Blackened Feathers

Pack

Mist, Rho, Zeta and Ifrit appeared one by one in quick succession in the chapel, called back to Earth when Terzo’s soul had re-entered his body. The symbols Seren had drawn on him using Omega’s blood had re-established the bond with his ghouls. Council ghouls rushed over to help them. The journey back had been brutal and different from their original summoning. They had essentially been ripped from their dimension and forcibly split into atoms before being re-formed and spat back out onto the Earth.

Omega gently held Terzo as he caught his breath. The Papa was shivering and Omega sent as much of his mojo as he could to help him. Their bond sparked to life and it gave him peace to know that they were all back together again. He felt his pack mates arriving back on this plane, making him sigh in relief. Copia, who was being tended to by his ghouls, looked exhausted and a little shell-shocked.

“Thank you Cardinal, we will be forever grateful to you for this. If ever you need anything from us, just ask," Omega said to him.

The Cardinal met his gaze and gave a lopsided smile.

“You are welcome, Omega, although this would not have worked without Seren. It is her you should be thanking.”

Omega felt her eyes on him, and he smiled over at her.

“Oh, I will thank her later,” he said, causing a blush to creep over her cheeks. She came over to kiss him on the forehead. She looked exhausted too, but happy. Omega was so proud of her, she had kept her cool and used her resourcefulness to bring Terzo home.

“We might need to wait a bit for that Omega,” she said with a sad smile. “We need to rest up before we try to bring Secondo and Primo back. We can’t wait too long, otherwise they’ll be gone from the Veil. Next time, we will sacrifice two of the prisoners, and maybe have a third on standby, just in case. I think we will probably need a few hours to recharge.”

Omega pouted.

“Oh, well, if you don’t need me next time, then...” he teased.

Seren laughed and her entire face lit up. His heart swelled at the sight of it, and he grinned back at her. What she had done was nothing short of amazing and they would all be in her debt for a long time to come.

Papa was leaning into his shoulder, clearly exhausted too, if his uncharacteristic silence was anything to go by. Omega stood and picked him up, cradling the smaller man to his chest. Terzo was in shock, Omega saw it clinging to him like cobwebs, bundling up and subduing the swirling emotions that were threatening to consume him.

“Do you need us for anything else?” Omega asked. Seren shook her head. “Okay, we will take Papa back to his suite and get him sorted out while you two rest.”

He looked over to the rest of the pack, who slowly made their way over. He could feel their lingering shock but also their relief to be back at the Abbey. They were all elated at having Papa back with them. He couldn’t wait to get himself cleaned up. The blood from the air ghoul had soaked into his clothes and all he wanted was to take a long, hot shower, but Terzo was the priority now. Terzo needed his ghouls and they would take care of him.

They made their way up to the suite, and Mist started the shower running for Terzo. Omega figured he could kill two birds with one stone and clean them both at the same time. Luckily, Terzo had a bathroom equipped with a state-of-the-art shower that had a massive cubicle. A long bench lined the side of the stall. 'For entertaining', Papa had said when he’d had it installed.

Omega smirked at the memory and stripped both of their clothes off, stepping into the shower and setting Terzo down on the bench. He was still shivering, but Omega could see the shock dissipating and he looked up. His eyes were bloodshot and he blinked rapidly. The droplets of water from the spray were running into them.

“Thank you for taking care of me, Omega,” he said in a quiet voice. “What happened? I woke up in the Veil, and then suddenly I was back here?”

“It’s a long story Papa, but I’ll give you the quick rundown," Omega said as he picked up a washcloth and Terzo’s soap. He knelt in front of him and began gently cleaning the blood from his skin. “The betrayal ran deeper than any of us thought. Imperator had planned ahead. Three ghouls from the Clergy members that we had in custody drugged you and your brothers' drinks and then poisoned you all. Copia found your bodies when he came looking for you the next morning.”

Terzo shuddered and let out a harsh breath as a wave of his sadness washed over Omega.

“I don’t even know what to say, Omega. I can’t believe she would move against the Clergy in this way. She doesn’t seem like the type to want to take over herself. She is more like the devious mastermind behind the scenes.”

Omega smiled sadly.

“We’re still trying to discover her motivation. We need Secondo back to interrogate her. I'm sure he can pick something up."

Terzo looked up at him through dark lashes.

“I can’t believe my brothers are gone. When will they perform the ritual to bring them back?”

“In a couple of hours, I think. They will try to bring Secondo back. Time is against us, though. Copia and Seren need a recharge. I don’t know if it will be enough time; that last ritual was intense.”

Omega was worried about Seren. She seemed to be okay, but he could tell she had passed a lot of energy on to Copia and he didn’t want her burning herself out during a ritual like that. Magic could be unpredictable and she could wind up getting hurt.

“I want to help. Give me a couple of hours to sleep and I can give them some magic, too. Even a little would be better than none, si?” Terzo offered.

Omega sighed, he wanted to forbid Papa but he was right, every bit of magic they could get would be useful. He smiled and nodded before quickly cleaning himself up and turning off the water. He dried them both off and wrapped a towel around his waist, then helped Terzo to his feet. Omega led him out to the bedroom and helped him to get dressed. Terzo flopped down onto the bed and Mist handed him a bottle of Gatorade, making sure he drank the whole thing.

Luckily, Terzo had a huge bed with space for multiple bodies, because the entire pack climbed in to be with their Papa. Omega and Terzo were in the middle whilst the others wrapped around each other and settled down to sleep. After the ordeal they’d all been through in the last day or so, they needed the comfort from each other. It had been a long time since they’d all laid down together this way with Terzo. It used to happen regularly, but this was the first time since Ifrit had been summoned they'd spent time together like this.

Omega sent a steady pulse of his energy to Terzo in the hope it would help him while he slept and he snuggled into his chest. His warm breaths sent goose bumps across Omega’s skin. He felt the others gradually calming and settling to sleep as they basked in the love of their little family. 

Alpha spooned into his back, and he could feel Mist gently stroking his hair. He fell asleep with a smile on his face. The only thing he would have changed about that moment would have been to have had Seren curl up to sleep with them too.