Alcohol hit my injured hand. A moment of clarity.
“General, what are your orders?” Alain asked.
“Recall half the troops,” Axel said. “They should be back before dawn. We hold the Grey Keep.”
Seventy-one nights after meeting the General
Despite my injuries, I barely slept a wink. Even in the infirmary, the air was tense with the promise of a battle. News travelled quickly in a castle, especially when military orders were bluntly spoken in a public space. While everyone was gearing up for battle, I was injured. My wounds were not as severe as they appeared. They weren’t too deep or near any vital organs. I was able to help. I was a druid. I was useful as a healer on the battlefield.
I understood why Inge remained at the infirmary. Someone had to command the healers while the injured were carried in. But I wanted to be in the thick of it. I wanted to be near my alpha.
Instead, I was not even allowed to participate from within the confines of the castle.
Espen held watch at my bedside. There was chainmail and steel armour covering his silks. But I knew the order came from Axel himself. My cot was too small and tight for the situation that we found ourselves in. And I was not a doll. I had decided the night before that when the battle reached the castle walls, I would go out there, consequences be damned.
It was a slow morning. No injured people coming in. Werewolves with mild ailments knew better than to visit a healer that day.
Apprentices carried extra cots into the room. When there was just enough room left to manoeuvre our way through the beds, the halls surrounding us were also covered in furs and blankets. Anything to be able to help more soldiers.
Young alphas came to take stretchers out to the front. Peeking outside, I even saw omegas improvising to make new ones using wooden poles and leather.
It was when the sun was at its highest that the first soldier was carried in. I was holding my breath. It was real. The fighting was happening right outside these walls. The soldiers’ condition was dire. It was a preview of what was to come.
Soon after many more were carried in. Inge was yelling out orders. Even Espen left my bedside for a moment to help bandage an injured omega healer, who got caught in the crossfire.
There were sounds coming from outside. Shouts and screams. Wails and grunts. Were they still outside the walls? Had the imperialists breached the castle?
I couldn’t sit by idly and watch it happen. I wouldn’t. There was too much happening for anyone to take note of me. To protest when I went against the General’s orders. I stepped out of bed. It went surprisingly well. The rush of adrenaline, the fearful energy surrounding us, made my injuries feel like tiny little scratches.
I spotted my omega’s maid in the corner of the room, putting a wet towel on a soldier’s forehead. From the state of the young alpha, I could tell he would not survive the day. There was no time to take it in. To grieve for the fallen. I went over to him. I took Espen by the hand and dragged him out of there towardsthe hall. The furs laid out on the floor were still empty, but they wouldn’t be for long. The infirmary was at capacity already.
“Espen, I am going to the frontlines,” I said. My tone was soft but certain. “You shouldn’t follow me. You should find your brother, he is guarding the children. He should be outside the great hall.”
“Are you insane?” he answered.
“Do you hear those sounds? Do you hear how close they are?” I asked. Espen nodded.
“They have breached the walls. I need to be there to heal our strongest soldiers.”
“There are healers outside already!” he said.
“They don’t have magic!”
“You are in no condition to go out there. Besides, General Axel made me responsible for you. I can’t let you go.” Espen grabbed at his hair in frustration. I sighed.
“I’m sorry, but I have to go,” I said. I took one look at the open doors leading to the garden close to the courtyard. The gardens were usually a beautiful place. The rosebush still stood proudly in its centre, but the trails of blood on the path around it made for a chilling sight. Step by step I made my way through the injured coming in. Stretchers passed me by, adding to the trail of blood that coloured the garden pavement. There was only just enough room to pass by the people hurrying to get the injured to safety. I didn’t look back. I was almost at the end of the garden.
“Wait!” Espen shouted. I looked behind me. There was Espen. In his hands, chainmail armour, with a steel wolf encrusted where the heart would be. “It’s too big for you, but you will wear it anyway. Understood?”
I just nodded at him. He covered me in the armour. Amid all the chaos, I let it happen. It was heavy, but nothing I couldn’t bear. Espen grabbed two knives hidden in his shoes.
“There is another one in my left sock. Take it.”
I reached into his sock to find a silver blade. I grabbed it tightly. “Let’s go,” he said.
Espen was ahead of me then. We walked through granite arches into the courtyard. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It did not feel real. I was used to hearing swords clashing. Soldiers practised in the courtyard all the time. With their bare claws or steel swords, yes, I was used to the sounds. What was different this time was the smell of blood. The sight of it.
The granite arches leading back towards the gardens and halls were choked with defenders. Alphas and common werewolves were frantically trying to stop the advancement of the imperial soldiers that got too close.
