Healer

The silence in woods was broken only by the rustle of leaves and our steady breath. I stared at my hands, unable to believe what had just happened. Nothing like this had ever happened to me before. I didn’t have the power to heal. In fact, healers were rare these days, a gift every pack desperately wanted to claim. If my pack had known I was a healer, they wouldn’t have sent me away.

My thought drifted to the numerous of things I could have done to help my pack if they hadn’t discarded me like some disease because of a strange mark.

“I see you’re finally exhibiting some of their traits,” he said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

My eyes snapped to the man before me. He flexed his fingers as if he hadn’t encountered any wound there, and I frowned at the confidence in his voice. I had no idea what was wrong with me, but he seemed to be aware of whatever this was.

What does he mean by, ‘I see you’re finally exhibiting some of their traits’? Then by mind flashed back to the strange pack he had been mentioning ever since he saw the mark on my tight. My brow furrowed in a deep frown, “Don’t tell me this also has something to do with the sli… sleeve… Sliverpack you have been talking about.”

He stood up from the ground, slinging his bag over his shoulder. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell you.”

Was he joking?

I know, he knew what I meant but that, but when he was supposed to speak about it, he decided it was the best time to keep his mouth sealed.

“Let’s go.” he said, dusting grass and dirt from his clothes.

I didn’t move to follow him. Now that my hands were free and he had miraculously survived bleeding to death. I couldn’t shake the thought of escaping from him.

He was already moving, but when he saw that I made no move to follow him, he turned back to face me. “I’ll let you know that this part of the woods is very dangerous. Remember those rogues we encountered earlier on, they are still part of the fun of this woods. I can’t mention the numbers of predators here. You can stay behind if you wish to be a prey.”

His words sent a shiver down my spine, and without meaning to, I moved closer to him. I shouldn’t be moving closer to him, but away from him. Yet, I can’t help it, especially as I had no idea where we are or where we are going to.

This time he didn’t make any move to tie my hand or leg anymore. His gaze lingered on my hand for a while before he nodded and started moving forward. I followed behind him, obediently. The knowledge that I was far from home and putting my hope in a stranger did nothing to ease my mind.

Wanting a bit of clarity, I decided it was time to start asking questions, “Where are we going?”

Unlike before that he usually ignored some of my questions, he responded this time, “To meet the rest of my pack members.”

I nodded slowly. That seemed reasonable for him, but why was he taking me with him, “And what about me?”

He glanced briefly, “I told you, I need you.”

‘For’ the question was at the tip of her mouth, but she swallowed it. Sometimes knowing too much could be dangerous.

As the day wore on, we navigated the woods with ease of someone familiar with it – at least Craig did, while I followed behind, struggling to keep up. Thankfully, we didn’t encounter any other threats, which was a relief considering his earlier warning about the dangers of these woods.

Soon, I was starting to get tired from walking all day and all I wanted to do was lie down.

My mind drifted to home. By now, I should have been married to Adrian by now and probably resting in a fresh bed with maids attending to my beck and calls, but here I was in the woods navigating with some stranger without a sign of any habitable place within sight.

Then, as if conjured by my imagination, I spotted something faint in the distance – a plume of smoke. I narrowed my eyes, squinting. What was the saying? Where there’s a smoke, there’s a fire?

“Look at that?” I told Craig, my voice barely a whisper. “I think there’s something over there.”

He nodded in his ‘I-know-it-all’ way, “Of course, there is.”

I frowned, irritated by his tone.

And why did he sound as if we hadn’t been on this journey together. He sounded as if it was casual for him to walk that long distance in the wood. “How can you be so sure?”

“Because my pack is there,” he said simply.

That answer should have eased my mind, but it didn’t. When he had mentioned going back to his pack, I had imagined a building with roof and good food and maids. I hadn’t expected that he was talking about some place in the wood. But then I remember the rogue said something about his pack’s betrayal. Maybe these were the ones who had remained loyal to him.

As we drew closer to the smoke, my heartbeat quickened. Now that he had gotten to his pack, what did he intend to do with me.

Why did he need me?

The last turn we made brought us face –to- face with a blonde-haired wolf. He stood with his hand crossed, scanning the woods. His gaze settled on us, and let out a relieved sigh before hurrying to embrace Craig.

After pulling away from him, his eyes landed on me, and his stance changed immediately. “Who is she?”

Unlike the way he had hugged Craig, he didn’t seem happy to see me at all.

But Craig’s answer shifted the atmosphere. “She is the one with the mark.”