Chapter Nine - The surprise

***Present day.***
Lilith looked at Adam, positively more confused now than what she had ever been before. Adam had tried to save the girl, tried to save Talia Bell. But she had died right before his eyes, and still he claimed the girl was still alive. Alive and breathing, like the attack had never happened.

“In your professional opinion – would you say that was done by a wolf who lost control, or by a wolf who knew how to make the precipitant of his torture hurt in the worst way possible?” Adam asked, his finger pointing at the folder.

“Both” Lilith responded. She had read the file, seen the pictures. Even the deep scratches avoided the main arteries in ways Lilith thought to be impossible. “You said he was rejected; did they find who did this?” That was the one question she had never found answers to, cause there were no records. It was like the investigation just stopped and no one ever looked at it again. “They found him – and they killed him” Adam shuddered at the thought. Though he himself didn’t condone killing another being, believing in words over fists, he understood why the wolf had to die.

“The wolf that killed Talia, he hurt many others before he met his demise by the hands of a human. For a week they all looked for him, tried to take him down. Him and the pack he came to town with. They claimed to be a nomadic pack of wolves, going from one place to another, just enjoying the nature and not being tied down. The old mayor, Kristoffer Bell, didn’t mind the supernatural’s coming through, staying a night or ten. As long as they didn’t hunt or hurt anyone. So, he didn’t think twice about this nomadic pack before his granddaughter was hurt by one of them. Then all hell broke loose. Beside the nomadic wolves it was just me, but they left me alone. The mayor knew I had tried to help save his granddaughter, and he granted me immunity. But the others were hunted and slaughtered, leaving the culprit who killed Talia for last” Adam had refused to help them track any of the wolves down.

He could have stopped them from being hunted, but he didn’t care. They had disrupted the peace, they had broken every moral code, if it hadn’t been the humans, it would have been the alphas of other packs.

“Why was he rejected? And how do you even know this?” Lilith had many questions, and Adam was prepared to answer them all. But he knew he didn’t have time to answer everything right now.

“I heard him. They found him deep in the forest behind my property, and he was a man beyond reason. He was shouting, about how she had deserved it, how he was in his right because he rejected him. Him of all people. He had decided that she was to be his, and when she refused, he tortured her. Made her scream in pain. He screamed about like it was the most amazing thing in the world, like he had experienced the pure bliss of what the world had to offer. He was high on adrenaline, high on the desire to kill, to decide who got to live and who didn’t. In his mind he was a God, he alone could decide who got to live and who didn’t” Adam paused, his eyes finding the horizon again.

“They could have killed him swiftly, a silver blade to the heart. But no. The man in charge wanted him to hurt, to feel the pain he had inflicted upon others. They used silver chains to bind him, left him to be burnt for hours before his head was parted from his shoulders. His body, along with the other five wolves who traveled together, were burnt and their ashes thrown out” Adam found his way back to the chair once he had finished.

“But that doesn’t explain how she is still alive” Lilith crossed her arms over her chest. “Killing the killer someone doesn’t bring the dead back to life. And the injuries she got, even a wolf would have had trouble to heal from those injuries before bleeding out. Especially a young wolf, she wasn’t even eighteen when she died, and she wasn’t a werewolf. Or was she?” Lilith looked puzzled. She had never seen the girl for herself, she couldn’t tell.

“She wasn’t a wolf – but she wasn’t human either. The Bell family are all faes, as pure as they can be. And they have been gifted with special abilities that makes them different. Some fear them, others love them” Adam explained. “How to you know all this?” Lilith was curious now, leaving forward on her desk instead of sitting back with her arms crossed. “Because they told me”

***Flashback.***
Noon. Adam had gotten a decent three hours of sleep, and his body was aching from more. On the drive from his home to the hospital he had passed the Bell home. There were still police cars parked on the outside of the house, and people dressed in uniform and all white were milling around. There were even a small camera crew on the side, no doubt reporting of last night’s event for the entire country to know.

There would be coming more shortly, Adam had no doubt every agency in the country would be reporting on this case from now on. As far as he knew the wolf behind the crime was still on the run, but not for long. Mayor Kristoffer was without doubt assembling people to take down the wretched wolf and anyone who came in their way. Adam had no intentions of aiding either side, declaring himself from Switzerland before anyone could ask for his help. Not that anyone had made any request yet, Adam took that as a good sign.

Parking in front of the hospital he quickly spotted the man from the night before. “Glad you could make it” He spoke, a small smile on his lips. He seemed so unfazed by the last couple of hours it gave Adam the chills. This was not a normal reaction from someone who had just lost someone they cared for.

“I’m Xavier Bell – cousin of the girl you helped save last night” He reached out a hand, and Adam shook it. They were family, it explained why he knew what he was looking for when he rummaged through the bookshelf. “Thank you for that, by the way. If you hadn’t been around, she would have bled out before I got a chance to help her”

He led them into the hospital and down to the morgue where an older man greeted them with a handshake. “This is Doctor Olsen. He did the autopsy of Talia, and now we’re here to bring her home” Xavier explained, and the Doctor walked over to a wall of small, metallic doors. He swung one open and rolled out a tray with a covered body on it. “She’s ready” The Doctor said, removing the white cloth from her face.

Adam was expecting to see blood and mutilation, instead his eyes met a clean face, her hair was back to blonde, it had been cleaned of all blood. “How long?” Xavier turned to the Doctor, who in turn rubbed his chin. “I’ve never seen damage like that before, but you did the right thing. I’m guessing a couple of more hours, maybe” The uncertainty in his voice alarmed Adam and his wolf Damir, who had been slumbering in the back hos his head. Now he was waking up, his interest peaked.
“How long before what?” Adam asked, feeling like he was missing half of the conversation. And why was he even there? How was he involved in any of this. “Before…” Adam held up a hand before he could finish. He heard something. “There are three living people in here, why can I hear a fourth heartbeat?” Adam looked from Xavier to the doctor and back again, both seemed to unfaced for it to be normal.

“Because – she’s not dead” The doctor pointed towards Talia. She was still lying on the gurney, still as a corpse, but he could see it. He could see how her ghastly white skin got its glow back. How her chest slowly started to rise and fall.

“She’s not dead” Adam echoed taking one step forward. “I heard her heart stop. She died right before my eyes” Adam lifted his hand but stopped himself. His fingers lingered over her body; he could feel the heat coming of her. “How is she not dead?” His voice was but a whisper. This was impossible.

“She’s special, just like you and me” Adam turned to look at Xavier, who held the vial from before. “This is a very peculiar potion. It makes everything stop in order for you to heal. I can do a lot of things, heal many wounds, but hers. They were…” Xavier paused, like he was looking for the right word. “Many and gruesome” Adam suggested, Xavier nodded agreeing. “Whatever did this – they knew what they were doing, and how to immobilize her” There was a glimmer of something dark, a hatred towards the responsible, in his eyes, but it was gone by the time Adam got a chance to blink. Now he just looked sad.

“What kind of special is she?” Adam asked curious. She didn’t smell like wolf. “We’re faes, or fairies, or elementals, depending on who you’re asking. Talia has a special and rare talent; one many fear her for. And with good reason. Most of our kind have a peaceful gift, one who brings forth life. Most are related to the elements, being able to bend the water and air, some the earth itself. Me, I heal using my element, herbs, and potions. While Talia, she had a burning fire within her, making her capable of not only bending, but also creating. In the right setting she can create a chaos like any other. But she is pure at heart, letting the light of our Goddesses Áine and Brigid flow through her. She is a power to be reckoned with but would never harm others unless it was to save herself and her loved ones” Xavier explained as he walked over to where Talia was lying, her chest now rising higher than before.

“So, she’s powerful, yet a wolf managed to do what he did. How?” In Adams mind that wolf should have been the one on the ground, probably burnt to ashes. “By immobilizing her hands. Our power might run through all parts of us, but our hands are our most valued parts. We need our hands to bend and create, and by destroying her hands, he destroyed her chances of fighting back” Xavier removed part of the cloth, revealing her hand. It had been relocated, but the bruising was still visible.

“But how did she then throw the wolf out the door? I came in through a shattered door, splinters with blood littered the ground. I’m positive it wasn’t hers” That seemed to confuse Xavier, his brows knitted, and his eyes darted back and forth at a human speed, like he was reading something none of them could see. “That’s an answer for another day” He answered after a while. Adam wanted to protest, to demand answers, but then Talia started to move.

“Looks like we don’t have hours” Xavier said. “I asked you to come because I need a favor. Healing those close to death is a complicated process, and it takes times. Her body and mind shut down to heal, and it takes time. So, when she wakes up, there is a high chance she doesn’t remember anything. I want you to take her with you to your home. I need her to be safe, and the safest place I can think of is your home. No wolf dare go near it, you don’t interact much with humans. And most importantly, you care” There was an urgency to his voice.

“And I’d love for you to go now, so she doesn’t wake up in a morgue” Adam was about to protest, how had he landed himself with such responsibilities just be being a decent person and doing the right thing? But once he locked eyes with Xavier, he couldn’t say no. There was the same look as last night, pleading, but also trusting. This man knew what he was doing and was probably years older and wiser than Adam.

“Okay” Adam grunted, earning himself a sigh of relief and a thankful smile from both Xavier and the Doctor, who he had honestly forgotten was still there. He had to be a special kind of person to not be freaked out by any of this. “Thank you” Xavier lifted Talia, who stirred in his arms for a second before falling back asleep. “I better not regret this” Adam huffed under his breath. *‘You won’t. I have a feeling this will lead to something good’* Damir spoke in his mind as they made their way to his car.