As the intense energy knocks into the core of my heart, the impact strikes me to my knees. My breath comes in hot pants, but I’ve never felt more alive, more purposeful, or more fulfilled.
Wielding so much power has me feeling liberated and invincible, even if I don’t know how to fully control it yet. But at the same time, it’s overwhelming, and as the energy subsides and leaves my fingers tingling with the aftermath of pushing magic through my hands, fear rears its head again, and flight senses kick in.
This can’t be my destiny. It’s too powerful, the responsibility too much to bear for an omega like me.
As fear and my insecurities creep back in, I lift my eyes to the spot where Alpha Brooks lies, just as a drawn-out sigh escapes his wolf mouth. His tongue hangs out from one corner, dry and lifeless, his fur retracting and leaving him in a weak pile of his human form and blood in frightening bright patches on his clothes.
The only indication that he’s still alive is the irregular way his chest rises and falls.
My heart races as I come to the realization that this is my chance to escape and never see Girdwood again.
But as I get to my feet, using the wooden pole on the bridge as leverage, I’m about to turn the other way when something inside me stops me from tearing my eyes off the alpha. It must be the compassion I’ve been able to maintain for every other member of the Snehvolk Pack, and it awakens now as I stagger forward, my fear subsiding the closer I get to Alpha Brooks.
The demon might have stalked us and caught us unaware, but I’d witnessed the fear in its black eyes when I used my magic against it, and I’m sure it won’t come back anytime soon. That’s probably why I have the courage to go forward, a wave of sadness washing over me when I notice the extent of Alpha Brooks’s condition.
I instantly fall to my knees in front of him, a tentative hand reaching out to his face to confirm if he’s still breathing. When I feel warm air leaving his nostrils, I breathe a sigh of relief, but as I scan the rest of him with one glance, I notice how bad his injuries are.
Something in me shifts, and I forget all about wanting to run away or hanging onto my hatred for the Alpha, and I’m compelled to save his life. Acting purely on instinct, I find the strength to grab Brooks by his forearms and drag him over the bridge.
“Just a little further…” I say to myself in encouragement as I pull him across, then into the woods and through the forest, crossing over into Snehvolk territory on the south perimeter of Girdwood. We’re still far from the main area, but we’re close to being considered safe in the evening.
When we’re behind a tree, I release Brooks’s limp arms and quickly dash about in search of the things I need to nurse his ghastly wounds. I find a salmon berry bush and yarrow growing behind it, both known for their wound healing and anti-inflammatory properties, gathering the plants and going back to Brooks.
I tear his clothes from his body, where they stick to him like a second skin because of the bleeding, leaving him in nothing but his boxers. Using my palms to crush both the berries and the flowers to extract their healing properties, it takes me by surprise when my palms light up with a soft shade of green, my magic energy flowing into the plants, infusing the natural remedy I was crushing to heal Brooks’s wounds.
Though I’m not consciously aware of what I’m doing, all I know is that it feels right when I press my moistened palms to his injuries, magic seeping through in vortexes of green thatseem to mend his skin and stitch it miraculously. But as the magic extends from my hands, I feel my own energy draining, my eyelids growing heavier, and my body becoming frail and uncontrollably weak.
“Oh, no…” I murmur, my lips becoming numb.
I must have drained myself, because it isn’t long before my head falls to the ground, my vision cloudy as I come face to face with Brooks.
Drowsy now, I can barely reach out when I try, on impulse, to touch his shoulder. My hand falls on his arm instead, but darkness threatens to consume me.
“Brooks…” I murmur before everything goes black.
Chapter 10 - Brooks
The first thing I notice when I wake up with the longest breath I’ve ever taken is that I’m undressed. Frowning, I look down as my hands pat the places where I’d been hurt, discovering that I’m miraculously healed.
How long was I out for?
How am I still alive?
And most importantly, why am I almost naked in the middle of the forest?
I could have sworn that I was about to die, unless I’ve just woken up in the Moon Goddess’s humble abode in heaven.
That isn’t hard to believe when I turn my face to find her lying right beside me. Except, she’s wearing Rissa’s avatar, and her eyes are closed.
Reaching out to touch her, an electric spark shoots through my arm from where my fingers graze her cheek, and I realize that it is Rissa lying beside me, knocked out cold, her face pale as if she’s been exhausted.
Is she the reason why I no longer have any injuries? Or why I feel as strong as ever, as if the demon hadn’t attacked and left me for dead?
The encounter with the malevolent spirit comes as flashes in my mind, and I recall the way Rissa lashed out using her magic. But as my eyes land on her hand beside her face, I lift it and find the residue of a sticky substance left on her fingers and palm.
She healed me. Somehow, she healed me so much that I feel more alive than ever, suddenly compelled to do everything in my power to bring her ease and comfort.
It’s not just about helping her through her heat, but giving her the space she needs to process everything she’s learned, and allowing her to figure out that we’re destined to be together. Though she isn’t there yet, I’m sure that if I give her time, she’ll come around.
