Chapter 74: Chapter 74:
Anna:
Mama, papa and I are seated in the dining room, alongside Hunter and his wife, Linda. The atmosphere is gloomy as I pick on my chicken salad, for days now; I haven’t had that much of an appetite.
Just yesterday, the weyr withdrew their dragons, and for some unknown reasons, the darkness sent the letter of withdrawal. Our pack is now war-free, but some damages were made to the buildings and of course, our pack suffered loss. The money that Hunter’s pack donated to us and our pack’s net worth is enough to fix everything in a month, but the true loss hangs with us all. The death of my beloved brother, Enrique.
I have spent the past few days catching up with mama and papa, they have been the best supportive parents ever and even though I feel very bad about Enrique, they haven’t left me out of their sight.
I push away the chair, feeling very bitter. “I will like to be excused from dinner,”
Papa looks me in the eye, his eyes crinkling around the corner with concern; my stomach churns of how much they are worrying about me alongside dealing with Enrique’s death. “If you wish, Anna.”
“Goodnight, my love.” My mother’s voice breaks at the end, and that guilt punches me in the gut. They spent a complete year mourning for my loss while I was alive, selfish enough to not even send them a letter.
You are a horrible daughter, your actions killed Enrique, a voice says at the back of my mind. Why? Why did you team up with Dominic if this was the way it would end? My eyes start to water, but I am already out of the dining room before I break down.
My body is trembling when I realize I am sobbing so hard, Tyler appears in the hall and stops when he sees me crying, he’s the temporary Alpha presently, and I can feel the entire burden resting on his shoulders, from answering pestering phone calls to signing paperwork.
He stares at me in concern. “Are you okay?” I am close to Tyler as I am with Enrique, we all grew up together, him of course, acting like my second brother.
His eyes have lost their usual flush and I wonder if maybe it’s from mourning Enrique or dealing with the responsibilities that came with being the temporary Alpha.
“I just miss Enrique, that’s all.” My voice comes out in a choked sob, and Tyler wraps his hands around my body while I sob into his chest. “I am so fucking terrible.”
“No.” He says firmly, “you are not terrible. You are the best; besides there’s still hope, remember? They said his wolf is still alive and the doctors might be able to revive him.”
I sob harder; the doctors confirmed that his Primordial wolf, Zade is still alive, but the chances of them reviving him are slim, Enrique’s wolf has no less than four hours before he dies. Hundreds of hospitals have given up on the possibility of reviving him, there’s no potion or spell that can change anything.
Right now, Enrique’s in Hunter’s pack, our last possible hospital. We can as well give up hope if the current hospital fails to revive him.
“Look, Enrique’s will be alright? You believe in fate, right? Fate always fixes everything.” Tyler and I stand there, while he strokes my hair lovingly, it brings back the memories of when we were little and he was always looking after me.
When I pull away, I stare at his tear stained shirt and wince.
“Sorry, Tyler. Can I wash that for you?”
He gives me a gentle smile. “No, don’t worry. I am going to be okay.”
I thank him and apologize again before I go to my room; I open the door and find Elva slumped on one side of my bed, a laptop in hand while Nixie is eating from a wrapped burrito. I sigh and kick away my slippers, leaving me in my white socks.
“How was dinner with your parents?” Nixie asks, using her sleeves to wipe away the smear in her lips. Nixie has been staying here in the pack-house with us; she said she couldn’t go back to her brother, Dominic. He killed Enrique; there was no way she could talk to him like nothing happened.
My parents aren’t particularly thrilled with the idea of having their rival’s younger sister stay with us, but they are still trying to trust her.
Elva looks up from the laptop, her eyes heavy with exhaustion, her family hasn’t been in peace ever since Dante took Irene away, they have been discussing with Gia and she’s still trying to track down the address of wherever Irene is.
For the past few days, the three of us have gotten closer in a way that grief brings people together.
I sit on my plush armchair, staring at the bookshelf beside the window. My parents know how much I love to read, so they redesigned my whole bedroom.
“How’s Iris coping?” I ask, referring to Irene’s twin sister. She’s bent on finding Irene’s location and she still refuses to speak with either Nixie or me, we are the cause of all this. I really don’t blame her, the people at the pack-house are falling apart, the only thing that has managed to hold us together is hope.
And I feel my hope breaking with each passing minute.
“Do you think she’s still alive?” Elva asks nervously, looking at Nixie and I, she’s referring to Irene and this is the first time that Elva thinks her sister might be dead. “I mean...even her mind-link isn’t going through.” And, for the first time since days, she confesses. “I am scared, what if that bastard already hurt her?”
Anytime a werewolf dies, their wolf dies immediately with them, but since Enrique’s a Primordial Wolf, his wolf is barely hanging on the thread between life and death.
“We can’t live with the possibility of her dying. Either she’s stuck at a place where every form of mind-link is blocked or she’s very far away from Nightshade.” Nixie voices out and we concentrate on her, Nixie has another form of smartness, people said her father was quite the brains.
“Do you think she’s in another country?” Elva asks, horror stricken across her face, I move closer, trying to console her. Only hell knows the type of misery we share together, she holds me tight and Nixie’s face softens.
“I am sure that Gia will soon track his location, she’s good at that sort of thing. Remember?” Nixie says, as though it will make the whole situation lighter.
I grab my coat from the door, stepping out. “I will be back soon, I just need a break.” I inhale the scent of the air when I step into the courtyard, only the stars manage to comfort me, I stare at the sky, wondering if maybe, things could have been different.
I wonder if Dominic had saved me, and I went home straight instead of holding on to his promises of how he will take me home, maybe things would have turned better. Why did I spend a complete one year before I came back to my family?
“How am I such an idiot?” I voice out loud.
“You can fix things, you know.” I look up and see Iris walking towards her. I take a step back, this is the first time she has spoken a word to me without actually saying to my face how I messed things up.
Her eyes- green like her sisters are clear as day, her ginger hair is in a messy ponytail and I wonder if she has been trying to go to sleep but hasn’t succeeded.
“Iris.” I say breathlessly, but then I feel the pang of guilt again. “I am sorry.”
She shakes her head as we stare at the stars together. “It will break you if you let it, giving up is not an option.”
“What am I supposed to do, how can I fix things?” I ask bitterly.
“There’s hope.” She looks at me and smiles. I am completely taken aback as she smiles, no wonder Tyler is heads over heels in love with her. “Did anybody ever tell you I was sick for a year?”
Now, that seems new.
“I was.” She laughs hoarsely, her voice getting thick with emotions. “But I held up to hope that someday, I would get out of that bed and meet my family, it was fate, and Enrique’s Primordial wolf saved me.”
“Really?” I ask, completely bewildered. She nods, her cheeks getting flushed from the wind.
“My point is Irene will survive this, and she will come home and somehow, the moon goddess will save Enrique and everything will be well.”
“I thought you hated me.” I say softly.
She sighs. “I don’t hate you, but I am still pissed at both you and Nixie, but still you had no idea of Dominic’s plans, so you weren’t involved. Even Gia had no idea, it’s going to be hard, but I know that we are going to get through this.”
“Can I hug you?” I ask and she nods, coming closer to embrace me. Our hug is short lived when Elva comes bouncing with her phone, while beaming. She stops short when she sees us hugging.
“Now, this is a surprise.” She says, narrowing her eyes at us. Iris rolls her eyes and I cough.
“Gia tracked down Irene’s location!” She blurts out and everything in me freezes, my eyes widen with the equal amount of surprise in Iris’ eyes, really? Irene is safe?
“She isn’t dead yet.” I say in relief, stepping closer. “This is great news!”
“Yes, yes.” Elva keeps saying, waving her phone in the air, my eyes water with tears. We hear the quickened hoofing of shoes on the floor and we see Agnar staring at us, wide-eyed, wearing a button down shirt and chinos, his chest is heaving frantically, and he looks like he has been running to get here.
“Here you guys are, the doctor from lunar crest pack called. They discovered something. Hurry, Enrique’s parents are already heading there now.”
My heart almost jumps out of my chest after hearing what Agnar just said, my body springs into action. The energy I didn’t have for days now suddenly returns, fuelling me.
“I will drive with Tyler. Okay?” Iris says, before facing us. “The journey is a few hours, Anna you can drive, right?”
“Yes.” My body is giddy with excitement, Agnar and Iris leave the courtyard and I tell Elva to meet me outside, firing up the blue van takes a couple minutes before Elva and Nixie join us, Nixie’s wearing all black and even hauling a backpack inside the van.
“What’s that for?” I ask, as they jump into the van. Nixie sits in the back while Elva sits beside me. I rear up the engine, staring ahead, my hands are trembling with excitement and all I can think is going to the hospital and hearing the doctor’s words.
“Just in case.” She replies calmly, staring out the window, the sky is much darkened now, and if we are going to make it to Hunter’s pack, it will be much later. I start to drive out of the pack-house, taking the highway that leads to Hunter’s pack.
As I drive, Elva, Nixie and I talk about Irene’s location, Gia didn’t exactly get Irene’s location, it’s only a possibility, we can’t even raid the place without a proper plan.
We pull into the curb of Royal Hospital and we all jump out, going straight into the doctor’s office, the place is swamped with my parents sitting, Agnar and Chiara, Chase and Naya and Tyler and Iris standing beside the door.
Gia’s clutching her phone hard, sweat glistening against her body.
The doctor stares up at us as we enter, the doctor- a man in his late forties with salt and pepper hair, a bit of gray at the temples has a calm face- the one that tells you how much bad news he has delivered in all his years of being a doctor.
“Tell us, doctor.” My mother speaks up calmly, staring him down with her cool face; her hands are trembling under the chair but it’s hard to notice because my father is holding her hand. “How do we revive our son back?”
He stares at us all and I wonder if he’s particularly torturing us by not telling us, either way, I speak up. “Please.”
He sighs, “Okay, I have been doing extensive research with doctors all over the world, and we found a cure-”
“What are you waiting for?” My father asks, impatiently while frowning. “Start the surgery immediately.”
“Please hurry up and save him.” Chiara’s soft voice whispers.
“You have the cure, then do your job.” Tyler’s voice is quick.
The doctor, who’s now flustered, clears his throat. “Please calm down, the cure hasn’t been tested yet and besides, there’s only ten percent out of a hundred guaranteed.”
“I have to remind you, doctor, that our son has no less than a few more hours before his wolf dies, and now there’s a cure, and you are speaking of possibilities?” My father’s rugged voice resounds in the room, making the middle aged man shrink into his seat.
“Sorry, sir. Alright, we will try it.”
The relief that crosses my face makes me breathe in sharply.
“However, there’s just a tiny problem.” The doctor says, making my mother straighten up in her chair.
“Tell us, money is not a problem, anything for the surgery. We will bring it.”
“We need a Primordial Wolf to donate blood.”
My heart pangs, Primordial wolf?
“How, doctor?” My mother worriedly asks, frowning. “We can’t use a normal wolf’s blood?”
“I am sorry, ma’am. But, only Primordial blood is needed.”
My legs start to fail me but Nixie and Elva hold me protectively, Primordial wolves are the rarest, it’s a surprise that my brother is a Primordial Wolf when none of our ancestors are.
The door bursts open and everyone snaps their head towards the direction to see Dominic walking in, his presence demands attraction. Everyone pales and my father quickly jerks to his knee.
“What are you doing here?” He roars, “You already took the portrait and withdrew from the war. We have no business with you.”
Smoothly, he raises a brow and completely ignores my father- this seems to set my father on edge because his face turns bright red from anger; this is literally the first person to totally ignore my father. He turns towards the doctor and says simply. “I am here to donate my Primordial blood to Enrique De Luca.”