The Warrior's Child (Completed)

Chapter 2

Abe

It’s been a long while since I have gone out on patrol. Minor patrol calls are not usually done by high ranking warriors, but I really want to get out and take in the night forest. Feel the wind go through my black fur and the ground on my paws. It's probably been a good two weeks since I shifted last. I also have a couple lower ranking warriors who need the experience. So I am happy this opportunity came along.

We shifted at the tree line of the pack grounds and made our way to be just outside of the nearby city where we wouldn't be spotted by human eyes. If this event is supernatural then they would have gathered around this area before making their attack. We haven't had to deal with any threats to our pack or the surrounding areas in a while. I hope this is just some weird animal occurrence and not the beginning of something more, but I'm confident my warriors and fighters are prepared either way.

The two warriors I brought with me, Luke and Maverick are nipping at each other as we walk. They have the potential to be some great warriors with help from me and a little more focus from them. Since tonight is not a stake out I don’t mind a little horseplay. I let it go on for a little while before I break them up.

“Alright guys, sharpen up” I link. “It’s not a high alert situation, but it’s still good field training. Take the time to appreciate the lesson”

“Yes sir.” They both respond.

“Alright let's get started. Luke, I want you to head south then sweep west. Maverick I want you to head west and sweep south. When you two meet up, come join me back here.”

“Yes sir” They reply in unison before heading in their instructed directions.

I watch them until they are out of my sight then I take a seat and gaze up at the moon. Tonight is only a half moon, but my thoughts instantly go to Kamaria. Her name is Swahili, meaning moonlight. Since she was created under the full moon it only makes sense. Oh how I wish she would come back home to visit. I know her mom misses her. I definitely miss her. London is too far away and I only get to travel there once a year. I hate planes, but I miss her being less than an hour away when I was able to see her and tuck her in any night of the week. My little girl isn’t a little girl anymore.

Suddenly my thoughts are interrupted by a scent. I get up and head in its direction, curious, but not worried until I see something laying in a ball. I look around checking my surroundings. We are not out in the middle of nowhere, but also not close enough to the human town that I should find strays out here.

“Luke, Maverick, I found something.” I link them.

I head over cautiously and catch the faint smell of a she-wolf. She’s right in front of me, but her scent seems like it’s far away. Plus there’s another scent there both familiar and unfamiliar. I shift to my human form and crawl up to the body. She has brunette hair that’s long, but shaved in the back. I notice an apple shaped birthmark behind her left ear. She appears to be badly beaten and barely breathing.

“Luke, Maverick, get over here!”

I scoop down to pick her up and as soon as I stand up I feel a sensation in my neck that feels like acid creeping its way into my body. Somehow the ground rises up to meet me and I can’t move. Everything goes dark and the last thing I see are two figures standing over me. And that scent, familiar yet unfamiliar.

Kamaria

Stepping out of the shower, I’m feeling happy that I forced myself to get in. Today was an exceptionally rough day with Stella. All of my running around wouldn’t calm her and to make matters worse, I actually had work to do so I couldn’t even try to sneak off and let her out for a few short hours. All of the emails and phone calls after hours were frustrating. I always handle the late night international calling alone, but tonight they were so numerous I almost called for backup. It was such a hectic day I even checked for a full moon, but nope it was just a half moon. Finally, I finished somewhere around 1:00am. I had sent off the last email and closed my laptop. Any little fires that pop up after that can be handled in the morning.

Showering wouldn’t have me in bed before 2:00am, but I had reasoned that a shower tonight would be better than a shower in the morning. I smelled my hair while in the shower. I really needed to wash my type 4 curly hair, but the whole process of shampooing, conditioning, detangling, and putting it up for the night would move my bedtime to 3:00am, so I decided to just wet it and deal with that process tomorrow. I don’t even bother to squeeze all the water out of my hair before putting it in a bun. I take out the lotion and rub my skin down as I take in my figure in the mirror. My skin is mocha color, my long hair dark and shaved on one side, the long strands almost reaching my waistline. I'm considered petite, sitting at 5’3” with an athletic build. Not chiselled, but I stay well toned. It almost happens effortlessly probably thanks to my overly active wolf. I take a look at my tired eyes and determine that I have done enough hygienic care for the night.

Barely awake, I use the remainder of my stamina to put on some pajama pants and a tank top. I leave the bathroom, every step in my tiny apartment to my bed feeling like a mile. Which says a lot because my entire apartment was about the size of a one car garage. I don't think I waited until I was completely in bed to start falling asleep. The last thing I remember is my head touching my pillow.

----

I wake up to the sound of my phone ringing. I look at the time on the clock that sits on my nightstand. -5:10am-. I still had a valuable 50 minutes of sleep. I silence my phone without even glancing at it. A few seconds later it starts ringing again. What the hell?! I look at it this time. -Mom- Reads across the screen. When I first moved here my mom would mess up the time difference all the time. Even now, six years later, she would mess up from time to time and accidentally call me in the middle of the night. I answer with the most groggy voice I can muster.

“Hello?”

“Oh, Maria.” The sound of pain and sadness in her voice hits me to the very core. I shoot up in bed like someone has thrown a bucket of cold water on me.

“What’s wrong? What happened to Baba?

Brendon

I have been lying in my bed for the last couple of hours thinking about those attacks Samuel had mentioned. The run was good for Miko, and for myself if I’m being honest. It’s nice to just get out and push the mundane stuff to the back. I don’t mind working at all, but I like to mix in some spontaneity. This weird attack situation is not the type of spontaneous event I was hoping for, but it has definitely peaked my interest.

I don’t know if it’s boredom or if I’m actually hungry, but I get up anyway and go downstairs to my kitchen. It’s kind of late to have a meal so I make a bowl of cereal and take a seat at the kitchen island. From this position I can see my entire bottom floor and look out of my floor to ceiling windows into the dark abyss of the outside. This place is a four bedroom two story penthouse. Definitely a lot of room for one person. Of course that wasn’t initially the plan, but here we are. If things don’t go my way, I may have to think about transferring this over to my Beta and probably build something more fitting on the other side of the property.

“Hey, Alpha, you need to get over to the clinic now!” My Beta, Stephen, links. “Something happened to the patrol that was sent out.” He replies to the question before I have a chance to ask.

I run upstairs putting on some sweatpants and grab a sweatshirt to put on as I head back downstairs. I have shoes by my door that I slip my feet into, not bothering with socks or to untie them. My penthouse is on the upper floor of the packhouse, but I have a separate entrance. On the other side of the packhouse, my Beta also has a separate entrance into his place. This way we are always available, but get to enjoy the allusion of being away from everything.

I run down the outside stairs and jog across the property to the clinic. Thankfully, it’s a straight line from my place. When I am just steps away from the clinic, I hear screaming coming from inside. What the hell is going on? I quickly make my way to the door, and before I can open my mouth to ask a question, Stephen approaches me.

“It’s Abe.” I look at him shocked and he responds to my look, not needing me to say a word. “I know. He was attacked during the patrol. When Luke and Maverick got over to him, he was lying face down on the ground unable to move. They brought him straight here. Once the paralysis wore off the pain set in and he’s been screaming ever since. Doc is trying to check on him, but they can’t even get close to him to get his temperature.”

“Okay, let me see what I can do.”

We walk into the room where Abe is lying. He’s being held down by four warriors and the doctor is desperately trying to examine him. I walk over to the bed and put my hand on his arm. As an Alpha I am able to transfer pain from anyone in my pack to myself. I can’t heal him, but I can give him a little bit of relief. Hopefully Doctor Laurence will be able to do the exam and figure out what the hell happened. After a few moments Abe’s screaming has stopped and he is drifting off to sleep. Doctor Laurence rushes over to examine him.

-----

It doesn’t take long for the doctor to get us some answers. The other wolves have headed to their quarters and now it’s just me and Stephen standing on either side of Abe.

“Alpha, it’s a toxic concoction of wolfsbane and silver.” Doctor Laurence tells us apologetically.

I look at Stephen, he has the same shocked look as me. I look back at the doctor, “How toxic?”

“I’m afraid it’s a lethal amount. It’s administered to slowly move to the heart through the bloodstream. Once it reaches the heart…” Doctor Laurence lets his words trail off. We didn’t need him to finish the sentence. “I’m sorry Alpha, there is no way to stop it or reverse it.”

“I understand. Thank you, doc.” I let out a sad sigh as I look down at Abe. Without looking up I shift my conversation to Stephen. “We need to contact his family.”

“Okay...Wait. He has a mate? But he’s a warrior.”

“It’s complicated.” I say, my focus still on Abe. "You might want to go be with your mate."

"Why?"

"His pup is Kamaria."

"Kamaria, Kamaria? Seriously?" I glance up and nod my head before dropping my focus back to Abe. "How did I not know that?" Stephen whispers to himself.

Stephen is still rather new, compared to everyone else. He’s only been in the pack for five years. He is actually from an allied pack about eight hours east of here. Five years back, Abe conducted a week-long training session for some of the friendly packs. Stephen came with his pack and met his mate, my best friend, Summer. Summer has always been my closest friend and presumed Beta, but when she turned it down I figured if the moon goddess thought Stephen was good enough for her then he was good enough to be my Beta. Summer has two best friends, me and Kamaria, and tonight I have to deliver some horrible news to the latter.

Kamaria

I have been living in London for six years and somehow my mom still manages to mess up the time difference and call me at odd times in the middle of the night or during the day, but tonight was not a mistake. I knew something was wrong the second my mom said my name. I could hear the hurt in her voice and knew that only meant one thing.

“What happened to Baba?” I ask sitting straight up in my bed. Although I was exhausted from work yesterday, I feel a rush of new energy.

“Maria, mi hija.” My mom was saying something, but I couldn’t focus on any of her words. It felt like she was talking to me through thick glass. Like I could see her lips moving, but was unable to make out anything. The harder I tried to focus, the less I understood.

I don’t know how long we talked, I don't know if I hung up before saying goodbye. All I know is I have this paper in my hand with a number written on it. It looks like my handwriting. Did I write this? When? My chest feels like it's lead, like I'm being pulled down in a deep lake. I feel like I'm drowning and I can't seem to grab air.

"Breathe." I hear Stella say in my head.

"Stella, I can't breathe. I think I'm drowning." I say, panicking.

"Kamaria, breathe!" She yells at me and I am able to exhale. "Good, now dial the number."

I nod my head as I dial the number. I shut my eyes tight and I put the phone to my ear.