The next day, I tried to work as per usual.
Tried.
It started as a quiet enough day. I worked on financial reports. Ronan checked in to tell me they had still not found my brother. I went to a few meetings.
Then Alden handed me the first report from Darin.
"He says she has started to visit the sick children, so far she has healed a handful of them."
"Good, I am glad she has been able to help some of them. Where are we at getting healers down to the Outskirts?" I asked, a faint smile tugging at my lips.
My mate had a kind heart. That was a good trait in a leader. As Luna, she would be expected to lead the pack in my absence.
"So far, no one is willing to go," Alden muttered nervously.
"Then tell them it is no longer optional. Send me a list of healers we can spare," I snapped, pushing into my office, smile evaporating.
I had expected them to resist, but to refuse outright was insulting.
Then came the next report. Alden appeared in the doorway, knocking sheepishly. I glanced up, raising an eyebrow, annoyed with the interruption.
"She has now healed over fifty of the sick," he said, swaying slightly as he spoke.
The pen I was holding snapped, and I got to my feet, ripping the paper from his hands. My heart pounded in my chest as I read the paper. Fifty was unheard of. Even the best healers in the Blackspire were not able to do half that number on any given day.
"This has to be a mistake."
"Darin said to tell you he can count. I guess he knew you would say that," Alden added sheepishly.
I didn't answer, handing him back the paper. My mind was reeling. She was so much stronger than I thought she was.
I frowned at him, my heart starting to race at the possibilities. This would make the council pay attention. They might even forgive her low-born status for this kind of power.
Rumors were already spreading faster than I could contain them. I ignored them, not bothering to correct them. Eventually, I would have to make a formal announcement, but I wanted to wait until she was here and safe.
"Keep this quiet for now. All reports are to come straight to me, no one else."
"Yes, Alpha. Also, Ronan is here wanting to speak with you."
"Alright, send him in," I muttered, still in shock.
He stepped inside, more serious than before. Taking the chair opposite me, he didn't speak for a long time, staring at me intently.
"You look like shit," he grumbled at last, "Did you sleep at all?"
"No," I confessed, pulling the stack of papers I had been looking over closer to me, reading the same page over and over, unable to focus on it.
"We have people who can do some of this. Part of being a good leader is knowing when to delegate."
"Stop with the lecture, will you? I'm fine."
"The bags under your eyes have bags. You don't sleep enough on a good day. Look, if you are going to tire yourself out over her, go get her and be done with it."
"I gave my word," I snarled, baring my teeth at him.
"Yeah, yeah, and we both know your pride will be the death of you."
I smirked, unable to argue with him. It was the truth.
I knew the real reason he didn't want to wait. Alysse was getting worse by the day, and so far, no one had been able to help her. Whatever was wrong with her was killing her slowly, painfully.
"Alpha," Alden interrupted, bursting without knocking, tripping over his feet in his haste. He handed me the message, shaking.
She has healed over a hundred sick.
Crowd swarming, out of control.
Help.
I jumped to my feet, breath too fast as I read it. Ronan snatched it from my hands, going pale. Alden grabbed another piece of paper, his eyes glazing over as he scribbled down a note that made my heart stop.
She's alive, but only barely.
The crowd went wild.
Kaelen, she regrew his legs.
Get here NOW.
"Get me horses right fucking now," I yelled, shoving out of my office, jogging down the halls.
Ronan followed barking orders to the pack through our mental connection. I was too out of control to do it myself.
Panic like I had never felt before boiled through me.
Hundreds of my wolves gathered in minutes. I wasn't sure if we would need more, but I wasn't willing to wait around for them.
"Send as many soldiers as possible," I ordered Alden, who had followed us out looking almost as afraid as I was.
"We should wait for more men," Ronan said firmly, grabbing me by the shoulder.
"No," I growled, and he pulled his hand back with a sigh.
He mounted beside me, looking furious, eyes flashing at me as we rode at top speed toward the Outskirts.
⋆···✦···⋆
I am not sure what I expected to happen when we arrived in the Outskirts, but a wall of wolves barring our path wasn't it. Young and old alike stood in the road like a wall.
Fury radiates from them, threatening violence if I so much as twitch wrong. We are vastly outnumbered. Even with a hundred elite men at my back. They would rip us to shreds if we tried to push through.
"Listen to me," I call, voice booming over the crowd, "I am just here to ensure she is safe."
"Liar!"
"You already stole her!"
The crowd shouted back, launching insults at me, as I took a deep breath.
"Think about it! If I had her already. I wouldn't be here! She is in danger. We need to find her," I called, and they muttered.
"Alpha?" Ronan asked nervously, fear from my men pushed at me from behind.
Their lives were in my hands. We were seconds away from the crowd rioting and killing us all. I swallowed and nodded. I had no other choice.
Power rippled around me, spreading over the throng, capturing them like a net. A low pulsing hum in the air drowned out their cries of surprise. Their knees hit the ground, bending against their will, holding them in place as we slowly made our way past. Not one of them could hold their head up, not one was able to break through.
They cried out in terror as my will bore down on them. I sighed. I hated using this gift. My father's power of dominance was stronger in me than it had ever been in him, but I hated it.
This wasn't just power. It wasn't protection or leadership. This was everything I feared becoming made reality. Still, I did it for her sake.
They would stay like that, captured in place, unable to move until I released them. We rode on. I stuck my nose into the air, letting the trail of her scent carry me through the streets to a small, run-down-looking building near the edge of the forest. I dismounted, followed by a nervous Ronan.
I pushed the door open, feeling her in every inch of the place. I inhaled deeply, breathing in the smell of her den. The smell was so strong it threatened to overwhelm me. It sat quiet, abandoned, but I could almost see her here working, doing everyday mundane things.
Ronan picked up a tiny vial of some kind of medicine and frowned. "If she can heal like that, why is she bothering with potions?"
"I don't know," I admitted, frowning, pushing deeper into the house searching for any sign of where she might have gone.
A creaking sound caught my attention, and I followed it to a door in the back that swung in the wind. I crouched down, tracing several footprints.
She had been here, and it looks like she was pursued.
"Ronan," I called, and he followed me out into the night, following the trail.
The scent of blood tingled in my nose, and I picked up my pace, terrified. Surely if she were badly hurt, I would know. Isn't that how it worked? The connection would tell me if she was in grave danger?
I nearly tripped over a still form that groaned as I tripped over it. I realized with a start that it was Darin, still half hidden in shadows.
"There you are, finally," he grumbled.
I knelt by him, pulling him into a sitting position. His face was a mess, and blood seeped from a cut above a black eye. His nose looked broken, tilted at an odd angle, and his lip was busted.
"What happened?" I asked, fury twisting the words into a growl.
"Ah, well, ran into some hulking beast of a man who was trying to hunt down your lady love. I got in his way, and he didn't care for it," he laughed despite his injuries. "Don't worry about him stealing her heart, though he was pretty fucked looking. His face was more scar than face."
"If you can still make jokes, you aren't that damned hurt," I sighed.
"Don't be so sure, I could be dying, then what would you do?"
I didn't waste time with an answer, passing him off to Ronan.
"Get him help, then follow. Spread out and search. I will call if I hear anything," I told him, pushing into the trees.
"Alpha, I think you should…"
"No, Ronan, do as you are told," I snapped, pushing deeper into the trees.
Her scent was stronger here, fear tainted it in ways that made me sick. She was afraid. Was the man chasing her going to hurt her? I didn't know, and I didn't care. I was going to find her. Then I was never letting her out of my sight again.
This entire fiasco was my mistake.
She should never have been left behind. I had no idea why her people were suddenly chasing her or why they seemed shocked by her ability to heal. Hadn't she been doing this all along?
She was at least in her twenties; surely they knew. Didn't she say that she was their only healer? They were acting so strangely.
I picked up another less interesting scent in the woods, likely the male who had attacked Darin. He didn't smell very strong, so I ignored him, focusing on her.
Her scent led to the base of a cliff. I studied it for a minute, then started to climb, relieved when her trail continued onward. Her scent was growing fainter by the second. I increased my speed, running through the woods, following it as desperation gnawed at me, a distracting feeling of dread settling inside of me.
A sound prickled my ears, rushing water? I followed the sound, knowing I was right. She had gone this way. I froze at the edge of he trees watching a man pace back and forth. His hands were tangled in his hair, pulling on it.
"Lilliah!" he cried out in distress, the water racing past him, blocking his path.
I stepped forward, and he rounded on me, eyes wide, then narrowed into fury. I rose to my full height, looking down at him, barely able to control the need to rip him limb from limb for what he had done to Darin.
"Fucking bastard!" he cried out, charging at me. "This is all your fault!"
I dodged him easily, letting his momentum carry him past me.
"She is in danger," I said, venom dripping from the words, "I don't have time for your bullshit. Where is she?"
He snarled at me, his scarred face twisted in hate, but I saw fear warring with the anger. He nodded towards the river.
"Other side, I think. I thought she fell in at first, but I caught her scent. I can't follow."
He sounded defeated, let down by his own weakness. I nodded and took off my fur coat, folding it as best I could, tying it with my belt into a smaller bundle.
"Can you hold this a second?" I asked him, handing it to him. He frowned but took it, raising an eyebrow at me. "She is freezing to death out here. I need something to wrap her in."
He nodded reluctantly. I stripped down. Leaving my clothes in a neat pile under a tree, and shifted. The man held out the bundle to me, and I took it, backing up as far as the bank would allow.
Then I ran with all the strength I could muster, launching myself across the river, skidding to a stop on the other side. I didn't look back, rushing into the woods, I knew time was running out.
Around dawn, I felt a pain like I had never felt before. I falter, skidding in the snow as my legs gave out beneath me. My vision swam. Her lying in the snow, her body giving out. She was dying. I could feel her dying!
It took all my strength to get to my feet to push through the pain. Suddenly, the pain lessened, and I ran fast, fearing that she might already be gone more than I could handle. My mind was shattering. If she were dead, I knew I wouldn't survive it intact.
Then I felt her magic. That warm smell returned like a slap against my face. The same magical pull she had the first time she had healed me was calling to me. There was something wrong with it. It burned too hot, too wild, but something told me I could tame it, that I could help her. I just had to reach her before it was too late.
I ran at full speed, crashing through the trees, toward the light. I slowed as she came into view. She was bent double, staring down at her hands. I circled, trying to think of how to approach her. She stilled, glancing around like a rabbit looking for danger. Backing away, she straightened, eyes wary, her heart beating so hard I could hear it.
The trees and the clouds overhead cast us into a dim twilight, letting little light through, but she flowed like a beacon. I sniffed, feeling her distress. It was out of control. Why had she not shifted? The energy was demanding her to change form, yet she was ignoring it. Why?
I stepped forward, a branch snapping beneath me. Her head jerked my way. She cried out, spotting me at last, and ran. A thrill like I had never felt went through me, and I chased half mad with instinct.