One Night with my target mate

Nyra’s POV The noise was the first thing I heard. Not voices exactly. More like overlays—howls of wards, padding of paws, the murmur of wolves talking in short clipped urgent tones. I couldn't open my eyes. I felt like I had been dumped into deep mist as my body was heavy. My arms wouldn't respond. My legs felt distant. Even breathing took effort. Somebody called my name somewhere nearby. "Nyra... stay with us." This was followed by another voice. "Pulse is unstable." “We have to bring her rune readings into line.” Rune. That was a word that made a slight early impression. My Neuro-Rune Core. My spirit-link. A cold pressure around my wrist. Something tight. A ward-stone. I attempted to make a movement, but it was as though I were attempting to drag a mountain. "Easy," someone said. "Don't force it." I wanted to ask what happened. I had to know why I was there, why I could not move, why everything was wrong. But my mouth didn't work. The sounds blurred together. My eyelids twitched, and I was forced to open them one second. I was struck down by moonlight glow. Shapes bent over me, half-masked muzzles, half-hidden, white pelts, clawed paws, focus, and urgency. Then the drowsiness came back, crass and dense. Before I could resist it my eyes shut. The second time I awoke it was less noisy. The glows were dim. It was not dark, but it was low enough to make the den muted. The pulsing remained, constant and regular. Pulse. Pulse. Pulse. I lay there a minute staring at the cavern ceiling in an effort to pull myself together. My throat was dry. My head was weird, as though there was a buzzing in it. I tried to move my arm. It was pain that had gone down my shoulder. I uttered a little sigh, rather exasperation than a sigh. I heard a voice at once on my side. "Don't move." I turned my head slowly. By the nest there was a healer whose fur was drawn back, and whose robes were crisp and neat. She was composed in appearance, and her eyes were alert. “You are awake," she said, and looked at me. I swallowed. "Where am I?" “At the healing den of the enclave,” she replied. That didn't comfort me. I again attempted to raise my hand, but she came near me, and with her paw laid gently on my arm. “Still, Nyra, you must keep still,” she said. “Your readings are not yet definite.” "My... readings?" My voice came out hoarse. The healer shook her head at the ward-stones next to me. Lines were passing the slab, runes flickering silently. I looked at them, in a bid to comprehend. My body felt odd. Not hurt as such, but... tired. As though someone had pulled out the plug in me. The healer grabbed a small moon-glow and illuminated it a few seconds within my eyes, forcing me to squint. “And what do you think is the last thing you recall?” She asked. I frowned. My stomach contracted in response to the question. "The last thing I remember..." I repeated slowly. My thoughts were retrogressive and foggy. Images came in pieces. Cold lair. Stone slabs. Hunt survey. I blinked hard. “I was in the hunt survey den” I said after some time. The healer remained silent, listening. “We were on a hunt,” I went on. "A rival pack's territory wards. We had to breach their mind-links. To prevent …” My throat narrowed once more, and I stopped. The healer didn't interrupt. “I was linking in,” I said, compelling the memory into action. "I had the echo open. I had nearly passed the spirit-barrier.” I was able to visualize it effectively, the rune layers, the spirit locks, how my link had reacted when I probed further. Then... My brow creased. "Then I heard something," I said. "What kind of something?" the healer asked. "A sound," I replied. "Like... whirring. Spectral." I could feel my claws shaking against the furs. "It was loud," I added. "Too close." There was no change in the expression of the healer, but a slight stiffening of her posture. "And after that?" she prompted. I shook my head slowly. "Nothing. The next thing I knew... I woke up here." The healer looked at me some time, then shook her head. "Okay," she said quietly. "Thank you." "What's going on?" I asked immediately. "Why am I here?" She didn't answer directly. Instead, she said, I am going to get the healer elder. “That is not--“. I began, and she was already heading to the entrance. Her paw was on the vine, and she hesitated. “Just stay still,” she said again. "Please." Then she left. The slab clicked behind her. I lay there again gazing at the ceiling, with a heart that beat the faster. Something was wrong. I knew it. I had been in hunts before. I had been crashed before, little ones. Brief overloads. Temporary shutdowns. But this felt different. The den was stinking of herbs. The furs were too clean. The ward-stones were too many. This wasn't routine. Minutes passed. The pulsing continued. I attempted to pay attention to myself, to sense the usual hum of my Neuro-Rune Core. As a rule, there was something there even when I was not actively using it. A presence. A silent preparedness within my pelt. Now... Nothing. Just emptiness. Panic clawed up my chest. The entrance opened. One wolf entered, he was older than the healer, and he had a long white pelt. His expression was businesslike and grave. A rune-slab slipped into his one paw. “Nyra Shadowclaw," he said. "That's me," I replied. "I'm Elder Synn," he introduced. There are a couple of questions I have to ask you. I did not like the way he talked so formally. He brought a stone near the nest and sat down. What is the last thing you remember before getting here? he asked. I stared at him. "I already told the healer." He said calmly, I need to hear it from you. I clenched my jaw. I said, "The hunt survey den. I was pulling echoes out of a rival pack's wards. I heard a whirring sound. Then I woke up here." Elder Synn gave a slight nod, etching something on his slab. "What do you feel right now?" he asked. "Tired," I said bluntly. "Weak. Like something is missing." His eyes flicked up. "Any pain?" "My shoulder," I admitted. "And my head feels... off." He nodded again. Do you sense any rune activity? he asked carefully. That made my stomach drop. I hesitated. "...No." There was a somewhat restrained expression on the face of Elder Synn, yet I thought there was a change in his eyes. "What's wrong?" I demanded. He didn't answer. Rather, he shifted to another series of questions. "Are you dizzy when you sit up?" "I haven't sat up," I snapped. "Any nausea?" "No." "Blurred vision?" "No." My patience wore thin. Stop beating around the bush, elder, I said. Tell me what happened." He stared a long time at me. Then he stood. "I'll be back," he said. And he padded out before I could reply. I glared at him, and my anger and discomfort twisted in me. This was not the treatment they gave me. Not after everything. Not after all the hunts. I was valuable. I was necessary. Why then did they seem to be holding something back from me? Several minutes later there were paws padding back. This time it was more than one wolf. The entrance opened again. Elder Synn entered first. I recognized a wolf standing behind him. Elder Malric Grimhowl. The head of the enclave. The wolf who had claimed me after the pack wars. The nearest thing that I had ever had to pack. He entered very gradually, paws behind him. His hard eyes were softened a little as they fell upon me. "Nyra," he said. I was so relieved that I nearly yipped. "Elder," I breathed. He approached the nest, pushing the stone on which Elder Synn had sat and sat down. "How are you feeling?" he asked. "I'm fine," I said automatically. Or, to tell the truth, I do not know. What happened?" He contemplated me a moment, and nodded. "They told me you were awake." I swallowed. "Did we get the echoes?" A slight smile came to his muzzle. "We did," he confirmed. "Thanks to you." My shoulders were slightly relaxed. "Good," I murmured. "Then it worked." "It did," he said. “Again you made the hunt a success.” With relief that mingled with fatigue I sighed. For a second, it felt normal. Then his expression changed. The softness disappeared. "We need to talk," he said. A tightness came to my stomach. "...About what?" He didn't answer right away. Rather he leaned back a little, his paws on his knees. I held still. “You have an idea of how the Neuro-Rune Core functions,” he started. “It is the best gift the moon has ever blessed our enclave with. It enables us to do what we cannot do with any other pack.” I stared at him. He was telling me what I knew. “It opens the path,” he went on. “To mind-links, spirit-webs, memory echoes... the secrets that would not have been visible. I stayed silent, listening. “It is what has enabled us to strike threats before they grow feral,” he said. The reason why we can save the pack. My jaw tightened. "Yes," I said carefully. "I know." “But you are aware of its limitations, too,” he continued. “It was not made to be stressed all the time. Such overuse drives the rune to levels that are unsafe.” I felt my pulse increase. "Elder..." I started. I was halted by the slightest movement of one paw. I must tell you something, he said. I swallowed hard. He leaned forward now, and to my astonishment he reached over and grasped my paw. His paw was strong, almost reassuring. His eyes stayed on mine. “The thing is,” he said to me, “Your Neuro-Rune Core crashed… and is currently offline.”