The Good With the Bad

*Rowan*

I try to keep my thoughts on the task at hand as I rush to the front to check on the wounded there. James and the other healers have arrived, and they are sending me mind-link messages. This terrain is full of large rocks and scraggly brush that makes it nearly impossible to drive any sort of vehicle down. We have 4-wheelers back at the mansion, but we never drive them out here because it’s too dangerous. We could hit a rock wrong and go flying down the mountainside into the valley below. 

I’m guessing Solomon’s people crossed at an easier spot in the border and then the warriors made their way here before the few guards I had left on patrol of the border during the engagement celebration converged on them here.

When I finally arrive, I see four bodies. Two are ours, and the other two are enemies. James is working on one wounded wolf while Elise kneels next to another one. I recognize the two dead and say a silent prayer to the Moon Goddess for their souls. They were both good warriors, and it’s too bad they had to die so senselessly.

The other two seem to be in pretty bad shape. I shift and throw on some shorts one of the healers hands me. “Is there anything I can do to help?” I ask James.

He shakes his head. Benny, the wolf he’s working on, is still in his wolf form. “I don’t think so, but it’s good for both of them to know you’re here, Alpha.”

I lean over and place my hand on Benny’s front right leg. “You’re going to be okay,” I tell him. His eyes flicker open for a second, and his head rocks back and forth, but he doesn’t look convinced, and neither do I.

“I’m trying to stop the bleeding,” James explains. “It’s such a long journey back to the mansion on two feet. If the two of them aren’t stable before we go, that could be bad.” I recognize what he’s not saying. He doesn’t want Benny to know just how close to death he is.

After a few moments, I move over to the other injured wolf, Willy. He seems to be in a bit better shape, though Elise is working swiftly to sew him up on the insides. He’s also in his wolf form, and his eyes are open, though glossy. I’m guessing she’s given him some sort of medicine to help with the pain that’s making it difficult for him to be fully conscious. 

It’s better that way. Though it looks to me like Willy will probably make it, I can’t imagine the pain he must be in.

“Alpha, what do you want us to do with the enemy bodies?” one of the other warriors that was stationed here asks.

I don’t hesitate. “Push them off the ledge,” I tell him. “If they meant anything to Solomon, he wouldn’t have left them behind.”

He nods, and I watch from next to Willy as the bodies of the dead attackers slide over the edge and tumble down the mountainside, their bodies hitting rock after rock until they disappear into the darkness.

I wish it was King Solomon himself I was watching tumble down into the earth.

This was a cheap shot, and we both know it. The next time he sends his people over, I’ll be ready–and I’ll have King Jackson on my side. 

A few minutes later, both James and Elise decide their patients are stable enough to be moved. The other healers prepare a couple of stretchers, and we carefully move the wounded to them. I don’t hesitate to grab one of the poles to help move Willy. It’ll take a while to get back to the mansion, and it’ll be a dangerous climb for a bit until we get back to better terrain, but I will move right along with my warriors and show them I might be their Alpha, but I’m not too good to stand here with them and show my solidarity to the wounded.

I can’t help but think about Hezzlie as we make our way back to the mansion. I’ve tried to reach her through the mind-link, but she’s obviously still sleeping. I wish I was there by her side. The thought of seeing her face has me walking a little faster until the guys in the back start to groan a bit, and I realize I need to slow down.

When the top of the mansion comes into view, I send a mind-link message to my sister. ‘How is Hezzlie?’ I ask, hoping Mara answers. It seems wrong that I can’t fully trust her since she’s been freed from Alistair’s spell, but I honestly don’t know who I can trust. The question of how Solomon knew about the celebration keeps niggling in the back of my mind.

‘She’s still resting,’ Mara says promptly. ‘She’s fine, though. Her mom, Aiden, and I are all keeping her company while she sleeps.’

‘Thank you,’ I manage. I know for sure that her mother would never let anyone hurt Hezzlie, and while she might not have come into her magic yet, I’m sure she’d alert someone if anyone tried to hurt her daughter.

I think about the other witch who was present at the time of the attack. Veronica had attended the party, but I didn’t see her during the fight. Had she participated? 

She wouldn’t have to. It wasn’t her fight. She might’ve fled inside with the maids and others who are not trained as warriors. It would be nice to think that she would use her powers to help us, but I don’t have an alliance with her coven.

Witches don’t have the mind-link, so the only way she could be the one to tell Solomon we were distracted is by phone.

I need to check the phone records. See if anyone made a phone call from the mansion this afternoon to anyone in Solomon’s kingdom.

We arrive at the house and trek inside to the infirmary. We’re all tired, but once I’m certain Willy and Benny are still alive, I head upstairs.

Hezzlie’s perfect still on the bed when I step into her room. If I didn’t know she was just asleep, I’d be worried. She looks practically lifeless with her pale white skin framed by her dark hair. 

I thank my sister, Aiden, and Hezzlie’s mom for watching over her and then insist that they leave. Mara and Aiden don’t hesitate, but Ann wants to stay. I promise her I’ll have Hezzlie send her a text as soon as she wakes up, and Ann finally agrees to leave us be. 

I quickly clean up in the shower and then go back to Hezzlie’s bed, lying down beside her. I wrap an arm around my sleeping beauty and close my eyes, wishing the pleasant memories from tonight won’t forever be marred by the attack–but I know, like most other events of my life, they will be. I never get the good without the bad.