赤裸裸的滑稽故事

Fiona had only managed to sleep for about an hour. She had brought one of the cribs from the nursery into Corrine's room, and Ren had slept peacefully for a couple of hours until she took him to the daycare. But each time she tried to close her eyes, she thought of all that had happened. About Summer, Jonas, and Caleb.

Galen suddenly showing up at the hospital had been a blessing. She was overjoyed and relieved to know that he was all right. But, as happy as it made her to see him again, it only made Caleb being gone that much more real.

She had stopped at Ashleigh's room when she returned to the hospital with Ren. Ashleigh was expected to make a full recovery. She had several deep wounds, but none caused any permanent damage. However, the doctors suspected that her trip through the ley line and her use of her powers had worn her body down. She would likely sleep for a day or two but would otherwise be fine.

The same was true of Corrine, her wounds were healing, and her vitals were rising as they should. Of course, they would know more once she woke up, but Peter was sure she would be just fine in a day or two.

Fiona sat back in the chair with a sigh and closed her eyes when there was a knock at the door. She sat forward, looking toward the door.

"Come in," she called out.

The door opened, and she was surprised to see Galen standing on the other side.

"Sweetheart… what are you doing here?" she asked, standing from the chair. "I didn't expect to see you again for at least a day."

The last was said playfully as she smiled up at him. But while Galen did smile back, it wasn't a genuine smile. Instead, this one was heavy and sad.

"I came with Bell," he said. "She needed to come to check on Axel and Alice. She's going to go back to the house and rest after."

"And why didn't you go with her?" Fiona asked.

"I wanted to see Ren," he replied, "and you."

Fiona smiled.

"You look tired. You should go back and rest with Bell. I saw you just a few hours ago," she said, swallowing down the painful feeling that threatened to rise up and take control.

"Yea," he nodded and looked away toward Corrine. He swallowed and looked back at Fiona. "But I didn't know everything then."

She looked up into his eyes. Then, seeing the shine of his tears, she sighed and pressed her lips between her teeth with a sad smile.

"Bell told me…" he said gently, clenching his jaw and swallowing the lump in his throat.

"Of course she did," Fiona whispered with a nod. "She's a good girl."

Galen didn't say another word. Instead, he took the last steps between them and hugged Fiona tightly as the tears ran down his cheeks, and he sucked in a shaky breath between his sobs.

Fiona closed her eyes and rubbed his back. She bit her lower lip, fighting to keep from losing control of her emotions.

"It's okay," she whispered. "It's okay."

"Caleb…." Galen whispered through his tears.

"I know, honey…." Fiona whispered back, hugging him tighter. "I know."

***

Axel made it through the night, and the blood transfusion had begun the long process of healing his body. Peter said there was likely permanent damage to his leg, but the immediate danger to his life had passed. It would take time, but eventually, Axel would wake up.

Alice was relieved but remained cautious in her excitement. Once Axel was stable enough to move into a room, she moved in with him. Staying by his side as much as she could.

With the communications restored, Galen was able to speak with the soldiers he had left in Summer. They confirmed that their territory had also been secured and that the Crag wolves remained a temporary guard.

They had received word from several others who had found shelter in the wild, survivors across the werewolf territories from various packs. Alpha Sofia had also made contact; she and her wolves were expected to reach Summer in three days.

After giving orders for the remaining scouts to be sent back out to find the survivors, Galen spoke with Landon.

He told him about the Crag wolves that had come to aid Winter and about the fate of Alpha Jonas. They would be returning to Broken Crag in the morning. Nessa and Clara would join them to take Jonas home to be laid to rest.

Landon thanked Galen, and he told him that he and his wolves would remain until Burning Ember was safe and secure within Summer. His Alpha had given those orders, and they would follow them exactly. Only then would they return to Broken Crag.

After contacting Summer, Galen realized that with Axel and Corrine still unconscious, there was some confusion among the people of Winter about what to do next. However, the hybrids were dead, the feral wolves and fae that had remained were dealt with, and the territory of Winter had been searched and cleared.

Galen stepped in. He requested that scouts from any pack currently within Winter agree to go out and find the survivors. As well as looking for any remaining fae or feral that might pose a problem.

He instructed others to begin preparations for supplies and security for any pack that wished to leave Winter and return to their territory.

Many decided that they would remain in Winter for a time. Some wanted to wait for the scouts to report back, while others wanted to stay until they knew Axel and Corrine were safe.

Even the majority of the Summer wolves that already knew their home was safe to return opted to wait a few days.

"It's strange to see them all getting along so well," Fiona whispered with a smile as she smoothed the blanket on Corrine. "It's only been a few days, and it's possible that once the relief of having survived wears off, they'll be at each other's throats again. But it's nice to witness this moment."

She took a deep breath.

"So many of them are waiting just to see that you and your son are okay," she smiled. "Do you know how amazing that is?"

She stood up and thought of the past momentarily, of all the times that Cain had tried and failed to build bridges between the packs.

"Cain wanted the packs to be closer, parts of a whole rather than individuals fighting over every little thing. Wyatt wanted it to until he got scared," she sighed. "All it took was the threat of complete annihilation by an ancient Faery Queen to bring us all together."

Fiona laughed to herself, and then her smile fell. She thought of Caleb. Of how hard he had worked to gain the alliance with Broken Crag and Burning Ember.

"It's the curse of the son to realize his father's dream," a soft voice called to her from the bed.

Fiona gasped and looked down to see Corrine looking up at her with weary but open eyes.