Gill
"Are you done yet?" My boyfriend groaned from his spot in the grass across from me. I just rolled my eyes.
"Relax, I've only been taking photos for like ten minutes." I decided to start my project at the prettiest place I could think of: the lake. I sighed. "Fine, we can take a little break." Within seconds I was tackled back on to the grass.
"Yessss, thank you!" Tobias nuzzled his head into my neck as he propped his body above mine.
"You're like a big child, I swear." I complained, wrapping my arms around his neck.
"But you love me." His breath danced across my skin, making the mark on my neck tingle.
"With all my heart." He leaned back up and smiled at me. He closed his eyes, and suddenly his skin was replaced by his silky fur. I ran my fingers through, brushing out the few tangles, making him purr.
"Are you sure you're a wolf? Because you sound kinda like a cat." I giggled. His eyes shot open and he gave me a steely glare. "Did I offend you, kitty?" He let out a low, but unthreatening growl before playfully nipping at my nose.
"Okay, fine. I'll stop." I was gifted with a large wolfy smile.
"Your fur is so pretty." I said softly, continuing to comb through with my fingers. I was about to say something else but his face changed and a loud yelp, followed by a thundering growl erupted and he collapsed beside me.
"Tobias??" His body shifted and I saw that he was clutching his side. There, surrounded by blood, was a long feathered arrow sticking straight out of him.
"Oh my God, Toby! SOMEONE HELP!" I was panicking, trying to figure out what to do. "Pressure, that's what they do on TV, right?" I quickly pulled my shirt over m head and pressed it against him.
"T-take...out..." He managed through gritted teeth. My eyes widened and I nodded.
"Okay, right. Take it out. I can do that." Why wasn't anyone coming? I took a deep breath.
"Okay, one...two...three!" I quickly pulled the arrow from his side and replaced it with my shirt. "It'll be okay, baby. Just stay awake, okay?" And why wasn't it healing? I thought he was supposed to heal quickly? "JAX, HOLLY, ANYONE! HELP PLEASE!" Tears were streaming down my face.
"G-gill..." Tobias choked out.
"Sh, baby. It's okay, don't talk. Someone will be here soon." He lifted a shaky hand and wiped a tear from my cheek.
"D-don't cry." I tried to smile, and I turned my head to place a light kiss to his palm.
"You'll be okay, Toby. You'll be okay." I wasn't sure who I was trying to reassure.
"GILL!" My head shot up as I saw Andrew sprinting toward me, followed by three large wolves.
"Help him! Oh God, please! He's bleeding so much, I don't know what to do. Please, someone help him!" Comforting arms soon wrapped around me as I was pulled into a tight hug.
"It's okay. Dad and Jax will take him to the pack doctor. Right now, we need to get you out of here, okay?" I nodded as Andrew pulled away and shifted into a slate grey wolf. He knelt to the ground so I could climb on and he took off into the thick forest.
***
"Hey, sweetie. I brought you some food, and picked up some clothes from your dad." Holly opened the door to the small room, carrying a large fast food bag and a duffel.
"I'm not hungry." I answered simply, keeping my eyes on my love.
"Gill, it's been three days. You need to eat something. Please?" I sighed and nodded, taking the bag from her.
"Thank you." She smiled and sat in the chair beside me.
"How's he doing?"
"He hasn't woken up at all. The doctor said there wasn't anything else he could do. So we just have to wait." She gave me a sad smile.
"Oh! I almost forgot!" She quickly shuffled out the door, only to return with the biggest water bottle I'd ever seen. "It's your favorite!" My eyes widened.
"You didn't..."
"Yup! Half a gallon of pure Baja Blast." I grinned and took the bottle from her, taking a huge sip.
"You're the best." She flipped her hair and laughed.
"Alpha is coming to visit today too. He said he needed to talk to you." I gave her an odd look.
"I already told him what happened." She shrugged and stood.
"I'm not sure what it's about. I'll leave you be though, I know you like being alone with him." I thanked her again and turned back to my mate.
"Toby, if you can hear me, please wake up. I love you so much..." I was interrupted by a sharp knock at the door. I quickly wiped my eyes and set the things from Holly on the table beside me.
"Come in!" Toby's father stepped in with a sad smile.
"No change?" I shook my head. "I appreciate you staying with him. I wouldn't want anyone else to lead alongside my son someday." I smiled and blushed lightly.
"Thank you, sir, but there's no need. I would do anything for him, just as he would for me." He smiled back and took a seat beside me. "Holly said you needed to talk to me?" His smile disappeared and he nodded.
"Yes, I do." He cleared his throat. "I know you already told everything that happened, but I need to clarify something with you." I raised a brow and nodded. "You didn't hear or see anything at all?" I shook my head.
"Nothing... It was just me and Toby. He was in his wolf form and we were just hanging out and then out of nowhere he collapsed and there was an arrow..." He nodded.
"I must tell you some information, and it is very important you do not tell a single soul, do you understand? I will tell Tobias myself when he is awake, but you must not discuss this with anyone at all. Not even Ajax and Holly, do you understand?" I nodded, my hands beginning to shake.
"At this point, you are the only one in this pack I can trust with my son." My eyes widened.
"What? Why?"
"That theory of yours, the one you told me in my office before we met with the council, do you remember?" I thought about it.
"Yes, that the hunters were hired by a pack and someone was leaking information. That's how they knew about me and Tobias before we really told anyone." He nodded and cleared his throat.
"Right. Well, I'm afraid your theory might be true." I gasped and felt myself begin to panic.
"W-what? How do you know that?"
"A hunter uses normal arrows. The kind you can purchase at like Walmart or something. Wolves, because we have such an artillery in case of an attack and buying in bulk could raise suspicion, we make our own arrows. The council issued a law years ago saying that each arrow must have their pack name, or crest etched into it. Not only was this arrow homemade, but the place where the name or crest would normally be is scratched off so we couldn't tell whose arrow it is." I looked over at my love and gripped his hand tightly.
"Was there any silver in it?" I asked hesitantly, remembering what Toby had told me about how silver is bad for them.
"There was, which explains why he hasn't healed completely yet. However, there was only a little. The doctor gave him a special medicine that helps get the silver out of his system, so he should make a full recovery. Now, he just needs rest." I smiled and nodded.
"Thank God. I've been worried sick."
"I'll leave you two alone now. Just remember what I said. You cannot discuss this with anyone. If the hunters and the other pack knew about you before anyone else, then that means we have a mole here somewhere. I suggest sticking to Tobias or myself like glue until we can figure this out." He pat my shoulder as he stood up from his chair.
"Thank you, sir." He just smiled as he left the room. I turned my attention back to my sleeping mate and sighed.
"Toby, I miss youuuuuu. Wake upppppp!" I whined. No response. I sighed again and lifted our linked hands, placing a soft kiss on his knuckles.
Tobias
I couldn't feel anything. It was like my entire body fell asleep and I was just floating in space. I was in a hallway, but it was completely dark, apart from one glowing light in the distance. I could feel the wolf inside me whining to get back to our mate, but I didn't know how to find him.
Then there was a sudden urge to approach the mysterious light in the distance, so I began cautiously approaching. It wasn't as far as it looked, and I reached the source in a matter of seconds.
There, standing before me, was a woman. A beautiful woman with flowing ginger curls, a soft glow illuminating from her skin.
"Are you the Goddess?" I gasped in disbelief. She chuckled and shook her head.
"Oh, Heavens no. The goddess granted me permission to speak to you, however." Her voice was like liquid silk.
"Why?" She motioned for me to follow her as she began down a long path.
"Several reasons, actually. The first, I wanted to thank you." I gave her a confused look.
"Thank me? For what?"
"For taking care of my baby boy. Gill deserves that and the world." I stared at her with wide eyes.
"You're Gill's mom? I thought she walked out on him?" She scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"Oh, no. I'm his birth mother. Not that sorry excuse for a woman who signed his adoption papers. Believe me, if I could have kept Gill, I would have. But I had to protect him."Â I raised a brow.
"Protect him from what?" A sad look appeared on her face.
"Gill's biological father . We met when I was a freshman, and he was a senior. Despite the age gap, I fell hard. We were living together by the time I was 16, and I got pregnant by the time I was 18. Despite it being unplanned and a bit earlier than I would have hoped, I was thrilled to be a mother. My fiance at the time however, was not. He completely changed as a person when I told him. He was filled with so much hatred, not just for the baby, but for me too. He claimed it was my fault, and that I wanted to ruin his life. One night it got way too far. I was about 8 months then, nearly at the end of the pregnancy, an old he was angrier than usual. He hit me repeatedly, and I tried my best to block him from my stomach. So he said if I wasn't going to let him 'take care of the problem' then he'd have to do it when I gave birth to him." I stared at her with wide eyes.
"He... He wanted to...murder Gill?" She nodded and wiped a tear from her eye.
"One night I woke up with horrible cramps, and I just barely made it to the bathroom when my water broke. Gill's father was still sleeping, so I slipped on the only pair of shoes I didn't have to bend over to put on, and I walked out the door. I made it about two blocks before a nice man saw me and pulled over. He drove me to the hospital and stayed with me until my mom showed up. The next morning, I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. My mom stayed as long as she could, but she had to go eventually, and I was alone again. That is until he showed up. He must have figured it out... He was so angry... He was screaming and throwing chairs, and threatened to rip the IV out of my arm if I didn't tell him where the baby was. I obviously didn't, and he was taken away by security. I knew that wouldn't be enough, though. That he would try again to get to Gill, so I did what I had to do to keep him safe."
"So you had to give him up..." She nodded.
"I requested a closed adoption, so there was no possible way he could ever find Gill. The social worker came and took him away, and I was cleared to go home."
"What happened to his dad? Did you get away from him?" She smiled sadly.
"That's a story for another time. I need to tell you the real reason the Goddess sent me to talk to you before you wake up."
"Wake up? I'm asleep?" She smiled and nodded.
"You are. Gill is very worried about you, so I won't keep you long." I nodded.
"What did you have to tell me?" Her face grew serious and she stopped walking.
"I need to warn you. There is a war coming. Many casualties. The hunter problem will only get worse from here. The outcome, however, I cannot see, because the future can change. I only see the things that are set in stone."
"Who is the war with? Do you know who is doing all this?" She shook her head.
"I do not. The only faces I can see clearly are of the ones I have met. But please, keep my son safe." I nodded.
"I'll protect him no matter what." She smiled and caressed my cheek.
"You're good for him. There's no one else I'd rather see him happy with." I blushed and grinned cheesily.
"He means the world to me." Suddenly my fingertips began to tingle.
"You're waking up soon. Tell him I said hello for me?" I nodded and closed my eyes.
"Thank you, Tobias." That was the last thing I heard before everything disappeared. Slowly, I began to feel my limbs again. I could feel a sharp pain in my side, but I ignored it. I needed to focus on waking up. I concentrated all of my energy to my eyelids, and finally, they began opening.
I was met with a dark, but familiar room. I was in the pack hospital. I searched for Gill and found him snoring softly beside me, him gripping my hand tightly. As much as I wanted him to sleep, I needed to talk to him. To tell him what I saw while I was under.
"Gill, baby. Wake up." He groaned and let out another loud snore, making me chuckle.
"Baby, it's me. I'm awake, and I want to see you." He grunted and slapped my hand.
"Toby, shush. I'm trying to- wait, Toby?!" His head shot up and he stared at me in awe.
"Hey, angel." I smiled at him. His body soon flung toward me and his arms wrapped around my neck.
"Oh my gosh, I missed you so much!" I kissed the top of his head and wrapped my arms around his waist.
"I missed you too, love. How long was I out?"
"A whole week! I went a whole week without you! How did you do that when I was in the hospital? It's torture!" I chuckled, and he looked up at me.
"Believe me, love. I was just as anxious being away from you." He blushed and his his face in my neck.
"I love you, Toby." He whispered against my skin.
"I love you too, Gill." I decided I'd wait until morning to tell him about his mother and what she told me. I was far too comfortable just holding my sleepy mate again.
Hey loves :) I just wanted to take a second to explain my absence. So I got a new job a few months ago, working retail, and as many of you probably know, retail in this time of the year is a bit hectic. I've been working crazy hours and just haven't had the time or energy to write for very long. I've been working on this chapter, along with planning some of the things coming in the future, and I'm really excited for you all to see! I'm not sure when the next chapter will be available, but my goal is to try to push another one out before Christmas. (wish me luck).
So again, I apologize for being absent on here, and that this chapter isn't the longest by any means. I haven't forgotten about you, I promise! Love you!
-Ashy