Chapter 3: The Dying Wolf

My eyes lit up upon seeing it. I had searched for this plant for years.

“What’s it called?” My father asked and I grinned. How would I begin to explain to him that this was the ultimate.

“Come on Rya,” he urged, handing a peach to me.

He had begun to call me Rya after I told him that I didn’t remember my name. It was for the best. I wanted to forget everything about my past life and I wanted him to be my father and so, I stuck to calling him father.

“Fairywand.”

He furrowed his brows. “That’s the actual name?”

I nodded. I had only ever heard of it. The last time I had seen one was when Zora had used it to heal the Alpha’s son. She had told me that it was the last one in the territory. She was wrong.

“I’ve never heard of such.”

I chuckled. “You don’t know anything other than wild animals, father.’

He made a mock sound of pain and I laughed. 

It was already sundown and from how cloudy it was, I knew it was going to begin raining soon. 

“We should go back home.”

He glanced at the sky as thunder rumbled. “It’s not fair that you found something, but I didn’t.”

I shrugged. “I’m always lucky.”

I placed my hand on my hair and smoothed down my wig. It’s been years since the incident that night and no matter what I did, the silver in my hair didn’t darken.  For some reason, I thought it was better to hide it from everyone. 

My father had sent me to a human school to study medicine and I earned a scholarship and a name. Dr. Rya…

“Rya!”

My father’s voice startled me and I turned around.

He raised his hand and placed it on his lips. “Shh. Did you hear that?”

I stayed quiet and then I heard it. Faint at first and then clearly. It sounded as though it was going to be a huge animal.

I grinned and gave him a thumbs up. “Go for it,” I mouthed.  

He aimed his shotgun and moved towards the sound, signaling to me to wait behind.

As soon as he was away from sight, I couldn’t hear anything and I furrowed my brows. It was unusual for the forest to be this quiet. Something was definitely wrong.

But my father was a good hunter. I had no cause for alarm.

Then I heard something. It was faint and almost as though I hadn’t heard anything. I heard it again, even more faint this time, but I was certain about what I heard.

It was a wolf. A wood howling out in pain…a sign that it needed help.

My father was going to kill it!

I stopped speaking as a very familiar smell enveloped my nose.

‘Blood?’ My thoughts came to an abrupt pause.

It was always a worry for me having my senses heightened. 

The smell got stronger the closer I approached the animal.

I heard a low growl from its throat.

It weakly bared carnivorous teeth at me but it was in no condition to move, let alone run or come after me.

I got closer with measured steps and gasped not only at the size of the wolf but its fierce appearance. It was huge and magnificent. Its black fur contested with its own shadow.

A male, I noted.

He was barely holding onto life, with gruesome gashes covering his body from his head to his tail. The slashes oozed with green smoke, whatever he was cut with was smeared with poison. And silver to prevent self healing.

It was strange enough to find a wolf in this part of the forest; it was the first one I had seen in months. And it was strange to find it fatally wounded, hardly hanging on.

My eyes darted around and my father’s warning rang in my ears again.

‘Don’t treat just anybody.’

But I couldn’t just leave him here. He was going to die.

I heightened my scent, ensuring the space was safe and the perpetrator wasn't still lurking around. Assured that I could safely give it first aid, I located the worst-looking wound.

It looked like a ghastly puncture from a bullet, and just like the rest of the slashes, it was poisoned. It was located on his chest meaning that in no time, the poison would get to his heart.

I accessed the poison. I figured that it was a very rare species of wolfsbane… one that could only be healed by burning it out. I opened my bag and got to work.

“Can you hear me?” I whispered and when he didn’t make a sound, I lifted up the bag and as I brought it closer to the wound, I noticed his breath became more labored…

“Who did this to you?”  I asked as though he was going to answer me.

I couldn't burn him. Not when he was this weak. There was only one other way... even if it meant I would suffer his pain.

When I got my voice, something else came with it. A kind of healing power that made me able to heal people by placing my hands on them. The catch was that I was going to feel their pain.

“Who are you?” I asked no one in particular. I didn’t understand why the thought of him never waking up terrified me. 

I placed my hands above its body and closed my eyes. This was the only way.

I felt my palm grow warmer under his fur and soon, I felt searing pain through my hands. It was low at first, but it intensified so much, I had to bite down on my lips. I didn't take my hands away and shut my eyes tighter to concentrate.

My head got lighter but once his breathing stabilized, I withdrew my arm.

His eyes glowed a fierce red as they suddenly stared at me, his soft eyes betraying affection.

It wasn't just a werewolf, it was an alpha! No wonder it was so huge.

But what was an Alpha doing in human land? This wasn’t a pack’s territory.

I retreated, still on my knees. He drew closer with a limp and placed his face close to mine ever so gently.

My heart, which threatened to break off my ribcage, calmed down, and as if it could tell, I felt his tongue slide over my face. He got on its hind limbs and like a faulty lamp, the glow in his eyes faded as he slumped, unconscious.

The words left my mouth before I realized what was happening.

“Mate…” I said in a low growl.

As I reached out to him, he reverted back to his human form.