Chapter 35

Chapter 35
YARA
The hospital wasn’t far from Aiden’s place, so after a short walk—during which she asked me how I was settling here and if there was anything I needed—we got there. Apparently, Georgia came here to drop something off for her mom. Yes, her mom, who was also a healer. That brought the total number of witches in Aiden’s pack to three—with him only being aware of two.
I let out a harsh breath, leaning against the wall. I was currently waiting by the hospital’s entrance for Georgia, and the reason I hadn’t gone in with her was due to fear of being found out by her mom. Georgia didn't know I was like her, but I assumed her mom was a more experienced witch, and I didn't want to risk it.
So now the only plan I had come up with of how I was going to learn to cast a healing spell from Georgia—working alongside her at the hospital—had hit a little snag.
“Hi, Yara!”
I jerked my head in the direction of the unfamiliar voice to see two women standing a couple of feet away before raising my brows. “Uh, hi?”
Since I left the house, the only pack members I’d come across—except Georgia—were children who were too busy having fun with themselves to spare me a glance, so being addressed made me feel kind of odd. And yes, I’d spoken to some pack members two days ago—when they came to wish Aiden a happy birthday—but that was different. Aiden was with me.
I should ask Georgia if she knew where Aiden was.
“Hi,” the woman said again, an unsure smile on her face, while the other woman glanced to her right at something hidden from my view by the hospital building. “We were just wondering if you’d like to go on a run with us in the woods this evening. We usually do a group run on Saturdays.”
Most of the running I’d done recently was from witches, so I wasn’t opposed to it. Wait— “On two feet?” I asked, just to be sure, because whenever my dad said he was going for a run, it was either in human or wolf form.
“No...?”
Oh. “I can’t.”
Her lips curved into a small frown. “Sorry?”
“I can’t shift.”
Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth—probably because she wanted to say something or she was just shocked—before a familiar green-eyed blonde stepped around the corner of the building, pinning me with a hard glare
“So you’re fucking latent?!”
Ugh… wait, did she put them up to this?
“I can’t believe this,” she continued as she marched towards me, but she didn't look shocked. If anything, she looked delighted to have discovered this and for a moment, I wondered if I made a mistake by revealing it. “You’re going to taint Aiden’s bloodline!”
My brows snapped together. “Fuck you.”
My response seemed to thrill her even more and her smile widened as she came to a stop in front of me. "Truth's a hard pill to swallow, isn't it, falsefang?"
It seemed like she hoped that word would upset me even more and I wanted to smack that ridiculous smile off her face, but before I could say or do anything, her expression dropped.
“I—” Her throat bobbed as she back-pedaled, her eyes fixed on something behind me, and the first thing that came to mind was Georgia was behind me.
But why would she be scared of Georgia? I hadn’t known Georgia for long but she seemed like a sweet person. The only person I’d seen her react to that way was… Oh.
The corner of my mouth turned up before Estelle shifted her gaze back to mine, her expression hardening slightly. “I’m leaving,” she spat before turning on her heel and practically running off.
“Why’s she so afraid of you?” I asked as I watched her disappear into the woods next to the hospital.
“You shouldn’t have told them that, Yara,” Vernon stated, letting out a harsh breath, and I turned to face him. He was holding a bouquet of lilies. “Witches and latents are not really welcome in this pack.”
Oh… Shit. Unease crawled under my skin and I swallowed, forcing my expression to remain neutral. This was bad.
But what the fuck? Witches not being welcome was something I understood, but what the fuck did latents do?
“You should let Aiden know before she tells everyone in the pack,” he said, and I gritted my teeth, nodding.
“Do you know where he is?”
“He’s probably getting screwed by one committee or the other,” he muttered, and when I raised my brows, he added, “Try the Leadership Joint.”
I had no idea where that was, so I’d just ask Georgia to take me there before beginning the tour. I was no longer in the mood for a tour now though…
My gaze dropped to the bouquet in his hand again and I gestured at it. “Who’s that for?”
Vernon glanced at the flowers before a bright smile crept onto his face. “My sister,” he answered, reminding me that his and Aiden’s sister was in a coma, and I couldn’t help but wonder about what could possibly put a werewolf in a coma.
“Hi Vernon,” Georgia said cheerily as she walked out of the hospital, and he winked at her before heading for the doors.
“See you at home, Yara,” he called out as he walked through the doors.
“Ready for the tour?” Georgia asked, drawing my attention to her, and I blinked before remembering what Vernon said.
“Can we go to the Leadership Joint first? I need to talk to Aiden.”
“Sure. Let’s go through the woods. There’s a shortcut there.” She walked past me and I followed her, noting that we were headed in the same direction Estelle ran off in.
Did the Saturdays group run the women mentioned even exist or were they just trying to lure me to the woods for Estelle?
“Do pack members do Saturday group runs?” I asked and Georgia’s brows raised as she turned to me.
“Sorry?”
“Some women invited me to join them for a run this evening. They said they do group runs on Saturday.”
“They do… Do you want to join them?”
I was tempted to do so just to see what Estelle's plan was, but the last thing I wanted was to give her a trump card, since I'd most likely end up using my powers if she tried something stupid.
I should mention it to Aiden though.
“Not interested,” I answered and she gave me a sad smile
“Probably for the best.”
Vernon’s words about witches and latents not being welcome in the pack rang in my ears, and I asked, “How long have you been in the pack?”
“It’s been about…” She drew her brows together in thought. “Nine years.”
“Oh.” That was a long time. “And how—” My shoe landed on something slick and the ground vanished beneath me. I hit the ground hard, the impact knocking the rest of the words from my lungs. “Ow!”
“Are you okay?!” Georgia cried out while pain flared through my tailbone and shoulder as I pushed myself into a sitting position.
“What the hell?” My palms came away from the ground wet and gritty with sand, and my frown deepened as I brought them forward to dust them—
Blood.
My hands were covered in blood.
I stilled, my eyes going wide as I stared at the red on my skin before quickly dropping my gaze to the forest floor to find the source. The crimson sheen coated the ground beneath me, and there was a trail that led to a pool of it on my right.
Oh no.
My heart pounded in my chest as I slowly turned my head to the left to find a man on the ground. He was slumped against a large rock, a stream of blood running down the stone from where his head rested.
I sucked in a breath.
“Oh my God...” I wasn’t sure if it came from me or Georgia, but the first person to move was Georgia. She ran to the man’s side, muttering, “Oh, no, no, no, shit.”
He had clearly lost too much blood, but I thought she could heal him. I believed she would heal him.
But when she rolled the man onto his back, she stiffened and pulled her hands away from him. “...Shit.”
“W–What’s wrong?” Other than the obvious.
“I have to go get help.”
My brows snapped together. “What?” What does she mean get help? She was help!
“I have to…” She glanced over her shoulder at the way we’d come, then back at the man, and swallowed hard. “I’ll be right back.”
I stared at her, stunned, and before I could say anything else, she was already running in the direction of the hospital as fast as she could.
What’s… What just…
My stomach twisted as I returned my attention to the man, desperately hoping that his enhanced healing had kicked in despite the fact that he wouldn’t have lost this much blood if it was going to. He was still bleeding.
I shakily got to my feet and walked over to where the man lay before crouching next to him. His eyes were wide open, but staring at nothing in particular, and I glanced around, hoping someone that was more equipped to handle this was coming. But there was no one in sight.
You can do it, Yara, a voice whispered in the back of my mind. I swallowed, rubbing my hands against my jeans before realizing they were still covered in blood.
Fuck. Okay… okay…
I forced myself to focus, reaching for the healing that had refused to cooperate with me since last night. Like all the other times I’d tried, nothing happened, and I gritted my teeth, pushing harder this time. I didn’t know this man, but I wanted to heal him more than I wanted to successfully cast the spell.
Something sparked inside me—small and uncertain—before bursting to life in my palm the next moment, dancing around my fingers. I didn’t give myself a moment to be shocked or celebrate—I immediately reached into the man trying to find whatever it was I meant to latch onto, so he could begin to heal.
…There was nothing.
I frowned before trying again, but there was still nothing. Just an unnatural absence where his life force was meant to be.
My breath caught and the magic coiling at my fingertips flickered out as I dropped my hand.
The man didn’t just feel dead. He felt wrong… like there had never been a soul in the body to begin with.