Chapter Twenty-Five – The Healer
Danny turned Ryder with his face up and searched it for signs of life. His fingers worked quickly, touching Ryder's handsome face, then searching for a pulse in the side of the neck as he had seen people do in movies, but the wolfshifter wasn't moving at all, his stillness pouring ice into Danny's veins. What if Cassandra had succeeded, after all? In fairytales, all the evil witches died at the end, and the heroes prevailed only to live happily ever after, but what if they weren't in that kind of fairytale?
He used all his strength to lift Ryder's upper body. "Ryder, the witch is gone," he whispered tenderly while holding his lover close and tightly in his arms. "So, you see, now's the moment when you open your eyes and tell me that you love me." The tremor in his voice was growing with each passing moment that Ryder didn't open his eyes. It was shameful for a man to cry, but Danny had never considered himself that sort of man, anyway. He was sobbing like a child now; although the body in his arms was warm, Ryder lay limp, and no soft breathing lifted his chest. Danny was no doctor, but he thought he knew the terrible truth.
"Danny," Jack hurried to them. At some point, the clairvoyant had disappeared from their side, most likely in search of help. However, he appeared to be as alone as he had been when he left.
"Jack, I don't know what to do," Danny whispered. "He's not moving, he's not breathing--"
"He's not dead," Jack hurried to assure him. "Because the moon wasn't full. But removing Cassandra's dark magic is not going to be an easy task. The moon used her energy to remove the bad witch, but the rest is up to us."
"What do we have to do?" Danny asked. As long as Jack thought a solution existed, there was hope.
"It's quite easy, and sorry again that it took me this long to figure things out. You need to kiss your alpha boy."
Danny stared at Jack nonplussed, forgetting his despair for a second. "That's it?"
"Hey, are you still doubting my amazing skills, after everything we've been through together?"
"I shouldn't," Danny agreed. "Just kiss him?"
Jack nodded enthusiastically. "Yep, like Sleeping Beauty, Ryder needs love's true kiss."
"Okay. I'll do it," Danny said with determination.
"Wait," Jack warned him as he was about to kiss his mate.
"What?" Danny asked, without concealing his alarm. "Is it the wrong time? Should I wait?"
"Just long enough for me to go over there," Jack said, pointing at a spot several feet away. "It's pretty intimate, and I don't want to gawk at you by accident."
"Okay, please hurry, then."
"Ay, ay, captain," Jack said and turned on his heel.
A kiss as a means to bring the one you love back to life. It was just like a fairytale indeed. Danny didn't check to see if Jack had arrived at his chosen spot and leaned over Ryder. He pressed his lips against his mate's as hard as he could, squeezing his eyes shut. Would his clumsy kiss be enough? He had wondered briefly before whether his skills in the bedroom would be enough to impress someone as handsome as Ryder, but now, life and death depended on his ability to kiss his mate the proper way.
He was beginning to lose hope again and curse himself for being incapable of giving a kiss meant to bring the dead back when he felt Ryder stirring under him. A wave of immeasurable happiness shook his body, but as he tried to pull away to express it verbally, Ryder wrapped one arm around him and caught the back of his head with the other, deepening their kiss.
It was better this way. Who needed to talk when they could kiss like this? Ryder was an amazing kisser, and while it made the whole point of Danny having to kiss him to bring him back to life rather moot, no one cared.
"Mate," Ryder said with a soft, rumbling purr, "you saved me."
"It looks like it, doesn't it?" Danny said, without hiding his embarrassment. "Not that I know how it happened. You'd better ask Jack, since he's the one with the cards capable of telling the future. He's right over there. Should I call and ask for him to join us?"
"Not just yet." Ryder brought their lips together again and made their tongues dance once more.
At the end of this second kiss, Danny had a vague idea that his knees, which had been made of solid bone at one point, had turned to jelly.
"Once more," Ryder demanded and he obeyed, not because it was his alpha demanding it, but because he couldn't see himself saying 'no' to a kiss from his mate.
"Are you guys really going to take all day? Also, if you continue going at it like this, you are going to turn this scene into an X-rated--"
"Jack, I'm so glad to see you," Ryder said with a grin, interrupting the clairvoyant's tirade. At some point, Jack must have grown bored waiting for them to finish kissing and had moved closer.
"I'm glad to see you, too, but we still have work to do," Jack said promptly and then smiled. "Boy, am I glad, indeed. True love's kiss never misses."
"Hey, was this an invention of yours, too?" Danny asked in alarm. Jack truly seemed to have a knack for coming up with the wackiest ideas to make things work under the direst circumstances.
"No, not this time," Jack replied quickly, but Danny had to say he didn't feel convinced at all. On the other hand, the clairvoyant hadn't missed even once yet, so it would be unfair to get mad at him. Everything Jack did in his role as a reader of cards and crystal balls came from a good place and apparently it was enough to make things work.
"What must we do?" Ryder asked. With Danny's help, he wobbled to his feet, but he appeared to be regaining his strength fast.
Jack, to Danny's surprise, frowned and a shadow passed over his face. "It is about your dad. Cassandra's attack got him full in the chest and now--"
Ryder let out a low angry growl. He began marching double time, forcing Danny to hurry to keep up.
Their hands were linked, and it looked like Ryder had no intention of letting go. Which was great, because Danny had no intention of letting go, either.
***
He remembered everything in bits and pieces. He could tell Danny had played a pivotal role in destroying the witch that had cursed his pack, but he would have to ask for every little detail later. Now, the wolf in him was growling in anxious anger because his father had been a victim of that terrible witch.
"Jack, what about Vince and Theodore?" Danny asked as he hurried along. Although his smaller steps could barely keep up with his wolfshifter's stride, Danny was doing his best. Just like a true mate.
"I cannot see them for now. They are not in the cards, either," Jack said in a tone that tried hard to mask his worry but failed.
"What do you mean they are not in the cards? In your cards?"
"Yeah, that's what I mean. We have too many crises happening at the same time and we need to address them one by one, right?" Jack forced himself to sound light and unbothered, but Ryder had come to know the clairvoyant well enough to know that wasn't the case.
"We must look for them," Danny said. "But we must also take care of Ryder's dad."
"Yep, as you can see for yourself," Jack said, breathing hard as he was running behind them in an effort to keep up, "we have many terrible situations on our hands, and since we don't even know where Theo and Vince are--"
"I will ask my brothers and sisters to go look for them," Ryder intervened. Even though his heart was with his pack and his father's health was now the most pressing issue, he understood Danny's concern for his best friend. Also, while Theodore had proven a redoubtable foe, Ryder wouldn't allow Cassandra to have her revenge in such a manner upon him. It had to be because of her that Theodore and Vince had disappeared so mysteriously.
"Can I go with them to look?" Jack asked. "If you don't need me by your side anymore, of course."
"You can," Danny said before Ryder could say anything to the contrary. "You've helped us so much, Jack. Please, find them. And don't forget your crystal ball. It might just tell you where they are."
"Right on," Jack replied. "If there's anyone who can find them, it must be me. Right?"
"Yes, Jack, you're the best man for the job," Danny encouraged him.
***
Ryder hurried to his father's side. His stern face was set in a frozen mask, as no wolf of his status would ever complain or show his pain. However, he kept one hand pressed against his chest where Cassandra's blast had caught him. His mom was holding her smaller hand over his and was doing her best not to show emotion of any sort, save for tense worry. The rest of the pack was gathered round, and the looks of helplessness on their faces troubled Ryder more than he cared to admit. Cassandra was still powerful, even after the moon had taken her and sent her away. Through her magic and dark arts she could destroy a pack, no matter how powerful. Wolves were born into the knowledge they were strong and fearless. Faced with the kind of power that wouldn't bend to the power of a wolf, they felt rightfully lost.
"Listen up," he said loudly. "Theodore Pembroke and my mate's good friend Vince have disappeared. Organize yourselves in parties of five and start looking for them. One of you take care of clairvoyant Jack, as he will join you in this search."
"And why would we search for these strangers when our pack elder is--" One wolf started.
"We will because it is honorable to do so. Also, they could very well have fallen prey to Cassandra's magic. The danger is yet to be completely averted," Ryder said. "My mate destroyed Cassandra, but her shadow lingers. Obey my order, wolves."
He hadn't been named the alpha of Luna's Sentinels for no reason. Ryder never allowed his pack members to doubt. Action was what made wolves powerful, and now Jack needed all the search parties he could get to find Theodore and Vince. He had spoken the truth, as well. Their disappearance had to be linked to the curse that had been woven by that witch. As long as the tiniest trace of it remained on these lands, they wouldn't have their peace.
Meryl, with his big heart, stepped forward. "Yes, alpha," he boomed. "I will guard the clairvoyant named Jack with my life."
"Thanks for the kind thought, man," Jack said, "but let's not go overboard. I only want to tag along."
Meryl seemed confused by Jack's words. "My alpha considers you precious, clairvoyant. You will not leave my side."
"Precious, he-he," Jack snickered, "but yeah, I guess I'm very precious. Be my bodyguard, then, cute puppy."
He immediately wrapped one hand around Meryl's arm, ready to go, only adding to the poor young wolf's confusion. Ryder nodded briefly. He trusted his pack to do all in their power to find and bring back Theodore and Vince. And if they failed, he'd go in search of them himself. Danny would never forgive him if he lost his best friend when they had all rushed to help the Luna's Sentinels without a second thought.
The wolves began organizing, shouting among themselves and choosing what areas to search. Ryder knelt by his father's side and looked him in the eye. "Father," he said solemnly, "this alpha chose his mate wisely. Danny dispatched Cassandra and she has been taken away by our mistress the moon."
"A human would not be able to do so," his father said, thrusting his chin up despite the pain he was feeling. "You must be blinded by love, my son."
Ryder frowned. The old man was dying, yet he still wouldn't admit that Danny was an exceptional human. It was true that he hadn't seen it happen with his own eyes, but it still angered Ryder that his father didn't believe him when he was telling the truth about Danny.
***
Danny had chosen to remain at a respectful distance from the familial trio. Ryder's parents had yet to accept him and forcing his way into this family wasn't something he wanted to do. But it pained him greatly to hear Anthony Asherman talking like that about him. After all, Jack had been the only witness to the events that had occurred when he had defeated Cassandra. Ryder knew what had gone on, too, although he had been unconscious some of the time, but Ryder loved him and would believe him even if Danny had only told him what happened.
He couldn't stop thinking of the sensation that had coursed through his veins when his bloodied hand had touched the ground. In his life, he hadn't ever thought of himself as powerful, not even as a childish fantasy. But in that very moment, he had realized that, at the very tips of his fingers existed a sort of power that not many had. He had healed the ground underneath his palm, and he had brought Ryder back to life with a kiss.
It wasn't fair that he had no idea how this special power of his worked. Could he hope that he would get the gist of it? Was he… a healer?
"Remove the human from my sight," Anthony demanded, looking more and more irritated by his son's insistence.
Danny froze in place. He hadn't expected to be welcomed with open arms by Ryder's family, but Anthony's harshness troubled him greatly.
"Is it too much to ask in the last hour of my mortal life?" Anthony growled as Ryder made no move and said no word to order Danny to walk further away.
"Don't strain yourself, love," Harper said, squeezing her husband's hand in hers. "He causes you no harm, this human. He is Ryder's mate. Accept him. Do not leave this world with anger in your mind and rejecting your child's happiness."
Danny stared at Anthony's chest wound while the family continued to quarrel. The shape… it was like a star. If he put his hand over it, each of his fingers reaching the sharp points of the star, he might—
Jack was right. He needed to trust himself more. There was no need for made-up curses or magic. The power was within him. He walked over to where Anthony lay on the ground and knelt by his side.
"Ryder, I can heal your father," he said. He had to speak loudly or else he might lose the courage to do it.
"Do not allow this human to touch me," Anthony barked, his eyes wide and threatening to bulge out of their sockets.
"I healed the earth your pack is walking on," Danny said slowly. He didn't want to come across as rude, but he just knew he'd be able to heal this stubborn man if only Anthony let him. "I brought back your son. Why do you doubt my ability?"
"Because you're a human," Anthony spat. "Humans are only good at destruction. They build their cities only to blast them to dust. The only creations that endure belong to the victors who have destroyed everything else. And now you expect me to surrender myself into your hands? Only over my dead body."
"Love, you should listen to Danny," Harper said. She looked at Danny with her intense dark eyes. "I believe he is speaking the truth. Ryder is alive and well, and he is only so because his mate saved him."
"Even you?" Anthony growled at her. "What sort of dark magic is this human weaving--"
"Ryder, my son, help me restrain your father," Harper said, ignoring her husband. "He is an old fool, and I don't recall ever giving him permission to lose his mind."
"You two, don't you dare touch me," Anthony protested, revolted.
"Dad," Ryder said affectionately, "please forgive us for restraining you, but you leave us no choice. Danny will help you, the same way he helped me and our pack by destroying Cassandra."
Danny waited patiently, without making eye contact with Anthony. He could understand the man's pride, and he didn't want to cause any additional suffering if he could help it. Harper and Ryder truly had to fight him, because Anthony was still strong as a bull, despite his advanced age and wound.
He was trembling when he approached the man, now pinned to the ground by his son and wife, his chest exposed. All doubt flew out of the window once Danny focused on the wound again. Anthony's threats no longer reached him, and Ryder's encouragements faded away as well as he placed his hand on the older wolfshifter's chest.
A calmness washed over him. His fingers warmed and from them, thin tendrils shining like the rays of sunlight spread, sinking into Anthony's chest. For the first time in his life, Danny understood his purpose. It was to love and care for his mate's pack, and it felt so natural that he could no longer see how he'd never been aware of it before.
TBC