The Rise of the Alpha

16

~a short while later~

(Third Person POV)

With the storm finally moving out of the area, the hooded figure posted up in the seclusion of its hiding spot to bide its time. Having patience seemed excruciating, but the figure had no other choice except to suck it up for the time being. Out of nowhere, however, the entire atmosphere shifted. It's time..., it thought to itself as the distant sound of multiple howls split the quiet wide open, presenting all the confirmation the figure needed. That was it! That was the signal declaring that the dirty deed was done!

Still swimming in its own thoughts, the figure abandoned its waiting place and headed for the meeting place, mulling over the direction of the future and the slew of the possibilities that were at hand as it trotted.

***

In that private little meeting place stood those few rogues and that scheming, hooded figure. The dastardly outcasts shifted in unison, then standing there stark naked and unbothered to cover up their junk, they recounted their tale to their eager partner. At the conclusion of it, the burly one tossed the beaten-around duffle at the figure's feet, the latter of which squatted down to examine the proof.

"A job well done, I'd say," said the figure eventually, the traces of excitement in its voice simply unmissable. As it stood back upright and its gaze met that of the burly rogue, its giddy expression morphed into a more malicious one. "You know what to do with it now…," it stated additionally, pairing it with a twisted smile of sinister proportions.

For a short while, the men discussed rewards and procedures and what the future held for each group going forward, then adieus were eventually exchanged and the lot of them went their separate ways – the rogues back to the seclusion of their encampment, and the figure back into the forest, walking in total satisfaction knowing that Leila's duffle had been slung over that burly rogue's shoulder and was now in his possession.

*****

Locked away in his own room, Cyrus paced the floors while wracking his brain in attempt to understand what had gone so horribly wrong that evening. He was, without a doubt, a vast range of emotions, and because of this, he knew he would not be falling asleep again any time soon, ultimately prompting him to raid his bookshelves filled with books on faes and their magic. "To Hell with what he just said to me," he spat to no one in particular, referring to the distasteful things which his brother had just told him. "I'll locate her body my damn self and give her a proper send off." All his soul wished for was to be able to lay the girl to rest between her parents!

With questions swirling within him, he selected a few books then carried them to his bed and dumped them upon it, and after settling himself for the night, he flipped through page after page and jotted down tidbits here and there in his notebook which normally stayed hidden in the drawer of his nightstand. Truth be told, he had never attempted a location vision before, so he was eager to learn whatever the pages had to offer.

*****

Through the forest, Jaden rushed with his mate secured in his arms, utterly refusing to be held up over anything along the way. He needed to get her to his healer pronto, for she would be able to determine whether or not she could reverse the damage done. Despite the gravity of the situation, however, both he and his wolf were over the moon at the euphoric feeling of her skin against his own, even if it was wet and gritty from the shoreline. His wolf hummed and wagged his tail with each sweet, enticing whiff it caught of her, and he was practically salivating at the mere fact that she was n.aked! He's a wolf; what could he say? Given the direction his and Jaden's life had gone, never before had he imagined meeting his mate...and he can't say that he was disappointed with her thus far!

Cautious of the downed branches and the random dips in the ground, Jaden booked it with all of his might straight to his village and made his way swiftly toward his healer's house, his mate remaining tucked in his safety all the while. Panicked and barging inside like he owned the place, he shouted, "Sarah! You up?!"

"Good gracious! I am now! Jeez!" she shouted as she ran out of her bedroom, adjusting the hem of her shirt as if she'd just thrown the thing on. "Y'know, a simple mindlink would've sufficed," she snapped in addition, but a split second later, her sight connected with the sight before her – a soaked, visibly-distraught young werewolf toting with him a drenched and dirty, n.aked and lifeless girl. "What in the-" she began to articulate, only she cut her own self short when her gaze met that of Jaden's. "Alright, who is she and what on earth happened to the both of you? You're all wet!" she demanded to know, scrambling to grab the nearest blanket in favor of concealing the girl's nudity. As her eyes raked over the now-covered girl, they began to tear up.

"You're probably not gonna believe this, Sarah, but she's my mate," Jaden answered at once, "and as far as the other question is concerned ... well, that's kind of a long story, so can we please talk about it later? Also, can ya grab a towel for me?"

He was sure that Sarah understood how grave the situation was without him having to tell her in those exact words, because without further delay, she fetched a towel for him then gestured for him to f.ollow her to another room that was, for all intents and purposes, her medical wing. The second he was able to, he laid the girl down upon the uncomfortable-looking, metal slab-turned-table which sat off to one side of the room, totally opposite the wall that housed the small, comfortable bed. As he turned his gaze to Sarah, he dried his face and hair and mentally shushed his whimpering wolf. "Can anything be done for her?" he then asked.

Without hesitation, she sprang into action; it did both Jaden and his worried wolf heaps of good to see her caring nature on immediate and full display, grabbing this thing and that one and prepping some others; for all of that and many more reasons, he was incredibly grateful. "Leave," she sternly ordered without so much as even looking up from what she was doing. "Let me work on her without any distractions from you."

The young man didn't argue or question her an ounce! His eyes raked slowly over the girl on the table as if they would never set on her again, then in the next breath, he bolted out of the house to do as he was told. Xavier whined in protest all the while, refusing to leave the general vicinity of Sarah's house until he knew whether or not his mate was going to pull out of the horrific mess she'd wound up in.

Please, Moon Goddess ... PLEASE let her live and be okay..., the wolf begged in silence, and Jaden reiterated the plea with a quiet, equally-sullen one of his own. Unfortunately for the time being, the only thing that they could do was wait.

*****

(In the meantime...)

A drained, thought-consumed Cyrus found himself lost in the pages of the books strewn across his bed. Some of the books looked as old as dirt itself and were written in languages unfamiliar to him, while others held a host of information relatively simple to comprehend and retain. A couple of them focused more on the darker side of faes and their magic, but most of them were centered around the good they were capable of.

At long last (or so it seemed, given the time it was and the fact that he'd been growing more sleepy by the minute), he grabbed a book he'd never read before, and came across a particular passage in it entitled "Recovery" that began to pique his interest. From there, he started to read what it said, consequently making him question his own abilities. Truth be told, he'd never attempted a recovery vision before, so the mere notion of doing such a thing was quite intimidating. He was determined to do whatever he could to try to find Leila's body, though!

He read for a bit longer, aiming to gather a general idea of how to pull a recovery off, then he folded over the corner of the page to mark his spot. Leaping from the bed, he tossed the book aside then all but flew to the shelf which housed most of the herbs, drops, medicines, and homemade concoctions he owned, and then a brief search for his hand-held looking glass commenced. Once he spotted it, he blew the dust from it and wiped it down with the tail-end of his shirt, then remembering the things he's just read, he closed his eyes and focused the power of his mind on manifesting that necklace he'd given Leila so long ago…only for something wildly upsetting to happen next...