NightLock

Chapter Nine

I let out a gasp of pain as I felt my arm being locked back into place as I was jolted back into consciousness. Looking up I saw my youngest brother applying medicines that had been carefully mixed to where when they were put on wounds the injuries closed up almost instantly.

"Hey, bubba, guess I need to start training an apprentice to be a Healer, huh?" I said my voice hoarse and weak from both yelling orders in the battle and the silver poisoning that was still being drawn from my system.

"Stop trying to joke, Stargirl, you need your rest." Cody replied as I smiled a weak smile up at him.

"I'm being serious, Cody, I need to train a few new healers. You and I both know that Slayers and Rogues have been attacking a lot more than usual. We need more Healers than just me and you know it." I said as I struggled into a sitting position pushing away his fretting hands as he tried to push me back down.

"Stargirl, you need your rest," Cody began but I cut him off.

"And the Pack needs me, Cody, my eighteenth year is only six months away. The Pack can't see me weak." I said looking him dead in the eye.

Jumping down off the bed Cody tightened the cloth wound around my chest and torso to help bind the broken and bruised ribs inside me mend back and heal. I turned and walked across the old wooden floors of my house into my bedroom. Ignoring Tyler's worried pleas about me health I dug through my closet until I found one of my father's old button up shirts.

Wincing in pain I slipped my uninjured arm into the sleeve of the shirt and slipped the sling off of my other arm with a gasp of pain as I slipped it into the sleeve then back into the sling. Leaving the shirt undone I walked down the steps to the door where I saw the oldest of my brothers waiting.

"I figured you wouldn't stay down long, Alpha, your Pack's been worried." Devan said as he bowed his head submissively in my direction.

"Let's do this, Dev." I said as he pulled the door opened and together we stepped out into the blazing sun.

Shielding my eyes from the sun I stepped down the steps and listened to the uproar of howls and cheers from my Pack. A smile seemed fixed on my face as I threaded my way through the crowd to a pair of red eyes hidden in the back.

" Cray!" I yelled as I took off into a dead run towards him through the crowd of wolves in both natural and human form.

The crowd parted as I ran to my cousin, my best friend, and my Pack Spy. Launching myself into his arms I felt his arms go around me in relief at seeing me alive. Recognizing our long lost cousin my brothers ran through the crowd as I had to join in our embrace. I heard growls and turned to see my team behind me.

"Alpha, why is there a Rogue here?" The oldest of my team growled as his eyes flashed redder than Cray's.

"Kanen, do you not recognize your own little brother?" I said as I looked him in the eye.

Straightening he stared at Cray his eyes fading back to blue as his eyes widened and his mouth hung open slightly.

"C-cray..." He stuttered out as he pushed my brothers away and wrapped the brother he had lost fourteen years before in his arms.

I smiled as I turned and walked away from the embracing brothers and wove my way towards the large fountain sitting in the middle of the square where I saw Tyler strumming on my old guitar. Smiling I walked over to him and sat beside him as I recognized the song to be an old favorite of mine.

"Girl, you're my angel, you're my darlin' angel, closer than my peeps you are to me, baby," I started singing along with Tyler as I stayed sitting beside him, shocking him out of the world of his own that he hid away in within the music.

A smile lit up his face as we continued to sing along to him strumming on my old guitar as the Pack began to dance in the square. As we finished the song he instantly morphed into the acoustic version of Halo by Beyonce and with one look in my direction I knew he wanted me to sing it.

"Remember those walls I built, well, baby they tumblin' down. They didn't even put up a fight, they didn't even make a sound." I sang as my Pack let out a cheer as Tyler and I stared into each others eyes as he continued to play.

I smiled as my brothers took up playing the song on their own guitars to where I could pull Tyler up from the side of the fountain. Smiling at me Tyler spun me around as I continued to sing along to my brothers playing and a few wolves clapping out the beat in time. Careful of my injuries Tyler danced me around the square as my brother's morphed from song to song.

In the back of my mind I heard my brothers singing Hey Soul Sister by Train but all I saw was Tyler's sapphire eyes staring into mine as we continued to dance around the square mixing in with my Pack. Our Pack. I heard cheers go up as Tyler lifted my chin and gently melded his lips to mine as my brother's continued to sing.

The world melted away as Tyler gently pressed me against him and I slipped my good arm up around his neck and buried my hand in his soft black hair as our kiss deepened. I never wanted to come up for air, but as we barely pulled back to catch our breath I heard the howls of joy filling the air and I knew what they were rejoicing.

Their Alpha had found her mate and they were going to let the world know it. With a smile dancing on my lips I pulled Tyler back to me and buried myself in his kiss again.