The Mouse and The Wolf - Chapter 63: Chapter 63

-Jaden-
I leaned against the sill of an open window, the cold air brushing past me into the silent hallway I was in. I could see my father outside, standing on the top of the stairs that led to the Hall. He was looking down, his hands in his pockets. My mother, Ezra, and Ryder were standing on the stairs, looking at the silent crowd below them. It was weird to see so many people in our small main road now that there were two other packs with us.
The sun was barely rising behind the snow-covered trees, and the only sound I could hear was the whispers of the wind. My father looked so old when he finally lifted his gaze to look over his people and our guests. His thick, brown hair moved slowly in the wind and even from a distance I could see anger burning in his eyes.
"We were attacked last night," he then spoke, and the crowd let out a gasp. "Their target was Joseph Archer – our only Diviner. He survived, but only barely. We can only assume that the enemy is now ready to attack, and they wanted to get rid of the only person who can foresee it."
"Who was it, and how did they get into our land? We were supposed to be safe here!"
"We are safe against shadows, thanks to our Spirit Walker friends," my father nodded towards Natalie, her husband, and their friends that were standing at the bottom of the stairs. "Their wards and shields are working normally, but the enemy tricked us, sending an innocent boy to do their dirty work. He is safe now, but he is greatly injured and may not survive."
"Why are they attacking here?" someone yelled.
"For the same reason they attacked us seventeen years ago," Dad answered. "They think there is something valuable in the catacombs, and now they are trying their luck again. Their leader is Anthony Attwood – the very same person who led the attack against us last time. He hasn't forgotten about us."
I frowned at his words. My father was lying. We knew exactly what Anthony wanted, but then again, it was better that no one else knew about the portal, especially those two other packs which we didn't know well enough to trust.
I tuned out when I felt a familiar heartbeat coming my way, and I turned to see Oliver stepping into the hallway, pulling a thick blanket over his shoulders.
"Aren't you cold?" he asked when he stopped next to me, peering out the window where my father was going through his plans.
"I needed some fresh air," I muttered.
He took my hand in his, squeezing it lightly. "Your spirit has changed," he said quietly. "It's still changing..."
"Is it bad?" I asked with a frown.
"No," he shook his head. "It's growing – it's starting to resemble your father's spirit," he smiled gently.
"Oh..." I muttered. I didn't feel any difference in me.
"It's like a storm rising in the distance," he continued. "I can almost see it."
There was a short moment of silence between us. My attention was at our joined hands, and his warmth felt soothing. I needed that. I was... I felt like I was breaking apart.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Oliver asked quietly after a while.
I grit my teeth together and looked away. "I..."
Oliver waited for a moment, but I couldn't find any words to say. Then, he hugged me. "You almost lost your best friend last night."
When he spoke those words out loud, it made everything... real. I hugged him tight when the tears finally forced their way through.
"I... I had to hold him down," I whispered. "Stop him from moving..."
The image of Arch, lying under me with fear and pain visible in his eyes.
"He asked me... not to let him die..."
And then... blood... everywhere...
Oliver held me tighter without saying a word. I needed his strength, or I would've crumbled down.
Don't let me die...
"You kept your promise," Oliver spoke soothingly, caressing my back. "You both are really brave."
"It wasn't me – Jack saved him. I could see him, Oliver. For a short second, I could see him. He saved my brother," I muttered, almost seeing the little shadowy spirit of Jack hitting Henry, stopping him from succeeding in his plan to take away one of those I cherished the most.
Oliver pulled back just enough to look at me in the eyes. He placed his hand on my cheek, giving me an encouraging smile. "We were extremely lucky that his spirit was with us. I hear Natalie say earlier that Jack's wolf is very protective over Arch."
I nodded slowly, feeling a little better. I wiped my face dry, but it wasn't easy to stop crying.
"Let it all out," he whispered, pressing his forehead against mine. "It's all right to cry."
I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing and the sound of his heart.
"I almost lost him..."
"But you didn't – he's getting better," Oliver spoke as soothingly as ever. "Moon Goddess was watching over us."
To my surprise, those words gave me strength. I had never been more glad to have our goddess watching over us. Did she foresee this? Did she know I would lose Arch if she didn't do something? By giving Arch a mate who would give his life to protect him, she saved his life last night.
No... it was not her who saved my best friend. She only gave us the opportunity. It was Jack, that fucking bastard of a Thorn, who saved him.
"I still can't believe he considered Arch as his mate... But the guy was possessed... For how long...?" I muttered out loud.
"He did seem rather hateful towards you three, but I could sense the shadows in him – I just didn't know what they were at the time," Oliver told me.
"How long have you sensed them?" I asked, trying to see the whole picture.
Oliver was quiet for a while, biting his lower lip. "A few months, maybe? Not a whole year, no. I think he got possessed around five or six months ago."
"I've known him for years, and he's been a complete asshole to us this whole time," I sighed. "I thought he was always possessed... That would've made sense."
Oliver smiled at me. "Could it be he was angry at you because he knew his mate was one of his rivals? You said you guys know who your mate is once both of them have turned sixteen. Is Arch older than him?"
"The other way around – I think Jack is almost a year older," I told him, trying to remember the information I had heard of him.
"So... He's known about it over a year now," Oliver spoke. "I can only imagine how difficult the situation must've been for him. You said his father is a horrible person, right?"
I nodded with a sigh. "Alpha Thorn hates us with a burning passion for some reason... He would never allow his son to have a mate from our pack. A male mate on top of that..."
I couldn't even imagine what it must've been like for Jack to grow up with his hateful father, and then learn that his mate was someone he would never be allowed to have. And on top of that, Arch didn't feel the connection...
"I can see why he would have so much hate in him," Oliver muttered. "I wonder if he was possessed by force, or if he let Henry take over willingly."
"If he considered Arch his mate, then no, he wouldn't work with Shadow Walkers. I'm sure he was possessed by force," I told him.
"How did you come up with that conclusion?" he asked with a confused smile.
"Jack has been feeding that connection for all this time. He refused to give up hope. He doesn't want anyone else, or the bond would be gone by now. There's nothing more pure in this world than a one-sided bond because it lives off of love and hope and everything good. Jack must have really strong feelings for him, but why would an evil person love a kind, good-hearted person such as Arch? He clearly has the traits Jack loves and wants to surround himself with..." I trailed off, feeling my own heart break for the guy. Oliver's smile was now warm when he looked at me. I suddenly felt a bit embarrassed and turned to look away. "I just can't see how a person who loves Arch so much would want to have anything to do with shadows."
"I think you're right," Oliver said, touching my cheek again. "And I can see why Arch never felt it. He thought Jack is an asshole – he had the traits Arch would never want to surround himself with."
"But it was fake," I sighed, rubbing my temples. "Moon Goddess has a few flaws in her rules..."
"How did it work out so well with you and me? You didn't even know my name," Oliver asked.
"Because you were cute," I muttered, feeling my cheeks turn red. "In more ways than just how you look... I must've noticed it already but never really paid attention to it..."
"I see," Oliver chuckled.
"How about you?" I asked, peering at him. "We clicked right away."
"Well, I may have a thing for bad boys," he smirked.
"Ah, yes, I am the baddest of them all," I said, hoping my eyes weren't red anymore from all that crying.
He hugged me tightly. "Truthfully, you're not bad at all."
I hugged him back, feeling much better. Arch was alive and recovering, I had Oliver to keep me sane, and Moon Goddess was watching our back.
"We have a new problem," I heard Natalie say outside the window, and my good mood vanished fast. Both Oliver and I moved closer to the window at the same time, trying to hear her words better. "The shadows are infecting people in the town fast now that their secret is out. It's not safe for any of us to go there anymore. Their sheer number will break our wards in the town, and when that happens, the Shadow Walkers are free to enter our lands. This area is still holding strong, but if the infected people come here... We won't last long."
I let out a deep sigh. "Shadow Walkers. Plural."
"Let's go back to others..." Oliver said, shivering from the cold. His mood was dropping fast as well.
I nodded and closed the window. We walked back to Arch's room, and when we stepped in, I felt a surge of worry wash over me. Arch was breathing heavily in his sleep, tossing and turning around, looking like he was in pain.
"What's wrong?" I asked and hurried to his bed.
"His fever is rising again," Tilly spoke, pressing a wet towel on his head. "He's still fighting the poison."
I went to sit down on his bed, carefully touching his temple. His skin was hot and sweaty, but that had happened a few times already during the night. This time it wasn't even as bad as the first one.
"How does his arm grow back?" Oliver asked when he joined us by the bed.
"Our injuries vanish during the transformation," Tilly explained. "Our bodies rearrange themselves using our DNA as a blueprint, and since the injuries aren't part of it, they disappear."
"But if you try to transform while you have, let's say, an arrow sticking in your side, it can get really dangerous," I continued. "The arrow won't disappear, and it will tear us apart while our body is changing and rearranging our bones, muscles, and organs."
"What a cheerful conversation we're having." I turned to look at the door and saw Aurora standing there, her arms crossed over her chest. "I'm sure Oliver didn't need to hear that right now..."
"It's fine," Oliver spoke quietly. "I want to learn."
Aurora smiled at him, but it was an exhausted one. "How is everyone doing?" she asked, turning to look at all of us, but her eyes stopped at Jack's body. Cedric had retreated a bit so the body could fall asleep while he stayed inside to make sure it didn't die.
"I'd love to say fine, but..." Tilly sighed, looking at Arch.
"We really need some good news," Aurora muttered.
"Is it true that there's now more than just one Shadow Walker?" I asked her.
"There's no proof, but we are better off assuming there is. Anthony wouldn't try to attack us alone since our numbers have grown since the last time," Aurora said.
"This is happening because of my family," Oliver said, and when I turned to take his hand in mine, I could see him staring at Arch.
"You have nothing to do with this," I told him sternly. "You just happened to be born into that family, that's all. You haven't even met any of them."
I could tell my words didn't make him feel much better. He felt responsible, even though the only thing tying him to Anthony was his father.
"You guys are creeping me out," Arch suddenly spoke, opening his eyes a little. "Standing there, watching me sleep."
"Well you got shot, so tough luck – we're staring at you as much as we want," I told him, feeling incredibly happy to hear his voice.
He parted his lips a little to flash his teeth at me, and I did the same to him.
"Why are you doing that?" Oliver asked in amusement – he, too, was happy to see Arch awake.
"What?"
"Showing your teeth. You do that a lot," Oliver chuckled.
"It's a wolf thing to show dominance," I shrugged.
"I know that, but why are you guys doing that?"
"We are wolves," I reminded him. "Some of the time."
Oliver rose his hands up in the air as a sign of giving up. "Of course," he said.
"How's Jack?" Arch asked, peering towards him.
"His wounds have been taken care of, but he's not healing yet," Aurora told him with a sad voice. "He doesn't have any energy left – the only thing keeping him alive is Cedric..."
"Natalie said it was a good thing that his wolf was with you when Henry attacked," Oliver said. "He would've died if both spirits had tried to fight him. The wolf is in better shape, so the human spirit is getting energy from it – and Aurora – while the wolf is getting strength from you."
"Which is also a bad thing since you need that energy to fight off the poison," Tilly sighed. "But you're strong enough for both of you, right?" she added with a smile.
"You know me," Arch smiled as well. "I have plenty of energy to share."
"You look like you're going to pass out but okay," I told him.
He let out a deep breath and shook his head at me, but at least he was amused. "I wish I could talk to him... I want to know why he chose... why me? Why did he treat us like crap? Why didn't he say anything?"
If Jack died now, Arch would never have his answers. It would haunt him for the rest of his life. I knew him well enough to know he would blame himself for Jack's death.
"I'm forever grateful to him for saving your life," I told him quietly. "If he hadn't attacked Henry, he wouldn't have missed his shot."
"He has to survive," Arch whispered, pressing his hand over his chest. "Why didn't he say anything? He never even looked at me!"
"We will make them pay," Tilly said with anger in her voice. "They will pay for everything they have done to us."
I looked at her and nodded. If Jack was going to die, we would avenge him.
"Jack, if you're listening," I spoke out loud, feeling my own anger rising inside me, "you better pull through because that's what we do in this pack. You'll be dancing on their graves in no time."
I felt Oliver's hand on my shoulder, so I looked up at him. He was smiling gently at me.
"The storm has arrived," he said softly.
"Storm?" Tilly asked.
"Oliver says that my spirit is changing," I explained. "Whatever that means..."
"It means..." Aurora spoke but trailed off when she stepped closer to me, staring at me with wide eyes.
"What?" I asked.
"The Alpha spirit in you is waking up."