Ring of Storms [1]

40.

Aryn

A face as pale as first winter's snow with a crown of brown locks atop a head that retained features framed with the quintessence of youthfulness. Delicate, elongated fingers lay still beside a lithe frame clad in white, a paradox to the havoc that they were capable of with just a pull of a mechanism that was sure to fire its ammunition straight into the heart of an unsuspecting victim. Childhood memories stolen, small palms trained for murder, gentle minds filled with hate, cherub frames transformed into hardened disparaging structures and credulity swapped for ruthlessness.

Pup warriors, they were. Broken wolves, they died.

"What's the situation report?" I asked gruffly, my gaze still fixated on the child's every move as he lay asleep on the bed.

"The healers were able to restore his state of being to a satisfactory level, however, the muscles on his left leg will take more time to heal," The pack doctor, Zuri Keita, replied as she busied herself with setting his intravenous drip.

It was expected that his healing process would take long, I had been vicious in my attack and blinded by the need to avenge Star that I hadn't noticed that he was just a child in spite of the obvious signals that had been reflected from his mannerism.

Now did I regret my actions? No.

I would do the exact same thing repeatedly for had the guns' mechanism not jammed, he wouldn't have hesitated in shooting me down. He was driven by orders and I was driven by instinct. However, I couldn't deny the fact that he was merely a pup inculcated into the doctrines of a ruthless pack that entrapped young minds and undoubtedly punished insubordination, severely, and for this I was willing to grant him a chance. Something he had never been given.

"You don't need to worry too much Alpha," Zuri's melodious voice brought my attention back to the makeshift medical tent and I caught a glimpse of her warm smile from my peripheral vision. "He'll be alright because he's got a fighting spirit," she added, bending to brush the child's curly locks away from his eyes. I caught the slight twitch of his eyelids at the unexpected contact and I was convinced that the boy had awoken.

"Of course, he's been through much worse," I mused, and she nodded, rising to her feet. "Now do get up young'un, I haven't all day," I drawled, addressing the pretentious child who was very content with prolonging his unconscious act.

Zuri furrowed her forehead at me in confusion and I titled my head towards the child's now folded palms. He gripped the bedsheets, tightly, in a firm hold and I could sense the anxiety waft off him in powerful waves.

"Don't be alarmed, young one. You're safe here," Zuri cooed, prying his tightly knotted knuckles open but sensing her touch, the child shot up from the bed abruptly and scurried off to the edge with a fear-stricken expression, only wincing slightly from the strain on his injured, bandaged leg.

"Y-y-you stay far. D-d-don't come close," he stuttered, his golden orbs darting around the room in haphazard patterns. Once he noticed me, his face paled and he trembled violently as if plagued by a sudden cold.

I wasn't sure what to expect once the child awakened but I could never have been prepared for his current behavior. No doubt, he viewed me as a ferocious killer and I couldn't blame him much, I was the reason he was in an injured state, after all.

"We won't hurt you, I promise," Zuri attempted to calm him down with a slow raise of her hands and a warm smile. "No weapons see," she turned her lab coat pockets inside out and raised her flare jeans to bare her socks and with one look towards me she communicated her need for me to follow suit. I sighed slowly and mirrored her actions, but I was certain even that wouldn't pacify him.