Human Again
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First off, yes. This chapter is crappily made. But please do enjoy yourself.
Also, what do you think about the new cover?
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Dear Elder brother,
It's been years since we've last spoken with each other and I felt it would be common courtesy I had sent you a missive informing my whereabouts. I have made the Southernlands my home and I am doing well here.
My problem is that, since with your little dilemma at the Easterner's borders, with you being the murderer of their Alpha and Luna, they want justice. They are planning to infiltrate your borders and take your life. A second thing is that they also wish to retrieve a wolf in question for the murder of Odette Johnson, a human. They have information that he is in your pack.
So, being the good brother that I am, I have made a truce on your behalf. They will retrieve the murderer and you will be left alone, should you wish to fight, they will send their Alpha to start a formal war.
We both know how wars end Ignacios, one always dies. I would very much be disappointed if you go, but your actions have forced me. A friend has informed me that a certain little she-wolf has arrived no longer than three weeks ago. I will come and collect her. She is better off without you.
The Easterners will arrive on the day you receive this message. Be prepared.
Sincerely yours,
Felix
That was the letter. An infiltration? He raised his brows. How stupid would the Easterners be if they would actually do that?
He pinched the bridge of his nose as anger crept up on the back of his mind. He had no time for this. He was still stuck in the thought of Lyra.
What would become of his human if he as the wolf, let Felix take her? The wolf knew his human needed her, but how would he actually do it?
In the darkness of his cold and quiet room, he wallowed in thoughts of a mad man. First off was with Felix. He knew his brother was serious about taking Lyra away. And for some reason, he felt anger. His emotions were a mess and he couldn't fix it.
He was a wolf. Who wore the body of his human. His human was tucked on the deepest darkest part of his mind.
"Are you there, Ignacios?" the wolf said aloud in his empty room.
A cold and deafening quietness ensued. His heart beating erratically through his chest.
"I'm here." His human spoke, his voice was a ghostly whisper that made him frown.
"You've been quiet for far too long, my human."
"I'm afraid, wolf."
There was it again. His human's contemplations made him go insane. He wanted to push him through it. His human was strong, the wolf knew that. They shared one body, and every time the wolf saw Ignacios win with a smile on his face, he felt pride.
This was Lois' fault. The wolf couldn't take it anymore and his human needed to stand up.
"It's time. I can't handle your personal affairs. You have to take my place and control your own body." The wolf said.
"It's been far too long. I think I have forgotten to walk."
"But you haven't forgotten how you feel. Don't let your stupidity hinder you from succession, our succession."
"How will I even be able to do that when I have lost everything?"
"I've told you before. You have me." he felt himself smile. "I promise."
The sincere tone of his voice caused his human to go silent. At that time, he couldn't help but feel scared.
He loved his human so much that it hurt him to see other wolves eye him like a failure. Especially Edward who turned against him.
Edward was their father, and his rejection meant a big part was ripped right out of his chest.
A minute passed and his human finally spoke.
"Okay."
He sighed. "Okay." he was silent “And, Ignacios.”
“Yes?” his human whispered.
“Find her, keep her.”
That made his human smile, bringing a warm sensation into the Wolf’s heart. That was all he wanted to say as he laid in silent waiting for his human to take over their body.
~•°•~
Lyra bit her lip as she watched the little girl grow even paler as the minute passed. The little girl was still not out of the woods. Her sickly pale skin made Lyra question her own decisions. But she couldn't have just stood there and let the girl die without a chance. It was almost like it was in her own nature.
Frowning, she shook her frustrations and stood up. Her heart had been beating too fast. It was distracting her.
In one corner, she watched Gael stare as the pup, his face between his calloused hands as he hunched over, frowning. His hair was covering his forehead, masking the sadness that loomed over his verdant green eyes. They were silent.
She knew he was still pissed off, after all, who would cure Wolfsbane poisoning with Wolfsbane? It was stupid!
Gael wasn't just sad, he was furious too. But his patience and calm demeanor denied her that.
"This is just freaking great," Gael muttered, his eyes looking over at her. "Do you know how fucked we are if Ignacios gets a whiff of this? And why did I even let you do it? He'll have my balls and dick ripped off, cooked for a stew and feed it to stray dogs."
His exaggeration made her scowl, although that was still very plausible, knowing Ignacios, he would probably do that.
She looked down at him, "Calm yourself, Gael."
"Oh, I am calm. Can't you see how calm I am? I'm practically overflowing with calmness I'm going heaven right now!"
"Sarcasm doesn't help."
"Easy for you to say when you're not the one who's going to get whipped with chains when dear old Alpha discovers you've unintentionally murdered a pup."
He scowled at her, although he was still reserved. She knew it was still her fault, but she trusted her instincts. And she wanted Gael to trust. She had no grounds to do what she had done. The annoying sense of defeat slowly crept to her, urging her to speak up.
"I'm sorry." She said, lowering her head and not meeting his gaze.
Gael didn't reply. His silence was deafening indeed, making her look up at him. His eyes were still stuck on the little girl. It was a picturesque view of a wolf looking over a little pup, his heart pouring over his eyes as he held the little girl's hand, his lips on her fingers. Slowly, his eyes looked over her. She saw the sorrow that plagued him, it's crippling coldness suddenly prickled her heart with needles.
"It's fine. It's my fault." He said, smiling lopsidedly. He turned his eyes back to the pup. "I guess, for some stupid reason, I wanted it to work also you mentioned my Alpha Evan, so that was a plus."
"You seem very attached to children." She spoke softly, trying to take a shift from the subject.
"I guess it's because I always wanted one."
She paused, remembering his story with his human partner, their child dying with her. Another part of him opened. He was so exposed and unguarded that it almost looked ridiculous. She was just like him, always wanting to do more but was almost afraid to do it.
"You mentioned my Alpha," he spoke. "So you healed him."
She nodded. "Yes, I did."
"When?"
"A couple of years ago."
"Are you going to tell me?" He asked, looking her straight into the eyes. As she stood there, her feet had become rooted as the thought of it crossed her mind. She certainly wasn't ready yet.
"Maybe later," was her short answer, silently cursing herself.
How selfish can she get?
She watched him sigh, shaking his head.
"I don't have the right to open up your heart Lyra. You're too guarded. I hope one day you'd let someone in."
Silence quickly took over the room as he said that. She knew what he meant. Under her strong-willed facade hid a coward that barely knew what she was doing.
"Thank you, for understanding."
"I've died twice, my Luna. I'm only waiting for my third." He simply smiled at her.
A sudden shift in the air changed. Lyra's chest tightened as she brought her attention to the little girl laying on the bed. Slowly, the pup opened her eyes, making Gael stand up and held her hand tightly.
It was all so fast, Gael had the little girl wrapped in his arms, cradling her tightly as a single tear of both happiness and sorrow laid its wake down his pale cheek.
"You're awake!" he exclaimed, "thank the Moon!"
Heat crept up on her cheek as she watched him embrace the little girl. His happiness was contagious, causing her smile.
Gael stood up with one quick movement and took her into his arms, his face buried in the crook of her neck. His muscular arms encircled her, making her quite.
"Thank you, Lyra." He whispered and laid a quick friendly peck on her hair. He let her go and took a step back, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Let me just call her mom."
As she stood there, her heart pounded against her chest. She had made a very risky decision, and it actually worked, if it hadn't, she would have drowned in her own anxious thoughts.
“Shit,” she whispered, letting air leave her lungs.
~•°•~
After saying her goodbyes to Lucy and her daughter, Gael and Lyra had gone back into packhouse. As Gael walked with Lyra through the woods, both of them couldn't help but smile.
Gael smiled because he got to see the little girl get better, while Lyra, the feeling of content surged through her veins because of her recreating her fluke.
“I’m glad I brought you with me,” Gael said, looking down at her.
“She’s fine now.” She whispered more to herself, admiring how quickly the cure worked.
“In all my life, I have never known that Wolfsbane can cure Wolfsbane.” The awestruck tone in his voice did not go unnoticed.
“Mixed with the right herbs, it can either kill or save lives.”
Gael nodded and continued to make their way back home. As they followed the path to Edward’s lake house, Gael caught a smell of a familiar wolf. His nose flared up as he shivered in anger, dropping his bad off the ground. A sudden shift in the air appeared as he was now aware that the trees had hidden wolves behind them. Lyra quickly caught on and raised her nose up in the air.
“Seekers, from the East.” He said, baring a guarded tone.
“Are they any friends of yours?”
“Sadly, one is.” He said, looking over his shoulder. Lyra watched as he turned around and placed her behind his back in a protective stance as he stripped himself of his shirt, getting ready to shift into his wolf.
She kept calm, it wasn't the first time she had been in this situation. She had dealt with rogues so many times, and most of them were knocked down by her. Showing fear would only fuel the enemy.
Gael still held her close, staring into the thick foliage of trees in front of them. Up above the trees, Lyra raised her vision. She saw their eyes, glued to them as the Seekers grinned.
“Above!” She said, before she could do anything, Gael had tackled her and tucked her under his body. Her back slammed against the ground because of his sudden thrust, making her gasp in pain.
“Don't move, Luna.” He said against her ear.
A loud thud boomed into the air, then followed more, until wolves had surrounded the both of them. Lyra struggled to suppress the pounding against her chest. Her fingers dug into her palms under Gael’s protection. She wanted to do something, maybe fight or perhaps get the heck out of there, but both of them were already wedged deep in danger.
“Get off her, Gael,” said a feminine voice. “Who is that bitch, your fuckbuddy for the day?”
Gael rose his face, looking at Lyra with a sure expression on his face. “We gotta stand now. Trust me.” He whispered the last part as we stood.
Gael straightened his back, frowning as he looked at the wolves. His eyes scrutinizing each and every one of them until he settled on one wolf.
“What a pleasant surprise Elena, realized you've had enough clam chowder? Maybe you've gone vegetarian and going crazy for eggplants.” He taunted.
Elena, it was his mate that had faced him. She remembered him saying her name. She was the one who rejected Gael after marking him. Lyra couldn't help but feel a tidal wave of anger eye a way through her.
The wolf only laughed. “Vegetarian? You know me, my dear Gael. I like my clam chowder fresh and warm.”
“Then why are you here and not chowing down?” He grinned.
There was an edge of readiness that topped over his voice. Lyra could sense how he held himself back, facing the wolf with a very stoic face.
Silence loomed over them. It was a stalemate of some kind. No one moved and had said a word. Lyra skimmed her eyes through the wolves. There were five of them, easily overpowering her and Gael.
“I miss your jokes.” Elena said, “But everything ends here, Gael.”
“State your business and begone your way.” He bellowed.
“Don't overreact Gael, you always do this. Acting like a little sissy.”
“What do you want, Elena?”
The impatience in his voice along with his rigid stance made the she-wolf frown. Gael was always hardheaded like this.
“You, of course, my mate. The Alpha demands your presence in his court.”
He snorted, “I respect the Alpha's wishes, but I will never set foot in Eastern borders. Not until you die.”
“Funny you should say, by the looks of it, you've already started to cleave yourself. Let's see who does first.” Elena threw a knife at Gael.
The blade in a fast motion traveled through the air. Lyra painfully watched as it burrowed into Gael’s abdomen, immediately making him wince in pain. Gael’s pained groans were all she heard when everything started to crash all around her.
“Ahh!” Gael yelped as he pulled the knife out of him.
Lyra felt a pair of strong arms grab her shoulders and trap her. She couldn't move. She struggled in the wolf's arms, but it was of no use. She was held by a male Seeker who was triple her size.
A horrible scene unfolded in front of her as Elena kicked Gael’s chin, making him collapse on the ground.
“Gael!” she shrieked as she looked at her friend who lay unconscious on the ground.
“Ah,” Elena says, stepping towards her. “And as for you, I leave no witnesses.”
Elena placed her hand on Lyra’s neck, her nails digging on the side. Lyra’s heart palpitated at a dangerous pace as she felt Elena’s hand tightened by the second. Was this the end?
Sweat formed on her forehead, her eyes closed shut as she waited, and waited until nothing. The next thing she had heard was the screams of dying wolves. Her eyes shot back open and the sight only made her want to scream in pure horror.
“Northerner,” Elena exclaimed.
Ignacios stood atop the dead bodies of the wolves that had cornered them earlier. His topless body drenched in the blood of the wolves he had just defeated. Ignacios didn't answer, instead, he only scowled at Elena. Letting his displeased expression be his reply.
“I trust you know the consequences of your actions by killing my men.”
“Let your Alpha come for me, and I will come to him.”
As he spoke, she could feel something different about him. He left familiar.
Elena furiously ran over where he was and clawed at him. She turned into her wolf, her bestial form trying to take a bite at him. Ignacios easily overpowered her and slammed her into the ground.
“I'm sorry,” he whispered slowly as he grabbed a hold of Elena’s furry leg. She heard Elena's bone being crushed as Ignacios exerted force onto her. That alone made her return back to her human. Her deafening scream of undeniable pain made the hair on her back stand up. As he crushed her with his weight, Ignacios’ face said it all. He wanted this to be over, Lyra knew that. He always frowned when he was nervous, afraid or mad about something. The old Ignacios couldn't hide his feelings even if he wanted to. As she was still held by the Seeker, she watched Elena struggle too. She flailed her body around, trying to push Ignacios off of her.
Ignacios raised his hand, baring his claws, planning to strike at her heart. In a swift movement, she watched as Elena reached for the knife she used to knock out Gael. Before he could strike her down, Elena drove the knife into his side, repeatedly stabbing him furiously.
She didn't know why, but a tear had managed to slip through her eyes. She has had enough of death. Gael was still unconscious and Ignacios laid on the ground seething in pain, his lips pressed together as he stared at Lyra. His grey stormy eyes looked vulnerable, making her legs shake with fear as Elena now had an upper hand.
“You dumb dick, you're surprised? You should be. We coat our knives with Wolfsbane, one strike leaves you paralyzed.”
“I wonder what it would be like to kill an Alpha. My pack will practically worship me.” Elena limped as she held the knife in her hand. “No one will help you. Not your brother, your dead parents, and especially not your Luna.”
“My Luna. You're my Luna, Lyra Montefalco.” She remembered Gael’s smiling face as he said that. Her eyes widened when she realized what she had. She wore the mark of an Easterner on her skin. The Alpha of the East.
“Stop!” She screamed with all she got. The hold on her loosen and the Seeker step back. “I, bearer of the Easterner’s mark, demand you to stop.”
She exposed her nape, showing them Evan’s mark. A shook expression branded the Easterners' face. Elena shivered and dropped the knife back to the ground as she sat on her knees.
“My Luna, I’m sorry,” Elena muttered pleadingly. “I was not informed by the South’s current Beta, Felix. He didn't say that you were here.”
She breathed, the erratic beating of her heart overwhelmed her. It worked, it really worked. If only she had thought of it before, Gael and Ignacios wouldn't be on the ground bleeding to death.
“Please, my Luna. Spare me your wrath.” Elena pleadingly lowered her head.
She couldn't move, her throat had gone dry, her muscles tensed her mind formed a final decision.
“Leave.” She spoke with an abrupt tone, staring Elena down.
The wolf staggered and quickly nodded, stepping away, urging her one remaining ally to retreat in a sudden hurry. Lyra dropped and cradled Ignacios’ head on her lap. Her shaky hand, held his blood-drenched cheek as she looked down on him. His eyes, we're wide open, staring back at her.
She let the aside her anger, her hate for him. He had just saved them from a fate much worse than death.
“Thank you for helping.” She said.
The corners of his lips rose into a tight but meek smile. His hand shakily reached for her face as he slowly turned pale. She marveled at how pure his smile was, no malice no other meaning. All she saw was the scary aspect of adornment that plagued the surface of his eyes.
Adornment for her.
“Anything for you, Lyra.” His deep groggy voice said tiredly. His eyes although dark from his depleted energy, still stared at her as he struggled to force himself to stay awake and watch her.
“Sleep.” She said.
Nodding, Ignacios closed his eyes, getting swallowed by darkness, leaving Lyra with a squall of emotions and questions.
Was this really Ignacios?
~•°•~
Thank you for waiting you guys! I really appreciate all the votes and love this rewrite has gotten.
I hope you liked this chapter.
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Loving you always,
-Jino