Daughter of Luka (LGBT+)

Fifty-Two 🌑

When we reached the afternoon, it seemed as though we had more reason than ever before to find a cure for the virus, as Naomi began to come up with symptoms. 

"I don't need to go home. I can stay here, honest," she said. She was a pale green colour, though, and her mother was looking at her, as if she sincerely doubted that statement. "You can trust me. I can stay here and help you all out. That would be fair," she continued, as a peaceful expression appeared on her face. 

"I didn't even think children could get the illness," Yara said quietly to Zachariah, who stood with a grave expression upon his face. 

"How do we know this is the illness?" Uma chimed in. 

Everyone turned to her, then. 

She did have a good point, but only one person could truly tell. 

We returned our attentions to Fenn, who began to look over Naomi. 

"Hey Naomi," he said with a warm smile. 

She turned to meet his gaze and managed to speak again. 

"Hey, Fenn," Naomi replied kindly. 

"How are you feeling?" he asked her. 

"I just feel hot and sick and...I don't know," she admitted. 

Fenn frowned. "I'll take a swab and do a test. We know what the virus looks like," he said, as he went to find a cotton bud. 

"How?" I blurted. 

Zachariah answered my question. 

"How do you think? It's taken one of our kind before," he said. A muscle in his jaw twitched, as he said it. 

"This is my fault...she could have got it from someone at school," Yara said. 

Uziel reached out to take her hand in his own. He then squeezed it, in an act of reassurance. 

"This isn't your fault. You didn't know," he said. 

"I'll just sleep," Naomi said, probably a little overwhelmed by everyone's talking. 

"That would probably be the wisest option," Zachariah said it seriously, but his eyes reflected his sympathy. 

Accalia moved her fingers quickly through her hair, probably in frustration, before she spoke again. 

"We need to look out for one another right now. That's the most important thing. Compassion is more important than strength in this tribe. We all know that without compassion, there is no strength between us. So, we should do whatever we can- study, find materials, look after Naomi," she said. 

I nodded in agreement, as I intertwined my fingers with hers. 

"I'll be alright. I have you all and you're all awesome," Naomi said, with a small smile, as her eyes fluttered closed again. 

"She's such a charmer," Accalia whispered near my ear, causing me to smile. 

Yara collected Naomi into her arms and carried her towards, what I assumed would be, the guest room. Her gentleness around her daughter reflected her warm heart and kindness and when she returned again, she managed to force a smile upon her face. 

"Why are we all standing around looking like zombies?" she asked, "We're going to get through this. Let's get to work," she added, encouragingly. 

Uziel regarded her with admiration and then nodded. 

"We have to do this, for our tribe, for Naomi," he said. "As the alpha," he started, only to be interrupted by Zachariah. 

"Here we go," he said. 

"You should never interrupt an alpha," Uma warned him. 

"That's just a superstition," he replied. 

Uziel's eyes narrowed. 

"As the alpha, I insist that we keep moving forward- researching, figuring out what we are going to do here to help Naomi," he said. 

The good things about our tribe was that though we were all wolves, we were all different. That meant that it was easy for us to take onboard different jobs- from researching to simply keeping Naomi entertained. We had a plan for it all, but I had to give the most credit to Fenn and Zachariah- they were the ones who had been researching the cure for us the most. They were the ones that continually worked late hours to try to save us. 

"Will it spread?" I asked. It might have been a stupid question, but Zachariah didn't seem to think so, when he answered. 

"We're not sure. It doesn't pass on to everyone. It depends entirely on genetics, strength, health..." Zachariah paused, when he saw that Uma looked as though she wanted to say something. 

"My diet of iced coffee and burgers can kiss this world goodbye," Uma said. 

Zachariah gave a small shake of his head in mild disbelief. 

"We're not poor, though. Honestly, the plants in the forest are only part of it. Fenn has access to lab equipment because of his part time job. That means that we can use synthetics, chemicals, other ingredients for the cure, too," he explained. He wore an expression of determination and I knew he wasn't going to give up any time soon. 

After Uziel left the room, Uma spoke again. 

"You're brave- speaking up while an alpha talks," she said. 

"Please, Uma. He's a child," he said. 

"And he's the alpha," she said again, "Even if he is seven years younger than you." I could tell that even though Uma may have liked Zachariah, she would always defend her friend, first. 

"Six," Zachariah corrected. "I have to stay here and stand by Luka and I'm not about to have him," he said, referring to Uziel, "Talk over me when I have something important to say." 

Luka entered the room then. 

"Now, now, Zachary. You got to say your part," Luka said. 

"I think you're jealous," Uma said then, taking them both by surprise. 

"Uma-" Accalia went to say. 

Zachariah threw his head back and laughed. 

"Why on Earth would I be jealous of him?" he asked. 

"Not of him, but of his status," she said. 

Zachariah's eyes narrowed in response to the implications of Uma's statement. 

"Be honest with us," she continued. 

"If I'm being honest, you're really getting on my nerves," Zachariah said, before he walked out of the room, leaving us standing in silence.