Everwild (The Healer Series, #1) (30 page)

The activity around her instantly died. The
wolves stood awkwardly aside, unsure of what to do, and the
warlocks were slowly and carefully approaching Bane with hands up
like they were surrendering.

“Come any closer and I’ll kill her!” Bane
shouted madly and began backing away from them.

A deep voice made him stop and Bane turned to
face Emerson, whose arm was outstretched and there was pain in his
gray eyes as he looked at his closest friend and confidant. “Bane…”
he said, his voice was full of hurt, “why do this?”

Bane didn’t pause in his response. “I’m tired
of being your follower! I’m tired of coming second to you when I am
just as powerful! You know nothing of what Hekate can give. She is
Queen, and soon…I’ll be her King! I will be the best! I will be the
one to fear! And you will bow before my feet!”

“Hekate doesn’t care about you, Bane!”
Emerson reasoned. “I do! You’re my friend! How could you betray me
like this? You think you’ll be her King? Hekate only wants power!
She won’t allow someone else above her! That’s why she wants to
take Willow’s power. She can’t stand the thought of another being
more dominant than her. See reason in this. How can you even think
she’ll let you rule as an equal to her?”

“Don’t you dare talk about her like that!”
Bane bellowed. “You’re a fool, Emerson! You all are! And you will
die for defying her!”

“Please, don’t do this!” Emerson said. “I can
help you—”

“You want to help me?” Bane laughed
hysterically. “Then get the hell out of my way and let me take the
Healer to my Queen! It is my destiny!”

“I can’t let you do that,” Emerson said
calmly. “NOW!” He screamed and then Willow was falling forward with
Bane right on top of her! Someone had come up from behind and
shoved them to the ground. Willow’s body landed hard and then she
felt Bane release her. Instinct took hold and she rolled away from
Bane, using her strength to push herself up off the ground. She
sprinted towards Emerson and the other warlocks as fast as her
shaky limbs could carry her.

She heard Bane scream furiously and then his
cries were cut off. In that moment, she knew Bane was dead. She
didn’t have to turn around to confirm it, but she did anyways.
Willow saw the Alphas surrounding Banes’ body and they were simply
devouring him. The back of Bane’s head was severed and blood was
running out of him like a river. The sounds of sloshing, crunching,
and vicious snarling were all that filled the night air. She
quickly turned to hide her face from the horrific scene. Chills
erupted on her body as all of the wolves began howling into the
night sky. The dissident sound made her skin crawl. Their enemy was
defeated.

She felt all alone standing there hiding her
face and crying into her palms, but not for long. Strong arms came
around her and pulled her close, wrapping her up in a warm, snug
embrace. She inhaled and instantly knew who was holding her. Chase.
He was back in his human form, and even though he was only wearing
shorts and his chest was bare, she pressed her face into it and
cried into him. Her arms came around him and she held on to him
with fervent gratitude. He hadn’t abandoned her. He knew Bane was
kidnapping her and fought to save her. Once again, she had help
come to save her. She felt his hands slowly trail up and down her
back comforting her and whispering words of safety into her
ear.

Remembering the wolves that were fallen,
Willow suddenly detached herself from Chase’s hug and rushed up to
the first fallen wolf she saw. She knelt on the ground and watched
the still form of the beautiful beast before her. Touching the fur
that looked course and rough, she was surprised to find it
extremely soft and silky. She petted the wolf and then squeezed her
eyes shut, calling upon the healing magic within her, magic that
had gotten stronger. But nothing came. Her eyes burst open as she
looked down upon the wolf. Why wasn’t her magic working? Was
he….

“He’s gone, Healer,” Chase’s hand came down
on her shoulder. “You can’t save everyone, love.”

Tears fell from her eyes as she looked ahead
and saw that at least ten of the wolves were dead. But what was
even sadder was seeing that some of the wolves had surrounded the
fallen and were nudging them and howling at their sides. It was a
sign of loyalty and respect and there was such sweetness to it that
Willow broke for them even more.

“This is my fault,” Willow whispered standing
up. “If I had warned
someone
, somehow of Bane’s treachery,
none of this would’ve happened…”

“Don’t even go there,” Chase said. “You were
protecting everyone from him. You were brave, Willow. Okay? Bane’s
trip to crazy town is over. There’s nothing you could have done. He
deserved what he got.”

Willow turned to Chase. He had a funny way of
expressing himself, sometimes. “Crazy town, huh?”

“Yes, crazy town. Where the crazies go and
sometimes they get loose and cause all sorts of chaos. Don’t you
know about it? Well…let me educate you—”

Willow rolled her eyes. His teasing strangely
made her feel better. “Save it for another time, Wolf-boy.”

Chase grinned broadly as two figures
approached them; Emerson and a tall, red-headed man. Emerson spoke
up first. “Willow Rose, allow me to introduce you to the Alpha of
the Whiteclaw pack. This is Grissom Henley.” Willow smiled as the
Alpha offered a hand out to her. This was Chase’s Alpha. At first
glance, Grissom was attractive. His short, dark red hair was
perfectly messy as it fell across his forehead. It looked almost
the same as Willow’s color. He had dark green eyes that sparkled in
the moonlight and freckles that dusted his nose and cheeks. He
must’ve been the Alpha wolf that was colored red. He was at least
six five, and was totally built with a set of abs to top it off. He
was also just wearing shorts, as most of the wolves that had
shifted back were. Warlocks were handing out clothes to those who
needed them. Grissom appeared young and spirited, but after seeing
him fight so rough, Willow figured he could be extremely dangerous.
The status of Alpha didn’t come to just anybody.

Grissom came up to Chase and clapped a large
hand on his shoulder. “So I hear you’ve met our rambunctious little
pup on your journey through the Everwild?”

“Rambunctious is one way to describe him,”
Willow said and smiled when those around him began laughing.

Grissom laughed deeply. “Well, I am glad he
was able to assist you… although, it was his fault you ended up in
the hands of the Fey in the first place.”

“I think I would’ve run into them anyways
since the Seeker’s prophecy was leading me to the crystal cave,
where the Fey apparently have lived for a very long time. King
Diazinon was somehow expecting me.”

“Well, the Fey
expect
a lot of
things…but we make it a point to keep it from them.”

“Speaking of the Seeker,” Emerson chimed in.
“
You
need to see her right away,” he motioned to Willow.

“What of the meeting, Emerson?” Grissom asked
as the two others Alphas approached them. They were both as tall
and muscular as Grissom, and just as deadly looking.

Emerson sighed deeply and rubbed his eyes. He
looked worn out and aged and Willow felt sorry that such a gentle
hearted but stern man like Emerson had so much stress and
responsibility on his hands. Emerson smirked slightly as he
responded. “You mean the meeting we haven’t even had yet?”

“That’s the one,” Grissom said returning the
smile. “Raeburn and Jefferson have traveled quite a ways to meet
with you.”

“Yes. Yes, I know. The meeting will go on as
planned, but I also have deep concern for the Healer. It’s seems I
can’t even trust my own people to keep her safe…”

“Then trust ours,” Grissom said proudly and
gestured to his wolves. “Let some of my wolves escort her. We can
be in constant contact if some stay in wolf form both here and
there.”

Emerson ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t
know…”

“Oh, come on, Emerson man!” Chase said
practically bouncing up and down with excitement. When Emerson shot
him a dangerous look, he quickly said, “I mean…Your Grace. Willow
and I…we’re a team,” he wrapped an arm around Willow’s shoulders
and pulled her into him. “We’ve been through it all. Together. And
it would be an honor to once again be by her side and defend her
against any danger that dares come in--”

“Oh no you aren’t,” Grissom interrupted
Chase. “You might be the
least
qualified to be given a
charge as important as this.”

“But Alpha!”

“Don’t forget the role you played in pissing
the Fairies off. Not to mention you got captured by them!”

“Hey! That wasn’t my fault, Alpha! I didn’t
know the territories expanded and the treaty had changed. You know
that…”

“Yes, and it was my fault not to warn you.
But if you had been with the pack instead of gallivanting off
somewhere causing trouble, we possibly wouldn’t be in this
situation.”

“With all due respect, Alpha, you wanted
this situation
to occur too, so don’t—’”

“CHASE HAWTHORNE!” Grissom roared at the
werewolf. Chase whined, (actually whined!) and turned his head to
the left in submission to the Alpha power. “Be silent! Of all the
wolves in my pack, you are the most insubordinate! Why? Why make
this harder than it should be? It’s easy. I’m Alpha. My word is
law. Do you deny me?”

“No, Alpha,” Chase said quickly and turned
his eyes to Grissom, even though his head was still forced to the
left.

“Good, then obey.”

The power seemed to leave Chase as he
straightened up and craned his neck. He didn’t say anything in
return, but Willow could feel his seething anger and hurt. That
what when she decided to speak up.

“Grissom, Alpha of the Whiteclaw pack, I ask
your permission for Chase to come with me. He has guided Declan and
I through the Everwild and kept his word at protecting me. Along
the way…he’s become more than just an ally.” Willow turned her gaze
upon Chase, “He’s become my friend.”

Chase’s smile was priceless. Somewhere along
the way, Chase had captured a little piece of her heart. It wasn’t
his flirtatiousness or how attractive he was. It wasn’t the fact
that even though he led them astray (several times), he was still
loyal to the very end. It was the genuine concern and care for her
that caused Willow to feel so special. She didn’t realize how much
she missed Chase until she left him to fight the Fey in the cave
with his pack. Tonight solidified it all. She realized how much he
meant to her when she saw him after Bane had almost taken her to
Hekate. The joy she felt at seeing him again was something she
couldn’t describe. But now that Chase was back in her life, she
couldn’t imagine him not going with her.

“Such formalities, little one,” Grissom
looked down at her and smiled. He looked from her to Chase and then
Emerson. The corner of Emerson’s mouth lifted in amusement. “Very
well, Healer. I will grant you this request.”

“YES!” Chase said and jumped in the air
pumping his fist. “It’s Chase Hawthorne and the Healer witch girl
on another daring adventure—”

“Don’t get too excited, Chase!” Grissom
shouted over him. “We’ll have words when you get back. You’re not
off the hook by a long shot! I’m only allowing this because of the
Healer’s request. And you’re taking a few of the others with
you.”

Three wolves sauntered up to them and waited,
still in wolf form. They seemed to be the biggest she’s seen yet,
not to mention they looked strikingly alike. They all had the same
colors on their bodies in the same areas. Chase saw who it was and
then turned to gawk at Grissom. “Alpha--”

“Shut it, Chase,” Grissom said again
interrupting him. “You don’t get a say in who goes with you. We
were just over this…”

“Sure, if you want to send the Turner
triplets fine by me. So long as they stay in wolf form,” Chase
threatened and gave a nasty look to the three werewolves who were
growling at him. Apparently he really disliked the Alpha’s
choice.

Of course Chase gave a retort to that, but
Willow could no longer pay attention because Emerson came up to her
and drew her away from the wolves. Turning her to face him, Emerson
put both hands on her shoulders and lowered his head to look into
her eyes. Those eyes held years of knowledge and power and
something else…concern. He looked at her like he would look at a
daughter or son, full of care and worry. “I want to make sure that
you are okay with this. I don’t want to leave you vulnerable and if
you have any doubts about being with the werewolves whatsoever,
just say the word and I’ll cancel the meeting and go with you
myself.”

Willow’s eyes stung with unshed tears as she
looked at the Head Warlock. There was so much in him that reminded
her of Declan, like his mannerisms and how he could go from being
soft and loving to stubborn and demanding with a flick of a switch.
Not to mention he looked like a much older version of Declan
besides the color of his eyes.

“I can handle it,” Willow said. “If there’s
one thing I’ve learned from surviving in the Everwild, it’s that
I’m stronger than I think. With the help of my friends, I can
overcome anything. Chase has become my friend, and Declan,” she
choked a little on saying his name, “if he were here…I know they
would protect me at all costs.”

“Willow,” Emerson said. “I’m sorry for what
happened between you and Declan. By now, he should be at the
Academy. It was wrong for me to send him away so suddenly, but Bane
was my closest friend. He can be very,
very
convincing at
times. And he not only convinced me to send my boy away and all the
other young warlocks who need training, but I also sent Henry, who
is also a very powerful warlock as well. He had a plan this whole
time and I fell right into his trap. A devil within.”