They met just outside the packhouse and went in together. There was still several rogues wandering the property but no pack members except for warriors wandered around. Xavier could feel the losses deep within him. Links broken from the deceased. He counted twenty links no longer there, the thought weighing heavily. Shia, Zay, and several other healers also wandered the ground, attending to those they could. When they came into the packhouse, a near thirty injured were gathered in the living room and kitchen, their injuries being seen to by healers stationed there. Xavier didn't have the time or heart to give them any words of advice. He had to find Celeste.
"Malum wouldn't have taken her far, she is not his goal." Lycer's words weighed heavily in Xavier's office. Josh slipped in quietly.
"What do we know?" He immediately went to the drawing drawer, pulling out a map of the pack and the surrounding lands and laying it across Xavier's desk.
"She was taken from Lesa's house off the town square not an hour ago. We would have missed them by minutes." That weighed heavily on Xavier's chest. If only he'd been faster. If only he'd been closer.
"There were footprints and blood going [xxxx]. They stopped just near the [xxxx] border," Jared spoke. Josh inhaled, a deep worry settling through him. "The blood wasn't hers. It likely belonged to Christopher. It seems Malum sent him to do his bidding."
"Lesa said she heard him through the door of where she was hiding." Lycer sat, running a hand through his hair. "There's no way he didn't hear the baby cry. He'll be back for them."
"She's upstairs with Wesley now. They won't be able to get into the pack house without Shia permitting them. They're safe for now." Xavier was relieved for this but his worry for Celeste wouldn't let him rest yet. "Lycer, they want you."
"I know," he said through gritted teeth. "So we give them what they want."
"Celeste won't allow that," Xavier argued, though having no personal objections to the idea of the trade. Celeste would never forgive him for the thought.
"I never said we follow through. We go out into the woods, propose the trade, get her back then overtake Malum. Get rid of that bastard once and for all."
The four men agreed, venturing back out into the snow, several warriors on their heels. Rogues continued to wander through the pack, several attempting attacks on the group who were swiftly dealt with, most by the Alpha. Nothing would stand between him and his mate. Xavier's heart clenched as they followed the trail of blood. He could only hope it was Christophers, the snow making it near impossible to smell a trace of either of them. 'Celeste,' he tried again. 'Where are you?' Bile rose in his throat as he was thrown back into those miserable three weeks without her. He'd just gotten her back. No, he couldn't think this way. He had to focus.
Jacob and Jared traveled in their wolf forms, trying to detect any sound that could lead them to where they went. Everything was muffled in the snow. Everything was dreary. Was this the same snow they played in as pups? Was this the snow that made the world anew? If so, it was not a world any of them wished to be a part of.
Xavier was so lost in his thoughts of Celeste: where was she? What had Christopher done to her? Why was she not answering him? He did not notice the rogue standing not twenty feet in front of them, emerging from a tree, until the growls of his friends and warriors alerted him. They all stilled; Xavier's eyes trailing up and down the experiment. It had a grey hue to its skin and a wrinkled scalp and neck. Xavier held up a hand, silencing his pack members. "Where is she?"
Its voice came out, a low scratchy sound, "Follow me." It took four steps. "Only the Alpha and the boy."
"Not a chance," Josh growled out. Jacob tugged at his pant leg, looking to their Alpha on what to do.
"They will follow," Xavier insisted.
"If they interfere, Malum will kill both them and the girl." Xavier growled.
"Touch any of them and I'll make your death gruesome."
"You could do that and you would still lose them all."
'Follow but stand back until she is safe, understood?' He linked to the group.
"Where is your boss?" The question came from Lycer, an understanding filling him despite being left out of the communication of the pack members. Celestial's safety first, the rest second.
They followed the rogue deeper into the woods.
Zay was exhausted. She'd always found herself to be a strong woman. She was raised by the former Beta of the Paramount Pack and a proud mother, a healer like herself. Alongside her brother, she was taught how to fight as well as mend. She remembered being thirteen and starting training, her father pushing them both to extraordinary lengths. She remembered being 16 and being allowed to help out at the pack hospital for the first time. She remembered when she graduated and was instated as an official healer of the pack, working her way up from there.
For hours now, she'd been carrying injured pack members to safe places. The pack house, the hospital, and now the library. Her arms hurt, her back was sore. Most of all, her heart was aching. With every injury she wrapped, every bandaid she placed, her heart squeezed and clenched in an extension of her gut. Her stomach was turning at every dead pack member she crossed. She knew these people, grew up with many of them, watched several of them grow just a few years under her own age. She was barely twenty. She wasn't meant to handle this, let alone lead the helping hand. She should be at home, with her mate, cuddled up and watching a movie while going through another textbook that Shia would beg her to put down.
Another rogue lunged for her and she raised her fist, catching it right upside the chin. It faltered back but snapped forward just as quick, missing her arm by less than an inch. She swung the medical kit in her opposite hand, striking the rogue across the face. It took a staggering step sideways and steadied itself with a growl. It lunged again only to be knocked back with a blue ball of light. Zay snapped her head in the direction it came from as the rogue went down with a howl of pain.
"Keep going!" Shia was pale, her energy dwindling. The library was the third building she was attempting to build a barrier around and it was getting to her. Zay ran over to her, ignoring the rogue whose life was near to over as it seized in pain that coursed through its body. When she placed her hand on Shia's pale blue cheek, she could feel how clammy the magi had gotten. "What are you doing?" There's work to be done, the unsaid words hung in the air.
"Thanking my beautiful mate for looking out for me." She leaned up, pressing her lips to the clammy skin. Shia's hands shook lightly as she stopped focusing on the task at hand and brushed aside a locke of Zay's blonde hair.
"Stay focused. I need to wrap this up."
"Don't push yourself too hard." Shia nods, her jaw tight. She wipes her brow and turns back to the library in front of her. The barrier had started to rescind, a consequence of not finishing it and losing her focus. She took in several deep breaths, closing her eyes, and began the incantations she was taught so many years ago. Zay gave a smile that her mate couldn't see. She didn't need to know. Their pride in each other extended beyond that.
She continued on her way. She crossed a young boy, maybe 16, with tears in his eyes as he hid between two houses. He jumped when Zay touched his shoulder, head snapping towards her. In the opposite direction, growls could be heard. Zay held up a finger to her lips, motioning for him to follow her. "Are you hurt?" He shook his head.
"My parents - they went into town-"
"Good. Then they're safe. Let's get you somewhere safe, yeah?" He nodded, pushing himself up from the snow. "What's your name?"
"Logan, Miss."
"You can call me Zay."
"I know who you are." His voice was wavering, his eyes continuously going back towards the loud growling. "Everyone knows who you are. You're the Alpha's healer."
"Alpha Xavier and I are friends, that much is true."
"So you don't have an office in the pack house?"
"Well, yes but-" A loud growl came with a crashing and a flurry of snow. Zay pushed Logan back, staggering together in the snow. The rogue shook itself as it rose from the ground.
"Stand back!" A voice came from the same direction as the rogue. One of the pack warriors stood, a staff in hand. He approached the rogue with caution; the rogue taking several steps back with a deep growl. He thrust the staff out, nearly landing a blow to the rogue's face.
Zay held a hand in front of Logan, backing away. Her eyes darted to the library in the distance. The barrier was nearly complete. If she could just get Logan and herself there, they'd be safe. She took a cautious step to the side. The rogue growled, turning its focus onto her.
The warrior jabbed the rogue with the staff. The rogue growled, launching itself within the distance of the staff, grabbing it and pulling the warrior up into the air by the staff. The warrior gave a groan as he landed on the opposite side. Its focus now on Zay and Logan, it growled low in its throat.
Zay pushed Logan behind her, letting out a growl she so rarely used. "Logan, when I say run, you go to the library as fast as you can. You'll be safe there." She launches herself forward, catapulting into the air and landing with a huff on the rogue's back. "Run!" She grabs hold of its fur as it tries to buck her off it's back. Logan runs off in the direction of the library where the barrier is near completion. He'll be safe, she tells herself, even as the rogue successfully knocks her off its back. A hand pulls her back up before she's caught her breath, the warrior. He gives her a nod, handing her the staff. The rogue lunges, grabbing the warrior by his shoulder. He screams, punching up into the rogue's eye with his opposite hand. Zay brings the staff down onto its side but it only bites harder, the warrior crumpling down. The rogue releases him only to strike its claws down through the warrior. His eyes widen, catching Zay as her breath catches. He crumples to the ground, his chest unmoving.
Zay runs faster than she ever has. She's never been good in her wolf form, being rather small compared to a beast such as this. She catches sight of Shia at the edge of the library and pushes herself to get to her. Get to her mate.
A claw in her leg stops her, sending her tumbling to the ground, staff flying out of her hand. She tries to push herself up and another claw finds its way into her back. She chokes out a sob. "Shia," she struggles to whisper. Yet, she hears her. Shia's head snaps towards Zay. The rogue steps its full weight onto Zay, bringing its teeth down into her neck.