Healing Ties (Ties, Book 2) | ✓

Chapter 36

They made their way back through the forest, passing by the werewolf village that sat silent and abandoned save the crackle of fire from buildings that had been set ablaze. There were patches of dirt that were wet with blood. Fanner's head constantly swivelled, searching for bodies, but he saw none.

"Did you see any of those wolves?" John murmured in his ear.

Goosebumps prickled down Fanner's spine. "Um. No, sir?"

John stroked Fanner's arm where it rested around his waist. "Big things. You don't want to be out here. You're lucky we found you."

"Won't I be executed, sir? I mean, I didn't run away. Not really, but..."

"I'll tell them that you came to us, okay? I'll tell them you were trying to get back. It's not your fault you got caught up in all of this."

Fanner made a quiet sound in the back of his throat. If only John knew.

They continued their way through the forest and out into open farmland already full of men setting up camp. The lights from torches and campfires seemed to stretch forever across the expanse of the fields and Fanner could see a row of lights down the road leading off into the distance as more men trailed in.

How many people were here? Were there even this many men in the human military? Fanner was no expert on such things, but it seemed like a lot. Fanner had been fearful of a human attack when he had been told about the possibility, but he had never imagined something like this. He had thought there would be maybe a few hundred men, a brutal battle in which lives would be lost on both sides but which would ultimately be stomped back. This was an army, and Fanner didn't know if there was anything on the other side of the border that could match such a large force. Had he just been naive, or was this more than anyone had prepared to face?

Near the tree line, a man took John's horse from him after John had collected his saddlebag and they headed further into the camp.

There were men laid out on the ground around a fire, horrifically injured, as others in doctor's uniforms did their best to tend to them. One had burns over most of his body, his clothes melted into his skin. Another had three arrows sticking out of various parts of his body that a doctor was working on removing. Another had an arm that had been so badly torn apart that it looked like raw meat.

Someone grabbed his arm and yanked him closer to the injured men. Fanner looked up to see the face of a furious man. "Look at this. Your people did this."

It was hard to see people in such terrible pain, dying, and feel nothing, but at the same time what he did feel wasn't guilt. These humans had marched into the homes of his friends, set their houses on fire and levelled guns at them, and this man felt wronged by their retaliation? That was ridiculous.

Fanner wasn't stupid, though, so he didn't say that. Instead he dropped his gaze and murmured, "I'm sorry, sir."

"Aw, come on, leave him alone," John said, gently taking Fanner's arm and pulling him back towards himself. "This one's harmless. Just got pulled into all this shit."

"I don't give a fuck. He'd better be here so that we can rip him apart slowly for everyone to see. Give the men some peace."

"There's a bounty on Companions," one of the doctors contributed.

"Living Companions," John clarified.

The other man let out an unimpressed huff. "A lot of things you can do to someone without killing them."

"I don't think so," John said. "If you catch one of the Soldiers, you can do what you want, but you know how people are about Companions. If he's the one they're looking for, they're going to want him back in one piece. I don't know about you, but I don't want to piss off someone rich enough to afford this kid."