Rose

Chapter 12. After the Battle

It isn’t so much a waking up as a slow realisation that I’m not dead. My side stings but isn’t as bad as I thought it was originally. That knife must have punctured my lung, it certainly split my skin down to the underlaying fat, I should have been unzipped. Instead I am fine, well…., sore, but overall fine.

Rose is cradling my wolf’s head in her lap, around us there is the last vestiges of the battle. Whimpers from the wounded wolves as they are either carried or limp towards the infirmary. James is nowhere to be seen, he must have been inside already, Edward and Tol stand with Pops, his giant wolf head level with their rib cages. Pops limps slowly over to were my mother’s wolf stands. Her beautiful fur is stained with blood. Pops nudges her with his nose, scenting all of her face, checking she isn’t hurt. All around I can hear the voices of the pack, families calling out to each other, the howl of a rogue wolf and the shrill shriek of a vampire remind everyone that the enemy is still out there.

Tol and Edward begin to gather the vampire dead, almost all of the attacking vampires are dead, their bodies ripped apart by the wolves, or staked by the vampires working with us. A couple, like the one Tol had already thrown onto the fire were dissolving as their bodies rapidly turned to fine dust. The vampire that Edward had staked by the door way to the shelter was still there. I rose slowly to my feet. My lung didn’t feel full of blood as I had expected, I didn’t cough and my side now only ached. Even the speed of wolf healing shouldn’t have done this. I guess this was from Rose’s blood. I padded over to the body on the floor and swiftly ripped out the throat. The vampire made one last gurgle and then started to go flaky as the body desiccated and the breeze moved the dust away. The vampire bodies that remained were rapidly tossed onto the May Moon fire to burn up. The dead rogue wolves would also be thrown on once they had been photographed and identified.

Rose glided along beside me as I started to inspect my pack and the grounds. Her clothes splattered with blood, but I guess Rebekka had helped to fight off any attackers to the safe room, the door, while scratched badly was unopened. I wanted to get the worst of the battle cleared up before we let the pups out. They don’t need to see this yet. I also wanted to know which of the pack had been killed so that their families could be comforted and the correct burial or cremation services could take place. Of our wolves we had serious casualties numbering 20 in total. 5 deaths and 15 badly wounded. James and Letty were in surgery operating on one wolf while the rest lay in the hospital beds. Bound to another 5 beds were the rogues, badly injured and chained down using silver chains they no longer provided any threat to us but James’s honour to the agreement between us and Tol meant that he would not allow them to escape. Their blood was to be payment for the help in defending the pack and pups. We would deal with that later. I quickly head back to the pack den and grab my clothes, I change back into human form and inspect the wound on my side, it’s now nothing more than a faint scratch. I pull joggers on and boots, racing back outside as I pull a singlet over my head. I know I stink of wolf, and am covered in dried blood but my pack needs me, my Rose needs me.

Rose is waiting for me out side the safe room, she is absent mindedly rubbing her arm, between her elbow and her wrist, I don’t see a mark or wound but maybe it already healed. When she sees me her whole face lights up and I cannot believe how stunningly beautiful she is. And she is my mate!! I want to stare at her forever. Lost in her prefect beauty. But Edward materialises beside me, his vampire speed catching me out and making me jump. His serious face tells me I need to get back to the job in hand. My pack.

The next couple of hours is divided up between laying out the dead of our pack and identifying the rogues and photographing their faces and old marks. The original pack marks will let us know where they came from before they rebelled and if they had any family, they could be notified of the death. The dead vampires had no such consideration. Tol instructed those who were burning the remaining vampires to throw everything into the fire. No one was identified or any thing removed to pass to a family. I guess vampires don’t really have family and as Tol said they don’t really have a pack or clan there was no one to notify.

Eventually Pops decided the clean up had been enough, the safe door was opened and the families of the 5 dead pack wolves were called first by Pops and Ma, they were taken off to Pop’s study to be formally notified of their loss, although everyone had guessed what them being called first meant. I could hear the howls from outside. I felt my heart break for them. I couldn’t imagine the pain they had already gone through, as the mate mark burned and then faded at the time of the partner’s death the females would have known already. And as those who were with the pups were the pregnant or nursing mothers this made it even harder. All other adults had fought by their mate’s side and so had been there for each other. To be locked up and helpless while you felt your mate die must have been the worst pain in the world. I never want to feel that, and yet by being with Rose I was forcing this pain onto her.  She would not grow old as I would. She would feel that bond break when I die. Again, I wonder if I am doing the best thing by holding her. Last night had been amazing and by mate marking her I knew that I had caused irrevocable damage to her freedom. She was now not only blood bound but mate bound too. Although I could only hope that she would heal from it and it would not cause a vampire the pain it would cause a wolf. I remember the scream she made in the battle when the vampire knifed me. I again see her kneeling on the floor clutching at the mate mark on her chest. She too had felt that pain when I thought my side would split open. She, a vampire, had been unprepared to feel my life begin to ebb away. But by the same token it had been her blood and her strength that had kept me moving, had boosted my healing so that within minutes I was back on my feet and ready to fight.

I look over to were she is standing, the night had now passed into early dawn and the first rays of the sun were brushing her hair, highlighting the golden colours and accentuating her prefect beauty. 

As agreed, the rogues were offered to the vampires and, as before with Sy, they were left alone with the wolves on the training field. The captured rogues had looked fearful and a couple had even begged to be allowed to go free but as Tol reminded them, the agreement to fight in the battle had been wolf blood. And they, the winning vampires were claiming that. It just wasn’t the wolf blood the rogues had been expecting to pay with. All of the vampires, even Rose took part in the killing of the rogues. And I couldn’t have felt more indifferent, deep down I didn’t want her to be away from e, even as far as the training grounds, but I also know this was, in practical sense, no different than her going out to lunch with her friends or family. I felt no revulsion about knowing they were drinking the blood of the captured wolves. I knew this would make her even stronger I also knew she had taken a transfusion kit from James so wouldn’t actually be drinking the blood directly. Her transformation completion wouldn’t be triggered by this and her strength would be even greater. I was so proud of her restraint and continued refusal to drink blood that I actually felt my heart swell with pride and emotion. My girl was strong, and her character as beautiful as the rest of her.

I was looking forward to spending more time with her, building up our little home, I would have to move to a family cabin, closer to the main den house, I’m sure that Rose would want to decorate it, we could plant roses in the garden, perhaps Ma would help? I was day dreaming of sitting by the fire on a cold winter night with Rose in my arms as she read a book and sipped from a glass of wine. My happiness was shining trough and my smile must have been very real. Ma even gave me a happy look as she passed my new office. I was being promoted to Joint Alpha as part of Pop’s hand over and as such had gained an office, a desk and no idea what I was supposed to do with it all. As such I spent more time than I should looking out of the window and day dreaming.

The last couple of days had been spent cleaning up the pack grounds, helping either Pa make the notifications to other packs of the attack and the rogues identified through their markings or James with those wolves who had been injured in the battle.

Obviously, there were the funerals to attend for the 5 lost to our pack. A couple of the female mates had politely requested that the vampires stay away, and this they had done. But the other families had bravely stated that anyone was welcome as respect for those who had fought for the pack. A few vampires had shown up to these funerals, Tol and Rebekka being the ones most likely to be to the side, standing close together and watching quietly. Edward, Rose and Letty had also attended, staying at the back of the groups and leaving before anyone else. The vampires who had come to us originally had mostly left already. Within 24 hours of the victory and the blood of the rogues most had taken their leave and vanished into the night. Pops had made sure to give each his contact number so that should they need assistance they could call him. A couple had thanked him politely but you could see in their eyes, they were now the strongest they had ever been and could not in all honestly see why they would require the assistance of a wolf pack. Even one as strong as ours. I suspected they may be right.

Each night I had got to curl up with Rose in my little cabin, listening to her soft breaths in the night, loving her and worshiping her body; a week of pure bliss. Rose had started to work closely with Ma around the pack house and, with Letty working in the hospital with James, the pack had become much less suspicious of the vampires and while I didn’t think that they would be asked to babysit any time soon I did think that the acceptance and small friendships that were developing were a sign that our pack was stronger than ever and the vampires were becoming an accepted part.