The Healer

Chapter 24

Tori POV

About twenty minutes later, we arrive back to the packhouse. I jump off Ivan, and he shifts back into Victor. As I’m trying to look away but subtly stealing a peak at his very impressive, muscled physique, he reaches into a tree stump and grabs a pair of shorts. I hear him chuckle as he pulls them up.

“So, was that exciting or what?” He glanced down at me with a cat ate the canary look.

“Honestly, I was terrified, but… “ Victor lost his smile to an expectant one. “It felt wonderful! Like I was flying! Amazing! And exciting.” I couldn’t help but laugh in giddiness at how wonderful it was to be with Victor and Ivan running through the forest. We’ll definitely have to do that again.

“I’m glad. I’ve never had that before. Ivan doesn’t like people touching him. “

“Can I speak to Ivan?” He nodded and closed his eyes. A moment later, his eyes were black and a stern look on his face. “Hello Ivan”

“Hello Tori”

“Thank you for the ride.” I grabbed his hands and looked into his eyes. I could swear I saw a smile trying to form.

“You are welcome, Tori.”

“We’ll have to do it again sometime.” I grin slyly and his smile came to the surface.

“It would be my pleasure” I leaned up on my toes and gave him a quick kiss on the mouth. I saw a hint of blush on his cheeks before he closed his eyes and Victor was back. He put his arms around me and pulled me in.

“You made him blush; I think he likes you.” I chuckled and hugged him on return.

“Aww, how adorable!” Well, you tell him I like him too.

He places a chaste kiss on my mouth. I stand in shock as he releases a laugh and lets go of my arms to grab my hand and lead me out of the woods.

We head back to the garden where the fire still roars sending dancing shadows across the people wandering around enjoying the food and festivities. Some are dancing to the music, others wrestling for fun. We head back to the drink table and grab some water. We walk around as Victor introduces me to some of the warriors and other pack members. Most of them are quite friendly and hospitable while a few of the she-wolves give me glares and nasty looks. Victor growls at them as they keep on walking by.

“Victor, it’s okay. That doesn’t bother me. I have no need for their acceptance.”

“They shouldn’t be treating a guest in such manner. Especially the Alpha’s daugh……” He catches himself before he says it.

“Victor?” I turn to see a bulky man standing before us. Victor turns slowly and faces the man.

“Captain Desmond” They stare at each other for a moment before his eyes land on me.

“I don’t think we’ve met; I am Captain Desmond Rivers. And who might you be?” He stands tall looking down on me as if attempting to intimidate me. Not shaken in the least, I put my hand out to shake but he makes no move to accept it.

“Captain” I stand firm with my hand out as he looks at it and then back to me. “Is it not customary to shake in greeting when introducing oneself to another?” I c**k an eyebrow at his rudeness.

He slowly takes my hand and gives it a good squeeze. I only chuckle at his antics and squeeze back. I may not be able to shift into a wolf, but I certainly have gained the strength from my father. I show no emotion towards his obvious display for dominance. My bright welcoming smile turns into one of challenge. He may be bigger than me by a good foot at least, but I am not afraid of him. Being a black belt awarded me the knowledge of taking down an opponent larger than myself. I think I could give him a run for his money if it gets to that.

“Desmond” Victor growls in warning. “Let the lady go” Desmond glances back at Victor with a scowl. He gives me one more hard squeeze and drops my hand.

“Very nice to meet you, Desmond. Name’s Tori.” I can feel Victor tensing as he glares at Desmond.

“Pleasure young lady. You have very peculiar eyes.”

“So I’ve been told.” I am getting an uneasy feeling from him, but I keep it hidden and keep my eyes on him. I can see him relax and attempt a smile.

“Yes, well, excuse me, I need to go check on patrol.” He gives a slight sneer to me and barely bows to Victor and walks away.

“Wow, what an asshole.” I comment as we watch his retreating back.

“Yeah, stay away from him.” He says almost as a growl and grabs my hand.

“Friend?” I sarcastically chide.

“He challenged me for Beta a year ago and lost. Unfortunately, it was not a fight to the death. Only submission. He has a narcissistic view that he should be higher ranking than he is. He barely holds the rank of Captain. And…“ Victor turns to me as he pulls me closer. “… one of the biggest players of the pack.” Surprised, I scoff in dismissal.

“Eww!” He chuckles at me. I see his eyes glaze over for a minute.

“Alpha would like to see us in his office when we are ready.” I nod and we head into the house. As we walk through the main room into the hallway, I see a couple of girls standing in the corner watching us. Of course, the short one with dark brown hair gives me the stink eye and I give her a wave in return. Shaking my head in annoyance, I continue down the hallway to Rick’s office.

“What was that about?” I ask.

“That was Whitney. She just came into her wolf about a month ago and has been looking for her mate. She doesn’t seem to understand that the Goddess picks our mates, not her.” Confused, I look up at him as he stares at the door with his eyes closed.

“She’s been after my attention. Apparently, she thinks we are mates. Or at least, thinks we should mate.” I sigh heavily at his answer.

“Do I need to watch my back here? For a guy who doesn’t know how to talk to women very well, you seem to have a large following. You and the Alpha. Not a really great welcome home if you ask me.” I raise my hand to knock but he grabs it and turns me to face him.

“Tori, I have no interest in anyone and I am certainly not a player. Most of them just want the title and power that comes with it. They have no heart or compassion for anyone but themselves.”

“It’s getting a little ridiculous and uncomfortable with all the evil looks and I’ve been here only five hours. They seem to think they have some right to you.” That seemed to fluster him somewhat and wasn’t sure how to answer. I give him a questioning glance but he stays quiet. I know his mind is reeling on what to say. I was not being fair to him with my statement, but in the back of my mind I was wondering if he was looking for a chosen mate before I showed up. I have no right to him, but it still makes my heart hurt.

“I thought so” I say defeated. I raise my hand and knock on the door.

“Come in” I hear my father’s baritone voice and open the door.

“You wanted to see us, Alpha?” I ask as I step in with Victor behind me.

“Tori, Victor, yes, please, come in and have a seat.” Taking the two leather chairs in front of his desk, I face my father with a smile. I can feel Victor looking at me, wanting to say something but thought better of it and stayed quiet.

“Tori, you are going to meet with your boss tomorrow to give your answer, yes?”

“Yes, Alpha. I spoke with him earlier and have set a meeting time at nine o’clock. I will be giving him my answer on his request.” Rick sighs and nods his head. As he understands that it will be useless to fight me on it and since I’m not a member of the pack, he cannot command me not to go.

“I understand. I just want you to be safe. I don’t like you going into that pack alone. I have a plan if you would hear it?” I sit on the edge of my seat, glad he didn’t try to talk me out of it.

“Of course. I have no objections to back up plans” I smile at him and glance at Victor. He sits quietly staring at the Alpha, waiting for whatever plan he has come up with.

“ I’ve thought about it and I think it is a good idea to take Gamma Tammy with you.”

“Alpha?” Victor speaks up with concern in his voice.

“Tammy and I work as a team; she will be invaluable to my mission. She knows how I work; she understands how I use my gift without others knowing. Apparently, the Alpha stand in will be the only one who knows of my gift. Not even the young Alpha to be knows what I am. I prefer it that way.”

“Who taught you how to use your gift?” Rick asks me sitting back in his chair.

“I used it once when I was about ten when our pet cat was injured. My mother was horrified and forbid me to use it ever again. From that point on I would practice it without her knowledge. One day when Chase was preparing dinner, he accidentally sliced the knife through his hand while cutting vegetables. I heard him scream in pain. It was a bad cut. I grabbed his hand and focused on his inner peace. I felt his pain, then I could feel the muscles and tendons stitch back together. When I opened my eyes, I saw just a small cut on the skin over his fingers. Chase was in shock. I thought he was going to flip out and kick me out, but he looked at his hand and looked at me and smiled. He knew this was not normal, then again, he didn't believe in werewolves either until I came along, and yet he didn’t tell anyone about it. Especially not my mother.” Rick sat quietly listening to my tale. He knew all about the gift, having seen it with his mother and grandmother before.

“How strong is your power?” I thought about it for a minute before answering.

“Well, considering I work in a human hospital, I don’t complete the healing process. I only go as far as I can without anyone questioning the injury. If people come in with severe trauma and are healed the next day, it would get suspicious. I only heal enough that I feel their bodies can take over and heal themselves. I treat it more like boost to their healing system. I have come across wolves in the hospital although very rare, I heal them a bit slower. If a wolf is in the hospital, it would have to be extremely life-threatening considering their healing abilities anyway. I help to the point that their wolves give me permission and then I back off.” Both Rick and Victor sit up abruptly at my last statement.

“I’m sorry, say that last part again?” Victor said in awe.

“What? Point of permission?” They both nod slowly. “I heal enough until they tell me they can take over and save their human.” Rick closes his eyes and rubs his face. Victor stares at me wide-eyed and still like he is processing the information.

“What is it? Is that wrong? Should I not help them?” Rick covers his mouth with his hands and looks at me. After he and Victor share a look, he turns to me and leans forward.

“No sweetie, you have the power to pick and choose who you want to heal.” I sigh in relief, thinking I was breaking some sort of wolf law by doing what I was doing.

“Oh great! I thought I was in trouble for a minute. I mean, I can’t sit back and watch a wolf struggle for life. Anyone for that matter, human or were. I know it goes against nature, so I only heal to the point where they can heal themselves. Even if they need medical help. I couldn’t live with myself if I watch them die and I could’ve saved them. The wolves are trickier though. The male wolves are very dominant and proud. I step in only enough to talk with the wolves and follow their lead. Until they can grasp the string of life, I step down and back off.” Victor stands abruptly and paces the office. Rick watches him with the same surprised look as Victor.

“Okay, now you’re scaring me. What is it?” Victor stops and puts his hands on his hips and shakes his head. Rick sits forward again in his seat.

“Tori, there’s no need to be alarmed. You haven’t done anything wrong. Being in the healthcare field I would expect you to be compassionate about helping others and believe me, I am extremely proud of you for doing so.” I smile cautiously at him and peek over at Victor who has turned to face us, but crosses his arms over his chest and stares at the floor as if conversing with his wolf.

“Thank you! I am quite proud of myself. It wasn’t easy going through nursing school. There’s so much to learn about the human body it's truly amazing. With the wolves, they are similar with the anatomy, but the strength and metabolism of their bodies as well as their psychological component to healing, its harder. I almost have to argue with the male wolf just to get them to listen to me!” Rick is now staring at me with his mouth agape and his hands flat on his desk. Victor sat back down and put his head in his hands.

“What’s wrong? I get the feeling I’m missing something here?” Rick brings himself out of his stupor and swallows hard.

“Tori, do you talk with the wolves?” I shake my head.

“Not completely. I need the help of Mystic to do that. I can speak and they hear me, but I need Mystic’s plane of supernatural existence to communicate with them.”

“Mystic?” I smile proudly.

“Yes! She’s my wolf.”

“Genesis wolves do not speak with the being they are healing. Rarely do they speak with their human hosts. They are more of an energy source from the Moon Goddess meant to heal. Not a sentient being.” Rick explains in wonder. Like he can’t believe what he is hearing.

“Tori, honey, can you talk to your wolf without healing?” I nod.

“Yes. She is a bit stubborn, but she’ll talk back only when I talk to her. Not much of a conversationalist though. But she comes to the surface when I need her.”

“Tori…” Rick looks a bit uncomfortable. “A healer wolf, a Genesis wolf, does not communicate with their human host. Either you have the consciousness or the wolf does. They don’t share the consciousness together.” I look at him confused.

“Oh? Then how can I talk to her?”

“Can you bring her forward on demand?”

“I don’t know, I never tried. She usually comes to the surface right at the point I need her. She can hear all my thoughts and my voice. But when we heal, we are their together.”

“Do you ever feel threatened by her? Does she ever try to take over without sharing with you?”

“No, I am not afraid of her if that’s what you mean.” I’m starting to get a little nervous here. “Why?” My heart starts to flutter, and my hands start to shake. I feel as though I can’t catch my breath. I start to see dots in my vision.

“Tori?” Victor kneels beside me and grabs my hand. Then I feel myself getting lost in my mind, but I can still hear Rick and Victor talking to me. Suddenly I feel as if I can’t move or speak. I’m watching through my eyes as if I was watching a television show. Then I hear a familiar voice, although it’s deeper than I remember, I do not fear it.

“No. I am Mystic” Then all I see is darkness.