Alphas War

Chapter 49

Aiden's POV:

I knocked on the door to the house of the pack healer. There were three in total, but only one came from my original pack, and he was the one who had what I needed.

After visiting Ella's house and hearing how much she was struggling with the loss of her husband, I knew this was something I needed to do.

The door swung open to reveal the ageing man that lived there. His grey hair was longer than the last time I had seen him, reaching past his shoulders, and his facial hair was long and untamed.

"Aiden," he greeted with a toothless smile. "What can I do for you?"

"I need your help," I told him, not bothering to wait for an invitation to come inside. I stepped in, closing the door behind me to block anyone from listening to our conversation, and then followed him into the kitchen.

"What's wrong boy?" He asked, beginning to prepare a drink. He boiled the kettle before settling into the seat beside me at the dining table.

"It's my sister," I told him, a frown crossing my face. "Her husband, the head of pack protection... he was killed," I mumbled.

When I looked up, Alfred was staring back at me with large eyes. "Killed?"

"By humans," I admitted. "The pack haven't been informed yet, so this stays between us," I warned him, shooting him a look. Alfred and I had always gotten along but he wasn't particularly skilled at keeping pack secrets.

He nodded. "I understand. But what can I do for you? If he's already dead?"

I sighed, remaining silent while he raised from his seat and began pouring the tea. I watched him stir the liquid and add a little milk before setting one down in front of me and retaking his seat. "I need a preservation remedy," I finally told him, clutching the mug tightly in my hands.

"Aiden," he warned, shaking his head.

"You did it once before," I snapped, meeting his gaze head on. "I need you to make one again."

"How was he killed?" He asked, ignoring my request.

I bit my lip. "He was shot in the back."

Alfred simply shook his head, sipping his tea in silence while I stared at him impatiently. "There is no guarantee it will work," he reminded me, raising a brow. "Has the bullet been removed?"

"Yes."

He sighed heavily. "The ingredients Aiden, they are limited. I only have enough to make one, maybe two remedies and then it's done. Those flowers don't grow any more, the things required to make this remedy don't exist in modern age. Are you sure you want me to waste them on a possibility?"

"Yes," I insisted. "Ella- the alpha, she is devastated. If we are to go into battle against the humans, we need our leader to be strong. And right now she isn't."

"Then maybe we need a new leader."

I snarled, raising to my feet so I was looking down at him. "Watch it."

He chuckled as though I'd said something amusing and then raised an eyebrow. "Relax, I was only thinking that your father is still a strong man, with not a lot to lose that would make him weak, except you and your sister."

"He is only a strong man because of your remedy," I reminded him. "If there is even a chance that preserving Zach's body until the next full moon means he could come back to life, I have to try. It worked for my father."

"Your father died from blood loss," he stated, taking a long gulp of tea before looking up at me. "If the bullet damaged this mans heart, even just a scrape, the moon won't be able to heal him. The only way he will come back is if he bled out."

"He died instantly," I muttered.

Alfred shook his head, finishing his drink before carrying it towards the sink. "Then this is pointless."

"I refuse to believe that!" I growled, following closely behind him. "He didn't deserve to die."

With a sigh, he turned to me, his eyes full of sympathy. "My dear boy, there aren't many people who are deserving of death, but it comes to us all. It goes against the laws of nature to resurrect the dead. The moon is powerful, yes, but all power has its limits. If this man died from a bullet to the heart, there is no bringing him back."

With that, he turned back to the sink to wash up his mug while I stared open-mouthed at his back. I couldn't go back and tell them I had failed. I couldn't let them take his body away and burn him to ashes as though he never existed. I couldn't let my sister lose her love like that.

"There must be something," I whispered, my voice broken and weak.

"I'm sorry," Alfred responded, taking my half full mug from my hands and placing it on the worktop. "There isn't."

I swallowed, turning to leave with tears brimming my eyes. I had been so hopeful, so sure he would help me. But he was right, we couldn't waste this remedy on someone who wouldn't come back, not when we may need it in the future.

I halted just before reaching the front door. "Wolfsbane," I whispered, turning back to see Alfred staring at me in confusion. "He had wolfsbane poison in his system. He was weak. Combine that with the amount of blood leaving his body and he would've died instantly regardless of whether the bullet reached his heart," I argued.

"Aiden," he started but I shook my head.

"It could work. It could bring him back. Please Alfred, you have to make me this remedy." I was in front of him again now, my hands clasped in front of me. "Please."

He sighed before nodding his head, filling me with relief. "Alright," he said with a nod. "I will make you the preservation remedy. It will be ready in a couple of hours. Let's hope you're right."

****

Later that afternoon, I stood beside Zach's body, a syringe in my hand with the remedy inside. Ella had barely acknowledged my presence, simply crying against her dead husbands body.

I met Ryders gaze before pricking Zach's skin with the needle and sliding it into his veins. I squeezed every last drop of the liquid out, sending it into his blood in order to stop the decomposition of his body.

"This will really work?" Ryder asked doubtfully.

"Yes," I assured him. "His body will remain in this state for as long as we need."

I hadn't told any of them about the possibility of him returning to life, especially not Ella. The odds weren't exactly in his favour and I didn't want to provide any of them with any kind of false hope.

I followed Ryder out of the room, desperate to get away from the sound of Ella's sobs. My heart shattered for her, seeing her in so much pain, so desperate for the man she loved as she lay by his side.

"Thanks," Ryder said, leading me down the stairs.

"No problem. At least now the funeral can wait," I said. The next full moon was still a few weeks or so away so they needed to wait until after that to hold the funeral.

"Yeah," he muttered, "if Ella will let us ever take him away."

"Well at least he won't start to decompose right there in their bed." I shook my head, the thought of waking up to a corpse sending chills down my spine.

"Can I ask you something?" He called as I headed towards the front door. I turned and raised an expectant eyebrow, nodding my head. "Do you think she will be okay? I mean, now you've seen how she is, do you think she will ever get better?"

I couldn't help but think that if Zach didn't wake up, there was a chance Ella would never get over this. She was strong, sure, but she and Zach shared a love like nothing I had ever seen and she had already dealt with more than enough of loss in her life.

"I honestly don't know," I told him, watching his features droop. That clearly wasn't the answer he wanted. "All we can do is hope she's strong enough."