Chapter 1
Tom
Over time I have acquired a skill that has kept the life breathing through the aggregate of our pack.
The knowledge that I have sought and attained holds a power of its own in which, when used correctly, will always leave you one step ahead in the game, no matter what game that may be.
Unfortunately, some fates must not be meddled with under any circumstances, and thus emotions will flow seemingly unwillingly upon the tragic events that would be needed to be lived through, to be felt in its entirety. Some things can simply not be altered or erased, no matter how badly you wish things to be different.
That skill, was simply, to expect the unexpected.
Every possible outcome that could ever fall into play was equated for. The ins and outs of every operation, laid out in front of me. No matter what move you made, I was ready.
It helped a lot with not being surprised in many situations, if you had already thought of every possible outcome, it was rare that something could surprise you. That was the talent I had learned very well, and one of the reasons the pack trusted me so greatly as their Elder.
The power and skill to see every side of the die, no matter where I stood. Such great knowledge brought me a sense of comfort, it made life easier.
Which is why it was very rare that something happens that I did not see coming. Something that would completely break down all of my walls and leave me bare.
Someone that had me wanting to show all of my cards before the game had even begun, that would have me craving for more.
I had never wanted something before, I was always satisfied with what I had been given in life, even from a young age, I was never particular or swayed by such things. In turn, I never felt the need to have something.
Until now. I found that, not only did I want, but I needed him.
-
The Soul Wakers truly did fascinate me. As soon as I heard the name, I knew they were no real threat. Of course, they held a power so great that they were not the kind you would want to mess with, but Soul Wakers were not an evil race.
They were referred to as the wakers of the soul, and they fought only for good. They were admirable, even after the war between Soul Wakers and Werewolves.
I watched from afar as Kaden sealed the portal, pulling the creature back through to whence it came. He had let Adam mark him, which was interesting to say the least, I knew he was hesitant, knew he was worried about how his people would perceive him. Yet, he let Adam mark him so he could save everyone, so he could be the hero he was truly born to be.
As I said, they were admirable. I wondered how he would handle the aftereffects, it would be harder for them to resist each other now.
It was unsettling, having to sit back and watch as some of my pack members got hurt, but after all this time, I was somewhat acquainted to it. The Elder had to be protected under any and every circumstance. That’s what my brother would always say, anyway.
“It’s over,” Kaden said in Ceixean to the beast. Their mother tongue was always one that fascinated me, simply because, even when used in such a dominating and commanding tone like Kaden had used, the words sounded smooth and calming. A threat that sounded almost...reassuring. I chuckled lightly to myself at the thought, watching as Kaden’s guards quickly got to transporting the injured back through to Galtolga.
I stepped closer through the trees, getting a clearer view of Kaden’s doctors working to treat the injured and I felt a frown form of my face. If only I could help them.
“Come with us, Keiron will see to us and your pack. Where is Tom?” I heard Kaden say, in English this time.
I stepped out into the clearing so they could see me, looking towards Adam and Kaden this time, so I wouldn’t have to see more of the devastation that had happened here. I didn’t know who that girl was, but she clearly had to be dealt with. If she had found a way to open a portal to a different world and summon that thing, she would most likely find a way back.
“Here. I hate that I’m not allowed to fight, having to stand back and watch is a torture in its own,” I told them, honestly.
“You know we have to protect you, Tom. Your power is too great to lose.” Adam spared me one of his rather rare smiles, though I couldn’t help but notice how they came out more often since meeting Kaden.
“Of course, I understand that Alpha, but it doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it,” I teased. Adam was so much like his dad; I wondered if he realised it.
“Can you help us getting your pack through?” Kaden asked me.
“Of course, I would be happy to help.” I smiled. Kaden was taking the pack through to Galtolga to be treated? Now that was interesting. First the mark and now this, our Alpha was really holding an effect on the King, huh?
I had to force myself to concentrate on helping out my pack members. The only ones that had accompanied us were Adam’s friends, and I knew that helped with Kaden’s decision a lot. It didn’t take long to transport them all through the portal, but every time I stepped through, I had to force myself to pay attention to my injured pack and not to where I was.
The thirst for knowledge that had always accompanied me wanted to take over, to explore more of Galtolga, the world I had always heard so much about. I wanted to know everything, and more.
After everyone was through the portal, I did one last sweep of the land to make sure everything was clear. Kaden’s men worked fast, as the area now looked untouched. I was impressed.
I knew I could probably leave at this point, but the urge to step back through the portal won and it wouldn’t hurt to see how the pack is doing. I stepped through the portal once more and came face-to-face with Kaden, who was just leaving the room that must have been an infirmary of some kind.
A smile alit my face as I greeted him. “That’s everyone, how are you doing?” My eyes strayed to the mark on his neck, it was still very obvious to see, and the redness would take a while to fade.
“I am okay, thank you. I assume you do not need to be treated but you are welcome to stay with your pack if you would like.”
I smiled wider at his words; the Soul Wakers truly were the kindest of souls. “Thank you, but I was referring to the mark.”
Kaden touched his neck almost out of instinct, his body reacting more to my words than his brain, before he caught himself and moved his hand away, gracing me with a small smile. “I definitely feel different, but I do not think it has fully sunk into my mind yet,” he told me honestly.
“That is understandable.” It was such a spare-of-the-moment action, there was no time for him to comprehend much of what had happened. I could only hope once he finally registered his own actions, he wouldn’t regret them. “We should go help our friends.” I smiled, giving him the distraction he would need and letting the conversation go for now.
I went to step past him, hoping to see the infirmary for myself and checking the pack was doing well, when the door was pulled open and a man I had never seen before came rushing out in a hurry.
Nothing really computed in my mind then, as the man’s eyes met mine and I froze.
Mate.
My eyes widened in surprise. I had not the capability to think, all I could do was stare at the most beautiful person I had ever laid eyes on. His mouth opened and closed a few times, clearly in the same stupor as myself. My mind was wiped of Kaden’s presence and of my injured pack members on the other side of the door, my sole attention was on him.
He was slightly shorter than me, probably standing at 5′11, his eyes were so dark, they almost looked black. Medium cut dark brown hair was pulled up into a short high ponytail, with strands of hair lining his face. His skin was dark and creamy, white symbols etched on his hands and forearms from what I could see, shapes like diamonds, circles and arrows formed in a beautiful design. The long-sleeved grey shirt he wore, with the sleeves rolled up, gave perfect shape to his body, black jeans with a thick brown belt and polished brown shoes. He was...wow.
“Hi...” he spoke, pulling me from my hypnotised state as he took a hesitant step towards me.
I had seen a lot of things in this world and others, met a lot of people, but nothing, and nobody, had ever captured my attention quite like this before.
“Hello.” I flashed him my most charming smile, counteracting his hesitance with my confidence as I closed the distance between us, that really had no right being there.
“I was just-I need bandages.” He glanced towards the side, unsure, before flickering to Kaden. I was momentarily surprised that I had forgotten he was there.
“I am so sorry to do this, but we do need you right now, Keiron. I promise you will have time to talk later,” Kaden spoke apologetically.
Keiron. So, he was Kaden’s personal doctor. I wanted to hear him speak more, his voice was incredibly soothing, it had a smooth tone to it, yet it was deep and all too alluring. But it seemed now just wasn’t the time. Keiron already looked torn on what to do, even with Kaden’s words, so I complied with what was needed to be done.
“I really appreciate you looking out for my friends, don’t worry cutie, we can talk more later.” I winked. Keiron blushed deeply at my words, his dark skin taking on a red tint that had my eyes dancing in amusement, before he muttered something that sounded like “excuse me,” and rushed off to the room next door. He was indeed very cute.
“Congratulations.” I managed to force my eyes away from the closed door to turn my attention back to Kaden, remembering he was still here. He was smirking. “Keiron is a good guy,” he said kindly and I knew his words were true. He stepped back into the closed room before I could respond and I hung back a moment, my eyes moving back to the room next door.
I didn’t even have time to start thinking before the door opened again, my mate stepping from the room and once again, his eyes went wide when he saw me still standing there.
The smirk appeared naturally on my face as I openly checked him out this time, wanting him to feel my eyes on his body. I was satisfied when I saw him blush again, searching for something to say. His hands were full of bandages, and I could hear his heart pounding.
“Hi,” he settled for, his eyes widening slightly in horror, probably cursing himself for not saying more.
I chuckled lightly, stepping towards him again and letting a single finger drag down his chest. “Hi to you too. It’s a shame we had to meet at such an inconvenient time, I would love to spend more time with you. But it seems you are needed.” I smiled, stepping back, which in turn, was harder than I thought it would be.
Keiron’s eyes widened slightly as he glanced towards the door of the infirmary. “Right, yes, I am needed,” he mumbled, half to himself. He was thinking about something, but I couldn’t tell what, before he looked straight at me and stole my breath away, his eyes piercing into mine. “I will find you.”
I smiled widely, closing the distance between us once again, this time so my face was directly in front of his and his eyes widened even more, his cheeks turning a darker shade of red. My mate was adorable.
“Oh, I hope so. I’ll be waiting for you, cutie.” I kept my voice low and seductive, my smile morphing into more of a smirk.
Keiron swallowed down, his heart pounding loudly in my ears. I had to resist the sudden urge to lean in closer, to remove every little inconvenient bit of space between us. For now, I had to let him go, for now he had a job to do.
Feigning competence, I leaned back, unsure if my feet would move me away this time, but luckily, Keiron nodded bashfully, the red still very obvious on his face as he rushed into the infirmary and I couldn’t help but chuckle at how cute he really was.
Keiron
The chemical liquids hissed and bubbled on the desk in front of me, it was safe in its little confines of the glass jar, the pretty orange and pink colours moulding together as I watched. It looked dangerous, so to think this liquid held the ability to create life was fascinating.
I let it cool completely, and once I could finally hold the jar in my hands without feeling any heat, I let a couple of drops fall into one of the many plant pots I had on my side. This one was empty, of course, well it was, anyway.
As soon as the mixture hit the soil, it got to work, pushing its way through every crevice and becoming one with the soil, for then sprouting into several, beautiful, midnight blue roses. And that wasn’t the only flower it could create, if I balanced the chemical intake in the mixture just enough, with the right amount of Zodak, or Piolin, I could create an array of different flowers in all different colours. And, well...a little bit of magic here and there never hurt anybody.
“Keiron, there was a situation on Earth, quite a few people have been injured, if I send them through to you, can you treat them? I will join them shortly.”
The King’s voice had me jumping up from my seat. I placed the plant on the side and turned my attention to where I was needed now.
“Of course, sir, I will do what I can,” I quickly replied.
Sir Adrian, and Sir Cameron were the first to step through, along with their Keepers, and then some boys I didn’t recognise followed. There was just one of me, so I had to use my time wisely. Those who had sustained the most damage would need to be treated first, and that would be Adrian, considering he needed support to stand at this moment.
“Please try and make yourselves comfortable, I will work as quickly and efficiently as possible to treat you all,” I said, as the room slowly filled.
Rushing to Adrian’s side, I grabbed what equipment I would need and assessed his injuries. What on Earth were they fighting? Adrian’s back was the worst. Long, deep, lashes had torn at the skin on his back, leaving his skin red and blotchy.
“Here.” I handed him a potion that would numb the pain, and he didn’t even hesitate before drinking the entire contents. The wound would heal on its own with a little help because of his powers, so I did the basics of cleaning the wound, applying the healing balm, and bandaging the wound to keep it clean so it could heal.
My next patient was a boy I didn’t recognise, he had the same slashes as Adrian, one deep on his side and another on his arm. His face was scrunched up in pain, so I offered him a potion too. He looked at it hesitantly while I tried to figure out if he would need stitches for his.
“It will help with the pain,” I told him, since he continued to just stare at the potion.
“Adrian drank one, I’m sure it’s fine,” another boy shrugged and that seemed to do the trick as he opened the bottle and took a hesitant sip. Were these Adam’s friends? If they were human, they would need stitches for these kinds of wounds, but if they weren’t, stitching them up would be highly inconvenient, but it wasn’t like I could just ask them.
I examined the wound closely as I cleaned it, waiting for the boy to drink the potion so he wouldn’t feel the pain, then added just the littlest bit of pressure to see how the wound would react. I had use of my powers in this office, within reason, of course, so I could see the full damage of each wound and when I pressed my finger down again, I could see the wound was trying to heal itself.
That was all I needed to know, before I repeated the process I did with Adrian and moved on to my next patient, before returning back to Adrian. Since his wounds were the worst, I would need to keep an eye on him for now.
The King and Adam entered the room as I worked, and I quickly greeted Adam in kind as they walked towards me.
“Hello again, sir.”
Adam appeared less surprised this time around when I called him sir and under different circumstances, I would have smiled. “Hello, Keiron. Thank you for your help, it is greatly appreciated.”
I shook my head briefly, as it was unnecessary for him to thank me. I was simply glad I could be of help to the King. “I’m not sure if you would want another doctor to help so we can treat everybody sooner, sir,” I said as I moved to another boy, I didn’t know the name of.
“That is quite alright. I am sorry to put you under such pressure, but this may be for the best, for now,” he explained. I smiled in kind, knowing the King could be a rather private man. I didn’t mind working alone and I knew I would be able to treat everyone here, as overall, the damage wasn’t too bad.
It wasn’t long before I ran out of bandages and when I opened the drawer of my desk, I found I didn’t have any more in the room with me. I would have to run to my office next door to grab some more.
“I need to grab some more bandages, I won’t be long,” I said, rushing towards the door. I tried to be quick, not wanting to leave the injured boys for too long without treatment, but I wasn’t expecting the King to be on the other side talking to someone with the most interesting aura.
I quickly sought to find the source and my eyes locked onto the person he had been talking to. The moment our eyes locked; time slowed down around me. I had heard so many stories in my life, wonderful stories of people meeting their Keepers, of that sudden moment of realisation. That one true moment where you stop and think, oh, there you are. This man I didn’t even know the name of, his soul felt so familiar to me, as if I had known it my whole life.
My life had been dedicated to my work, outside of it, I wasn’t much of a person, I couldn’t say I had many friends, or family, a few hobbies here and there, but other than that, nothing. I was okay with that, I thought. Until I looked into this man’s eyes, stared into his soul, felt his whole being move with my own, and suddenly, my life felt wrong; it felt like a lie. That giant missing puzzle piece that I had covered up and pretended wasn’t there, became far too obvious to ignore and that empty piece suddenly felt too bare.
I felt the inevitable need to impress him somehow, I wanted to hear his voice, know his name, and make him mine, but I didn’t know how.
His short brown hair was styled rather unruly, grey eyes scanning my body from where he stood, the slightest bit taller than me, he was probably six feet. He was dressed rather casually, with a long, stylish black coat covering his torso.
After embarrassingly opening and closing my mouth several times, trying to force myself to say something, I finally found my voice. “Hi...” It was all I could get out, but it was better than nothing. I took a hesitant step towards him, unsure what his reaction would be. Was he human or not? Could he feel the connection between us?
“Hello.” The man smiled, stepping towards me himself, his actions a lot more confident than my own and the smile on his face made my heart beat even faster. He was incredibly handsome.
“I was just-I need bandages.” I glanced towards my office, not knowing what to do. Why did I have to meet him now of all times? Right at the moment where I had to work, people relied on me and I selfishly wanted to stay with this man. I glanced towards the King, wondering if he could feel my inner turmoil.
The King apologised for having to break us up at that moment, but he was right, I was needed right now. I would have to wait to see this man again, and only then, would I learn more about him.
“I really appreciate you looking out for my friends, don’t worry cutie, we can talk more later.” The man winked. His voice was so smooth and seductive, it took me a second to register his words. Once I did, I felt my face heat up in embarrassment. Nobody had ever referred to me as cute before.
He was amused by my embarrassed state, his eyes seemed to shine as he watched me. I needed to get out of here or I would never get any work done. Everything felt like too much, too fast.
“Please excuse me,” I rushed out, before quickly entering my office. As soon as the door closed behind me, I leant against it, breathing out deeply.
Holy crap.
I shook my head. I wanted to take a moment to regain my composure, to think over everything that had just happened, but I didn’t have time. My King still needed me, those boys still needed me.
Breathing deeply, I forced the thoughts away, moving quickly around the room to where I kept the bandages and loading my hands. It didn’t take long before I was stepping back out of the room, ready to continue treatment, but he was still there.
My eyes widened when I noticed he was alone this time and again, I didn’t know what to say.
The man smirked, his eyes moving slowly over my body. Was he checking me out? I blushed at the thought, trying to resist the shiver that wanted to wrack my body. My heart was still pounding as I tried to think of something to say to him. My mind was blank yet racing at the same time.
“Hi,” I came up with, but my eyes widened when I realised how much of an idiot, I must have sounded to him. Is ‘hi’ really the best I can come up with? I wanted to say so much, but nothing was working.
He chuckled as he moved towards me and I’m fairly certain my heart stopped when his finger landed on my chest, slowly moving downwards.
“Hi to you too. It’s a shame we had to meet at such an inconvenient time, I would love to spend more time with you. But it seems you are needed.” He smiled, taking a step back, his finger falling from my body.
His words echoed around my mind, the sound of his voice like my favourite melody that I wanted to hear over and over again.
But it seems you are needed.
My eyes widened, snapping towards the treatment room. “Right, yes, I am needed,” I had to remind myself. There would be time for this later, but when was later?
I would see him again, I had to. He didn’t live here though, he probably lived on Earth. Maybe I could ask the King about him, find out where I can find him again.
With as much determination as I could muster, I stared my Keeper straight on, locking my eyes with his. “I will find you,” I promised.
He smiled brightly, completely taking me by surprise. Did he know how handsome he was? I don’t think you could ever get tired from just looking at him. He stepped towards me, removing whatever space had resided between us, getting so close, his face hovered in front of mine and I held my breath. With wide eyes and red cheeks, I hung onto every word he said.
“Oh, I hope so. I’ll be waiting for you, cutie.” His low and seductive voice wooed me, the smile on his face becoming more of a smirk and I knew I was a goner.
I swallowed down, letting those words sink into my mind and forcing myself not to close the very little space between us. My heart was in my ears, it was that loud and I wondered if he could hear it. I hoped not.
He leant back but didn’t move away. His confidence floored me, yet it left me wanting even more. In my embarrassed state, I nodded my head. The promise had been made between us, and I swore to stick to it, I had no choice but to.
I rushed back into the treatment room, wondering if he knew I was already his.
