The Healer

Chapter 20

Tori POV

I grab onto Victor’s arm as I scan the angry crowd around me. They continue to stare at me with contempt and distrust in their eyes. Victor is shouting to them to stand back, but no one listens. I am pulled from Victor and thrown to the ground. I look up at my assailant and see angry eyes peering back at me. He raises his hand as if to strike me when I hear a tremendous roar that shakes the ground.

“Enough! Stand down, now!” Everything is dead quiet except for the pounding footsteps I hear coming closer. “How dare you attack her!” I see Rick stand before me as he glares at his people. Everyone has their head bowed. He reaches down to grab my hand while still eyeing the crowd.

“Are you hurt?” He looks me over for any signs of injury.

“No, I’m fine Alpha.” I brush the grass of my pants and stand behind Victor while Rick addresses the angry mob. I could hear low growls coming from Rick and I instinctively latch onto Victor’s shirt.

“Today was supposed to be a happy and joyous day for me and I wanted to share it with my pack. I am disappointed in all of you. You attack my guest when I specifically asked you to respect her as you would me. You disrespect her, you disrespect me.” The Alpha was breathing heavy, and his eyes were black, alerting everyone to the presence of his wolf, Apache.

He looks around and sees all heads are still bowed.

“Eyes up.” They raise their heads, and one brave soul raises his arm. Rick looks at the older man and nods.

“Please Alpha, forgive us, but what we just saw is unknown to us, it resembles witchcraft. As you know we do not get along with anyone of the sort. We thought she was hurting the boy.” He bows again to show Alpha that he means no harm. Rick sighs and shakes his head. It seems that Rick understands the packs concerns about this, but he knows I would not harm anyone of them. He looks to me, eyebrows raised as if asking permission to tell them.

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt. If I am to become a member of this pack, they will need to know about me.” I answered and his questioning face turned into a look of pride and relief.

“Tori here…. Is a Genesis wolf. In other words, she is a descendant from a long line of ancient healer wolves.” Blank stares and blinking eyes stare back at us. “She is meant to heal not harm. You do not need to be afraid of her, she is not a witch.” I step out from behind Victor and give an apprehensive smile. I wave to the crowd and some are a little more relaxed. I did notice that the older wolves are more suspicious of me, but keep it to themselves. Two in particular kept glancing from me to Rick.

“Hello everyone. I am Tori Brewer, it’s nice to meet you all. I apologize for frightening you, I did not mean to. I only wanted to help Tyler before it was too late.” I sensed Victor and Rick come to stand behind me and Victor placed his hand on my shoulder. I looked up at Rick, who slightly shook his head at me. Guess the news about me being his daughter is still a secret. I’ll have to ask him why later.

“Please, everyone, today is supposed to be a happy day. Enjoy it with good music, good food and good company. “ I speak loudly for all to hear me. They look at me with a little reservation but when I hear the music begin to play and chattering of conversation, I relax a bit and pray to Goddess. That could’ve been a whole lot worse.

“It seems they have accepted you.” Victor says softly as he squeezes my shoulder.

“I’m not so sure about that.” I say as I watch a group of girls walk down the path towards the fire. Led by Corinne. She glares back at me and whispers something to her group and they all turn to look. Everyone of them had an angry look on their face.

“Don’t worry about them. They wouldn’t think of touching you.” Rick stated confidently.

“Rick, no offense, but I don’t think she likes me very much, and neither does her little posse there.” I shrug my shoulders as I continue to keep an eye on them. Victor turns to watch them before turning back to me.

“You may be right, but I wouldn’t be too concerned about them.” I shake my head.

“It’s the quiet wallflowers you gotta watch out for.” Victor gave me a knowing look.

I take a deep breath and calm my nerves. As I look out over the garden to where the fire is still raging, I feel a tap on my shoulder.

“Yes?” I say as I spin to greet whoever is there.

“Hello Tori” The person bows before me. “My name is Malcolm. I am one of the elders of the pack.” I smile to the gentlemen before me and raise my hand to shake. He takes my hand gently but firmly shakes his greeting. “I have been with this pack since before Alpha’s father was the Alpha.”

“Wow, you must have quite the history to tell.” He smiles and nods his head.

“Yes, I’ve seen some things and been through many conflicts.” His smile slowly disappears before he continues. “But I have also seen a wolf like yourself before many years ago. A Genesis wolf.” My heart races and I feel a pit forming in my stomach.

“Oh?” He leans in closer so no one hears him.

“I have. And that wolf was nothing but trouble. It will take longer for the elders of the pack to trust you because of her. The young ones of the pack have no idea what a Genesis wolf is or capable of, so they do not know the dangers one can possess. I would watch your back around here. The Alpha will not always be there to save you.” He gives me a knowing look before turning and walking away.

Eyes wide, I look up to see Victor watching the elder walk away. The man gave me the shivers and a feeling of deep concern fills me. I unknowingly grab Victor’s hand and squeeze. I feel his other hand cover mine.

“Don’t worry Tori, the Alpha will not let anything happen to you.” Feeling a tinge of disappointment, I bring my gaze up to him and see a stern and determined look on his. He pulls me closer and wraps his arms around me. “Goddess help anyone who touches you before I get ahold of them.” My face flushes and I can feel myself turning red as heat envelops me just from his words and his touch. I smile shyly and allow the comfort he offers. I look out onto the yard and see the pack enjoying themselves as if the events from just minutes ago never happened. I lean into Victor and he gently rubs my arm as if to calm me down.

“Are you hungry?” He finally asks.

“Yeah, I could eat” he smiles at me and leads me over to the food table, never letting go of my hand. Several members greet us along the way with nods or simple words. Many still watch me with a cautious eye, but I just smile and nod in return. Hoping they will see that I am not a threat to them or the pack.

We each grab a plate and begin piling food on from the many assortments of choices. Hamburgers, hot dogs, steaks, chicken, salads, vegetables, fruit, pastries, chips, and deserts of all kinds. We both grab another drink and head over to a table not far from the fire and take a seat. A good spot from which Victor can keep an eye on the party and the woods in case of any problems.

“So, Victor…“ I start as he looks at me with a mouthful of food. His brows high in question. I grin and chuckle. “What have you been doing with yourself for the last seventeen years?” I take a bite of my burger as he chokes at my question. Quickly taking a drink, he swallows down his bite and turns to me.

“Well… a lot” I deadpan him, and he grins.

“No s**t, really? Sounds fun.” I shake my head and take another bite.

“Well, for the last eight years, I’ve spent my time traveling this side of the country looking for you.” I stare wide-eyed and freeze mid chew. What does he mean looking for me?

“Huh!?”

“The Alpha has been looking for you since the day after you left. When I came of age and became his Beta, I took on the task of finding you.” I swallowed hard and took in his words.

“Alpha ordered you to search for me? I am so sorry, that must have been tiring and boring. What about your own life?” I look sadly at him feeling terrible that he wasted so much of his young life looking for me. I had thought about searching for my father but wasn’t sure if he’d want me or not. From the stories my mother told me, it sounded like he was an evil dark lord that didn’t care about anything but himself and was glad to be rid of us. Guess I had that totally wrong.

“Tori, he didn’t order us to do anything. He was out searching himself.” I c****d my head in question. “I wanted to go. As well as most of the warriors. You were the Alpha’s child, yes, but you were more than that. Little Victoria was the shining light of the pack. Everywhere she was, the sunshine followed. A very curious and mischievous child, who was not afraid of anything. A constant fixture in the pack. Not a single soul could look at you without a smile. You kept us grounded and reminded us to be happy and keep things simple in life.” As I listened to his words, I could feel tears rolling down my face. I never knew my father thought of me in such a way. I always thought he wanted me gone and that I was just a troublesome child that got in the way. At least that’s what my mother always said.

“Oh Victor. I don’t know what to say. I never knew that’s what he thought. My mother always told me that he thought I was just a brat who was always in the way. And that he wanted me gone.” I heard a rumble behind me and spun around to find my father standing behind me with black eyes and the most evil look on his face.