Chapter 410: Aftermath
When Cassian fell, Graeme collapsed next to him—his strength and fight to keep defending finally leaving his body when there was no immediate threat left.
Sam ran to Greta’s side where she was slowly getting to her feet, running his hands over his mate to see if she had any wounds and lifting her face to see how much pain was in her eyes.
"I’m fine. I’m fine," she waved him off, wincing as she did.
"Something is broken," Sam’s voice was calm, disguising the true panic that was fluttering within his chest.
"I’m fine, Sam!" she glared up at him. He should not be fussing over her when Graeme was collapsed on the floor.
Neoma had gone to where the Alpha and his attacker were both lying, true terror reflecting on her face as she saw all of the blood soaking Graeme’s shirt and creating a growing pool beneath him.
"I don’t know what to do," she whispered to herself, her hands trembling as they hovered over him and the energy that appeared dimmer than usual.
She had just started to see the Veiled since returning from the river in her old pack, and while she understood what the thrumming of these previously unseen auras and energy meant, she was a novice at using it. How could she help him? She seemed to instinctively understand how to shut the attacker down who was now unconscious on the floor, but she didn’t have any clue how to heal someone. That would require more than just instinct, and Graeme was riddled with so many deep wounds from the glass that had impaled him—his breath was raspy and shallow.
Lucas pulled himself to where she was crouched over the Alpha and Cassian, using his right arm to drag the rest of him that had suffered a second crushing injury in less than twenty four hours. It was excruciating, but he would heal.
Neoma was frozen staring at Graeme, but Lucas was worried about the bastard on the floor next to him. He looked so harmless, like he was sleeping—like he hadn’t just destroyed an entire room of lycans and been moments away from killing their alpha.
Lucas felt blindly on the floor around him for a piece of shattered glass, and finding one, he dragged it up next to his chest so he could reposition himself to use it as a weapon. But Sam beat him to it. He arrived by their side, chest heaving from the adrenaline and panic of having his mate and Alpha in immediate danger, and crouched, twisting and snapping the intruder’s neck before he had a chance to wake back up and finish what he started.
Neoma gaped at the Beta who was able to do this with such little apparent effort. She felt something vacate the space of Cassian’s body the instant his spinal cord was severed. It was like a light went out, but she could feel it happen. The air around them changed, and the energy cleared from the heaviness that had loomed with Cassian’s presence. And despite the threat and devastation this unknown male had caused to her friends, there was a natural aching sorrow that accompanied that silent departure.
Lucas’s eyes slid up to hers, silently checking how she was handling this. She was trembling, and her pupils were enlarged like she was in shock. But he didn’t say anything. He rolled over onto his back and groaned, the pain finally fighting for attention now that their threat was gone.
"Shit, Graeme," Greta’s voice shook as she crouched down, wincing as she did, to check on her brother.
Greta glanced up at Sam, uncertainty welling in her eyes. She was seeking reassurance from her mate that Graeme was going to make it, and yet she was the healer. When Sam realized this, his stomach dropped.
"Goddess, what happened here?" a concerned female voice arrived in the office doorway like a swift fresh wind blowing in from their memories.
"Maggie?" Greta cried, rising from the pool of blood around her brother’s body.
Sage scampered into the room, flitting between the dumbfounded adults to find where the dim aura of Graeme was fighting to stay lit on the floor. He scanned the Alpha, realizing at once where all of the major injuries were located and huddling over him, laying his palms on Graeme’s back.
Greta looked back and forth between the pup at her feet and the female who had just appeared like a ghost from out of her memory. "Maggie?" she repeated, tears filling her eyes and clouding her vision. She looked the same. Just like the other alyko who had returned, Maggie was back and she looked exactly the same.
"Oh, dear girl," Maggie answered, outstretching her arms as she hurried forward to embrace the grown version of the pup she had known so well. "Look at you. Grown and carrying pups of your own," Maggie squeezed her gently before quickly realizing that Greta was injured as well. Sam made an uncomfortable half-groan, half-whine sound when his mate winced again.
"Goddess, you all have been through it," Maggie said, pulling back and evaluating the source of Greta’s pain.
"I’m fine," Greta reassured her, smiling with the joy of having Maggie back with them. It was surreal, even more so than when the other alyko returned.
"Well, you may not be fine now, but you will be," Maggie nodded. "And so will your brother, I see."
There was now a soft light surrounding Sage and Graeme that was gradually growing warm, and Sage was muttering something indiscernible under his breath. Neoma and Lucas were watching in awe as the glass from Graeme’s body fell to floor, tinkling around him before landing flat in the pool of blood that now seemed to also be receding back into his body.
"Is this what it was like when August healed me?" Greta whispered to no one in particular.
"Graeme’s mate healed you as well?" Maggie asked, her hand now resting against Greta’s back as they both watched the ball of warm light surrounding Sage and Graeme.
"Yes, did you see her?" Greta asked quickly, turning back to the kind, familiar face of Maggie.
"Yes, I did," Maggie smiled. "She knew something was wrong with Graeme. She wanted to come back as well, but she wasn’t allowed to."
"But she’s okay?" Greta breathed a sigh of relief.
"Yes, she is okay. She will be better though once your brother is healed."
