Chapter 22

Sitting in Henry’s old SUV was beyond awkward.

Henry thumped his fingers on the black steering wheel, humming to an old tune. I steadied my eyes on the gravel road in front of us while picking on the thread of the faded red seat covers. Ron sat quietly in the middle of Weston and Beau in the back seat.

“So,” Ron chuckled nervously. He looked ridiculously tiny adjacent to Beau and Weston. “You guys won’t attack us, right?”

“I thought we’ve established that,” Beau snapped, obviously annoyed.

“Okay,” Ron squeaked, drawing in a shaky breath. “My mom would definitely ban me from hunting.”

“You’re thirty-one and you still live with your mother?” Weston asked, shaking his head. “And she still tells you what to do?”

“I love my mom,” Ron defended. “We watch Oprah together.”

Approximately one hour earlier *

“Weston, please,” Henry’s voice pleaded with hurt. He ran his hand through his hair. “Do you have a Healer amongst you?” He then looked at all of us. “If any of you are Healers or know of any, please help my wife. She’s a werewolf and she’s been suffering an illness for over two years now. She will die soon.”

What the hell was going on?

Once the words fell out of his mouth, I glanced at Beau. He was staring at me with his eyebrows drawn together in confusion. There were a lot of questions I wanted to ask, but so little time to do so.

I’m beyond confused.

Hayley told me her parents were divorced. Was that one big lie? Was that her psychotic side speaking? If her mother were a werewolf, wouldn’t she be one too? Even if her father was a pure human, the offspring was bound to be a werewolf just as long as one of her parents carried werewolf blood.

Why did Henry possess such weapons if his wife was a werewolf? Wasn’t he afraid that she’d get hurt? Was that the reason she was ill? From being around wolfs bane so much? Wasn’t she angry with him for possessing those weapons?

Weston was wrong to make the decision without asking me first. I was fully aware he knew exactly what Henry was asking even before he brought it up today. Weston knew I was capable of healing a sickness just as long as it was a werewolf illness.

Illnesses such as cancer, HIV, and other diseases were incurable. Healers could only heal what illnesses were passed down in werewolves.

“No,” Weston said again, shaking his head furiously. “I will not put her in danger.”

“She’s your mate, isn’t she?” Henry asked after a few seconds of quite thinking. His eyes lit up while he dropped his gun fully. “Please, Weston, I’m begging you. You know what it’s like to have a mate – a soul mate. You know you’d hate to see her on the verge of dying.”

Henry’s voice cracked at the end while a frown fell upon his face. I could tell he was suppressing his tears and trying to keep his composure. However, the more he spoke about it, the more we knew he was breaking.

I couldn’t respond at first. It was too hard. I was too shocked to even speak a word. I could tell the others were just as confused as I was. It was silent in my head. I couldn’t hear their voices.

Henry looked at every one of us with pleading eyes. When his eyes rested on me for a fraction of a second, my heart stopped in my chest. Should I help him? Was he lying? What if he kills me after I’ve helped him? Would he? Does he dislike every werewolf besides his wife?

“I know I’ve done a lot of bad things,” Henry started. “But wouldn’t you stop at nothing to help the one you loved? I know you wouldn’t believe me when I say my wife is a werewolf because I own and create such vile weapons. I tried so hard looking for a Healer once my wife explained how they worked. Therefore, one day, I decided to visit a werewolf pack off the coast of Michigan. They attacked me. That’s the reason for my scar. After that day, I’ve made weapons to protect myself.”

“But that doesn’t explain the reason why you kill werewolves for fun,” Eli spat disgustingly. “Your wife is a werewolf and you killed werewolves with no remorse!”

“I know,” Henry sighed. “After I talked to a few more werewolves, I started getting frustrated. I knew they were lying when they said no Healers exist in the world today. My frustration led to killing. I regret it. I don’t expect you to understand. Please help me. I’ve only come across one Healer, but she couldn’t help. She only healed disheartening emotions. I swear to you that I stopped killing werewolves after that one moment.”

“You guys attacked us twice,” Eli cried, pointing to Abigail. Abigail shrank back from the unwanted attention. “You stabbed my mate!”

“I don’t know If you’ve noticed, but we tried talking to you first. However, once you guys smelled the wolfs bane, you automatically growled at us. You would circle us or bare your canines. We were scared,” Henry stated as if it was obvious. “So we would attack. We apologize. But you guys never gave us a chance.”

‘Is this true?’ I asked the pack through the mind link. I wouldn’t know because I haven’t been present during these attacks.

It was quite before Jade replied.

‘Now that I’ve thought about it, they have tried to tell us something. Our minds would focus on the weapons, not the people,’ Jade gasped. ‘Now I feel horrible.’

‘It’s okay, Jade,’ I replied when nobody spoke up. ‘I would have reacted the same way if I saw deadly weapons.’

‘I’m going to help him,’ I linked quietly when Weston still refused Henry’s offer. Henry even gave his gun to one of the Rogues and showed empty pockets. Henry then ordered the other hunters to give up their weapons.

‘What?’ Everyone responded.

‘No,’ Weston growled. ‘Fuck no, Danny.’

‘Why not?’ I snapped angrily. ‘It was wrong of you to make my own decision.’

‘I’m your mate.’

‘Exactly. You’re my mate, not me.’

‘No.’

‘Weston, this could be over if I helped his wife.’

‘Why would you want to help her?’

‘Henry was the one who did wrong things, not his wife.’

Silence. ‘How do you know they wouldn’t hurt you?’

‘I don’t.’

‘Then you’re not going.’

‘You can’t stop me.’

‘Please don’t do this to me, Danny,’ Weston pleaded brokenly. ‘What if they’re lying? What if they hurt you? What if everything goes wrong?’

‘Life’s full of risks, Weston,’ I sighed. ‘I can’t waste such a beautiful talent.’

‘They’ll kill you if you don’t succeed in curing his wife,’ Weston said lowly, almost as if it pained him to say the words. ‘I won’t allow you to walk into that.’

‘I’ll take care of it,’ I replied hastily before putting my block up. There were too many voices in my head. If I tried to let them see my point, that would take the entire night. The only quiet one was Beau, who nodded his head at me in agreement.

I stepped up, ignoring Weston’s warning glares.

“Henry,” I cleared my throat awkwardly. His eyes snapped to me. I saw realization swimming in his brown eyes. Everyone watched me silently. Beau stepped beside me, blocking my view of Weston. “Is your wife’s sickness a pure werewolf illness?”

“Yes,” he whispered, eyeing me if I were God – which was very awkward. “Her wolf is very sick. We’re not sure what illness it is. We’ve tried everything to heal her, but nothing worked.”

Werewolf illnesses were hard to pin down. They were so much alike, it was hard to distinguish them. Being a Healer, all you needed to do was mutter words while waving your hands over the patient’s entire body.

“Ells – “Weston called quietly.

“My cousin, Beau and I will be able to help you,” I suggested, ignoring Weston. “But we’ll only do it on several conditions.”

“D, this is not a good idea,” Jarred whispered.

“Anything. I’ll do anything,” Henry replied eagerly.

“Your hunters will stay here under the watchful eyes of my friends,” I ordered confidently, motioning my hand towards the werewolves. “They must submit every weapon to us they possess as of right now and empty their pockets. Your men will be kept in our conference room until I am sure you will keep your word. You may take Ron with you if that makes you feel slightly safer. You, too, must prove that you have no weapons on you or in your car. My friends will destroy the weapons that they have collected today.”

“I’m not asking you to completely destroy the wolfs bane weapons and plants. I’m afraid that it’s too late for that. Your men will probably have one hidden under their beds at home for safekeeping. However, I shall warn you. A healing is a gift from the ancient Healers. They watch you. If you do come after us and try to extinguish our beings after the healing is done, your men and their families will suffer treacherous consequences that are better left unsaid.” There were several gasps from both the hunters and the werewolves. It was true. If a healing was done under terms and conditions, anything that is agreed upon must be followed. It was a taboo to break promises if something as big as healing was being done.

“You will stop selling or creating those weapons,” I continued. “Finally, I want werewolves to live peacefully amongst you. We will not kill or harm you if you do not kill or harm us. It’s as simple as that. Once you agree to these terms, there is no turning back. Break one of these agreements and you shall live with the consequences. Believe my words. A person once went psychotic and committed suicide because he broke a promise,” I said seriously. Healing was serious.

Henry looked at his hunters, before they nodded slowly. They had fear in their eyes, but they looked slightly calmer than they did before. I guess it was because I decided to help them.

“We were only in this group to help Julie,” One hunter said, taking his cap off. “She’s my sister.”

“I’m pretty sure we all agree,” A female hunter nodded her head. “We never meant to harm you and if you help Julie, we will know your intentions are good. We will leave you alone.”

“After you recite your promise, you swear your lives to the Ancients. We cannot control what happens next unless a new agreement was made. This is a serious matter,” Beau said. When the hunters nodded, Beau continued. “Raise your right hand and say, ‘We agree to the terms and conditions of this agreement.’”

An amazing thing happened next. The hunters stood in a single filed line – including Hayley. They raised their right hands, reciting the words. Goosebumps covered my skin. This was my very first agreement. I could feel the Ancient Healers watching.

“Great, let’s get this show on the road,” I grinned. The wolves have started patting down the hunters before heading towards the house.

“I’m coming with you,” Weston stated, leaving no room for discussion. He gripped my hand and walked next to me as we followed Henry and Ron into the forest, towards Henry’s car. I simply shrugged, letting Weston tag along.

Henry’s car was an old SUV with sunspots on its faded red paint. Jarred and Eli had inspected his car before heading back towards the pack house. Henry smiled before we all piled into the spacious Ford Bronco.

Inside, a radio sat on the dashboard. The car’s radio was long gone. A pine scented air freshener hung from the rearview mirror. His seatbelts looked dangerously weak. I sat in the passenger seat, my right leg bouncing up and down.

Sitting in Henry’s old SUV was beyond awkward.

Henry thumped his fingers on the black steering wheel, humming to an old tune. I steadied my eyes on the gravel road in front of us while picking on the thread of the faded red seat covers. Ron sat quietly in the middle of Weston and Beau in the back seat.

“So,” Ron chuckled nervously. He looked ridiculously tiny adjacent to Beau and Weston. “You guys won’t attack us, right?”

“I thought we’ve established that,” Beau snapped, obviously annoyed.

“Okay,” Ron squeaked, drawing in a shaky breath. “My mom would definitely ban me from hunting.”

“You’re thirty-one and you still live with your mother?” Weston asked, shaking his head. “And she still tells you what to do?”

“I love my mom,” Ron defended. “We watch Oprah together.”

My eyes widened in surprise. I turned around to face Ron and saw that Weston and Beau were staring at him with a “what the hell” expression. Ron stared at his feet, chuckling nervously.

“We won’t hurt you, man,” Weston sighed, patting his back. “We made an agreement.”

“Right,” Ron said unconvinced with a nervous smile on his face.

“Thank you,” Henry whispered. My eyes snapped to him. His expression was relaxed. It was as if a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders.

I couldn’t blame him though. If Weston was suffering from an illness and I couldn’t do anything about it, I’d stop at nothing to find help or assistance. Like Henry, I knew how it felt to love someone and I didn’t want to know how it felt to lose that person.

Weston meant a lot to me.

I knew Julie meant a lot to Henry.

“You’re welcome,” I smiled, feeling good with myself. “I wouldn’t want to lose my soul mate either.”

“I met Julie two years after I’ve divorced my first wife – Hayley’s mom. The first time I laid eyes on her, I instantly fell in love. Along with Hayley, she’s my happiness and she’s my world,” Henry’s voice was filled with so much love and happiness. I wondered if I sounded like that when I spoke about Weston.

His statement answered a lot of questions. Hayley was a human. Henry remarried. It made perfect sense now.

“So Hayley likes her step mom?” I asked, surprised that I was actually conversing with a man that almost killed me today.

“She’s happy if I’m happy,” Henry shrugged. “Hayley suffered a whole lot when her mother and I had the divorce. Next thing you know, she was suffering from depression and she constantly felt lonely. Docs prescribed her medicine. After the Healer I told you about healed her, she convinced us that she was okay without the meds. I didn’t know the healing of emotions would last that long.”

There was another answer to my question.

I felt a sudden sympathy for Hayley before it quickly went away. That was the reason why she was so clingy and attached to Weston. She was looking for something that was absent in her own home.

I wanted to tell Henry that Hayley had lied when she said she was fine. She wasn’t. Healing of emotions doesn’t last that long. They were only temporary – like a high from a drug. However, I didn’t want to give Henry more to worry about at the moment. It wasn’t my place to tell him. It was Hayley’s obligation to tell her father the truth.

Julie was pretty with long, honey blonde hair that framed her heart shaped face. Her eyes were a dark green.  She was terribly skinny for a werewolf. Her translucent skin was nowhere being healthy at all. There was a limp to her walk. I cringed when she lay down on the bed with struggle.

“Danny, you’ve got this,” Beau encouraged when Weston collected Henry’s weapons. “Just remember what you’ve learned.”

“Beau, I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you,” I smiled, giving my cousin a big hug.

“I think I found her,” Beau whispered in my ear. It took me a second to realize what he was saying.

“What?” I exclaimed. Sudden happiness wrapped itself around my heart. I couldn’t stop the huge smile that stretched across my face. I punched Beau’s arm. “You will have to explain later!”

I bent down next to Julie who had a small smile on her face. “God bless you, Danny,” she whispered breathlessly. “I’m blessed that God has led me to Henry. He found you.”

I smiled. “Julie, he loves you a lot.”

“Ah,” Julie laughed tiredly. “That’s the beauty of mates. You know what true love is. Anyone who has found it should not let it go.”

Her statement caused me to look back at my rough past with Weston. I shouldn’t have let him go like that. I would regret that decision for the rest of my life.

I was lucky I found him.

I was lucky I still had him.

I’ve learned that if you were lucky enough to get it, then you should cherish and keep it.

“That is so very true,” I chuckled, before placing my hands on Julie’s head. “I need you to relax and close your eyes. Think of happy thoughts and positive outcomes. Don’t think too hard of the situation at hand. Think of what would happen if you’re healthy again. Imagine sky diving with Henry or shopping with Hayley.”

“Hilatu illateru sikeru. Hilatu illateru sikeru. Hilatu illateru sikeru …”

The words rolled off my tongue. I was so much better at healing that I could do it with my eyes opened. I smiled when I saw that it was working.

Julie’s color was coming back. Her lips and cheeks were regaining its normal rosy color. The dark bags under her eyes receded a little bit. She looked healthier and stronger.

“You could open your eyes now,” I whispered after the whole process.

Julie opened her eyes without struggle. She sat up slowly without moaning in pain. Her eyes were wide before she threw her skinny arms around me. “I don’t know what to say. I feel better. I literally felt my illness go away. It felt like water rinsing off dirt from my hands,” She gushed. Even her voice sounded better. “Thank you, Danny. I mean it.”

“Okay, I did enough to heal the illness, but you will still have a fever. Eat the right food so it could restore the nutrients in your body. Rest up. You should be fine in no time,” I ordered. Julie nodded her head happily.

“You’re amazing! I feel so much better! I feel so alive! I haven’t felt like this in a long time! Thank you so, so, so much! I cannot express my gratitude enough!”

I laughed as Julie continued her happy banter. Soon, Henry joined us in the living room. Along with Julie, they kept praising me on my work. Every time they would finish their statement, they would shout out their appreciation.

These times made me proud to be a Healer. We were a rare form of werewolf that was supposed to be extinct centuries ago. Slowly, we were proving that are intentions were not bad. We were made to help, not to cause danger.

Slowly, the werewolves were also proving they didn’t want to cause harm to humanity.

“I owe you guys a lot,” Henry said after profusely apologizing for everything he did. We didn’t quite trust him yet or accept his apology. “So, can we call a truce?”

I smiled at Weston who looked at Henry’s outstretched hand, before shaking it. “Truce,” Weston smiled.

***

“Did I tell you how lucky I am to have a sexy Healer as a mate?” Weston mumbled, nuzzling my neck.

I laughed, ruffling his black hair. “I guess luck was on both our sides.”

Weston smiled, crashing his warm lips on mine. The moment felt right, kissing my mate under the stars on our spot on the porch steps. Then again, it always felt right with Weston.

And it always will be.