24
“Dead, the second her heart ceased to beat. My dad will be in chaos on the mountain too as he just lost his second in command. Her death wasn’t for nothing but…. I would rather her here with us, than my father losing some control. Ask the Shaman to mention them both, but only honor Tawna. This is for her, not them.” Colton’s eyes are filled with unshed tears once more and I can only bite on my lip and agree with a nod, again crying softly despite the overwhelming empty and numb coursing through my veins. All of this just feels so overwhelmingly awful that my brain can’t process sit at all. There’s a dark heaviness taking over me that I know is sadness and I can barely breathe. I can’t imagine how carmen feels right now.
“Stay safe, don’t be long.” I add in haste, one last glimpse of his disheveled face and take off after Meadow with my two guards in tow, making light of the distance in hyper speed. I try and focus on doing rather than feeling and aim to catch up.
I won’t be. I’ll follow once this done. Stay safe, Baby. Knowing your home will make me feel better about being here. Colton’s voice follows me and in such a short time I manage to catch up to Meadow running with Carmen, although not at full speed as Carmen seems to be struggling to pull herself together. I slow as I get to them and pull up on the free side of Carmen’s sagging posture, pulling her arm into mine and holding her up a little. Her body is icy cold, giving off a wave of devastation around her and she doesn’t even flinch at my touch.
She’s sobbing, staring blankly ahead as her feet stumble over debris she isn’t trying to avoid, and Meadow is struggling to keep her on her feet, casting a glance at me that says ‘she’s a mess’. Overwhelming empathy runs over me, both from her and my own internal emotion piping up at the sorrowful state of Carmen. I wish she didn’t see what she saw and I don’t blame Colton for tackling her and holding her tight. No one needs to see someone they love end that way and it will forever haunt her. Knowing her mom’s last moments were in terror and agony and untold suffering before she took her last breath.
What are we going to do with her when we get her home? Meadow breaks into my thoughts in a private link and I try and sort my own emotions from the two invading next to me. Carmen’s despair is so strong I’m finding it hard to keep my own logic and mind straight.
Take her to the med bay, maybe Doc Maigo can give her something to relax her and make her calm down, I don’t know. The homestead looms into sight and the rustle behind us of the following guards alerts me that they are still close and keeping watch over us. I turn and glimpse over my shoulder as I feel the physical change in the air of us crossing the frequency boundaries and the static sizzle of safety that means we no longer need assistance. We’re safe.
“Go back and help. We don’t need you now. More hands make swifter work. Sun isn’t up yet and there are dangers for our pack out there.” I order and get two unquestioned nods as both males turn and take off back towards my mate and my people in a gust of breeze as they hyper speed away.
Meadow gets tired of dragging Carmen and stops to hoist her over her shoulder in an unresisted maneuver and frees our clumsy deadweight. She takes off in front of me at speed and I follow, running and skipping through the last half mile of forest floor and fallen trees until we end up on the illuminated gravel drive. More wolves are out here, some of the less capable sentinel guards which were left behind, so the house was not completely unprotected, and some from the village have ventured out to find out what’s going on. Mostly concerned males worried their families are in danger because news spread fats that most of the capable had spread into the woods to chase Tawna.
“Everything is okay…. Go back to your homes and we will call a meeting for the whole village before noon. To explain. The pack will be home shortly and there’s no need to worry about them, sun’s coming, and all is quiet now.” I announce as loudly as I can before following Meadow indoors and we head straight for the sick room. I know those who heard me will pass the message on and I hope it brings some calm back to those left behind.
We have twenty-four seven staff in our medical bay because we never know when we may need it so I am relieved to see the Doctor and a nurse coming to Meadow’s aid. Since moving here to damper air, the children have been getting sick sometimes, and with playful fearless wolf cubs, they injure themselves frequently.
Carmen has stopped fighting at all, in any kind of way and seems to have ceased responding emotionally. Silent, numb, and staring at nothing as she’s manhandled like a wet rag and does nothing to stop us. It’s like her mind has left the building and all that’s left is a broken empty shell of shock and I wonder if life finally played that last hand at her that snapped what was left of her mental strength.
I walk behind Meadow; Carmen’s body is limp, her face partially concealed by her masses of blonde hair but there’s a heavy ambience of surreal calm because she is so motionless. Her sobbing has stopped and it’s like all her energy is gone. She’s defeated and broken and despite our past I have never felt so much sorrow and pain for anyone as I do in this moment. Maybe it’s because I know what it’s like to lose your parents in one fell swoop, your whole family, when they were all you have. Maybe it’s because I too witnessed the horrifying death by vampire of my home family of rejects and still live with the memory of their blood and bodies scattered across the ground, much like we found Tawna. Either way, my heart pangs for the girl before me and I internally cry for her pain.
Vampires are ruthless and brutal killers. They leave mess and chaos and rip their victims to shreds when the frenzy to feed takes them. In the case of wolves, they can’t drink too much of our blood or it kills them, and it somehow makes the murder more violent. They tend to leave nothing but remains spread across the countryside when they battle our kind. An act of violence purely because they hate our kind.
“Luna Alora, it’s my pleasure. How may I assist.” The doctor gracefully moves towards Meadow who is rolling Carmen from her shoulder onto the bed and flops her back against cushions. Carmen has no fight in her, her skin ashen and her eyes are red rimmed yet lifeless as she continues to silently gaze into the air. Her mind somewhere far away. Tears roll down her pale cheeks sorrowfully as the warm voice smooths over her, showing a hint of acknowledgement she hears her, but she stares at the ceiling regardless. I gesture the doctor aside and pull her close with a hushes tone.
“Her mother was killed in the forest by vampires tonight…. she saw the remains….. it was traumatizing. Both her parents are now dead. She needs emotional help to get through the shock and despair tonight until this sinks in and she’s more able to process what’s happened.” My voice trembles as I push the memory aside and focus on the task at hand.
“I’ll sedate her for now. Let her sleep, as it might be the last she gets for some time when she wakes up. I’m so sorry.” The doctor is one of our gentler femmes, with compassion and a big heart. She trained with humans in a medical university and learned a lot about mental health and ways to deal with human reactions to certain things. Death to wolves is not as normal as humans, so our grieving can be completely horrific when we do lose someone we love. I guess that’s the downside to being almost unkillable and having long life spans.
