127

127
Astella's POV

Thane smirks, and I chuckle softly before saying, "I never thought I'd say this, but… I kinda feel sorry for him," as we circle the territory line in our evening walk around it with Draco safely tucked into his carrier that lets him see all around us with those big green eyes. “Half a year back, I would've told you Ryan deserves any misery at all that happened to him. Now that guilt has essentially eaten him up inside, I just… kind of feel sorry."

“Forgiveness suits you,” Thane says in that deep voice of his; a warmth of emotion there that continues to send my pulse modestly racing despite all we have lived together.

“Forgiveness, not in a way that suggests it was okay for evil to roam free but forgiveness as an acknowledgment of the hurt without allowing it to eat you alive.”

I can feel his combination of pride and protectiveness through our mate bond as he observes me.

“He really is going to die,” I observe, “the healer's truth a blessing of shamanic sight. …not of any sickness we could have diagnosed, but the weight of knowing what he had done … His body is deteriorating as his soul can't carry the guilt anymore.”

“Is there anything we can do? That some others might need help,” he asks

“No,” I say with gentle disappointment. “This was not a sickness that would yield to wizardly or medicinal cure. That's just the way it is when you look at yourself square in the eye after a long time of lying to yourself. That his body is reacting to a pain so profound that it has no external antidote.”

Draco babbles quietly in his carrier, hand extended to the night sky as emerging stars peek out. To my surprise however, he has through all of this demonstrated an innate wisdom which few can possess in today's society, handling things so maturely that you might imagine him older than a humble nine months. His company is particularly reassuring to me right now; I feel awash with the tricky emotions of Ryan's visit tonight.

We pause near the central fountain that marks the heart of our territory, and Thane continues, “Word is he’s all they talk about at every Visiting Delegation. Word has apparently gone around that Ryan Hadrid is here, and a few of the elder Alphas want to know why we're allowing an individual who once declared war on our pack, to rest in our territory.”

"What have you told them?" I inquire, although I have a feeling what his response would be as he changes to protective mode.

His response was the type of diplomatic wisdom that indeed makes for an effective Alpha King, "That in showing mercy—sometimes—to our enemies, we teach our people more about strength than any battle they could win. That which determines to be kind when we are totally free to be indicated is the type of energy we mean with regard to the whole family”

“How do these prospects engage with that approach?” I wonder, thinking about what traditional supernatural leaders must think of our naive world where a compassionate conflict resolution style is the norm.

"Mixed reactions," he admits. “To some of them, we're just being the weaker side, and showing no mercy towards the enemy only provokes a greater challenge from them. Others are attracted to the strong, silent type: that is, men who exhibit strength or power without aggression. Some are beginning to adopt the very same measures in their lands as well.”

As we wind our way home and finish our circuit of the land, I muse on how different life has become compared to a year ago. Once, I had been a pregnant omega daring to run from the pack territory, her pack, who won nothing but fear and fierce hope.The woman with hungry eyes gazed away comfortably.Quiet. The refugee who took me in has become my partner, my mate, the father of a mystery baby; as well as a co-leader whose love has never been seen in the history of all things mystic.

As we enter our home, preparing to bathe and sleep I share with him the words that Ryan asked me today given my recent loss of a baby….. If you would have made a good father if you hadn't denied my pregnancy.

"What did you tell him?" Thane smiles, taking Draco from the carrier and starts the quiet routine of getting our haven into bedtime.

I actually say, "I didn't know that. That the person he was at that time may have regarded his own child as a tool for politics — and not someone to care for or protect. But that the man he'd become could have been different."

"Do you think that's true?" he asks, his green eyes wide with the real curiosity that does not usually exist in conversation between brothers. “You think that perhaps, given the opportunity, he might be a good father this time around.”

After thinking for a moment, I say, “Perhaps. Pain has a teaching hand that success could never possess. All the ways in which Ryan was still a young man, a rich young man but a young one already burned within him with guilt, for all those were problems that further united Matt and Ryan together with such tender bonds that fed on his life like starving puppies. The Ryan that might know how to love is slowly dying.”

While we go about our evening, the energy around our home changes, and we both suddenly look towards the windows alert. Within the wider set of pack bonds that define and hold our entire community together, we can sense ripples running through the network: not threat exactly, but certainly the possibility of major shift on its way.

Shaman senses detect spiritual turbulence: “Something is happening,” I whisper. “It will be something that would shift the balance of power within the supernatural world."

"Where?" Thane inquires, his demeanor instantly turning tactical as he gears up for disaster recovery mode of whatever problem it is that happens to be on the horizon.

“The Eastern Territories”, I answer as the realization dawns on me and an alarming tickles my spine. “The vampire covens that refuse to be integrated and continue to adhere to their strict rules of racial purity, territorial isolation. Something has happened that is causing them to re-evaluate their stance."

Out the windows of our home we can see lights beginning to appear in the distance all across our lands as other preternaturals knew and felt what we did. Wolves file out of houses, vampires on their porches, fae families coming together in small clusters to talk about what they're picking up.
Our community has developed a group consciousness around addressing spiritual vacillation, only this time with an understanding that collective awareness is stronger than individual vigilance.

“Shall we summon an emergency council?” Thane asks, already bracing himself to round up the troop once more and mobilize our neighborhoods for whatever shit is about to hit the fan.

“Not yet, or rather the full timeline of when and how to respond is given by my connection to infinite possibilities. “Our lives are not at risk from whatever's going on, at least not right now.”

“But to be prepared for it, we need to think about the opportunities and challenges it will present. Changes with potential to increase our leverage or drive us into confrontations that we would rather not pursue.”

"Then we observe and bide our time," he said with that wise patience is one of the traits that makes him a good leader. “We ensure our neighborhood awaits whatever occurs.”

But just getting to this point as we wind down for bed, glancing at the unfolding events outside, Draco suddenly sits up in his cot and stares right over east with a look of pure determination not commensurate with their short year on Earth. From the enigmatic knowledge of his, it seems that whatever is transpiring will call upon my family to choose, yet again, and with it reshape the supernatural world.

"What is it, little one?" Still we learn our quiet words, tree in the wind, as I stifle our son back to bed. “What are we going to see that you do not see?”

All he really says is a baby's gentle coo but to me it's the sound of endless potential — our nine month old child that seems to know on some quantum level that tomorrow will bring difficulties and fixes none of us can foresee yet.