed his hand before he could step outside.
I was getting scared again. "What's going on?" I asked, grabbing Oliver's other hand to prevent him from getting out.
"There's something coming," Oliver muttered.
"What is it?" I asked, as my mom hurried to wake up Natalie.
"What's going on?" The older Spirit Walker mumbled, laying her eyes on us. "Oliver?"
"What is that?" Oliver asked quietly.
"What is...?" Natalie spoke, and got up as well, but stopped to stare in the same direction as Oliver. "Living spirits. A lot of them."
"What?"
"Werewolves," Natalie said, and turned to look at my mom. "One of them is connected to you."
"Oh, thank Goodness," Mom breathed out.
"Dad?" I asked with wide eyes, trying to see what Oliver was looking at.
"Ezra is back," Jade said, letting go of Oliver's hand.
"He's not alone," Natalie said, stepping next to us. "There's almost forty other werewolves with him."
"Allies, hopefully," Mom spoke, and then noticed Arch. "You should be resting!"
"I've rested enough," Arch muttered. "Tilly told me everything."
"So, you know about this spirit?" Mom asked, her hand on her chest, and Arch nodded. "I'm sorry you had to find out about it this way," Mom said quietly.
"So am I," Arch sighed.
"Someone is coming," Oliver and Natalie spoke in unison, and we all turned to see a big, gray wolf jumping over the piles of snow, jogging towards us.
"Daddy!" I squealed before I could stop myself and rushed down the stairs to open the gate for him. We got there at the same time, and while I was opening the lock, my dad turned into a human.
"There's my princess," Dad said with a smile, pulling me into a tight hug as soon as he was inside.
"Alastair!"
"My Queen," Dad said, pulling Mom into a hug as well. "I came as quickly as I could. I could feel your distress miles away."
"I'm so glad you're back," Mom whispered. "I need your strength."
"I'm here for you now," Dad muttered soothingly. "Everything will be fine. We brought the Midnight Grove and the Hollow Oak with us."
Mom hugged us both even tighter. I could feel her exhaustion and misery without her needing to say a word. I guess my dad noticed it as well since he pushed us both an arm's length away.
"What's going on?" he asked with a worried tone.
"There's a dying spirit inside me," Mom whispered. "I don't think I can save him... He's a child, Alastair...."
"I see," Dad said and hugged her again. "Let's get inside so you can tell me all about what's been going on while I was away."
I looked up at him, and he gave me a smile. I felt so, so relieved that he was back home.
"I missed you, daddy," I told him.
"I missed you too," he said, and kissed my temple before leading us to the safe house.