Erza walked into the room, coffee cup in hand to see Helena was already in the room. A vein twitched in Erza's forehead, but she forced a smile. "You're here early." Erza commented as she moved to take the chair next to Gavin's bed. She glanced at his vitals and let out a sigh of relief when everything seemed fine.
Helena nodded, her face scrunched up fighting a yawn. "Couldn't sleep much. Haven't slept much since that day." She leaned forward and rubbed her eyes. She paused and looked at Erza. "Jackson should be waking up soon, I think."
Erza studied the woman in front of her. Helena had deep bags under her eyes, her clothes wrinkled as she sat on the sofa. "Don't take this the wrong way. Why are you still hanging around Gavin's room?"
Helena looked up and Erza could see the exhaustion in her eyes. "That's something personal between me and him." Erza could see a tension build in Helena's shoulders as she sat straighter and kept her gaze leveled and unflinching with Erza's.
Erza lifted one eyebrow. "What personal reason could there be for a stray Wolf Shifter to have with him?" Her body remained relaxed as she sipped on her coffee, never taking her eyes off Helena.
"I…. He and I, come from the same clan." Helena's eyes dropped after hesitating for a moment.
Erza's eyes widened and she sat the coffee on the nearby table. "Explain, I thought besides his grandfather, everyone from his clan died eighteen years ago."
Helena ran her fingers through her blue hair. "I don't know the details of what happened. I only know what I was told by the elders that found me."
Erza gestured for her to continue.
"That day in the forest the Lykos pack was moving from their last fall camp site and heading towards the winter caverns in the northern mountains to ride out the winter. Much like all the nearby packs do that are in hiding or roaming around. It should have only taken a few days to arrive at the caves. But they were attacked during their first day on the road." Helena explained as she leaned forward, hands clasped together in front of her.
"From what I was told, I was hidden in a small space using earth magic. Apparently Gavin was as well. His parents must not have found my hiding spot when they rescued him. But the elders sent a scouting party out when the Alpha, Drogo, didn't check in that first evening. They found the slaughter, buried the dead, and found me in hiding."
Erza covered her mouth as she listened. "That sounds horrible."
Helena nodded and let out a shaky breath. "Apparently my name was stitched onto the blanket I had wrapped around me. Faith."
The door opened and Shepard stood in the doorway, tears in his eyes. "What did you say?" The barest hint of red colored his eyes.
Helena paled slightly, tears stung the edges of her eyes. "My real name, is Faith. My parents were Allyson and Julian, the Beta's of the Lykos pack."
Shepard walked in, shutting the door behind him. His shoulders were tight and his eyes glow vibrantly red. "I can't believe another member of the pack survived. To think there would be two survivors, and both were merely newborn infants." He was shaking his head as he walked towards Helena.
"The elders from another Were-Wolf Shifter clan took me in, and raised me in secret. They gave me the name Helena. They told me the truth of everything when I turned ten." Helena said, tears flowing freely as she looked at Shepard.
"What do you want here, with Gavin?" Erza asked quietly, her body now tense as she listened in on the conversation.
Helena turned to face her. "I… I honestly don't know. I came to the academy in hopes of finding my purpose and to grow stronger. I never imagined that I would run into another Were-Wolf Shifter, let alone two."
She stood up, arms hugging her sides as she spoke. "Our kind has been pushed to the brink of extinction by greed, fear and hatred. I want to do something to change that, to try finding a path forward for the Were-Wolf Shifters, and other clans that are out there in hiding."
"And you think Gavin is part of that journey?" Erza's words were quiet as she regarded Helena.
Helena shrugged and looked at Erza. "Maybe. We both come from the same clan, the same pack."
"It's not simply that you both come from the same pack," Shepard interjected. Both girls turned to look at him with curious gazes. "Your mother," he gestured to Helena. "Was the sister of Luna, Gavin's mother. Which means, you two are cousins."
Erza's mouth dropped open at the same time that Helena's did. "Cousins?" Helena asked. She glanced over at Gavin's unconscious form on the bed.
Shepard nodded. "Your mother and Gavin's are, or were, sisters. It's why she was chosen to be Luna's Beta in the pack." Shepard's words were soft and gentle as he walked over to take Helena's hands into his own.
Tears continued to fall down Helena's face. She tried to blink them away as she asked. "What were they like, my parents?"
Shepard smiled at her. "They were fiercely loyal to the pack. Strong. There wasn't a better partner to fight by either Drogo's side or Luna's. When Julian and Drogo fought together, mountains could be moved. They were so ferocious in battle. They hardly even needed verbal communication between them." Shepard guided Helena to the small cot on the other side of the room.
Erza sat in her chair quietly as she listened in.
"You're mother, was like wildfire. She listened to no one but her sister, Gavin's mother. She was the right hand for the females and she had everyone's respect, and even some of their fear. Hell, even Julian watched how he talked to her. There wasn't a better fighter among the females of the pack than Allyson." Shepard began softly.
Helena choked back a sob as she listened. "She sounds amazing." She wiped at her tears as she tried to settle her ragged breathing.
Shepard nodded. "They were. Together, Julien and Drogo, Allyson and Luna, created the most powerful and feared Were-Wolf Shifter clan. They only way for our enemies to have beaten them was overwhelming numbers. Add to that both Luna and your mother were weakened from childbirth still." Shepard clasped her hands into his.
Helena nodded in understanding, her eyes glowed faintly. "That man… from the attack. He bragged about killing Were-Wolf Shifters years ago… that was our pack wasn't it?"
Shepard nodded, his face grim. "It was. I was gone on a mission during the attack. I didn't find out until days later about the ambush. I have been hunting that bastard ever since."
"I won't let that monster escape me again," Gavin groaned as he sat forward. He gripped his head and started to say something else. But, his words were cut off in a sob as he stared at Erza. He winced and tears flowed freely down his face as he looked at Erza.
Erza shot up from the seat in surprise and stood at his side immediately. "Hey, how long have you been listening?" She pulled the edge of the blanket up to dab at his tears. "Hey, you okay?" Her features softened as she looked down at him.
Gavin couldn't answer. The tears wouldn't stop flowing and he reached out a trembling hand. "You're alive, I thought I lost you back there," his voice shook with emotion as he cupped her cheek, needing that physical anchor.
Erza's eyes closed and she placed her hand over his. "Yes, I'm here and alive. So are you," her words were a whisper as she opened her eyes to smile tenderly at him. He closed his eyes and leaned in, burying his face in the crook of her neck. He wrapped his arms around her and sobbed with relief.
Nobody stopped him or interrupted. Gavin wept for what felt like hours, all the pain, frustration and fear that he held back during the fighting left him like a tidal wave of wild emotions. His shoulders rocked, and he felt Erza's arms around his back, stroking him soothingly while she sat with him on the bed.
She whispered sweet nothings to him, not judging or condemning. But accepting of the love and fear in his heart. After what was only a few minutes, he inhaled and wiped at his eyes. He pressed his forehead to hers before he moved and gave her the briefest of kisses. "I'm glad your still with me."
Gavin winced as he leaned back from Erza and propped himself up on the bed. "Long enough," he said and fixed Helena with a hard look. "Guess that explains what happened during the fight, cousin."
She nodded slightly. "You heard all that?"
Gavin glanced between Erza and his grandfather. "Kind of hard to rest when everyone's having a heart to heart conversation."
Erza sighed and smacked the back of Gavin's head. "Will you curb that attitude. You've been out for several days cuz you pushed yourself too hard-again." Her eyes glowed that mix of amber brown and red that Gavin adored on her. He yelped and rubbed the back of his head in annoyance.
"Do you always have to smack the back of my head when you're annoyed with me?" He glared at her as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Oh, don't even give me that attitude. You're lucky I don't beat you down for being so reckless and stupid! What in seven hell's did you think you were doing, going berserk like that?" Erza's voice rose with each word as she chastised him.
Gavin gritted his teeth under her verbal onslaught. "I saw you go down. When that rocket hit nearby and separated us." Gavin explained, and kept his eyes on the end of his bed.
"When you went down, and didn't get back up. I lost all rational thought. I couldn't think. I couldn't breathe. I thought I had truly lost you. All I could think, all that mattered then was killing every last one. To make them suffer." Gavin's words were quiet as he spoke. "Then… once I started fighting up close with the two commanders, I recognized one of their scents."
Erza paused her ranting and lifted one eyebrow. "How so?"
"He's a Draconian. You've met them at the Club Tempest, and I fought against them during the training dungeon from Koray." Gavin explained, then covered his mouth, forgetting who was all in the room.
Shepard narrowed his eyes. "A Draconian? Are you sure?"
Gavin nodded. "It'll take too long to explain right now, but yes. I am certain of it. Kinda hard to miss their disgusting stench once you've met one." His nose wrinkled up at the memory.
Those words seemed to have taken some of the fire out of Erza's anger. "That still doesn't give you a free pass for being such a damned idiot." She hissed.
Helena stepped forward and grabbed Erza's hand before she popped him on the back of the head again. "He's right, Erza. If he hadn't done what he did, I probably wouldn't have made it. I was so low on Mana, so exhausted I could barely think straight when the enemy hit us with that explosive round. If Gavin hadn't acted, none of us might be here right now."
Erza snatched her hand free from Helena's grasp. "That doesn't change the fact that he knows better. Using that kind of magic, is dangerous in more ways than one, Helena." Erza, slightly deflated but still angry, narrowed her eyes at Gavin.
"I know, it was stupid, dangerous, foolish, all the angry words you want to yell at me with." Gavin softened his words and looked contrite. "Trust me, that wasn't something I even knew was a possibility until it happened."
"That's just my point, Gavin!" Erza said in a huff as she threw her arms up. "You and your damn hero complex. It's not your job to protect everyone. You are just a kid yourself still." Tears pricked the back of Erza's eyes and she angrily wiped them away. "Your life is no more or less important than the rest of ours!"
She stood between Gavin and the door, hands on her hips, tears running down her face while she waited for an answer.
Before Gavin could answer, the door opened.