The heart monitor had flatlined, its periodic beep replaced by the steady tone of death. Smokey stared at the human, watching and waiting for a sign he’d gotten to the man in time.
Mac glanced over at Ian who shook his head in answer to Mac’s unspoken question. Looking once again at the lifeless man, Mac knew they had failed to save him. Frustrated with himself, he turned away and gathered up the bloody mounds of gauze, angrily throwing them into the waste bin before shedding his blood-spattered scrubs and tossing them at the laundry bin. Stopping next to Ian, he gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder before leaving the room. He knew exactly how Ian was feeling; he felt the same way.
Glancing over at his mate, Ian murmured, “I’ll go tell Jackson…are you okay cleaning up?”
“I’m fine,” Colton replied, removing the IV line from the man’s hand. “Let me know what he wants to do with the body.”
“Okay,” Ian muttered, heading for the operating room door with a heavy heart. He hated losing a patient and always felt it was somehow his fault for not doing more. He hadn’t lost many, but this time he’d realized how little he knew of human frailty. Relying on the accelerated healing properties that shifters possessed, he realized he’d subconsciously counted on it with the human. Angry at himself for being overconfident when it came to his medical skills, he hit the door with his fist, sending it flying open, before storming into the hallway outside the operating room. He stopped short when his eyes met Jackson’s.
“Tell me it’s not true,” Jackson said, his Alpha Power flooding the space, demanding Ian’s obedience. “Tell me Mac is wrong and Cain is alive.”
Shaking his head slowly, Ian murmured, “I’m sorry, Jackson…he didn’t make it.”
Jackson closed his eyes after Ian confirmed that Cain was gone, blaming himself for taking too long to make his decision. Had he said ‘yes’ sooner, Cain would have been here, away from what…snapping his eyes open, Jackson looked at Jimmy. “What the hell happened? Why was Cain shot?”
“Mystia got a call from Oracle that Cain was hurt so she took me along to help her. When we got there, a paramedic was working on him, but Mystia told me to pick him up and she transported us here,” Jimmy replied.
“Did she say who shot him?” asked Jackson.
Shaking his head, Jimmy replied, “Nope…but I heard sirens blaring.”
Filing that information away, Jackson asked Ian, “Did Colton try his Raphael’s Power on Cain?”
“No…”
“Why not?” Jackson asked, his voice now agitated.
“Cain is human and Colton’s power only works on paranormals…you know that,” Ian replied, wearily.
Giving in to his frustration, Jackson slammed his fist into the wall, silently cursing. Just when he’d finally figured out how to proceed against the human incursion in their world, the lynchpin in his plan was dead. Ignoring Ian’s description of Cain’s fatal injury, he realized they would have to start over. He wondered if the Fates would give him another human, but he had his doubts after Cain’s untimely death.
~/~/~/~/~
Keeping his hand over the bullet wound and never taking his eyes off the human, Smokey repeatedly whispered the sacred words the Great Spirit had given only to him, Lord Manetu. The bleeding had stopped. But was it because the human had died or were his words working their magic? Refusing to give up, Smokey stayed where he was and, when Colton began to remove the leads to the heart monitor, he shook his head.
Leaving the patches on the human’s chest, Colton turned away and busied himself with gathering up used instruments. Having seen nurses act the same way when their patients died, he understood Smokey’s need to believe there was still hope. But he also knew when the heart refused to pump again, it was over…you just had to accept the loss. Smokey would have to learn that, too.
Deciding the clean-up of the room could wait, Colton stripped off his soiled scrubs and dumped them into the laundry bin before donning a clean set. Leaving Smokey to mourn alone, Colton left the operating room, intending to give his mate some much-needed comfort.
Hearing the door close quietly behind Colton, Smokey breathed a sigh of relief that no one was around to see his tears as they began to roll silently down his face. For the first time in his life, he knew the taste of absolute failure—the Great Spirit, his grandfather, all the Manetus who’d been killed and, most importantly, this human who had just lost his life. There was no other way to look at it and, for the first time in a long time, he wept uncontrollably.
When there were no more tears to shed, Smokey wiped away the lingering wetness on his face. Removing his other hand from the man’s chest, he bent down and breathed once more into Cain’s mouth, wishing him apeaceful journey. Then in the way of his people, Smokey gently washed the blood from Cain before wrapping his body in a clean sheet.
Standing next to the covered body, Smokey tilted his head back and began chanting, his mournful voice filling the room, rising and falling in the cadence of grief as he sang the song for Cain—a man he never knew, but who deserved to be honored in death. When the last note faded, Smokey looked down at Cain and placed his hand on his chest for the final time before whispering, “Know this…I will feel you in the wind that caresses my skin, I will see you when I look at the birds in the sky and I will be there for you when you return. Go…but remember this…you will not be forgotten.”
Stepping back, Smokey closed his eyes, whispering the sacred words for the final time before turning away. Yet, there was something he could still do for Cain—take him back to the place where Smokey’s grandfather and parents rested because, at least then, he would not be alone on his journey. Jackson’s permission would be needed for that, but Smokey was sure it would be given, so as he started toward the door, he began to plan the trip.
“Da…Dale…”
So deep in thought was he, Smokey almost missed the barely audible words. Stopping, he listened intently for a moment, but hearing nothing further, he shook his head. Yet, before he could take another step, his bear forced him to turn around and head back to Cain. Perplexed at his animal’s insistence, Smokey nevertheless humored him, wondering what he was up to.
As he drew closer to Cain, Smokey’s gaze drifted down over the covered head until it reached Cain’s chest. Staring at it, it took several moments before he saw it rise and fall, sporadically at first, but then with a violent shudder that shook Cain’s body. Puzzled, Smokey carefully pulled back the sheet and looked into Cain’s now open eyes. “Unfuckingbeleivable!” Removing the sheet until it revealed Cain’s chest, Smokey found a bullet resting on top of the spot where it had entered him. Picking it up, he examined it briefly before looking down at the human’s completely healed chest.
As the man looking down at him finally came into focus, Cain whispered, “Where’s Dale?” Then, too exhausted to say anything else, he closed his eyes briefly, trying to remember what had happened.
“Hey…don’t go…you gotta fight.” Alarmed, Smokey laid his hand on Cain’s chest, saying the words once again that had brought life back to the human. Then, he bent down and blew more lifeforce into Cain’s mouth, refusing to give up on him.
Before Cain could answer, he found himself enveloped in an ethereal light, which quickly vanished, leaving him feeling much better. Unsure as to what had just happened to him, he opened his eyes again, once again trying to focus them on the man speaking to him. “Who are you?” he asked, his voice growing stronger.
