Connor looked at the silver-haired woman who was staring at him, unfazed. Apart from her eyes twinkling with curiosity, the old healer didn't seem affected by the situation. The calm she spoke with was the only reason the WIA agent hadn't yet burst out laughing. There was no way what this stranger had just told him was true. There was no way though, how did she know his grandmother's name?
The man didn't know how to answer or what to do. His eyes turned to Glen and Eden who had relaxed a little. His friend's gaze was locked on him and it was as if the alpha was seeing him for the first time. This look hurt him and he looked away. Fists clenched, he opened his mouth but the healer cut him off.
"First of all, how about stepping out of the hall? Come with me. I'll tell you what I know and I'll explain what are your choices from now on. "
Reluctantly, Connor started walking and followed the trio formed by the healer, Glen, and Eden. Striding silently next to him, Greg still hadn't taken his hand off his shoulder. As he realized he hadn't been groomed yet, his shoulder stung and he winced, which caught Greg's attention. The man moved closer to him and paused, forcing him to stop too.
"You were supposed to heal him. As important as this discussion is, I doubt it can't wait. He needs to be treated."
"Don't worry. We're going to my study. I have everything to take the strain off your partner, so relax. I know what I'm doing. " She observed Greg who looked frustrated and guessed that the man was fighting the urge to dump everything and bring his lover to the first hospital for a thorough examination. A smile tried to creep on her lips but she fought it and maintained the passivity of her face.
They walked to a door at the back of the house. The healer opened the door to a werewolf who gave a slight bow to her. He had a flask in his hand and several ingredients were gathered on the table where he was installed.
"Cliff, I'm going to use the room. Can you leave us alone and ask the others not to come here for an hour or two, please? If you need books or ingredients for your potions and poultices, take them all with you now. "
The beige and brown furry werewolf once more politely nodded in approval and swiveled to do the same with the group of humans and werewolves behind his master but he froze in place. His eyes widened as they landed on Eden and Glen.
"You… you…" His mouth opened and closed as if he didn't know what to say. His eyes that were already wide almost popped out of their sockets when he saw Connor.
"Holy crap! Elder, he has an aura! A human-shaped aura. How is that possible? Could it be that he is a… "
The werewolf's demeanor had changed from calm to extreme agitation and the healer who had never seen him come out of his calm temper scolded him.
"Cliff, I know that it's a shock and you probably have a lot of questions but what you're doing right now is extremely rude."
The werewolf who had his clawed finger pointed at the agent froze. He immediately lowered his arm before bowing. It was as if another person had just taken possession of his body because the gap between the two behaviors was so extreme.
He gathered his things as quickly as possible, arranged the ingredients that were methodically scattered on the table, then pulled out two thick grimoires from a bookcase whose loaded shelves threatened to give way. Hugging the grimoires to the fur of his chest, he stopped in the doorway and turned to Glen and Eden.
"I-It's an honor to meet you." The man bowed ninety degrees before getting up and out of the room, not without a last sidelong glance at the increasingly lost agent.
"I apologize for my student's behavior. Cliff is the most gifted of all and the oldest. So he can already detect auras without going into meditation. He has already reached the stage where he can maintain a maximum state of concentration even while doing something else.
He's an enthusiastic learner who normally doesn't get emotional, but I guess having the four of you here in front of him was a shock he wasn't prepared for. "
As she spoke, the Elder's hands were busy rummaging around. She took out several jars and vials from the shelves. She popped the cork of a vial and brought it up to her nose, and a satisfied smile raised the corners of her lips. She turned to Connor and the others who were still standing by the door and waved to them.
"Come in, come in! Don't stay there like that. "
They walked into the room and Connor obeyed the woman waving him over to the bed in the corner next to the desk.
The place looked like a doctor's office. That of a doctor whose immeasurable knowledge was painstakingly recorded in books on the library shelves that circled the room. From floor to ceiling, all the walls were covered with books, giving the place an atmosphere that was both mysterious and calming. Two large windows let the dim light of a winter morning into the room.
The Elder patted the surface of the sheet stretched across the bed. Connor stepped forward and sat up. Silence had settled in the room and no one dared to break it for fear of asking a question that would once again put everyone's feelings on the edge.
The healer told the man to undress and Greg walked over to help his lover shed his layers of clothing. Connor's face took on a pinkish tinge as he pulled his shirt off to give free access to his shoulder and exposed the bite marks and hickeys the doctor had left on him the night before.
If the Elder was thinking anything of the obvious ardor with which the two men had indulged in their nocturnal activities, she didn't let it show on her face.
She poured the contents of the vial onto a compress and put on another strip of the grid fabric before approaching the slightly swollen shoulder. With her palm, she pressed everything against the bulge, then closed her eyes to focus. Greg looked at her, puzzled. The man increasingly doubted his choice not to go with Connor to the closest clinic for treatment. After a few minutes, the silver-haired werewolf opened her eyes.
"Perfect! It took a little longer, considering it's the first time I've treated a human but it's over. From tomorrow this injury will be just a bad memory. "
Incredulous, the doctor eyed her suspiciously. For him, the werewolf had done nothing at all. Still, Connor gently lifted and lowered his shoulder in astonishment.
"I-I don't feel anything anymore. What have you done? "
"The mixture between the compresses is a powerful anti-inflammatory. As for what I have done with my hands, it's called affixing. I have attached spiritual energy to the remedy so that it enters your body and speeds up the healing process. Leave the compress until the product is fully absorbed and from tomorrow it will be as if you have never been injured. "
Greg had his mouth open and stared, dumbfounded, at the healer, who grabbed a clean cloth to wipe the ointment off her fingers. The silver-haired woman sat at her desk and motioned for the two werewolves to take their places in front of her. Greg stayed next to Connor who was sitting on the bed.
"Okay, now we're done with the treatment. Let's get to the heart of the matter. Sir… " She turned to Connor who understood that she was asking his name.
"Everett. Connor Everett. "
"Oh? She, therefore, kept her name. I thought she would change it… I'll call you Connor if you don't mind. "
The agent simply nodded and the healer continued.
"I met your grandmother while she was on the run with Noam Bradford. A civilian human she had met and fallen head over heels in love with. The fact that your grandfather was a civilian, in other words, a human without any power, was the reason for her flight.
The Blue Moon clan is a very old wizarding clan that imposes an important rule. To maintain their Skinwalker power, the leader and his descendants must always wed with a wizard or a witch. It's because the chef has the responsibility for renewing the Moon Goddess's blessing on the clan, so they can maintain their form-shifting ability. A union with a human would have weakened the lineage. At least that's what they thought.
If Autumn had remained in her clan she would have been forced to give up her great love and the child she was bearing would have been rejected.
On this point, I'm both surprised and happy to find out that your clan was wrong, because your aura, Connor, is even stronger than that of your grandmother.
It makes me believe that the powers of the leader of your clan are not based on the lineage as they thought but on something else. " She stroked his chin, her eyes sparkling with curiosity again.
Connor listened intently to what the werewolf had just told him. He who believed he was a normal human, a civilian, was actually the heir to a powerful tribe of wizards. The very one that ended the Big Bloodshed twenty years ago. He felt his head spun and Greg wrapped an arm around his shoulders and brought him closer to his chest.
The protective gesture of his lover was like a hand preventing him from drowning in the flood of emotions that overwhelmed him.
"I will answer any questions you have from now on, but there is something I must say or rather a warning that I must give you."
She turned to Greg and looked into his eyes.. "If the Blue Moon Clan finds out that the chief's lineage has survived and they learn that their descendant's partner is a male and a civilian, they might kill you. "