Chapter 38: Part Thirty-Seven

“There’s nothing new to report, Griffin,” he said to me as we stood in the hallway.

“It’s been five days!” I said angrily.

“She’ll wake up when her body has recovered, we know almost nothing of nymphs,” he said looking down.

“Calm down, Griff, let the doc do his work, she’ll wake up,” Jett said.

“All I want to know is when!” I yelled as the doctor pulled up his shoulders.

“Thanks Doc,” Jett said and started pulling me down the hallway and out of the infirmary.

Sierra was comatose and she hadn’t moved a muscle in five days. I had ported us back to Newport and handed her over to the doctor on duty and then waited. I was angry and frustrated and with all that’s going on I kept ignoring the Council and I knew I couldn’t avoid them forever.

They wanted answers about the eradication of the Hastings pack, it had been a bloody battle and all our Enforcers had survived, some wounded worse than others, but we were all alive. The doctor kept telling me that she was stable and healing from her wounds, albeit slowly.

“There are two Council members in the meeting room,” a warrior said the moment we stepped outside of the infirmary.

“Great,” I said and Jett grinned at me.

“You knew this would happen sooner or later,” he said.

“I was hoping for later,” I said and he laughed out loud.

“I still can’t believe you took a whole pack of wolves down to the ground, unconscious,” he said.

I rounded the corner of the house and saw the vehicle parked in front. I recognized the markings as that of a Council member. I didn’t feel anything as I walked inside and headed to the meeting room where I could hear Damon yelling.

“Dad,” I said as I opened the door and stepped inside with Jett.

“Just the man we were looking for,” the man said to me.

“Chester, Louis,” I said and nodded my head.

“Care to explain the eradication of the Hastings pack?” Chester asked me.

“I declared war, we went in and took them out,” I said as I sat down next to my father.

“Declared war on what grounds?” Louis asked me, “no motion for war was filed with the Council.”

“On the grounds that Conrad Hastings kidnapped and tortured my bonded half,” I gritted out angrily.

“What proof do you have?” he asked me.

“Proof? My bonded half is still in the infirmary recovering,” I said and slammed my hand on the table in front of me.

“Proof that he took her,” Louis said.

“The whole clowder can testify that we found her there,” Damon said.

“Yes, but how did you know she was there in the first place?” he kept questioning me.

“A witch showed me the way,” I said.

“Listen it’s not difficult, we went there, we found her, we killed them, end of story,” Jett said from next to me.

“No, not the end of the story, we have laws in place for this very reason,” Chester said calmly.

“Call your Oracle and extract my memories,” I said.

“No,” Damon said as he looked at me. “Absolutely not!”

“I’m not going to jail for doing what was within my rights!” I said a fraction too loud.

“You know very well that grounds for war have to be filed with the Council before any attack can be granted,” Louis said.

“I’m aware of the law, I didn’t have time to waste, he was busy killing her,” I said as my eyes blazed a deeper blue.

“Can your bonded half verify these details?” Chester asked me.

“Once she wakes up, yes,” I said.

“We will wait then,” he said.

“I don’t think you understand, she’s been comatose for five days, we don’t know when she’ll wake up,” I said.

“We will wait nonetheless,” he said.

“We will have rooms prepared for you, please don’t venture into the forest or the training grounds,” Damon said.

I could see Damon was linking someone and five minutes later a female worker knocked on the door and led the Council members from the meeting room to show them their rooms. I sighed loudly at the unwelcome intrusion that their presence brought.

“You look like shit by the way,” Damon said as we all stood up.

“Thanks Dad,” I said sarcastically.

“Damon’s right, go shower and sleep a bit, we’ll get you the moment something happens,” Jett said.

“Fine,” I said and turned towards the stairs.

I felt better after a hot shower but sleep wouldn’t come and I ventured outside and into the adjoining forest. Ten minutes later Kane jumped down from a tree as I passed underneath and walked with me as I kept going.

“Are we walking all the way back to Greenville?” he asked me after half an hour.

I realized then that we were nearing the town and turned around abruptly. I hadn’t meant to walk so far or for so long. I stopped in another clearing and then headed left as Kane followed me slowly. I stopped when I reached her grave.

“I’m sorry, Mom,” I whispered.

So many memories filtered through my mind. Finley reading me bedtime stories, Finley smacking the back of my head, the way she always smiled mischievously at me when she knew something she did would piss my father off. She’d been the best mother and I let her die.

I closed my eyes briefly and I was taken back to that night when all hell broke loose on this clowder and my world changed forever. Mac had taken the arrow that was meant for me and his eyes had widened as his blood gurgled in his throat and he fell backwards as I looked into Samantha’s father’s eyes.

“Mac!” I yelled as I jumped over him and pulled him down on the other side of the dais.

I left him and ducked another arrow as I pulled Damon down to safety as well. I pulled the arrow from Damon’s chest and pressed down on the bleeding until he opened his eyes and I knew he was healing. Around us people were screaming and I could smell blood and smoke. I had no idea where my mother or Jett was. I saw the hunters retreat back into the trees and I stood up gingerly.

“Mom!” I yelled as I ran forward and Damon was close on my heels.

“Finley, hold on,” Damon said as he picked her up and turned towards the infirmary.

I found Jett with an arrow sticking out of his shoulder, he was covered in blood and I could tell that he had shifted as he now only wore a pair of gym shorts. Connor was busy pulling the arrow out and Jett gritted on his teeth through the pain.

“I saw Mac go down, is he okay?” Jett asked me.

“He didn’t make it,” I said softly as Jett turned towards me and I saw the shock in his eyes.

“Where’s Damon?” Connor asked.

“He took Finley to the infirmary, she was hit,” I said.

“She’ll be okay, Griff, we need to look for other survivors,” Connor said.

“Samantha!” I said and turned towards the dais again.

I ran back and searched through the people that lay on the dais but Samantha wasn’t there. On the side I found Kat with an arrow in her heart and seven others in Archer’s back as he lay on top of her, trying to cover her with his body.

“Their scents vanished right over the first ridge,” one warrior reported to Connor as I snapped back to reality and looked away from Archer’s body.

“Sam?” I asked and the warrior shook his head.

“Her scent mingled with theirs but there’s no trace of them,” he said.

“He took her, I need to find her,” I said as I headed into the forest and started running.

I searched for over four hours for her, following her scent and even crossing the river but her smell was gone and I felt useless, broken and angry as I swam back across the river. The attack made no sense to me.

I felt the maternal bond snap just as I reached the shore and it took me down to my knees as I clutched my chest and screamed out my pain. My mother had just died and I was choking on the pain. I stumbled through the forest back to the house.

I found Damon in the infirmary as he held my mother’s body, silent tears wracking his shoulders. She looked peaceful in death, still beautiful with her pale skin and her blonde hair. She almost looked like she was asleep except for the hole in her chest.

Connor had waited respectfully for us in the hallway and I could see that his eyes were red from crying as well. He had loved my mother, they were close friends and their bond had been unshakeable, so much so that Connor went against Damon more than a few times for her.

“We know who did this,” Connor said to Damon as he held out an arrow to him.

I looked at the strange markings on them and turned it around in my hand after Damon had looked at it. His face was set in anger and grief. He didn’t even bother to answer Connor as he started walking back to the house covered in Finley’s blood.

“Hunters,” I said softly as Connor nodded his head.

“I’m sorry Griffin,” he said as he looked at me and I placed my hand on his shoulder.

“Me too Connor,” I said as we stood hugging in that infirmary hallway.

“I love you,” I whispered as the memory of that night floated away.

“She doesn’t blame you, Griff,” Kane said as he sat down on his haunches next to me.

“Why wouldn’t she?” I asked him.

“She was your mother, she loved you more than she loved anybody else. There’s nothing she wouldn’t do for you, even dying,” he said.

“I miss her,” I said softly.

“I know,” he said and stood up.

I left Finley’s grave and walked back to the packhouse feeling lighter. I had blamed myself for so long that I had failed to see the world shifting. She wouldn’t want me to wallow in misery, she’d want me to live, find happiness and forgive myself.