Cross My Heart

Chapter 2

Mia didn't hesitate. As soon as she was given the OK she pushed forward, taking control. Before I knew it, i was watching from the sidelines as Mia took the two rogues down without hesitation. I knew I was strong in human form but there was no way I could have taken on two of them by myself. Mia however, could take on way more than I could ever imagine before even breaking a sweat. 

Once the c*****e was done she took off running in the direction of the cave we had sent the boy to. She sniffed around outside before pulling the bushes away to reveal a small body curled up on the floor. I couldn't help but feel bad for him. He was so young and looked like he had been through so much already. 

His body was riddled in scars. Fresh wounds adorned his back and side. He had a large gash across his ribs that left them partially exposed. Blood had pooled around his fragile form. 

His pulse is weak. Mia informed me as she carefully walked over to where he was laying. She nudged him with her snout. He didn't move. Before I could even comprehend what was going on, she had already picked him up and threw him on her back. I heard him whimper as his body made contact with Mia. 

Mia took off running towards the pack clinic. I'm not sure what was going on but it seemed important to Mia that this boy survive at any cost. 

Mia stopped at the entrance. She lay the boy down on the ground before handing control back to me. We quickly shifted back to our human form before I scooped him up and carried him inside. The nurse at the front desk gave me a confused.

"Olivia are you ok?" She sniffed the air and scrunched her nose up.

"Mia say's he can be trusted and I trust her judgement." She nodded at gave me a faint smile before ordering another staff member to bring in a bed to lay him on.

I watched as they wheeled him away. I didn't know this wolf but part of me felt drawn to him. Not in a mate type of way though. I wanted him to be ok and so did Mia. I could feel her worry through the bond.

Mia, he will be fine. We have the best doctors on staff.

She nodded and paced around a little more before laying down in one spot.

I watched the doors that they had just wheeled him through. I didn't know what to expect at this point. My wolf, who has never been a fan of rogues, was suddenly telling me that we needed to help one out. Not only was she wanting to help one, she was worried sick about him. 

"Here sweetheart." I was drug out of my thoughts when my mother sat beside me and handed me a shirt and some shorts. I had been so caught up in the whole Mia thing that I forgot I was naked. Although nudity isn't completely taboo here, we still prefer clothes in settings such as these.

I felt my cheeks redden. It hadn't occurred to me before that I may need some clothes. I slipped the shirt and shorts on and sat back down next to my mother. Mia never once allowed me to move my gaze from that door.

"Mom, I'm not sure what's going on." She sighed and started rubbing small circles on my back.

"I think I have a slight Idea, but I'm not entirely sure yet. Let's give it some time." I nodded and sat back in my chair, waiting for whatever to happen.

Hours passed before someone came out to give me an update.

"Beta." The doctor nodded and bowed to my mother. She gave him a dull smile.

"Doctor." She returned the pleasantry.

"Olivia, the nurse said you found this young man?" I nodded and proceeded to tell him the events of the day.

"And that is how we ended up here." He had listened very intently to my whole story and was now standing there with his fingers scratching his chin.

"Well, he's stable for the most part. We lost him a few times on the operating table." He pauses and looked down at the chart he held in his hands, "His wolf is barely there, we think this may be due to the amount of wolfsbane found in his system. He's in a room now, in a medical induced coma to try and help him heal. We cleansed the wolfsbane from his system as best we could, so his wolf should wake up soon."

Mia perked up at the news. She listened closely to every word the doctor said. When he asked if we wanted to visit him, she nearly knocked the poor doctor over trying to get through the doors. 

Mia we don't even know where his room is.

Have you forgotten he's still considered a rogue?  She rolled her eyes and continued forward. She sniffed the air and followed his scent. A few nurses were coming from a room down the hall. Each one of them were pinching their noses.

 That must be his room. She quickly made her way to his room and opened the door slowly. The overwhelming smell of rotten flesh hit my nose and made me almost gag. Now I see why the nurses had their noses covered. Rogue wolves have a distinctive smell. It lets other packs know their status as a rogue. Humans cant smell them because well, they're humans therefore they don't have the enhanced ability to smell what we wolves can smell.

The moment a wolf is no longer part of their pack for whatever reason, they are considered rogues. From that moment on, they emit a putrid smell, many would say it smells like a rotten corpse. This rogues room smelt putrid though. It could be the fact that he's covered in bloody bandages too. So that would explain it.

I walked slowly over to his bedside. The poor man had tubes coming out of everywhere. Machines surrounded his bedside and a large computer screen was next to him. I glanced over at it. Jacob Holmes, Male, 26.

This man that looked no older than 15 at most....was 26? I felt my heart break a little. No one deserved to be treated this poorly regardless of if he was a rogue or not.

He has a lot to tell you when he wakes up. Just please hear him out. Mia pleaded out to me. 

I will. I promise. I'm not sure why Mia has such an interest in this man, but I'm sure I'll find out soon.

Olivia, do you trust me? The question caught me off guard. Mia has never given me any reason to not trust her so why would she be asking all of a sudden?

Of course I trust you.

Then give me control for a few moments please. I nodded my head and stepped to the back of my mind to let Mia through. I watched as she walked us over to the bedside of Jacob. She reached down to lay her hand on  a part of his arm that was exposed and free of tubes. She began to chant something in a language that I didn't quite understand. I watched in awe as a glowing white aura spread from our hand. It slowly crept up his arm. Before long the light had surrounded him. Mia kept chanting. 

His heartbeat increased making the monitors go crazy. I watched his body stiffen up and then just go limp. His chest begun to rise and fall faster than it was previously. I felt my heart catch in my throat. What was she doing? Surely she wouldn't have brought him here just to kill him.

Mia kept chanting, the light grew brighter around him. Soon the room quieted down. Jacob's breathing began to slow and his heart rate went back to normal.

I think you should come back now. I nodded and stepped back up. I could see the boy laying in front of me more clearly now. Something had changed. He no longer looked tired and weak. Color had returned to him. His face was no longer tired and malnourished. He was almost handsome. If it wasn't for the stench that surrounded him. 

Mia what happened? Silence. I guess she was ignoring me now. 

I looked out the window and noticed the sun was high in the sky now. I guess with all of the excitement of this morning I had lost track of time. I turned to walk out the room.

I stopped by the nurses desk and asked her to call me if he woke up, we had a lot of questions for him. 

The walk back to the packhouse was a blur. My body was worn out and basically in autopilot at this point. I made my way back home then ran up to my room. I didn't even bother changing out of the clothes my mother had brought to the hospital for me this morning. 

I collapsed onto my bed and let the sweet serenity of sleep take me into the dream world.

It had felt like mere seconds had passed before I was thrown into the same familiar setting that I had come to love. I've started referring to it simply as 'The Meadow'. The only difference in this dream and the last few that I've had is that Mia was there to greet me. Something about her had changed though. She stood taller than normal. Her fur was whiter, even though I didn't think that was possible. Her eyes had become almost neon blue. She walked behind me and nudged me forward.

I walked in the direction she was pushing me. A large crowd had gathered around a woman in a green and white dress. Her long brown hair flowed all around her. She stood on the bank of the pool and greeted the crowd. I couldn't quite hear what she was saying but it didn't sound too good.

I stooped behind Mia and watched closely. Soon her speech was over and the whole crowd dispersed and she was left standing there. 

Mia grabbed the back of my shirt and hoisted me up onto her back. I grabbed onto her fur as we began to run through the forest. The day had quickly turned to night. Not just any night though. It was a full moon. I had never seen the moon shine so bright and so big! Mia had slowed down when we got close to a brick wall. She sat down below a window and motioned for me to look through it. 

Inside was a small cell. Nothing to extraordinary to say the least. It was very plain and only housed the basic necessities. A table was sitting against the wall opposite of the window. A single chair had been placed beside the table. On the same wall as the window, was a bed. It was bare besides a single blanket and pillow. A man sat on the bed. He held his face in his hands and just sat there.

Shortly after we had gotten there, the man began to howl and scream. I watched in terror as the man began to sprout hair all over his body. His fingers elongated and claws begun to form. He slid off the bed and into the floor on all fours while his spine broke and repositioned itself. His legs grew thicker and were now covered in fur. His feet were now paws.

I watched as his jaws snapped and elongated into that of a wolf. Then it hit me. This was no ordinary wolf. This was Michael. The first wolf. He was cursed to transform every full moon and would experience each shift as if it were his first. I shuddered at the thought. The first shift is always painful for any wolf. I couldn't imagine it happening over and over again without any control. 

Suddenly, there was a knock on the cell door.