My mother hovers her hands over Micah, crying, while my father squats down to be eye level with me, and he grabs my face.
‘Who did this to him? What happened?’ he asks me. I can see the anger and heartbreak in his eyes.
‘I couldn’t see them at first. Even Micah struggled to see them. He said they were so fast. Faster than werewolves and smelt of death. There were so many of them, Dad. Their eyes…’ I say, and my hands begin to tremble.
My Dad takes my hands in his and holds them firmly to cease the shaking.
‘Keep talking, Lylah. We need to know,’ he says,
‘Their eyes were red like blood. I saw one. He was tall in a black cloak, and he was….’ I take a few moments, feeling dizzy. ‘He was drinking Micah’s blood and only let him go when I heard your howls. The others with him had already fled before I could get a look at them. Vampires did this. They did this to my mate,’ I say, bursting into tears again.
Billy and Leo are vomiting in the bushes from the gory sight of Micah’s body. Nathan, Alex and Theo scan and search the area. At the same time, Amara and Sally comfort each other, crying.
My mother turns her attention to me and wipes the tears from her face, ‘I’m sorry, Lylah. I’m so sorry,’ she cries.
‘No, your magic has to work. Micah has to be okay?’ I tell her.
My parents somberly gaze at each other for a few moments before Dad kneels beside me. He tries to move Micah’s head from my lap gently.
‘No, what are you doing? He is my mate! You can’t take him away from me. He is mine!’ I yell.
‘Sweety, your ankle might be broken. I need to move Micah so I can carry you home,’ he explains.
‘No! Don’t touch me. Don’t you dare touch me!’ I say, punching his hands away from me. ‘I’m not leaving Micah. You can’t take him from me!’ I shout, clinging onto his lifeless body as tight as possible.
Nathan approaches, ‘Alpha Maximus, we’ve searched the perimeter. Other than blood, there are no bodies or sightings of any vampires. They have long gone. They must be fast to have gotten out of here this quickly,’ he says.
‘Thanks, Nathan. I need you to get Alpha Greg here straight away. Tell him the vampires are back and have killed Micah,’ my Dad looks at me as I continue humming and rock Micah in my arms as if he is simply taking a nap. Dad takes a deep breath as he slowly looks over Micah’s body and turns back to Nathan. His voice trembles, ‘Tell Alpha Greg he will need to bring everything.’
‘Yes, Alpha,’ Nathan nods, shifts and runs to get Alpha Greg.
Theo brings me a bottle of water and wipes the tear from his cheek. He leans closer, waiting for me to take the water, but I hit it out of his hand, sending it flying a few metres away, and then I resume humming, looking down at Micah’s peaceful face. Theo doesn’t say anything. Instead, he quietly sits next to me and cries. Leo removes his shirt, places it over Micah’s open stomach, and sits next to Theo.
Sally, Amara and Billy sit on my other side and cry. Amara holds my hand and leans her head on my shoulder to comfort me, ‘I’m so sorry,’ she sobs. I don’t reply.
Alex paces back and forth, swearing and kicking a tree, whilst my Dad comforts my Mother. After a while, Nathan returns with Alpha Greg and a few of his pack members.
‘Holy chaos! What in the world of wands!’ he cries out. He can’t believe Micah is dead. He lifts the shirt to assess him and just as quickly covers him up again.
‘Micah, not Micah,’ he says, falling to his knees. His hand runs down his face in disbelief and sadness. ‘This is going to destroy Alpha Varan. Micah is his only son and his pride and joy.’
Alpha Greg looks at me, but I don’t make eye contact. Instead, I continue to stroke my fingers through Micah’s hair and rock. His pack members place a stretcher and a body bag on the ground and begin to put gloves on.
‘Lylah,’ Alpha Greg says, ‘I’m so sorry. I cannot imagine what you must be feeling right now.’
I don’t respond, but him mentioning that makes me realise I can no longer feel the sparks when I touch Micah’s skin. My hand quickly touches my mark, only for me to feel its almost completely vanished.
‘No. No, no, no!’ I panic.
I claw at my neck as if digging into my skin will bring the mark back. Theo grabs my hands to stop any further bleeding.
‘My mark! Please tell me it’s still there?’ I say to Theo.
He looks at the mark and wipes the fresh blood aside with his hand. He can only see two very faint scars. He looks at me, heartbroken and shakes his head.
‘No!’ I scream—Tears stream down my face. Theo pulls me into his chest and holds me. Alpha Greg helps his men to slide Micah’s body into the unzipped bag.
‘No!’ I yell and push myself away from Theo. I lunge towards Micah’s body, but Theo grabs me around the waist and pulls me back against his chest.
‘He is mine! Micah is mine! You can’t take him from me! I love him, please!’ I beg as Theo tightens his grip. Everyone is a mess and cries. My mother tries to hug me along with Amara, but I push them away and continue to fight my way out of Theo’s arms. Alpha Greg zips the bag and lifts it onto the stretcher. He and his men carry him away.
‘You bastard! Bring him back! He is my mate. He is mine!’ I yell.
I begin to hyperventilate, and the world begins to spin. I black out.
***
My father is carrying me home. I’m curled up against him. I can feel his heavy breaths of distress about what has happened to Micah. Even though I’m now awake, I feel so numb, so empty. I’m too weak to open my eyes. So I just remain as is. The sun is now rising.
‘They were supposed to take over Storm Glenn. They were supposed to become parents and have a wonderful life together. How could this happen to them, to Micah, to our Lylah? They never deserved this fate,’ he says.
‘We will find the vampires and destroy them all,’ Theo replies.
Alex approaches my Dad. ‘We have sent the warriors to begin searching for the vampires again, as you asked, Alpha. We have doubled the number of warriors this time.’
‘Good, I want every last vampire dead,’ he says as he walks up the front steps of the pack house.
He stops in the doorway and turns to face everyone. ‘Someone call for the pack doctor. Lylah is human. She can’t heal quickly like the rest of us and one other thing. No one is to speak of this until I have informed Alpha Varan. I don’t want him hearing second-hand that his son is dead. So I suggest you all get some rest. I will send for Alpha Varan to make his way here immediately.’
Alex shifts and runs towards town to fetch the doctor. Alpha Greg turns to his men. ‘Take Micah to Kayla downstairs in the apothecary. She will probably go into shock, just like the rest of us. Tell her to prepare his body for burial as soon as she can. We don’t want Micah’s father seeing the extent of his wounds.’
My father nods, agreeing with Alpha Greg.
As my father enters the pack house, the others follow but separate, going to their rooms to mourn and rest. I’m carried upstairs and gently laid on my bed. My mother removes my boots and socks and sits beside me, and holds me while dad sits in the armchair and stares down at the floor in silence.
Later, Alex storms into my room with the pack doctor by his side.
‘Alex has filled me in with what has happened. I’m so sorry to all of you for your loss. Micah was a true gentleman and was loved by everyone,’ he says.
My Dad stands, ‘Doctor Matlin, thank you for your condolences. Lylah has suffered quite a few injuries from the ordeal.’
‘Yes, I see,’ he replies and approaches my bed. Doctor Matlin looks me up and down, figuring out where to start. He gently lifts my foot. I flinch and pull my foot from his grip. Lylah has a sprained ankle. She should keep her foot elevated and avoid bearing as much weight as possible on her foot. She also has blood in her hair. Did she hit her head?’ he asks.
I instantly have a flashback of my ankle being grabbed and yanked, making me fall to the ground, hitting my head on a rock. I subconsciously touch the back of my head and wince.
‘Here,’ my mother says, pointing to where I had just touched.
She helps me to sit up and turn to face her so Doctor Matlin can take a look. I begin to tremble, and tears slide down my cheek.
‘She will need some stitches,’ he says. He cleans the wound and gives me five stitches. ‘I can see some wounds running down your shoulder. Is it okay if we remove your shirt?’ he asks.
I nod.
‘I’ll wait outside your room,’ my father says, leaving to give me privacy.