Chapter Thirty-Three – The hangover

When Ariel woke up it took her a moment to realize just when and where she was. Her head was pounding, the room was spinning when she tried to sit up, and she had to focus hard on keeping her limited stomach content put.

She vaguely remembered Kieran, and how he had carried her home. She'd been too drunk to make sense, too drunk to even walk on her own. She had passed out on the mayor’s office after getting drunk on his liquor. Oh that was both unprofessional and embarrassing.

“Kieran!” She called out, but there was no response. The apartment was quiet, the only light the lowering sun in the sky. It was late, close to midnight late. It wasn’t uncommon for Kieran to be out this late, but she didn’t like it. Though she couldn’t remember everything that was said and done after the second drink, she remembered the conversation she’d had with Anthony about recon. There was no time to waste, Kieran was probably already out there.

Swinging her legs out of the bed and standing up didn’t agree with her. She doubled over as her head started to pound, and she had to breath steadily to keep her stomach content down. Cursing herself for drinking so much she glanced over at the nightstand. A glass over water and two painkillers. Bless him.

Ariel forced herself to sit on the bed again, swallowing the pills one at a time with big gulps of water before she laid back down. Just one more hour of rest before she was fit for fight. She just had to let the painkillers take its effect and then she would be on her way.

Two hours later she woke up feeling the mattress shift. Kieran laid down with a small grunt, carefully not to wake her. But it was too late. She turned around to face him, scooting closer so her head rested on his shoulder, her fingers moving so caress his chest.

“I didn’t mean to wake you” Kieran apologized.

“It’s okay, I don’t mind” Ariel answered as her fingers moved further down his torso, tracing the outline of his abs. “Where did you go?”

“I walked around the forest, trying to see if anything was out of the ordinary. It was oddly quiet, all things considering” Kieran answered truthfully. He hadn’t crossed into the Andvari property, staying in the forest that was part of the reserve. “I don’t think there is anything we need to worry about right now”

Ariel turned around to lay on her back, her eyes focusing on a spot in the ceiling. The room was dark now, Kieran had pulled down the curtains, blocking all sunlight out. Yet her eyes still found the outline of the ceiling lamp, focusing on that as she retraced the interaction she’d had with Anthony earlier in the day.

“I think he’s the reason she’s still alive. He did something to her so she’d heal” Ariel said absentmindedly.

In the old books and fairytales the supernatural creatures were described as monsters, making them easy to single out. But the truth was, they were all hiding in plain sight. Looking exactly like themselves, it was impossible to tell who was wolf and who wasn’t to anyone but the wolves.

“It’s very rare for any kind of shifter or were to do that. Alphas don’t create their pack my turning humans into werewolves, not in these days at least. The last time that happened was centuries ago, in the dark Middle Ages where everyone did everything they could to save themselves and their own kind”

“But how then? Who else can heal people, bring them back from the dead?” Ariel wondered out loud. Kieran was her walking encyclopedia, having answers to just about anything she needed answered.

“My first thought is witches – they have their magic and can do many things. But they stay away from necromancy” Kieran answered her before turning around to face her, resting his hand on her cheek so she’d look at him. Even in the dark he could see the blue in her eyes. They had a worried expression.

“So, that means someone healed her. But who, and why? And why would she stay with Adam if it wasn’t him?”

Ariel had so many questions, and the only person who could truthfully answer them all was Talia. But she was hesitant to reaching out. They had only sat down for coffee once, and stayed clear of the sensitive topics. Ariel was worried she might come off as prying or nosy. Talia was the one person with the answers, and she didn’t want to push her away.

“How about we leave the topic for now and get a good night’s sleep, I’m tired” Kieran pressed a kiss to her lips, caressing her cheek and offering her a small smile when he pulled away. She smiled back, curling into his body, resting her head on his chest as her fingers once against started to caress his body. A soft moan escaped his lips before he drifted to sleep.

It didn’t take long before Kieran was sound asleep. He was a heavy sleeper, making it easy for Ariel to get out of bed, get dressed and sneak out of the apartment. Her bow and quiver standing just to the side of the door. She grabbed them before darting down the stairs and out into the fresh air.

It was colder than she had anticipated, making her wrap her jacket closer around her before heading towards the forest. The sun was barely visible over the treetops, but it was still as light as day out. It made it harder to sneak around, she couldn’t easily hide in the shadows, but thankfully there weren’t many people out.

It didn’t take her long before she was out of town and into the reserve, heading in the direction of the Andvari property. Though she had never been there the map on her phone made it easier to find the right way.

It didn’t take her that long before she found herself in the middle of the forest, the same clearing she had last encountered the golden wolf and the rogue. She stopped there to take a break, listening for the sound of the forest. She could hear birds fly around, night animals scoot up and down the trees. An owl hooted in the distance. And footprint coming her way.

With the bow at the ready she moved to stand behind a tree with a wide trunk, shielding her frame from view while she could still observe.

“I hope she’ll be back soon. It shouldn’t take this many hours to deliver a message” Talia said as she stepped into the clearing, closely followed by the man Ariel knew as Adam. She’d seen him now and then, but never paid much attention to him. But now she studied him. From the way he walked, to how he was holding hands with Talia, to the wideness of his shoulder and color of hair. Golden, like the wolf she had met in the clearing when hunting for the rogue.

“You’ve started worrying to much” Adam said to her.

Talia loved with her entire being and worried all the same. Though she and Katlyn had never been close before that shifter had curled under her skin in just a matter of hours, and she worried now that she had flown out again. She worried about potential threats, nothing was like it used to be, and she needed the young shifter to be careful. And Katlyn didn’t see eye to eye with her on that.

“She’s a resilient person. Did you know that she spends the winters visiting the arctics? She’ll be fine. I didn’t ask you to come with me to worry, I asked you to come with me so you could take a break. It’s been a hectic day” Adam stopped in the middle of the clearing, drawing Talia in for a comforting hug.

She needed the break. But truth to be told, so did he. They hadn’t heard from Xavier since he left for France to find answers, it could take hours or days. Lilith was helping the crew down at the camp, trying to bring answers to how many casualties. Adam’s most modest guess was thirty, he feared it was higher. And no one seemed to know what had caused it in the first place. That alone was enough to make Adam worry.

On the other side, his pack had all come together to help the newcomers feel welcome, including them in their activities and conversations, acting like they were one big family. It was the one thing Adam loved the most about the members of his pack. They treated every single person like an equal, no matter the species.

“I can’t help it; I worry about the people I care about. I’d worry even more if it was you” Talia smiled and wrapped her hands behind Adam's neck, standing on her tipsoes and making him bend down so she could press a kiss on his lips. For one second everything was perfect, then Adam howled out in pain.