The Healer

Chapter 2

The drive took close to two days. Flying was out of the question since only two shifters at a time were allowed on commercial airplanes. Humans didn't feel comfortable with any more than that. The shifter rights brigade was trying to change that, but for now, the only choice was to drive. Several times along the way Marcus came close to dying. The stops they had to make extended the journey by a day, but at last they had arrived. 

When they crossed into Illyria's borders, Emma had to contain her gasp. She had felt his presence strongly at nine, but now, ten years later it was so strong she couldn't breathe. Darius was coming towards her and at a rapid rate. She had to hide. 

"Forgive me," she said, jumping out of the van. "I have to go for a run. Marcus is stable but he should be taken straight to bed. I'll only run for an hour then come check to make sure the room is set up the way I requested."' 

They nodded, assuming that like them, the healer needed to stretch her legs. After how hard she had worked to keep their Beta alive, they smiled and nodded as she took off at a run. Emma barely made it out of the driveway before Darius appeared. 

Darius ran up to his men, a huge smile on his face. He looked each one up and down. 

"I thought I'd never see you four again," he said, giving each of the men a hug. 

"You almost didn't," Marcus said." You have Emma to thank for bringing our sorry selves back home." 

"Emma?" Darius said with a frown. He felt tense all of a sudden as if he needed to go run in the woods. 

"The healer of the pack that saved us. She travelled with us to make sure I arrived in one piece," Marcus said with a wry grin. "I lost consciousness a few times on the road. She kept bringing me back." 

"Where is she?" Darius said, tugging at his collar. He didn't understand why he felt so anxious. 

"Running. You'll meet her at dinner. Darius, I have news and I need to deliver it before I black out again," Marcus said. 

"Of course," Darius replied, trying to clear his head. That should have been the first thing he asked about. 

He helped Marcus limp into the main house where his office was. After promising everyone that they would get their chance to welcome back their pack members, Darius and Marcus were finally left alone. 

"How bad is it?" Darius asked. 

"Worse than we expected. I have it on good authority that the Montrose pack has joined with the Delaney. By themselves they were a nightmare, but together...They've also made fourteen Alpha's step down and replaced them with their own people. So really, you could say that they have a sixteen pack alliance to our twelve. They're planning a strike on Illyria Darius. You're the Alpha next on the list. I don't think they were trying to kill all of us on the recon mission. Just me. My death should have been a warning." 

"Yet here you stand," Darius said quietly. 

"Here I stand," Marcus grinned. "No one expected a quiet ninth level healer to be thrown into the mix." 

"Ninth level? I didn't think there were any left," Darius said in surprise. 

"I think her pack was trying to keep her a secret. She did us a great favor by coming here and I'm sorry to say it probably means she's about to become in demand." 

"How big is her pack?" Darius asked. 

"Small. Alpha Heather. She's still running it but she's getting old. Only about fifty members. It seemed like..." 

"Like?" Darius asked curiously. 

"Like a pack of people who want to stay out of the way. Who want to stay hidden. You should have seen their compound. It's in the middle of nowhere. It was fate that brought us to Emma."