Ayn's Healing

Chapter 48 - Ayn

- unedited -

The night after the Beta died was the last time I slept through. The satisfaction of having delivered justice was not enough to keep away the nightmares.

They sneaked in regularly through the cracked bark of my tree and robbed me of the little sleep my fast-growing, always-hungry pup allowed me. They made me stay wide awake, watching over him, prepared to defend him from any threat. Not that I had any way of properly defending him, because the lack of sleep was slowly shutting down my core.

The only reason I didn't lose my powers or my sanity was because Kari forcefully leaned into his wolf and somehow pulled me with him on the healing path.

When I told the Alpha I didn't trust anyone but him to be close to Lars, he took over most of the baby-related night duties, to allow me to rest.

When I told him that I cannot rest, because every time I close my eyes I feel weak and vulnerable, he assigned his ever patient Gamma Liam to practice human-form fighting with me.

When I told him that knowing how to fight with fists and knives will not save me from an attack like the one we had experienced, he called me to his office several days later and gifted me with a gun. I was shocked, because it was highly illegal for humans to sell us weapons and I asked him whether he ate one of his border patrol counterparts. He snorted and said he actually traded a part of my car budget for it.

And every time when the swamp of trauma threatened to pull me under, Kari was there, with Lars in one arm and one arm free for me, to bring me close to his heart and allow me to cry as much as I wanted. Through it all, he whispered in my ear a simple and all encompassing mantra.

"And now you are here."

It also took me a long time to provide the Witches' Council with my testimony about Beta's actions that linked him to the death of my parents.

It took even more time to get an answer from across the River.

It arrived today and I asked for the safety of my Alpha's arms before I opened the letter.

****

"Come on, sit down and we'll read it together." Kari smiles, shifting a sleeping Lars over his shoulder to make place for me on his right.

The letter is short. The Council thanks me for making contact with them. The artifact delivered by Firestarter Ina had been traced back to one of the covens that had been shut down twelve years ago. It therefore does not constitute a new source of dark magic. Based on this conclusion, and the information I had provided, the case is closed and classified as an isolated incident.  No further preventive actions are considered necessary.

I sighed a sigh of relief at the thought that our son would "just" have to deal with raids, transfer challenges, unplanned challenges and a sleuth of other dangers that paved the Wolves' Way. They truly seemed menial in comparison to our recent adventure.

"That's an..efficient conclusion." Kari says neutrally but his fingers rub my wrists a bit rougher than necessary.

"What do you mean, Alpha?"

"They state that the measures in place are sufficient for preventing another dark magic attack. But the only measure in place is an official ban on the dark craft with no provisions on how to enforce it."

"I think I have been crazed by fear for so long that you are starting to enjoy seeing me hyperventilating." I sigh, forcefully relaxing my hands that have instinctively balled into fists.

Kari smiles, nuzzling at my temple.

"I enjoy your panting very much, but not when you do that because you are scared." His lips rest for a moment on my cheek while he inhales my scent and purrs his appreciation against my skin. "You know, I was thinking about these Defenders Sybille mentioned to you...how did they realise they glitched?"