Chapter 102

102 Chapter One Hundred Two

News of the events of the night spread through the ranks of the hunters, stunning those that had been sceptical about the prediction that had been made earlier that day. The news never got to the Founder’s festival, however, and everyone there was allowed to enjoy a good time as though nothing had happened. The sound of thunderclaps might have proven to be ominous and misplaced, but in a place where fun was the aim, anyone would think it was another parlour trick.

The Chase hunters had warned of a great danger that had even required the presence of one of the Mighty Hunters, but the man had arrived at the end of the attack, thankfully just in time to get Katie to the infirmary. “Come on, Marie, we have to keep going. We’ll get there soon enough if we don’t keep stopping for breaks,” Tom called out to his wife, urging her to pick herself up and keep moving.

The two had tried to give Chase when Katie had vanished from the cabin but found that they couldn’t access their Prometheus gifts at all. As a result, everything happened without them getting a chance to help. Thinking wisely about the situation, they knew they would only be dead weight if they went to the battle anyway. As a result, they’d then taken the next course of action and that was to go to the Hunter’s Agency.

“Why, Tom? Why didn’t our powers return to us?” the woman asked between breaths. They’d tried to chase after the girl, but hadn’t been able to do anything without their Prometheus gifts, “Katie was in danger and that’s when our powers were set to activate. Why didn’t they?”

“We told the Royals that they would get their daughter back once she was whole. My guess is that our contract with the goddess ended the moment our little girl shifted into her wolf form,” he explained, trying to make sense of everything. They’d been present for all the conference calls that the director had made, but hadn’t been able to do a single thing to help the girl they raised.

“What happened to our daughter, Tom?” she asked.

“I’ve been trying to call, but no one will answer me,” the man answered. They both knew where to go. The power of Chase intuition. They both knew where to go... they knew where to find their daughter and that’s where they were headed, “You might want to hold out on calling her our daughter. We both knew the day would come when she would have to be returned to her biological parents, painful as it may be...”

...................

Cole was the first to make it to the Hunter’s Agency once the information was out. He hadn’t wasted time when he was told of her situation. “Hey, you need a hunter to...”

.....

“Out of my way, Marcel. Which way to the infirmary? You must know the reason why I am asking that question. Do not make me repeat myself,” Cole yelled at the hunter that guarded the gate, pouring every ounce of his commanding tone into his voice. At the back of his mind, he even wondered why the man had stayed behind when a battle had raged on in the forest.

Seeing the mixture of rage and despair in the royal’s face, the man gave up, “Follow me...” Debating his options, Cole tried to reason whether to follow his nose or to follow the man. There was the possibility that he would spend more time hunting the infirmary if he followed her scent, but if he followed the man, he was bound to find exactly where it was that they had taken her.

Falling behind the man, he allowed him to lead the way to the infirmary. Walking through the halls of the snow-white building only helped to increase the anxiety that plagued the alpha’s mind. ‘Please be okay,’ he sent his thoughts through the mind link. There was no reply, but he didn’t feel her losing her grip on life either. A feeling he knew too well from the death of Ash.

“The infirmary is right around the corner,” Marcel said once they were on the third floor, noticing the alpha’s anticipation.

“Thank you,” Cole said, barely sparing him a glance and dashing down the hall in pursuit of his mate’s scent. He held back his urge to cringe as wolfsbane tainted the air. His heart went into overdrive as he realised he had reached the door to the room that she was in. Cole burst through the door, his wolf snapping forward and taking control of his actions.

A thunderclap found him pinned to the wall by a bulky man whose aura only made the wolf retreat to the back of his mind, “Who might you be? Oh, you’re a Royal...”

“Yes, I am. Unhand me this instant,” the Royal yelled at the man, clearly skipping the fact that he was completely outmatched.

“First calm yourself. I could hear your ragged breathing before you even stepped into the building. I don’t know anything that’s going on. I was called here by the Chase family and arrived when this girl had been shot by four arrows and barely hanging on to her life. I have sworn to protect this girl from harm and do not know what form it might take. Identify yourself before I take it upon myself to silence you,” he spoke, his voice clear as a bell to avoid mincing words.

“My name is Cole Lycaon and that is my mate,” Cole spoke, “Is that good enough for you?”

“As I said, I don’t know much. I do recognise you now, but I am wondering what you are doing so far from the Lycaon capital,” he commented, letting the wolf down. The man ran a hand through his hair in frustration, “I should have come sooner.”

“So you’re the Mighty Thunderclap?”

“In the flesh... This is the first time that I am making it too late to a fight. I can tell this girl was of so much importance. Which is why she was targeted, but...”

“I haven’t seen her yet,” Cole rushed from the hunter. The Thunderclap kept his eyes off the curtain that obscured the girl from view. Cole was in such a hurry that he saw no use in trying to stop him from going to her. It would have only made everything harder.

Cole ripped the piece of fabric out of his way, falling into a deep silence upon seeing Katie. Needles stuck out from her hand, delivering blood into her body and taking out blood from the other. This was what was done when there was the need to reduce wolfsbane from a werewolf’s system. A werewolf could heal from certain doses of wolfsbane, but when it was in excess, a procedure like this was necessary.

Her breath came out in short spurts even after being aided by the system she was hooked up to. The once energetic Rogue Killer looked reduced and on the brink of death in the bed before him. The memories of their parting moment were still fresh in his mind. She hadn’t left him with any doubts and yet here she lay, “What happened?”

“She wouldn’t stop convulsing. The doctors figured it was supposed to be because of the wolfsbane, so they did this to try and reduce the wolfsbane from her system and have her heal on her own once that’s done,” the man explained.

“How long until she gets back to her former shape,” Cole asked clenching his fists in frustration. There was nothing that he could have done to stop this... He knew that much and it hurt him to his very core...

“They said it depends on how well she can heal. After the wounds close up, she’ll be able to walk like normal, but she won’t be able to strain herself for a while,” he said to him.

“How long...”

“I’m afraid I don’t have that information. I would advise you don’t push her to do anything tasking for a couple of months,” the man said to him.

..................

The sound of sirens filled the air as the two parents reached the Hunter’s Agency, the first thought coming to their mind being their daughter. “Hey, what happened here?” Marie asked a nearby hunter.

“When the rogues that had surrendered were being readied for Prometheus evaluations, something happened that caused them to pull out of submission. It wasn’t pretty. They acted like rabid dogs. The hunters killed them, but a number of them were severely injured. Those that had lowered their guards found themselves with fatal injuries. The ambulances at the agency weren’t enough and we don’t even know if they’ll make it,” the man said, rushing off to help the injured.

The two ran pushed through the people to make it to the inside of the infirmary in search of one person... Katie. They found Cole waiting outside the door to the infirmary holding his head in his hands. “Where is she?” a booming voice echoed through the halls. The voice was distinct to the head of the Sirius family.

“You don’t have to yell, sir,” one of the nurses tried to caution the man. The infirmary was busy with everyone milling about to tend to the injured.

“Don’t tell me what to do... My daughter is in here somewhere and I need to see her immediately,” the man screamed while following the scent he’d managed to track. One thing he knew to guide him was the scent of blood and wolfsbane.

Marie waved the man over calming his rampage immediately. He was immediately followed by Martha and Lina who was dressed in a hunter’s leather jacket. To be more specific, she was dressed in the leather jackets that were granted to the Mighty Hunters. ‘What in the... I won’t ask...’ the woman shook the thoughts and led the Royals into the room Cole sat outside of.

The family went silent when they got inside the room. The doctors and nurses stood aside and let them be, partly because of the fear of who they were and the sympathy for the state they were in. King Davin stepped forward with every intention of making it to his daughter, his fist clenched in anger. “This is not how we were supposed to be reunited,” the man spoke through gritted teeth.

Martha wanted to calm her husband’s rage, but she struggled to keep her composure as well. Watching her child lying in the bed with bandages binding her shoulders and thighs. Fragments of the arrows that had been lodged into her flesh lay bloodied in a crucible, the blood was stained purple with wolfsbane.

Just then, the girl began convulsing, the machine increasing the number of beeps. Doctors came into the room in a hurry, “I’d like to ask you all to step out please. She’s going into shock... Come on, Katie. I know you are stronger than this...” from the tone the doctor used, they could tell he knew her. The three could only watch and listen to what was going on in the emergency room, tension filling them while they prayed for the girl to get better. However, things weren’t looking so good and Davin knew it...

Using his sensitive ears to check the hearts of the doctors, he could tell that they were terrified and running out of options. Katie was teetering into the afterlife without ever getting a chance to know her family...