"Alert, ten minutes remain for the skill alpha overdrive. " Veronica's voice filled Gavin's weary mind. He barely acknowledged the system. His body was in more pain than he'd ever experienced before in his life. His muscles burned from continuous strain as he walked around, looking for that blonde man. Was he caught up on that final attack? Did he somehow manage to escape? Gavin examined the hole in the ground, it went deep into the ground, Gavin could hear the sound of running water far below. Must be the sewer system, he thought.
Gavin frowned as he looked up and noticed his grandfather waking over slowly, cautiously. It felt to Gavin, as if the old wolf didn't trust him not to attack. His body shivered with a sudden cold as he faced his grandfather. "Are you alright?" Gavin asked the old wolf. Though they'd only known each other a short time, Gavin was growing very fond of him.
Shepard frowned as he looked over his grandson's condition. The boy has countless injuries all over his body. Blood and sweat poured off him, it was a wonder he was still on his feet, let a lone alive.
"Sir, all enemy forces appear to be in full retreat. I don't know who used necromancy, but we owe them our lives," Okeeba's voice spoke to principal Shepard through their comms unit. But Shepard barely registered those words. He was worried and concerned for his grandson. Gavin leaned his back against a nearby piece of broken rubble. He had shifted back into his normal form by then. His clothes were torn and ragged. His tanned skin was ghostly white as Gavin struggled to breathe. A heavy layer of sweat glistened on his skin.
"I think, I over did things a little bit," Gavin said to his grandfather as the last bits of the alpha overdrive skill faded and Gavin passed into unconsciousness, slumping to the floor with a soft thump.
Shepard cursed as he shifted back and barked orders into his comms unit for Professor Jane to meet with him asap. Sirens could be heard off in the distance as the city's first responders finally began to trickle into the campus grounds, not a moment too soon. Typical police, Shepard thought, when seconds count, police are only minutes away.
"Gavin!" A voice called out in alarm and hands pushed Shepard aside. Erza was crouched by Gavin's side, her snow white fur was covered in dust and dirt, the blood from Gavin quickly stained her white fur. Tears flowed down her face as she clutched at him sobbing. Her shoulders shook with her grief as she held onto her mate.
"Don't you dare leave me alone!" She screamed at him through her fear and anger. "Don't you dare make me raise this child alone," she cried out as she banged on his chest in frustration, she wasn't thinking rationally. When she saw his bruised and battered body on the ground, unconscious or dead she did not know, it rattled something deep within her psyche.
Shepard gently gripped her shoulders and pulled her back. She struggled against his gentle hold as he tried to get her attention. "He isn't dead Erza," he told her softly. His voice seemed to cut through her sobbing as she turned to look at him. Her tears flowed freely as she looked at the old principal behind her. Why didn't he protect him? Wasn't Shepard supposed to be Gavin's grandfather? Why did Gavin have to do all this himself? She ragged internally, her thoughts turning darker and angrier the more she considered Shepard being there.
"Explain," she demanded and hiccupped through another chocked sob. She glared at him, desperate for any source of hope, but also any reason to not claw his throat out.
Principal Shepard softened his voice and features. "He only has minor injuries, he most likely passed out from exhaustion," he said. Then as if another thought struck him, he asked, "Was he the one that used necromancy?" He wasn't positive, but when that voice spoke out through magical enhancement, it sounded an awful lot like Gavin's.
Erza nodded as she angrily wiped the tears from her face. "He had been studying it in secret. He wanted the strength to protect us and the school in the future if something like this ever happened," she told him. What she didn't say was it was Veronica, Gavin's weird ai system that probably controlled the spells and did all the work.
The sounds of gunfire and explosions long since faded as the sirens grew louder. Shepard looked around at the gathered students in the arena with them. For the most part, all those that were gathered around Gavin seemed unhurt. Even the powerful twins from Daedalus academy joined them to inspect and check on Gavin. This surprised Shepard since they had bad blood between them before this all went down.
Before long first responders escorted by military personnel appeared in the room. They began checking for injured as their leader came to talk with Shepard.
Shepard walked over and explained the current situation to the man. Gavin and the others were loaded up in the ambulances and taken to the nearby hospital for treatment while Shepard stayed behind to coordinate work at the academy.
Shepard sighed as he started receiving the casualty reports in his office. Far too many students had needlessly died this day. He had hoped hiring additional security personnel and all the improvements to the campus they'd done over the last few months would have negated some of these losses.
He shook his head at the amount of death and carnage. Why? Why would the group attack his school a second time? Was it solely for revenge? Or were they after something or someone specific?
Not many of the enemy forces had managed to survive after Gavin used the necromancy magic. The army of undead bodies had worked their magic, slaughtering many of the enemy mercenaries. Shepard feared that without his grandson, their losses today would have been beyond catastrophic. As it was, hundreds of students were needlessly gunned down.
Shepard gripped the glass of whiskey that sat on his desk. The condensation leaving a faint ring underneath the glass. He swirled the glass around a few times, the ice making soft clinking noises as he did so before he threw it back in one gulp. Professor Jane and the other medical staff were busy providing minor first aide support to the medical first responders as they sorted through all the chaos. When Gavin's necromancy spells ended, all the reanimated bodies simply crumpled and collapsed where they stood. Some of the bodies were not in the most ideal of places. It would take a large clean-up crew to respectfully remove all the dead and give them final rites. The first responders had to move some of the corpses before they could even sweep a room to look for survivors and the injured.
It took a few hours before all clear was finally received. The military confirmed that the campus was secure from enemy forces and posted armed sentry's all over the perimeter of the campus. His school, his students meanwhile suffered horribly from the attack. All of the bodies had been dragged into the field in front of the Frand arena.
The bodies that were identified as students from either Allario or Daedalus academy's were set off to one side in a respectful manner with a white cloth over their bodies. The bodies that belonged to the attacking forces were set to another location for investigation to begin. They would try finding out any kind of information that may have been left behind, documents, communication devices, even their bodies might reveal some kind of information regarding who they are, where they came from, or anything in general that the authorities could use in tracking their base.
While the authorities dealt with that, Shepard had his own battle going on in his office. His thoughts had drifted back to what Erza screamed out in her fear and anger when she found Gavin. "Don't you make us raise this child alone!" She had screamed. That thought brought a bittersweet smile to his face. So, he was going to be a great-grandpa soon. He just prayed his grandson managed to survive his injuries at the hospital and come back to them. While reading through reports from his staff and the authorities, Shepard was also busy making calls and reports himself to members of Allarios government and the authorities in Daedalus.
He had to report this incident to the governing bodies that were in charge of Daedalus and Allario. This was a series of phone calls that Shepard was not looking forward to. He always hated playing the political game. This was even worse. Lives were lost under his roof. The blame, regardless of circumstances would fall on his head for this. He'd be lucky if they didn't demand his freedom or life over this incident.
Meanwhile back in a certain ambulance, Erza sat on the side as she watched the medical professional hook Gavin up to various monitors and equipment to take his vitals and see what all damage had been done. Erza held her breath as she waited to hear the results. His heart rate, though slow and faint was still there, and Erza let out a long-held breath. Her baby was alive. Her stubborn, idiotic wolf boy was alive.
The sound of his heartbeat was the sweetest sound she'd ever heard while they rode to the hospital. The staff continued basic first aid treatment while they went through the city.
When they arrived, Erza stepped to the side and allowed the hospital staff to take Gavin inside. She followed quietly behind as they took him into an examination room.
He would be alright. He wasn't leaving her yet. He promised he'd always come home. Always come back to her. Her mind was a chaotic frenzy of thoughts and emotions as she watched them treat his various injuries. A nurse came over and asked if she was injured. Before Erza could shake her head, she felt a familiar sensation in her stomach. She apologized and ran to the nearest trash can as she emptied the contents of her stomach. Frowning the nurse walked over and gently rubbed her back as Erza hurled.
"There, there, let it all out child. It's gonna be alright," the nurse said comfortingly.
Erza's churning stomach finally settled, and she stepped back, gratefully taking the offered paper towel from the nurse. "Sorry, morning sickness absolutely sucks," she apologized feeling guilty about the mess in the trash can. The smell alone was doing absolute wonders for her stomach. Not.
The nurse lifted an eyebrow at her. "You're pregnant child?" The elderly nurse asked her.
Erza hesitated and nodded. "Haven't taken a test yet, but the signs and symptoms are there," she informed the nurse.
"Come my child, let us get you tested and make sure that baby is going to be alright," she told Erza as she gently pulled her along.
Erza wanted to protest. She couldn't leave Gavin again, not now. Not when he needed her support.
"Don't you worry, I will come find you if anything happens to your boy," the nurse said softly as she gently pulled on Erza's arm.
Erza nodded, the nurse was right. Erza needed to get these tests done, to confirm she was pregnant, and the baby was alright after all this stress.
Erza followed the nurse a few floors up from where Gavin was being treated. After giving her information to the head nurse that day, the original nurse pulled her into a room and began pulling blood for all kinds of tests. She took Erza's vitals, and everything seemed to be alright. Besides the rapid heart rate and high blood pressure, but after the events that day, the nurse was surprised it wasn't even higher.
The nurse looked softly at Erza sitting on the examination table. "You know, in about an hour or so, when all that adrenaline wears off, you are going to crash like you never crashed before child," she said to her. "When that happens, do not fight it. Let your body get the rest it needs, it will do you and the baby good," she said as she gathered up the blood samples and all the paperwork. "Now, I will go send this off, rush job and should have the results here shortly. Stay here until I return," she said sternly as she noticed the look in Erza's eyes that said she was not about to stay here until the results come back.
The fire dimmed in Erza's amber eyes, but did not go out. "Fine, I will wait until the results come back, then I'm going back down," she declared to the nurse. The nurse merely nodded and left the room.
Erza's phone buzzed and she saw multiple notifications from Helena and Jackson. She replied "We are alright. Gavin is being treated on the first floor, and I am on the third floor getting tests and making sure the baby is alright," she typed out on her phone and hit send.
Her phone went off a moment later and she saw the message from Helena, "We are on our way, be there shortly," the text read. Erza smiled fondly at the text. Her protective little Beta. Once those two got here she would be able to relax a bit knowing someone would be able to keep watch over Gavin. She was going to beat him within an inch of his life for doing this. She swore it felt like he took ten years off her life already from this stress alone.
She let out a long weary sigh as she remembered the nights spent together, and the love they've explored. When, when did my life turn so crazy? She thought to herself. She never would have expected this silly boy, younger than her, to capture her heart so easily and make her feel like the most cherished person alive. She had to do better; he was in this condition because she was too weak to protect herself. She vowed to herself, right then, that she would do everything in her power to gain the strength to stand by his side, as a mate, clan leader, and as a partner.
The door opened and a blonde man strolled in with a doctor's white jacket on. He had an exhausted look on his face as he pulled a syringe out of his pocket. "What's that?" Erza asked, for some reason alert and on edge by this man's appearance. Who was he, and what was he trying to give her.
The man smiled at Erza. Only this wasn't the friendly smile a doctor gave to a worried or anxious patient. This was a cold, calculating smile a predator would give to its' prey. The man rudely and roughly grabbed her arm and jabbed her with the syringe. The liquid inside being pushed into her blood. She let out an angry cry as she tried to push him off her. Her tired body slow and sluggish to respond.
Her eyes grew weary and heavy as she quietly struggled against the man's hold. The smile never leaving his face. "I hope he gets the message and finds you in time," the man said before laughing softly.