The Last Protector

Chapter 1

The past

The greatest sound in the world, was the sound of a baby’s first cry. That was what the young lady had been told, as her hands shook. She had washed her hands, pulled on a hair net to pull back her curly wild hair, and put gloves on. She took as long as she could, hearing the sound of the woman screaming, taking deep shuddered breaths, before crying. The young lady was sixteen now, and this would be the first birth she’d assist with. She had been training for many years, sixteen to be accurate, since she was discovered at birth as they all are. A true healer, born with a crescent moon on the inside of her leg, marking her destiny forever.

The woman was screaming louder, crying as she begged the older woman to reach inside and tear the baby from the womb, ending her pain, her misery. The older woman just huffed, positioning herself in between the woman’s legs, ignoring her words as she screamed into the air, telling the woman it was time to push again. The young lady was shivering, feeling dizzy over the overwhelming scent of blood, standing at the sink quivering as she tried to yell at herself to move, get closer, do as she was supposed to do. If she didn’t witness this birth, how could she help others in the future? One day, the true healer would die, and it would be up to the young lady to take over, to be the next true healer, instead of just the apprentice.

The older woman seemed to know what the younger one was thinking and she lifted her cool gray eyes to stare at her, not needing to say a word to get her to move. The young lady let out a squeak as she practically ran forward, nearly colliding with the man as he held his wife’s hand. The young lady stared at him, trying to remember him, but then realized he was new. Both of the couples were new to the pack, having traveled many days from theirs when their Alpha died. There had been no heir to take over, and without an Alpha the wolves all seemed to split up and branch off, searching for a new pack to join, a new Alpha to lead them. The pack they lived in before was next to the sea, and the young wolf couldn’t understand why they’d want to venture inwards away from the sea, instead of finding another pack close by. Both of these wolves were new, the woman had already been fairly far along in her pregnancy before she had arrived and within a week she was giving birth, before the young lady could even learn her name. The young lady went to the opposite side of the husband, pressing her hand against the woman’s arm, trying to calm her with the small light she could. The teenager was not yet eighteen, her full true healer power wasn’t fully there yet, but even still if she concentrated, after having so many years of practice, she could produce a small calming effect. The woman stared at her with a grateful smile, making the teenager start to calm down, feeling like she was finally helping.

“It’s coming! Get ready!” The older woman yelled, making the teenager jump in surprise. She rushed to the side of the older woman, careful not to look as she held out a towel, ready to take the baby and help in any way she could. With a loud scream and many curse words, a baby was placed in the young lady’s arms, where she instantly wrapped it up and cradled it to her chest. The old woman went to touch the baby, most likely to check it, but the woman started to scream again, and when the old woman touched her stomach she gasped, getting into position. “Go clean him off over there!” She yelled to her, pointing to the bowl of warm water and fresh towels. “Assist!” She screamed, huffing at a regular wolf that was waiting against the wall, just in case the younger wolf wasn’t ready.

Now knowing she was holding a baby boy, the young wolf carried it swiftly to the bowl, checking off in her head everything she needed to do. Check the umbilical cord, clean out the airway, she started to think, before pausing with wide eyes. The airway, the baby wasn’t crying. Shouldn’t it be crying? She hurried to the bowel and placed the baby next to it gently, grabbing the tool and suctioning the mucus out of the nostrils, then proceeding to clear the throat as well. Two women stood beside the young wolf, watching closely to make sure she was doing as she was taught, while behind her the woman screamed as she pushed for a second time. Suddenly the baby boy gave a weak cry and the little wolf sighed in relief, her breath shaking as she started to wash the baby off with the warm water, checking the umbilical cord and rewrapping it in a new warm towel. She wrote notes of the baby’s weight and height, frowning at the two women next to her as she told them in a hushed voice that the baby was only one and a half pounds, not big enough, a premature baby.

They were interrupted by the sweetest sound the young wolf had ever heard, the high shrill cry of the other baby, making everyone clap and cheer. The young wolf lifted the baby boy into her arms, cradling the tiny baby gently as it struggled to breathe. She was going to ask the older wolf what to do, the proper protocol for a baby born prematurely. The woman next to her was ignoring her comment about the baby’s health, brushing their fingers through the baby’s soft hair, and touching his soft cheek. Suddenly, the boy opened his eyes, and the woman couldn’t help but gasp, staring down at them. Newborn babies were always born with a bluish milky gaze to their eyes for the first day or two, but werewolf babies were always more advanced, and the eyes always seemed to be the color they were going to be from the start. The women had gasped because the baby they were staring down at had two different eye colors. One of his eyes was green, a beautiful light green, the same color as his father, while the other eye was bright red. He blinked, taking deep raspy breaths as he stared into the young wolf’s eyes, before finally closing his own and shuddering in her arms. “What is it? What have you done!?” The older woman asked, finally finished with the other baby and the birth, coming over to the young wolf. She took the baby and placed it down on the table, checking its vitals and staring at the paperwork, the weight, and height. She looked at the two women who assured her everything was done right and sighed, before looking at the young wolf. “It happens more than you think it would with twins. One comes out healthy and whole, while the other is premature. One takes everything while the other isn’t able to survive, because they didn’t get enough nutrients in the stomach over the months the mother was pregnant. You did a very good job.” She said with a sigh, feeling saddened by the death of the newborn. Even still she had been right, for the young girl had done as she was trained to do and there was nothing she could do about such a small baby.

“Blaire,” The young wolf whispered, trying to keep quiet so the parents wouldn’t hear. They didn’t know yet that their first baby was dead, they were busy talking quietly to themselves, the woman crying and the man telling her what a good job she did. The older woman, Blaire, stopped to look at the young wolf, but before she could reprimand her for stopping her she saw the fear and the sense of urgency in her eyes.

“What is it?” Blaire asked the young true healer, whispering as she could sense the need to be quiet.

The young wolf looked at the other two women near her who nodded, letting her know she was doing the right thing. “The baby, before it died. He had two different eye colors. One green, like the father’s eyes, but...the other eye color was red, like fire.” She whispered, fear in her voice.

Blaire blinked, confused. That wasn’t natural at all! It couldn’t have been anything to do with his premature birth either. Confused, the older woman placed the baby down on the table and opened its eyes, staring down at the normal black pupils of a dead baby. She looked at the young woman, confused. Surely if the eyes were different colors they’d show a different hue even after being dead? “I think it was just the trick of the light getting to you, the dizzy feeling of the blood thick in the air, and the nerves of this being your first birth. It’s alright, little one. You’ll get used to it.” Blaire said, before lifting the baby into her arms and carrying it to the parents.

While the parents wept over the death of their firstborn, the young wolf looked at the other women who were busying themselves with cleaning up the mess from the baby. “You saw it too, right? The red-eye, piercing into you.” She whispered, wanting to know for sure, but not wanting to anger Blaire. The women looked at her, shrugging as they also whispered, telling her it was just the trick of the light, as Blaire said. Even still, the young wolf couldn’t help but wonder, and only half-believed the light was the cause for the red-eye. The more she tried to tell herself it was nothing, the more she felt like something big happened in this room, something monumental, if even for a moment.

The young girl goes back to Blaire and the couple, taking the baby from them and placing it in the warmer while they readied the parents for transport to the cleaner room. “Do you know what you’ll be naming the baby?” Blaire asked, trying to distract the couple from the loss of their firstborn.

They were crushed, but trying to give happiness to the fact that at least one of the babies was born, especially since the pack they came from didn’t have a true healer and they hadn’t known it was more than one baby, to begin with. “We thought it was a boy, we hoped. We had a name picked out, Hayden. It was our favorite name.” The woman said, trying to calm her tears. “Please, when you bury the boy, have the name Hayden on his tombstone.” She whispered.

Blaire nodded, writing down the notes on a piece of paper, before looking at them again. “As for the girl, we didn’t have a name planned for her. We always were so sure it would be a boy, and just one baby. Could we have some time to think of a name?” The husband asked, trying to calm himself as he patted his wife’s back.

“Of course. There’s no rush. I understand how hard this is for you, I lost my own child five years ago to a rogue fight. She died a warrior's death, going down fighting as she’s always wanted to do.” Blaire whispered, wiping a tear from her eye as she smiled a soft smile at the young couple. “We will be moving you to a clean room down the hall, the young true healer here will be taking care of you. If you have any questions, she will help you. Let her know when you decide on a name so we can get the birth certificate made for you.” She said with a sad smile. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve just been called to the packhouse to look at a feverish child.” She said, dipping her head in goodbye.

The young true healer busied herself with unconnecting wires, before directing the others to follow her into the new room. The woman had been lifted easily and gently by her husband as he carried her carefully down the hall and placed her in the new clean bed. The wires were reconnected and the baby was placed in the soft and clean bassinet next to the couple, already asleep from the overwhelming experience of being born. “Please, let me know if you need anything. I have a lot of paperwork to fill out and I’ll be in my office, but this button here will direct you to me. A wolf will be in shortly with some food for both of you, and when Blaire returns she will give the baby her first round of vaccines.” The young wolf said, handing them a remote for the tv hanging from the ceiling.

She smiled at the couple as she pulled the hairnet from her head, letting out a sigh as her wild curls bounced around from the tight band that was enclosing them. “Please, wait,” The woman called, making the young wolf turn around to look at them. “You didn’t give us your name.” She said.

The young wolf mentally smacked herself in the forehead, hoping she wouldn’t be reprimanded by Blaire for not giving her name earlier. She was still learning, after all, but she hoped one day she would be a great true healer like her. She smiled at the couple, taking in their heartbroken faces from the firstborn’s death, and shuddered, trying not to remember the red-eye, and how it stared at her with such a piercing look before it faded away. It was there, she knew it. Even though no one believed what she saw, she knew it had been red, and she would remember this for the rest of her life. She stared into the eyes of the husband, his soft light green eyes that crinkled at the corners as he tried to mask the pain he was feeling and look forward to the future with his wife and daughter. “My name is Ginger, and it’s very nice to meet you.” She said, bowing her head before walking out the door.