Daddy's Here

Daddy's Here
Rael opened his eyes and smiled weakly upon seeing me. He raised his little hands asking to be picked up, which I did immediately. The wolf sniffed the pup, searching for the essence of some disease, but there was nothing, besides a very faint, almost imperceptible smell, that I couldn't identify.

“Alpha!”

He whispered weakly before closing his eyes again. My wolf was distressed, his pup was sick, and he didn't understand what was happening. He didn't understand the concept of disease, he searched by scent for some enemy that had hurt the little one, irritated that I wasn't killing some imaginary culprit.

— Daddy is here, Little one, everything will be alright, I'll take care of you!

— Lord Agar, what can we do to help our pup get well again? I'll do anything you ask!

She stood up too quickly, seemed dizzy and lost a little balance, leaning on my shoulder to keep from falling. Her fingers brushed the mark Nadja left on me, causing a slight burning sensation from the contact of another female. I took a step to the side, moving further away from her, and she looked at me, saddened, with her hand suspended in the air.

— Derik, do something, I won't be able to bear losing our pup!— She pleaded, her body trembled when she mentioned Rael's loss.

— Our pup won't die, Hira, calm down, don't use words that bring bad luck!

— I'm so scared, Derik! He's never been like this before, I don't understand what could have happened! What if it's contagious? Especially now that we have so many pregnant females in the territory, the life forming in their wombs doesn't yet have a soul to strengthen them, they are fragile and vulnerable!

I couldn't help but think of my Luna and the possibility of me ending up as a vector for some contagious disease that could sicken them. Nadja will be fine with our little one in her womb, she's in the room, protected and with no chance of contamination.

My pup groaned in pain and clutched his stomach, crying even in his sleep. I yelled for the old man to do something, my wolf was clawing at my insides, desperate with the pup's suffering.

Old Agar poured a gooey liquid into Rael's mouth, and slowly, he relaxed until he slept peacefully, his arms wrapped around my neck.

— This elixir should eliminate any pain he has, but it's only palliative, it has no healing effect. I'll prepare a herbal bath for him, to soothe his aura and test some hypotheses. He'll need clean clothes.

— I'll go get them from his chambers. Derik, please, stay with our pup while I get a few things.

— Of course, take your time, bring some toys for him to feel more comfortable when he wakes up.

— Thank you, Derik, for being such a good father! I don't know what I'd do without you by my side!

I didn't answer Hira, there was nothing to thank me for, I was only doing my duty as a father. I hugged my pup, smelling his scent to calm the wolf. After Hira left, I laid the little one on the bed, covered him, and turned to Agar.

— Speak openly with me, old man, what's wrong with Rael?

— I've never seen anything like this before, Alpha, but... if you'll allow me to guess, it doesn't seem natural.

— What do you mean "doesn't seem natural"?

— Let it stay between us, but the little Alpha's ailment is not related to any disease. I believe the cause is the perversion of someone ill-intentioned.

— Do you think my pup was poisoned? — My wolf salivated at the prospect of having someone to exterminate from the universe.

— It's not poison I'm referring to, but we'll talk about it when I'm sure, in the meantime, I'll do some tests and some fortifiers for him. — The old man was reticent, his face serious. — If you want advice, Alpha, don't leave the pup's side until we know what we're dealing with.

The old man moved away, and I lay beside Rael, who spent the night screaming and crying with terrible nightmares. At times, he mumbled something like "boogeyman" and snuggled into my chest, terrified.

I don't know when I fell asleep, but I woke up with a burning sensation on the mark Nadja left on my neck. I opened my eyes and Hira was lying in bed with her arms around me. I jumped out of bed, and she woke up with my movement.

— Derik, what happened, did something happen to our pup? — She looked around, distressed, and when she saw that our little one was lying beside her, she breathed a sigh of relief.

I stared at her, stunned, I hadn't noticed her presence or heard when she returned to the room. My nature was silent, and I didn't feel my wolf, which was even stranger.

— Rael is the same, he had many nightmares during the night.

Old Agar gently knocked on the door before entering.

— I've already prepared the bath, bring the little alpha, you don't need to wake him.

I picked up my pup in my arms and followed Agar, while Hira stayed in the room to change the sheets. The bathtub was full of warm water, with some macerated leaves and flower petals. I placed my little one in the tub and the water immediately became cloudy. The old man frowned, his face stern. He picked up a pitcher and poured more of the herbal water over Rael's head. Gradually, color returned to my little one's face, and he opened his eyes, tired and confused.

— Alpha...— He mumbled, raising his arms for me to pick him up.

— Daddy's here, pup, everything will be fine, you'll be well soon!

As I picked up my pup in my arms, I felt he seemed much heavier. I carried him to the bed, but my head began to ache. I laid him down quickly, afraid of dropping him, and fell to the floor.

— Oh, by the gods, Derik! — Hira screamed before rushing to my aid.

I was weak, I barely felt my nature. My limbs did not respond to my brain's command, and I lay prostrate on the ground until old Agar called some guards to lift me and put me in bed.

Confused images swirled in my head. Rael's screams, Hira's laughter, all very confusing, it was as if all my bones were breaking at the same time. Agar held my face and shook me. 

A crash, more screams...

My head hurt a lot when I opened my eyes. I was alone in bed in another room of old Agar's cabin. The pain in my body was excruciating, I had never felt anything like that. The old man was right, it wasn't natural. I couldn't feel my wolf, it was as if it didn't even exist or was dead. My body was wet, covered in sweat and... blood.