34. Rainor
“ All I am saying is, from this moment, going forward, the bond remains open,” Weylin said. He had been smug as hell the last two days, lying in the hospital bed with Lila, half naked, as she always seemed to do better touching one of us skin-to-skin. That wasn’t what had him smug, though.
“Just because you’re a blood-type match for her doesn’t mean you get to make the decisions,” Kage snapped. Yeah, he had a new sore spot.
Dr. Thatcher had gotten to us with a new compound they were testing to dissolve the silver in the bloodstream. Lila had been dying, regardless, so there, on the battlefield, she had injected her with it.
It bought us time.
We were able to move Lila back to the medical center, where she underwent a blood transfusion. We needed fresh blood, and after testing the three of us, Weylin was a full donor match.
I sat in the chair across from her, elbow up on the armrest, my head resting on my hand. Once she woke up, we would be able to move her back to the condo, and we all could get some decent rest.
“Not bad for a mutt, for tainted bloodlines.” Weylin grinned.
Lila’s hand on his stomach flexed, and we all froze. She had been moving more and more. Dr. Thatcher stated it was only a matter of time before she woke up.
“Coincidental,” Kage grumbled.
“I don’t think it is. I don’t think any of this is,” I said. Within me, the beast was dormant. I’d thought he was satisfied by the amount of meat he had consumed, putting him into a sort of food coma. But that wasn’t it; it was Lila’s scent that relaxed him. The moment I left her, he would awake to ensure I returned promptly.
I had disobeyed my instincts by shutting down the bond, a mistake that nearly cost us our mate’s life. The beast no longer trusted my judgment and forced me to be in her presence. Although force was a word used mildly. I, myself, had barely been able to take my eyes off her.
“What we know is that Lila is the only surviving shifter to the Scarab bloodline. That she carries a generational gift, a gift powerful enough that the council wants it eradicated. A gift important enough that the fates bestowed upon us these markings on the day she was born. That we were enchanted with the link that brought us together, for a purpose.”
I could hear the gears in both Kage’s and Weylin’s minds grinding as I said everything out loud.
“I agree with Weylin, no more closing off the bond,” I told them.
“We do what’s right for the pack,” Kage said in a hushed tone.
“She’s what’s right for the pack right now, Alpha. We will work on her, try and assist the gift out of her, but I think it’s time we stop fighting the fates and give them what they want.”
“Which is?” Weylin asked.
“Her protection. Perhaps, even claiming her would help.”
Weylin scoffed and Lila stirred. I sat up straighter, anxious to see if she would finally wake up. I hadn’t realized how much I missed seeing her eyes.
When she settled back to sleep, Weylin continued. “Claiming goes both ways. I doubt she would ever claim us. You felt her. I don’t even think Kage’s father hated me that much.”
“Kage’s father liked you.” It was true. “The man just never knew how to express it, except by pushing you to your fullest potential… and use it for his own personal gains.”
“So, we continue. No claiming,” Kage said.
“No.” I cut my eyes at him. “We will claim her.”
“And how do we do that?” Kage raised his eyebrow at me, knowing I was already working on a plan.
“We cut the bullshit, cut the lies, tell her everything we know, and be as open and honest with her as we can be.” I took a deep breath, knowing that was already a tall order, but I was about to add the most difficult part. “And then we show her we are wolves worthy of being claimed.”
I knew it was a challenge, but maybe Kage could learn to keep his mouth shut long enough to give us all a fighting chance.
Lila
My entire body was stiff when I woke up, but oddly, I felt…new. I stretched my limbs out, enjoying the feeling in my body, letting out a light groan, followed by a yawn.
I opened my eyes to find Weylin, Kage, and Rainor staring at me. “Shit,” I whispered.
“That was the cutest fucking thing I have ever seen in my life.” Weylin grinned from my bedside.
“What are you… Where am I?” I asked, though when I looked around the room, I knew where I was. The bed I was lying on, though larger than the average, was a hospital bed. An IV was connected to my arm. There were monitor stickers along my chest and one on my finger and faint beeping from one of the many machines next to me. Judging by the remnants in multiple empty bags of blood hanging from a machine, a lot had happened while I was sleeping.
“In the medical wing.” Kage was the one to answer.
I turned to him, and for some reason, I was reminded of the beating Markus had given me. My chin shook a little, but I pressed my lips together, stopping it.
Kage’s lips twitched and I half expected him to smile.
I cleared my throat. “Yes, well, thank you, for getting me out of there. What happened to me?” I waved to the empty blood bags.
Rainor stepped forward, placing his hands on the foot of the bed. “We had to get the liquid silver out of your blood. Dr. Thatcher was able to complete a transfusion, removing some of your blood while replacing it with clean blood.”
“Yep, and according to Thatcher, it was as clean as they come.” Weylin grinned at Kage, who scowled.
“You?” I asked Weylin. “You gave me your blood?”
Weylin stepped up to my side, taking my hand in his. Tingling warmth spread along my skin before traveling further, touching something deep within me. My wolf twirled within me, the warmth wrapping around her, sparkling as if something made of magic. She leaned into it at the same time Weyliin pressed his lips to the top of my hand.
“Baby, I would give my soul if it was required to keep you breathing.” The intensity in his stare didn’t have me doubting a single word he said.
When Rainor cleared his throat, I raised my eyes to him. “We have many things to apologize for, many things to ask for forgiveness. First and foremost is the secrecy. While we cannot divulge all pack information, I do find it imperative we tell you all we know about you, about us.” Rainor was stiff, his voice calm and clear but also a softer tone. His eyes weren’t as bold as they had been back on Ophidian territory. The beast wasn’t with us.
“I don’t forgive you,” I said flatly.
“I said we would ask, but I never expected you to. Maybe, with time, you might consider it.”
Did he have no idea the gravity of what he asked? How could I ever forgive them? And the bond? It caused me to resent them more because, as I sat here, hating them, my hand was still intertwined with Weylin’s, and it caused me to practically glow inside.
I turned to Kage, who stood there, arms cross, eyes narrowed at me. Rainor cleared his throat, and Kage inhaled deeply. “I should apologize for the crappy things I’ve said.”
I smiled. “You should.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Liar.” Kage’s lips thinned, and I lowered my head slightly to hide my smile from him, still looking up to meet his gaze. “Thank you for the attempt, though.”
At that, his body relaxed, his face softening. “Are you well enough to walk?”
“It’s too soon,” Weylin said, his hand curling tightly around mine.
“What is it?” Silence filled the air while they talked with their link. “No, stop it. You just apologized for the secrecy. If it has something to do with me, I want to know, now.”
Rainor sighed. “I want to note that the act of concealing him was recommended by the doctor. It wasn’t a decision we took lightly.”
“Who?” I sat up, using Weylin’s hand to pull myself up. Other than being stiff and a little groggy, I was feeling better than I had before. I swung my feet over the edge of the bed, and Rainor stepped up to remove the IV.
“You would believe it better if you saw it,” Rain said.
I was fully dressed, wearing pajama pants and an oversized cotton shirt. I grabbed a handful of the fabric, sniffing it. The smoky woods scent warmed me just as much as Weylin’s touch had.
Weylin slipped a pair of shoes onto my feet, and once the IV was out, I stood up, giving another stretch, lifting my arms over my head. “I don’t feel my broken ribs anymore,” I said, lifting my shirt up just a bit to see if there were any bruises or burn marks. My skin was untouched. The rumbling growl that came from the three of them sent shivers down my spine.
Kage reached out, taking my hand and wrapping it around his elbow as he led me out of the medical room. “The heart healed you,” he said, taking me down the hall with the other two close behind us.
“Yeah, no, I’m setting a boundary right now. No more using persuasion on me.” Kage said nothing, so I stopped walking. He turned to face me. “I mean it. If you want me to forgive you, to try to work things out, you need to respect me. If I make a choice for myself, respect it. It’s that simple. I’m sorry I’m not some lala female, happily doing everything you tell her to do.”
Weylin’s lips twitched. “Lala female?” He raised an eyebrow.
I shook my head at him before looking back up to Kage. “I need to trust that what I want to do is what I want to do, not someone making me think it’s what I want.”
“Next time I tell you to eat, you will listen,” he argued.
“Kage,” Rainor chastised.
Kage growled, running his hand through his hair and turning his head away from me. He looked pained, but he eventually glanced back at me. “Fine.” He waved his hand down the direction we were headed and, with a smile, I began walking with him once more. “But it did heal you.”
“Barely. After hearing what you all had to say about eating a heart, I expected something more to happen,” I admitted. “I was still dying.”
“Don’t say I and dying in the same sentence again. It leaves a foul taste in my mouth,” Weylin grumbled.
“Markus’s heart healed you more than I expected,” Rainor said. “For such a weak wolf, that is. It was very apparent he was below you in the ranks.”
We turned into one of the open doors. I recognized this room—it was the waiting room we had been in, waiting to hear anything about Max's condition. I reached out, gripping Kage’s elbow once more and closing my eyes, so I wouldn’t have to see. The memory of losing Max would forever be ingrained in this room.
I was led through another doorway, and upon opening my eyes, I could see it was set up like a hospital emergency room. Dozens of beds lining the walls, curtains in between. In the middle was a station with computers and monitors. A few workers—I guessed them to be nurses and doctors—were working, running around, staring at computer screens and consulting with one another.
Dr. Thatcher looked up from a file in her hand. “Lila, you’re awake. I was supposed to be informed. There are some tests I need to schedule with you.”
“I, um, like what?” I asked as she walked up to us.
“Like…” She glanced at the three males surrounding me. “It’s confidential.”
“Can it wait?” I asked. “They are showing me something, and then I kind of want to go home for a bit, recuperate a little.”
Dr. Thatcher nodded. “I suppose it can wait. No more than two days, though, and I want you to call me should anything occur. Any pain at all.”
I agreed and we continued on our way, out of the emergency room and into another room. This one was set up much the same, except instead of curtains separating the beds, there were glass walls, creating rooms around each possible patient.
My eyes went right to him, and my heart dropped. “You sons of bitches,” I snapped, running forward and pressing my hands against the glass. “How do I get in? Open the door.”
Max’s head perked up from the bed he was curled on. My god. How? Why? Why would they do this? He looked better than I had imagined, and a sob broke free. His ears perked up and his head tilted the side, the way it always did when he was trying to figure out what I was saying or what was going on with me.
“Max!” I called, and he jumped off the bed, tail wagging excitedly, his barks shaking the glass. “Open the door!”
“We will, but, Lila, there’s something you need to know,” Rainor said.
“There are a lot of things I need to know! Like who the fuck’s ashes you gave me and why you never told me he was still alive.” I spun on Rainor, pointing my finger at him. “I challenge you.” then I pointed to Kage. “I challenge you,” A smirk appeared on his face at that, then I turned to Weylin. “Did you know?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said, shamefully.
“Well, then, I fucking challenge you too.” I was trying to take deep breaths to control myself, my body shaking with the need to shift and throw hands. My wolf was pretty much well, this sucks, but I got your back, girl.
“Lila, calm down and just listen,” Rainor almost pleaded, but not quite. “We needed time to monitor him and work with him. We couldn’t bring him out into the public and, at the time, we didn’t know how much of a risk he would be to you.”
“To me?” I laughed. “I trained Max since he was a puppy. There is nothing—”
“Mommy!” I turned back to the quarantined glass room, only, instead of Max, there stood a full-grown man, completely naked, his arms flexing as he moved them up and down, pointing at his chest. “Mommy! It’s me.” He grinned from ear to ear, his teeth perfectly white and straight, perfectly…human. He began jumping with his excitement, his semi-erect penis flopping up and down. “It’s me, Max!”
“What did you do to him?” I spun around, turning my back to him.
A nurse came walking over, opening the door. “Max, clothes,” she said to him. “Remember what we were working on? When we change states, we put clothes on.”
“Oh, yes.”
Rainor was the one to step into my line of sight. “We don’t know what happened. The staff was working on his injuries when they began healing themselves. Shortly after, he shifted into a human form.”
“Max wasn’t a shifter,” I said. “I’ve known him his whole life. He wasn’t a shifter.”
“Oh, we know,” Weylin said. “They just trained him how to use the toilet.”
“And eat with at least his hands. The cutlery is still a work in progress,” Kage added.
The door opened and human Max came running out, now fully dressed in a pair of sweats and a shirt. “You’re here! It’s been so long.” He began twirling in circles before collapsing onto the ground, sitting on his butt and staring up at me. “What should we do?”
“This is so weird.” I was at a complete loss for words. I reached my hand out, running my fingers through Max’s tan hair, fur? Nope, it was definitely human hair.
He jumped up, rubbing his head into my hand. Then, his body began to shake, the telltale snapping indicated he was shifting. My dog stood before me, rubbing his back against my legs. The clothes on the ground weren’t as ripped as they would have been if he was a full-grown wolf.
“Did he mean to do that?” I asked.
“No,” Rainor said. “This is why we haven’t been able to allow him to leave this area. Aside from the obvious dog traits and lack of any human etiquette, he can’t control his shifts. They used to be violent—he was afraid of them—however, now he has calmed down.”
I fell to my knees and Max sat in front of me. I threw my arms around him. He smelled different, he smelled like a shifter, but he felt like Max. “This whole time, I was in so much pain, and he was here. You knew he was alive?”
At least they had the decency to look somewhat ashamed. Well, except for Kage.
“It was the best decision at the time, for the pack.” He crossed his arms.
Max stayed in his dog form while I played with him. He had a few tennis balls, and the nurse walked with me to the area where I was able to play with him. Everything about him seemed the same, but as the nurse talked to me about what they had been working on, I still couldn’t wrap my mind around it.
I shared with her a few tips and insights about Max, how I trained with him, and we showed her a few tricks. My energy was quickly dwindling, but I didn’t want to stop. I wanted to bring him home, even though I already knew what the answer would be.
Max was a danger. Not only to himself, but to others around him. What if he shifted near a human? What if he shifted and became aggressive? Being reunited with me was something they were obviously working on, but it was something that wasn’t currently possible. No matter how much I wanted to be reckless and selfish, I knew this was for the better.
He liked his nurse, he had the whole arena to run around in, and he enjoyed his bed. He ran right to it before shifting back into human form and stretching his arms over his head. The nurse turned on a TV, and he lay there, watching.
“We use the shows to teach him human interaction,” the nurse said as she walked out of the room. “He has come a long way. It’s a lot to learn, but soon, he will be able to leave.”
“Thank you. For caring for him.” I smiled.
I was exhausted and a little glum by the time we left, but I had a bit of hope and a shred of happiness. I would have to make due for now.
We took the elevator up to the main floor, Rainor stating there was a car waiting for us. I found myself leaning into Weylin as I fought to keep my eyes open. “I could carry you,” Weylin whispered, kissing the top of my head.
“No, I’m fine. Just taking a rest and preparing myself for whatever else you guys have in store for me.” Weylin did nothing to hide his excitement through the bond, I didn’t have to use much imagination to know what he had in store for me.
Something crossed my mind then.
“Kage, what was your father’s name?” I asked.
He glanced down at me, staring for a moment, as if trying to quickly come up with a reason as to why I was asked. I said nothing.
“Byron,” he finally said. “Byron Cridhe.”
I thought so.
The doors opened, and we stepped out onto the marble floor of the expansive reception area. Kage walked in front while Weylin and Rainor stayed on either side of me.
“It’s for Lila, Lila Evans,” someone said. All three men stiffened, but they didn’t stop walking.
I peered around Weylin at the man who stood at the reception desk. In his hands, he held a medium-sized box.
“Thank you, sir. I shall ensure she receives this.” The receptionist held a fake smile as she reached for the box, and even I could tell there was no way they were going to give that to me.
I sighed, quickly steeping away from the guys and walking towards the man. “I’m Lila,” I said. “I’ll take it.” I held my hands out to the harmless delivery man, but Weylin grabbed me, pulling me back.
The man knelt on one knee, bowing his head and holding the box up with two hands, as if he was presenting something magnificent to me.
“Security,” the receptionist called. Only, the gammas didn’t try to seize the man before us. They poured out of a room, lining up along the windows and blocking the entrance.
Instead, it was Kage that stepped forward, taking the box and handing it back behind him into Rainor’s hands. “Who are you?” he demanded.
I took a deep breath in, pulling in his scent. My body froze. He was a shifter, his scent unique and different, however it was the scent coming from the box that alarmed me. The damp, natural gas smell I had only ever picked up from one other place.
“Scarab will rise again, this time with our luna leading us to victory. All who have wronged us will suffer!” With that, he snapped his mouth shut.
I frowned, watching the guy’s eyes roll to the back of his head before he began convulsing, his body falling back onto the floor and going into a fit, foam coming from his mouth. It was only a few seconds later that his body stilled. He was dead.
“Kage,” Rainor spoke.
I turned around. He had the box open and was staring at its contents. I walked over and peeked in. Four jars, each one labeled. Awlen, Scrigos, and Credence. Each jar was filled with a liquid, preserving the organ each held inside. All except the last, labeled Cridhe .
I gasped. “It’s the hearts of the alphas.”
Inside the jar labeled Cridhe, there was a note. I reached down, picking the jar up and opening it.
Unfolding the paper, I frowned. “I don’t understand.” I held it out to Rainor, who glanced at it.
“It’s an old language, a forgotten language. It means, vow…or promise.”
All eyes were on me.
It wasn’t difficult to interpret the message, to understand what the man had been saying before he died. These hearts had been collected, and the fourth, Kage’s heart, was a promise.
Scarab Pack lived, and this was an offering for their luna, for me.
To Be Continued…