Ashes and Scales: Remember Us, Mate

Chapter 5: The Ultimate Betrayal

MAIA

“What do you mean, he no longer works here?” I asked, perplexed and unable to comprehend the man's words, and he reiterated that he had been directed to take over Keir's responsibilities indefinitely.

"Where was Keir when you arrived?" My father asked, and the guy said he had already left and the guy who came to get his bag said he went home. My father and I were so confused, and my heartbeat was now drumming against my ribcage. However, just when I thought things could not get worse, the guy dropped another bomb on us.

He told us about Keir's incident but didn't know what led to it. He said he only found out about it when he went to Keir’s office and saw blood being cleaned on the floor and my heart ceased in my chest. My father’s voice sounded distant as he asked what blood and his words shot out in a rush as he continued to ask what the guy was talking about. The guy told us that some woman plunged her hand into Keir’s chest.

I buried myself in my father’s arms. My legs went numb as he hurriedly led me out of the room. I didn't know where we were going; I couldn't understand what he was saying. All I could hear was the guy's words repeating in my head; someone had nearly ripped Keir's heart out. And all could see was blood—a lot of blood.

It was not until I got outside that I regained my senses, and Father cupped my face and told me to breathe, which I did, my breaths becoming sobs. He held me, and I clung to him, terrified for Keir, as nightmare scenarios ran through my mind.

No one would have come to his aid because everyone assumed he was a wolf who would heal himself. I couldn’t imagine how terrified he must have been. He probably tried to make it back home. I said that to my father, adding that he could be somewhere on the side of the road, but my father said there was no one on the road, adding that we kept a lookout. However, I found myself doubting whether I hadn't missed anything.

I tore myself away from his arms and started heading back inside the building. We needed to get the contact information for the guy who came back for his things. Maybe he was with him. But my father stopped me and turned me around to face him, cupping my face again.

He stated that he had already taken that action, and the receptionist had declined to provide him with the man's number, despite knowing his name was Lukas. He said there was a hospital and that we would check there first and also see if we couldn’t get Luka’s number from someone there.

He repeated, "We can't afford to let these wolves hear that the person we are looking for is human," to which I nodded in agreement.

We rushed inside the hospital building, the sliding doors barely opening fast enough to meet our sense of urgency, and then we dashed to the help desk.

"We are looking for Keir Chaddock," I exclaimed, my words flying out faster than I intended. The woman behind the desk looked up and greeted us before quickly typing into her computer, her eyes scanning the screen.

“There’s no one by that name,” she said, and my stomach dropped. “When was he brought in?” Compared to the previous woman, this one was friendlier and more understanding, which instilled some hope in me, despite the overwhelming fear.

"This morning," I stammered before my father explained that we did not know the exact time. “He had an incident at work.” At that last part, the woman’s eyes shifted, understanding dawning in her expression. “Does he work for Diakos Enterprises?” she asked, and we both responded yes.

She gestured toward the stairs. “You’ll need to go to the employee reception. It’s just up one floor. They deal with cases like this. Let me know if you do not find him there, and we will see what else we can do."

We thanked her quickly and rushed toward the stairwell. Every step felt like it stretched out forever as my mind began racing with all the worst possibilities again. When we finally arrived at the correct floor, we went straight to the help desk. "We are looking for Keir Chaddock," my father repeated, his voice tight with worry as he explained that he worked in the IT department for DK Enterprises.

The woman behind this desk did not even have to check her computer. Her eyes flashed with recognition, and she gestured toward the waiting area. “Take a seat, please. Someone will be with you shortly.”

As we sat, time seemed to slow down, and I could not stop moving. I felt like I needed to use the restroom, and my leg bounced nervously as I looked around. We watched as the woman made a call to someone, Keir’s name escaping her lips. She gave us a friendly smile as she hung up the phone, and we watched her take bottles of water and bring them to us.

She informed us that the doctor would be with us shortly. We thanked her again, but I couldn’t even drink the water and kept the bottle clutched tightly in my hand. My father wrapped an arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer to him, and the minutes felt like hours before the door finally opened and a young guy in a white coat made his way towards us.

We stood as he approached, greeting us and introducing himself as Dr. Ethan Baker. He asked how he could help us, and my father explained that we were looking for Keir. He asked who we were to him and Father told him, including that Keir’s mother had sent us. The doctor instructed us to follow him through the hospital hallway, and as he did so, a burning question throbbed in my chest, but I was afraid to ask because I was afraid to find out the answer.

Eventually, we entered another section, and I frowned at the indications that the patients on this side were those treated for silver. The guy from the IT department had told us that someone had attempted to rip out Keir’s heart. He did not say anything about being stabbed with silver. But I didn’t ask. My father and I only shared a glance.

Dr. Baker stopped in front of the door and opened it. We followed him inside, and a gasp ripped through my throat at the sight of Keir on the bed, hooked up to machines. I sprinted towards the bed, with my father following closely behind. I climbed onto the bed and held him.

“He is a good guy. Why would someone hurt him?” I choked through my sobs, my heart shattered, and Dr. Baker explained what had happened. What the guy said was true; someone attempted to rip out his heart.

The doctor assured us that he was stable and that it was a miracle that he survived at all given the severity of his injuries. Father thanked the doctor, who said he did nothing but his job. He said to thank Lukas because he was the one who acted quickly.

It was clear now that the doctor knew Keir was not a wolf because a wolf would have healed from such an injury. The hospital also received mostly submissions from wolves with poisoned wounds, such as silver wounds and wolfsbane.

It occurred to me that Keir's placement in the silver ward was most likely intended to allay the doctors' suspicions. However, Father did not ask the man if he knew Keir was human or if he was human himself, as this was forbidden.

This was due to trust issues arising from the war that left the world in the state of c*****e it is in now.

Things were not always this way; wolves did not rule until a few decades ago when a war broke out between them and humans. Long ago, humans were once in charge. They were the majority, while wolves were the polar opposite, living in fear, just as humans do today. Being a werewolf meant instant death.

Humans thought wolves were freaks of nature, cursed beasts, and so they treated them like a plague, killing entire families mercilessly. Wolves also believed this. They believed that the world belonged to humans, so they never fought back, despite the fact that one wolf could outmatch ten humans in strength.

Instead, they formed communities where they looked out for one another and helped each other keep their secrets so they could blend in. The strongest–Alpha wolves–led the communities–the packs. For a while, there was peace, as humans believed they had rid the world of the plague until they discovered the wolf communities and formed hunter groups.

They started going after the wolf communities, mercilessly killing them in large numbers. That’s when the wolves had enough. Despite being cursed, they were not harming anyone; they were simply despised for something they could not change, and this prompted them to fight back.

They came together and fought the humans, starting in the small towns and killing humans as mercilessly as humans had been killing them for years and soon the tides began to shift because they were stronger and, unlike humans, prepared to die because that was what they had been doing in large numbers for years.

They conquered cities by city, and it soon became apparent that when the humans sensed the heat, they turned against each other. The wolves' success was due not only to their strength but also to the assistance of some humans who had sold out other humans in exchange for immunity.

With their help, the wolves assumed power, and the master became the slave. The three families' names went down in history as traitors, and they paid not only with other human lives, but also with their legacies because the wolves only granted them immunity on two conditions: they helped them take control, and they did not reproduce, because the wolves were purging the world and could not have them produce more of what they were trying to rid the world of.

That's why their names are only recorded in history as traitors of their own kind, and nothing more. Their generation ended with their immunity, and it was reported that the last of them, a woman named Aurora, died about nine decades ago. Aurora fled her home after becoming pregnant and breaking the rules. She was the one who revealed the identities of the families who sold everyone—the Calimeris, Ariti, and Agelastos.

But she never told the hidden community that took her in that her family was one of the families, so when it was discovered, she was burned at the stake, and it was said she had a son, who suffered the same fate.

Wolves were over the moon after they defeated the humans, they thought it was it. Finally, they would prosper, but they soon found out that would not be the case as fights over the rich lands of the humans broke out.

Some wolves felt they were more deserving than others, and they started turning on each other and killing each other for the spoils. And so began the power squabbles. Things were not the same with wolves in charge as they had been with humans, allowing everyone to work and thrive as long as they remained hidden.

They hoarded resources and formed power alliances, making themselves stronger and richer while making the weak even poorer. Alpha families were at the top of the food chain, forming unions with one another, while the rest were left to fend for themselves, and those who disagreed or could not play the power games were also left to fend with the lower ranks.

Discarding the mate bond was part of that change because there was no way they would be able to marry for alliances if they didn't. My father’s family was also one of those who didn’t agree with the new world order. That was why we had Alpha blood, but we were not wealthy.

The bond was part of who we were, and doing away with it was a betrayal to the gods. Families such as the Diakos emerged victorious in the power struggles, which is why their legacy endures today. Wolves treated each other so badly that many of them would do anything to restore the world to its previous state. They would rather disguise themselves as humans and live in constant fear of discovery than watch their children perish from starvation while a few others gorge themselves. It was the ultimate betrayal.

•••

I looked up, feeling my father’s hand on my back, and he said we had to go. But I didn’t want to leave Keir here by himself. I told him that, but he said we would return with Mrs. C.

“Go then; I will stay here until you return,” I said, wiping my tears, but he insisted I go. “I don’t want Keir to wake alone,” I said, and Doctor Baker stepped in, saying he wouldn’t be awake for a while. He agreed with my father and suggested that I leave and return later with them because he also had to lock the room. With that, I felt I had little choice, so I nodded with a heavy heart.

“I will be back,” I whispered, laying a gentle kiss on Kier’s cheek as the doctor walked out. But I frowned when Father looked at the door and then went around the bed and asked me to look out.

“Why? What are you doing?” I asked but then realization dawned as he took Keir’s wrist. He was going to transfer more of his healing to him. The potions that Keir and the other humans in our pack drank had our blood in them, which was the reason Keir possibly survived this because he had some healing in him. It was obviously weak since it was a tiny drop, but I was sure it helped.

Father bit his wrist, and my hand moved on its own accord as I brushed Keir's hair out of his face, whispering again that it would be okay. But I frowned once more as my father began to remove his bandage. The healing wouldn't instantly heal him, but it would make his chances of recovery even stronger.

“What are you doing?” I asked, and he said he wanted to check something. I sat up and watched as he peered under the bandage. “What are you looking for-” I began to ask but froze the moment he lifted it.

"The severance mark? What in the hell?"