Chapter 4 – The Council
2037 Words
Malachi’s POV
When I opened my bleary eyes, I was lying in a hospital bed in a stark white room. It smelt of cleaning products and disinfectant, and as I moved my throbbing head to the side, I saw Avery sitting with his head in his hands.
“What’s up with you?” I croaked out.
“Malachi! s**t! Dude, how are you feeling?”
“Like I just died.”
“Don’t joke, you almost did!”
“I know”
“That’s one hell of a wolf you got there.”
“What, for killing an Ashton and ruining any chance of me becoming Alpha?” I couldn’t hide the deep sorrow in my tone, I was devastated.
“What? No! You passed the training, Malachi, we all did, except Ashton, of course.”
“How? What? Avery, what are you talking about? I killed Ashton. It was an instant failure, no matter the circumstances.”
“He stabbed you with a silver bladed knife, Malachi, premeditated and attempted murder. You, on the other hand, or Eero should we say, acted in self-defence, and had he not, you most certainly would be dead. In fact, technically, you should have been dead, but Eero, I don’t know how, but he saved you.”
“Avery, you are making no sense. We have the ability to heal, with a transfusion and the wound cleaned and packed, anyone could survive.”
“Yes, if they get to you in time. By the time the medics arrived on the scene, they had already lost too much blood. They did what they could at the arena, everyone was hurried out of there. But they pronounced you dead at the scene. They took you to the morgue, but after you got there and they did the final checks, you had a heartbeat.”
“They got it wrong then.”
“That’s what everyone is saying, and for now it’s what we stick too, but Malachi, you were dead, I checked myself, I made them check with me present, you had no pulse, and your eyes were fixed and dilated. How was I supposed to go back and tell your parents you were dead without seeing myself?”
He looked over at me. I guess to check I was still listening “Okay, I was dead?”
“Yes! Very dead! They took you to the morgue and I came to see you. I stayed with you for a while”. He looked sheepish and bashful. “Anyway, sometime later, they told me I had to leave, but before I did, the doctor did the final checks and said you had a heartbeat. I didn’t believe him, it wasn’t possible, so I checked myself, and damn if he was right. When they checked your pupils for dilation, your eyes were silver, and you were very much alive!”
“So I was never dead?” I frowned; I was so confused.
“I thought I was supposed to be the slow one, you were dead, then you weren’t. Keep up, Malachi, we don’t have long.”
“Until what?” this conversation was doing nothing for my headache.
“The doctors come to check on you, the council come to see you, your brother arrives. I could go on”
“Marley’s coming?” my eldest younger brother.
“Yes, but first, listen. Eero pretty much brought you back from the dead Malachi. I don’t think it’s wise to tell anyone about this, like I said, they are treating it like a mistake at the scene, but it happened, and you need to speak to Eero and find out what the hell is going on.”
I shook my head, not completely believing anything he was saying, thinking he was being very melodramatic. “Fine, I’ll ask him.”
Eero
Radio silence
Eero
Nothing
EERO
“s**t, he’s not answering, come to think of it, I can’t feel him!”. Panic hit me like a bullet to the chest. I tried to move, but a searing pain shot through my abdomen. Nope, I couldn’t move.
“Maybe he just needs to rest?” Avery was trying not to sound worried, but it wasn’t working.
The doctor walked through the door. “Ahhh, you're awake Young Alpha Malachi, you gave everyone quite the scare boy” the old greying doctor boomed. “Good to see you with your eyes open”
“Doctor, I can’t feel my wolf, he’s not answering me”
“Hmmm, well you have both been through quite the trauma. Give him some time. If he’s anything like the size they tell me, I imagine he will be just fine in a few days”
“How long have I been here?”
The doctor looked at Avery. “You didn’t tell him?”
“He didn’t ask” Avery simply answered, at which I just shot him a look and he shrugged in response.
“5 days”
“5 DAYS!” I tried to sit up, but it hurt. “Why does it still hurt? Shouldn’t I have healed days ago?”
“Avery, did you tell Malachi anything about his trauma?”
“No”
“Don’t tell me, he didn’t ask?”
“I thought I would leave the medical jargon to you, actually” Goddess Avery was such a smart ass, the doctor turned from him and looked at me.
“You suffered a life-threatening and severe abdominal wound. It should have killed you. I guess your sheer size allowed you to hold on. Anyway, the knife was silver, but it also had liquid silver on the tip, so it entered your blood stream. It has taken a few days to clean your blood and because of the blood loss, and the severity of your wound, and the additional silver in your system, it has taken a little longer than normal to heal. You should find out in the next 24 hours; you have recovered quite quickly under the circumstances.”
“Thank you doctor”
“You’re welcome. Right, the nurse will do some checks, and redress the wound. Do you have healers in your pack?”
“Yes”
“Good, then when your brother arrives, if the checks are complete and you are comfortable, you can leave tomorrow.”
“Thank you”
“ OK, well, if I don’t see you again, it was a pleasure to meet you, I’ll be on my way.”
He left in a flash and scurried off.
“Why was he being so nice? I mean, I know doctors are meant to be, but I killed an Alpha on council property. That is just weird, people have been put to death for less.”
“I told you, you were defending yourself, he doesn’t blame you for killing Ashton, but that’s not why he was being nice.”
“No?”
“No, he was the doctor that confirmed your death, and then confirmed you were alive a few hours later. He knows more than he is letting on. We need to speak to him again. When he spoke about Eero, he was, well, cagey, don’t you think?”
“I didn’t notice, he sounded like he made sense.”
“That’s what he’s been told to say, by the council, you wait for their visit.”
Right on queue, the door swung open again, and in walked the Council leader, 1 council member and an Elder. I gulped; this did not look like it was going to be pleasant.
“Alpha Milner”
“Malachi. Alpha Milner is my father”
“Of course. Alpha Malachi, let me introduce Ms. Juniper Reid, from the council board and Elder Patterson, I assume you remember me from the arena tournament”
“Yes, it’s a pleasure to meet you all” although I wasn’t sure how true that statement was.
“Alpha Avery, would you mind stepping out?”
Avery went to stand. “No, please, if you don’t mind, I would like him to stay.”
“As you wish” he said with almost gritted teeth as Avery struggled to hide the grin escaping from his annoying chops.
“Am I going to be removed from gaining my Alpha title?” I know Avery said not, but if that was the case, then why are they all here? I had to know.
“No, you have gained your right to become Alpha, Malachi. That is not why we are here.”
“Then I am being punished for Ashton’s death?”
“Malachi, would you shut up and let the man talk!” Avery said impatiently as I shot him a look.
Did he know how powerful these people were? To speak that way in front of them was disrespectful. But as I turned my head around, all three of the powerful people to my right all had small wry smiles on their faces. Damn.
“There will be no punishment for his death. It was entirely his fault. That is why we are here. To tell you that we stand by you, and your actions. You see, we have had complaints from his family. Unfortunately, they are upset. However, we need to inform you, they have requested you be punished. When we explained the situation, they were not happy. I am sure they will see reason when the grief has subsided, but grief can be a funny thing, Alpha Malachi, and you should know, if you have any concerns regarding this matter, we will be making it perfectly clear that you did no wrong.”
“Concerns?”
“If they say, try and reach out to you or your family”
“You mean threatening us?”
“Well, no I didn’t say that, but if they did…. Well, retaliation would not look good for you or us. Inform us and we will deal with it discreetly.”
I wasn’t entirely sure what he was getting at, but I assumed, as there was both an Elder and a member of the Council present, that it was serious.
“I will make sure I contact you if they contact me”, I assured them.
“Well, then, perfect. Okay, we wish you a speedy recovery, and if we don’t see you before you leave, we wish you well as Alpha of Scafell pack Alpha Malachi” and then they all left.
OK… What was that? Now that was weirder than when the Doctor said goodbye. They are the highest-ranking members of our kind, and they are wishing me, the soon to be Alpha of one of the smaller packs in the country, well!? And are offering me assistance if Ashton’s family get in my face. When does that ever happen?
Never
Eero!
I’m here
You sound tired.
Wouldn’t you be if you had healed a dead person back to life?
So you did?
Avery may be an i***t Malachi, but he doesn’t lie.
How is that even possible?
I’m sorry, I am tired, I need to sleep. But I will be back. Be patient. I will tell you everything Malachi, but right now, I need to rest and heal.
Then he was gone, and damn it, I forgot to ask about the Council.
“Eero’s back?”
“He was,” I sighed.
“Was?”
“I was just thinking how weird the council visit was.”
“You’re catching on!”
“Smart. Anyway, he said it was weird. He knows something.”
“But he wouldn’t tell you?”
“No, he will, but after he brought me back from the dead, he was a little tired. He is resting to heal. He”ll be back when he is better, and tell me everything”
“Wow. Okay. I’m glad I’m not completely insane”
“Me too. I kind of like you”
“Did you just admit you like me!” he gawped.
“No” I was quick to respond.
Thank the Goddess that Marley chose that moment to enter the room.
- Writer
