The Unknown Alchemist

Chapter 11 - We are his family

Hayden stood by the living room window of Ember Place staring out at the darkness and flickering lights of the city of Corinth. His golden-skinned mate stepped up silently and slipped a delicate arm around his waist. She rested her head on his shoulder, her dark brown hair falling down his back. She tried to pull some stress from him down their mating bond but he was too wracked with guilt to be free of it.

"Had it been anyone else, Roedin would have found him months ago," Hayden barked. "He's been out there this whole time."

Sari stroked her hand through his clean-cut blond hair. "We didn't know, Hayden. It's not our fault. We looked. Everywhere."

Sari tried to console him but they both knew it was for show. They felt responsible. Their brother had been injured, suffering, and they hadn't been there for him. During the battle Hayden had seen Roedin attack the aerial soldiers and knew he was weakening. They all were. Hayden should never have ordered him to take on that legion on his own.

After months of searching, the pack had begun to accept the worst. Of course, there was always hope, but with no sign, no clues, no hints, and with no Whisperer to reach out into the dark places of the world, they had to continue with other matters. He was wrenched from his thoughts as his sister Adelyn stormed in.

Her long blonde hair was wild and loose and her normally soft green eyes were steely as she took in the room: Hayden and Sari standing by the window, their daughter Niamh seated on the couch with her face in her hands, and Arctos's massive form leaning on his knees and staring into the empty fireplace.   

"What the hell happened?"

They all looked up at her, each processing their own thoughts, each waiting for the other to speak.

"His wing, did you see it? It was ruined," Arctos mumbled as he continued to gaze into space.

He ran his fingers through his short-cropped brown hair and dragged them down his face through his beard. In this moment he was not the intimidating bear-like captain of the city guard, he looked more like a cub who had lost his parents.

Niamh put her hand on his knee in reassurance. "We sent for a vet right away, a wing specialist. The vet will work with the surgeon and to save the wing."

Adelyn stomped in impatience with the lack of information. "And the human? There was a girl with him? What of her?"

Niamh pinched her lips and shrugged like she couldn't care less about what happened to the human.

Hayden inhaled deeply to stay calm and not snap at his sister. "We don't know anything, Adelyn. They're both unconscious and in rough shape."

"Should we send for a human healer? I think they're called shamans?" Sari looked between her husband and his sister for confirmation. None of them had experience working with human healers.

"For what? So a human shaman can lead us all in prayer to the earth-gods?" Niamh spat in disgust.

No one corrected her. They had no idea what a human shaman might do to help. Adelyn shifted on her feet, uncomfortably aware that as alpha primes they were supposed to have equal knowledge of all the species in their territory.

"Where would we even find one?" Adelyn asked. "Humans haven't been seen in the territory in centuries."

"I thought they were fighting," Arctos interrupted as he stood and walked to the unlit fireplace. "It looked like they were struggling against each other. And then she took that stick and raised it in the air. I knocked her away. Hard."

He crossed his arms on his chest like he was trying to hold the guilt inside. "But I think she was protecting him. I think she was aiming for the Mnoptera. I didn't know."