#16 Bows and Arrows
Chapter 7

Zale

Adira ran like a bolt of lightning across the yard to get to her brother. She flung herself to her knees at his side and took his head in her lap. Pulling the strands of hair that had gotten caught up in the sticky blood on his forehead, she leaned down and whispered something in his ear.

“We need to get him to the infirmary.” A woman said as the crowd parted for her.

Adira glanced up at the woman and nodded, motioning for several of the warriors to pick up her now unconscious brother and carry him inside.

“You okay, Silver?” She asked the woman who nodded,

“I’m good. You?” The woman, Silver, looked my mate up and down.

“I’m fine. Will you go check on Madge and the others in the safehouse?” Adira asked.

“Of course.” Silver turned to leave, but Adira grabbed her arm,

“And get Marcy to Aidian. He’ll need her strength.” Adira added.

Silver nodded and then jogged off towards the packhouse. The rest of the warriors wandered away, seeming to know what their duties were without instructions. Adira stayed rooted in place, a far off look on her face. I slowly walked up to her side and gently ran my hand up her arm. She jumped and looked at me with startled eyes.

“Are you okay?” I asked her softly.

She blinked at me a few times before her face hardened and she nodded,

“Of course.” She shrugged.

Before she could move away, I tightened my grip on her arm and moved around to face her.

“What?” She nearly snapped at me.

I studied her for a minute and thought about my response carefully. I knew she wasn’t okay, but I also knew that I wasn’t in the position to pry. So, instead, I said,

“What do you need from me?”

That answer seemed to surprise her. She opened her mouth and closed it twice before finally replying.

“I need to survey our losses, make sure the infirmary isn’t overwhelmed, get tents set up for the fallen, and organize the capable staff to prepare food. This is our second big attack in as many weeks. Our numbers are already low.” She rattled off.

“Let me call for some support from my pod. We can help you clean up and fortify the territory. Let me help ensure that rogues don’t get in again.” I asked, never taking my eyes from her.

“Thank you.” She said and I knew that was her way of giving me permission.

“I’ll link my Captain and have him send over support. Where do you want me for now?” I asked.

“Help get the guards situated so our borders are defended?” She said it like a question.

“You got it.” I agreed without hesitation.

I released her arm and turned away from her.

“Zale?” She whispered my name and I quickly turned back around, still in awe at the way she said my name.

“Yes, Kyrre?” I asked.

Adira’s eyes pinched together and she seemed distracted for a moment,

“Why do you call me that?” She asked.

I chuckled,

“It’s Old Norse. It means “to calm” or “to bring peace”. It’s what you do to my beast and I,” I stepped up to her again and tucked a wild strand of hair behind her ear, “You bring me peace, Adira.”

She blushed as her wide olive green eyes gazed deeply into mine.

“Oh,” She mumbled, “I just wanted to thank you for helping and for having my back.” She said,

I cupped her face and leaned down so my eyes were level with hers,

“You don’t need to thank me for that, Adira. I’ll always have your back.” I replied in a low voice.

We stared into each other’s eyes for a long time before she finally stepped away, breaking the moment. I dropped my hand and smiled at my mate before turning my back on her to find the guards.

“Tirian?” I linked my Captain.

“What the hell is going on over there, Zale?” Tirian linked back almost instantly.

“The Sparrow pack was attacked by rogues again. The new Alpha is in the infirmary. I need you to send a crew here to help fortify their borders and clean up.” I said,

“Again?” Tirian sounded both shocked and irritated, “Sounds like they might need more than just a little help.”

“Watch it, Tirian. They’ve lost some good people. The rogues are after something, it’s not just random.” I growled back in warning.

Tirian took a minute to respond,

“Is there something else?” He asked carefully.

I sighed loudly,

“Yes. I met my mate.”

Silence…..then,

“Yes!!” Tirian started cheering loudly and obnoxiously in my head.

“Dude.” I groaned, pushing away his link in hopes of dulling his volume.

“That’s fucking amazing, man! Who is she? Is she okay?” He started attacking me with questions.

“She’s Alpha Reggie and Luna Megan’s daughter, Adira.” I said,

“Wait, their daughter who became the Archer?” Tirian questioned.

“That’s the one.” I replied.

“Holy shit,” Tirian snorted, “She’s gonna kick your ass.”

I groaned,

“Are you going to be helpful or not?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll take care of it.” He said dismissively.

“I need you to stay at the pod and hold down the fort until I can get back. I’ll need to stay until Adira is ready to leave,” I said, almost feeling guilty for leaving the pod again, “I can’t leave here, my beast won’t let me even if I wanted to.” I added in a small voice.

“I wouldn’t expect you to, man. It’s okay, I’ve got things handled here.” Tirian said in a sympathetic tone.

“Thanks, Tirian.” I said,

“The next time I see you, I expect you to have our Lady of the House with you.” He warned me before shutting off the link.

I joined the guards at the front gate of the pack. They were scrambling to try and rebuild the broken fence that looked like it wasn’t properly fixed from the last attack. When I arrived, they looked at me expectantly so I assumed Adira had mindlinked them about my arrival.

“What do you need to fix this?” I asked immediately.

One of the guards rattled off a list of items and I passed it on to Tirian, ordering the crew that he assembles to bring the items.

“Okay, my men will bring the supplies and they’ll be able to help you rebuild. Where else is there damage?” I asked.

The head guard took me around the perimeter and showed me a few more points of entry. I got Tirian to add more items to his supply list so we’d have enough to fix all of the weak points plus a few extra security precautions that I used around my territory.

“Thank you, Chieftain,” The guard said, sighing in relief, “I don’t blame the Alpha, but there’s just been so much going on around here that a few things like this have slipped through the cracks.”

“It’s no one’s fault, you’re all recovering from a tragedy. My pod will help handle this so you can grieve with your pack mates.” I said, sympathetically putting a hand on his shoulder.

The guard nodded in appreciation before heading off to check on his men.

About an hour later, my men arrived with all the necessary supplies and I put them to work. To my suprise, Balin had joined the crew.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“I’m the Guardian, I’m here to keep an eye on our Lady.” He said matter-of-factly.

I laughed abruptly at him,

“You do know who she is, right?” I asked and he shrugged,

“That doesn’t mean I can’t do my job.”

“No, it just means you’re probably the most unnecessary Guardian in the history of the dragon realm.” I knew it wasn’t fair to mock him, but the irony wasn’t lost on me.

Balin was a fantastic warrior, one of our best, which is why he was named the Guardian in the first place. He and Tirian were my best friends. They were smart, level headed, and unwavering on the battlefield. Tirian had more of an eye for politics and was the smartest out of the three of us while Balin was the best fighter and amazing at battle strategy. After being named the Guardian, he began training even harder so he could be at his very best to protect the Lady of the House.

And now all of that was practically for nothing. He’d be just as useful if he was a field mouse.

“We’ll be a dynamic duo,” Balin shrugged like he wasn’t bothered by the idea, “I’m not going to complain about having a Lady who can protect herself, but I’m still going to do my job.”

“Have at it.” I chuckled, motioning for him to walk ahead of me.

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