White Stag

Chapter 9~Healing

The rest of the day passes in a blur. I don't remember anything that happened after Apollo left. I glance down at Axel's shirt, which is stained with my tears. I can't believe that Apollo has been lying to me this whole time.

Axel takes my hand in his and leads me into his bedroom. I sit on his bed and watch him retreat into the bathroom. I close my eyes. Why do things never go my way? I can't afford to break any further.

When I feel a tug on my hair, I open my eyes. Axel is standing in front of me with a hairbrush in his hand. He raises an eyebrow. "May I?"

Not in the mood to reply, I nod. The mattress dips as Axel sits behind me. He brings the hairbrush up and down, gently untangling the knots in my white hair. I sigh. The soothing feeling of my hair being brushed reminds me of my mother.

Axel murmurs into my hair. "I used to do my mother's hair for her."

I sniffle. "Was your mother a White Stag as well?"

Axel nods. He pulls my hair back behind me and his slender fingers begin braiding my thick hair into a Dutch braid.

"How old are you, Axel?" I ask.

Axel ties off the braid and flips the end of it to my front. He hesitates. "Why do you want to know?" I shrug. He stalls for a few seconds longer before sighing. "216 years old. And, before you say anything, werewolves live longer than humans. It's normal." Axel studies my face to see my reaction.

I turn around on the bed and cross my legs. Folding my hands in my lap, I look at him.

"How long will I live?" I whisper.

Axel takes my hands in his and asks, "What do you mean?" His eyes shift from our hands to my eyes. My entire body heats up under his gaze.

"I have..." my voice catches in my throat. "I mean..." I shake my head. I need to tell him. It might change everything.

Axel waits patiently. I swallow and clench my fists. "It's brain cancer. I have brain cancer."

I look down and pretend to study our entwined hands. I patiently wait for him to reply.

"My mother died from brain cancer," Axel croaks out. He tears his hand from my grip. My eyes widen. Oh my god...

Axel shuffles to the end of the bed and swings his legs over the side. "Even though she was the White Stag, she wasn't able to heal herself." I freeze. This is the most I've ever heard him talk about his family.

"I'm sure she's in a better place." I approach him and place a hand on his shoulder. Axel runs his hands through his hair.

"She was always selfless. She sacrificed so much for us. But in the end, it took a toll on her. The tumor grew too fast."

"What about treatment?" I ask gently. "She could have gotten radiation therapy or chemo."

"That's just it. Brain cancer was created by Eden. He wanted to end the White Stag line as fast as possible, but his powers with reality limited him. So, he cursed the line with a form of sickness that couldn't be cured." Axel looks over his shoulder at me. "Arabella, no treatment can cure your brain cancer. Either you find Eden and reverse the curse, or you die."

My voice gets trapped in my throat. No. I won't break down. I've cried to much today already. Besides, this is life or death. In order to survive, I must find Eden and get him to reverse the curse. I clear my throat and stand. "So, where do we start?"

Axel looks up at me with confusion in his eyes. "Start with what?"

I sniff and put my hands on my hips. "Before that asshole, Apollo, broke in, you said that you could teach me how to heal. I want to learn. Now."

Axel stands up. "Are you sure you're mentally stable to do this? These past few days have been very upsetting for you."

"I just want to go home as soon as possible," I lie. Axel nods slowly, clearly seeing right through me.

"Fine. Let's go to the training room." Axel leads me out of his bedroom and down a hallway..

Screw training room, it's more like a training hall. The entire floor was covered in training mats. There are training dummies in the corners and kicking paddles hanging neatly on the wall. One entire side of the room is plastered with mirrors. Since the house is on a slant, the opposite wall has full windows. The sky outside is darkening and bright lights on the high ceiling light the room.

"You call this a room?" I cover my mouth as I let out a small laugh. Axel smirks.

"If you keep laughing like that, I might just have to take you here and now." I roll my eyes at him. I feel better already. Moping around wasn't really my style.

Axel walks over to a cabinet on the wall and takes out a small silver knife. "We can start with healing, like you wanted, but you will also need to learn defense and attack skills if you're going to face Eden and the Leviathans."

The Leviathans, excluding Apollo, but Axel doesn't need to know that. I nod. "So, what's first?"

Axel sits on the ground with his legs crossed. He folds his palms up. "I want you to sit like this. You need to connect with Odin and tell him you intend to heal someone."

I shoot Axel a weird look. "But no one is hurt," I remind him.

Axel gestures to the knife. "That's what this is for." My mouth falls open.

"You can't harm yourself just so I can heal you!" Axel nodded.

"I trust you. Plus, no one else is hurt," he points out. I wearily nod my head.

Sitting on the ground, I copy Axel. I put my palms up and hesitantly close my eyes. In seconds, I feel a warm breath brush the crook of my neck. Odin's presence is strong. I use my mind to speak to him. Odin, I intend to heal someone. Grant me your power.

Odin bows in front of me, his head lowers and his nose touches my forehead.. My eyes shoot open and I see Axel sitting in front of me. A bright light is glowing in the room. My antlers, which surprisingly had grown a little, are emitting the white light.

Axel gives me a thumbs up and turns away from me. He grabs the knife and with a grunt, he slices it across his open palm. He clenches his hand into a fist and warm blood seeps out and onto the mats.

He gestures to me. "Come. Hold the injury and imagine it healing." Axel winces as he looks at his hand.

Without hesitation, I rush forward and grab his hand tightly.

"Not that hard!" Axel growls.

"Sorry."

I open his hand and see that the knife had cut to the bone. Holy shit.

Shutting my eyes, I picture a perfect hand in front of me. I open my eyes and Axel is staring at me dumbfounded. "You have to imagine it healing in detail," he instructs me. Frustration bubbles up in my chest.

I close my eyes and picture the muscle cells multiplying and mending together.. Tissue engulfs the muscle to protect it from further damage. Then skin wraps around the wound, tightens it, and closes it off.

I open my eyes and find Axel looking at me softly. "Thanks, Arabella. You're going to be a great healer." Axel points at my hands. "Look."

I glance down. My hands are glowing with a white-hot light, but they feel normal to touch. I can't help the grin that spreads on my face.

I'm coming for you, Eden.