Rejected His Miracle Luna (Dorothy and Ignatius)
Chapter 43

Chapter 43 -Ignatius-

Meeting with the final pack went well enough. I was relieved to finally be on the home stretch. I was rearing to get back to Dorothy and my own home. Elliot and I hadn't spoken much since the one-sided conversation in the car.

He clearly still hadn't forgiven me for bringing up my mother considering we drove the rest of the way in stony silence until we reached the final pack on our list.

The Drakkon Pack was small, smaller than even that of the Khall, But they held their own kind of power. The Drakkon was known to stay out of neighboring pack business for the most part. But we had stepped in to help them before and now they owed us a favor.

Luckily for us, the Drakkon always kept their word and were happy to offer us their support should it be absolutely necessary.

Unlike the Bielke, the Drakkon was not interested in resorting to violence unless there was no other option. But they held at particularly strong grudge against the Tally since they had almost been wiped out by them once before,

Their eldercouncil was small, consisting of only three members When we were done with our discussions, the Alpha and Luna invited us to stay as long as we liked. While my father went off to meet with an old friend of his - I had no idea my father even had any friends-I went to see the single healer of the Drakkon Pack.

I had had no choice but to disclose information about Dorothy's strange healing abilities during our conversation with the elders. For a pack who keeps to themselves, the Drakkon have a way of picking up information about the going ons of the entire country.

Nob*dy knows how they do it but they do it well. They had asked about Dorothy and whether or not she would pose as a

threat to them.

I reassured them that was not the case and explained that we weren't even entirely sure of how her ability worked or how she got it. The elders had suggested I consult their healer, who had come from a distant pack long ago and who held a lot of knowledge on the topic of healing.

I didn't think there was anything this strall town healer could tell me that I didn't already know, but I had time to kill and nothing to lose from speaking with her.

The woman lived in a small cabin on the outskirts of the Drakkon territory. She wasn't difficult to replace. I followed the scent of herbs and potions that surrounded the small home.

Charms and bottles hung from the trees around the cabin and plants had been left to grow wild all around the area. Curling green vines chang to the wooden frame of the building like the small log cabin was a part of the woods and had grown from the ground along with the rest of the foliage.

There was dust on the glass of the windows and I couldn't see through the grime, but aside from the clinking of wind chimes, light music coming from inside let me know that someone was home.

I walked up to the small door and knocked twice before it creaked open. An old woman stood before me, although old isn't an accurate enough description. She looked ancient. She was short and stooped, leaning on a wooden cane with the head of

wolf carved into its handle.

The two beady jeweled eyes of the wooden wolf stared at me along with the woman's own lidded white pupils. She could have been blind, but she was looking straight at me.

"Um, hi" I said. "Are you the healer of this pack? I'm Ignatius Armound of the Bielke Pack. I was wondering if I could ask you some questions?"

She nodded slowly. "Of course. Please come in

I had to duck to step through the small doorway. Inside, when standing up straight, my head almost brushed the ceiling.

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Chapter 43

More trinkets and other wind chimes dangled from the roof above us and I had to be careful to not knock my head against of them.

any

The old woman motioned for me to sit on one of the weathered pillows on the floor. Dozens are carpets were crossed over each other, making the entire floor look like a giant patchwork quilt. She lowered herself down onto another cu shion and began to pour tea from a small porcelain mug that stood on a small table in front of her.

"So she said with a voice like gravel. "What is it you wanted to know?"

I nodded when she lifted the small canister of sugar and thought over my question. "My mate, Dorothy, she's got some kind. of healing ability. She can heal herself like a regular shifter but this is something different. This is way more powerful"

The old woman kept quiet, stirring sugar into our tea and waiting for me to continue. "A few weeks ago, we were attacked by a Tally shifter. He injured a friend of mine, Badly. I thought she was going to die. But Dorothy somehow managed to heal her and now she's perfectly fine.

The woman's head jerked up when I said this and she listened attentively as I spoke. "Only, Dorothy herself ended up comatose for two weeks. It seems like she passed some of her own life on to the girl she saved. Have you heard of anything like that happening before?"

The old healer looked down again and handed me a steaming cup of tea

Your mate. Dorothy, she is from the Bielke Pack?"

Not born into it, no. She was from the Khall Pack before I met her. But she wasn't originally from there either."

I frowned down at my tea. "Dorothy said she saw visions while she had been unconscious. She said she remembered her pack being attacked. According to the Khall elders, she was delivered to them as a baby by a woman who claimed to be escaping this attack."

The old woman leaned back, stroking her wrinkled chin with fingers covered in gold rings. "It's possible she could be a descendant of the Sanitatum people."

The name rang a bell. "That was a name D

The woman nodded

Dorothy gave to herself She said she didn't know where she had heard it."

Probably because she never did. The Sanitatum disappeared long ago, barely anyone remembers them at all. If her pack was attacked it's very likely someone discovered that the bloodline was still well and alive and sought to gain the power for themselves Or eradicate it entirely

"What do you know of this power?" I asked earnestly, leaning forwards on my haunches. "Is Dorothy going to be okay?"

The woman shrugged. "I'm not sure. The Sanitatum bloodline was thought to have died out because of the effects of their own powers. They used it to heal others, and in turn, they wiped themselves out." So if Dorothy just refrains from using her powers, she won't be hurt by them?"

She shook her head. "It doesn't work like that. It comes naturally, this healing power, it's an urge she will not be able to fightt when it overcomes her. There are only two ways a Sanitatum wohld live its life. Give up years of your own and live a short life but save countless others. Or take life from the people aroural you and prolong your own."

"Why not both?"

"You can try. But with that amount of energy surging through your b*dy, eventually, something has to give. This is the curse of the Saratatum"

"That can't be it!" I slammed my cup down onto the table. "So we just have to accept that she's eventually going to die because of this? That's b ulls hit. I won't accept that

10:48 Fri, Jan 26

Chapter 43

The healer seemed unphased by my outburst. She put her hands around my own shaking ones and spoke gently. "I don't have all of the answers for you. This is just what I have come to learn of it. Perhaps you will replace others like Dorothy who might be able to help you."

She let go and stood up slowly, a hand on her back and leaning heavily on her cane. "After all, if one Sanitatum is still alive,

there is sure to be more out there.

I got to my feet wearily. "Maybe you're right. And thank you for your time. I'm sorry I lost my temper there, I didn't mean to disrespect you

"Think nothing of it, the woman said, waving her jewelry cladded hand. I understand the desperation of young love. You

do love her don't you?"

"With all my heart."