Four days had passed while Gavin lay unconscious from the mana depletion. Jackson and Helena walked down the corridor towards the coffee station and began brewing a fresh pot of coffee.
Jackson's appearance was disheveled, his clothes rumpled as he ran his fingers through his short hair trying to untangle the messy ends. He let out an exhausted sigh as he leaned against the counter.
"How the hell do we tell him when he wakes?" Jackson asked his partner.
Helena rubbed her aching temples, her body tired and sore. "Don't ask me. He gave us one mission. Keep his mate safe, and we failed him," she said as the venom leaked from her tone. The hot liquid began pouring into the glass coffee pot.
Jackson noticed a soft electrical buzz as the coffee poured. A few lights around them softly flickered in and out, the difference barely noticeable in the brightly lit hallway.
"How were we supposed to know someone survived the war and followed them here?" Jackson gritted his teeth before he asked. "None of us expected her to be taken within minutes of them arriving here," Jackson said as he banged his fist on the counter, startling nearby nurses. "The battle was supposed to be over. We were supposed to be safe at a hospital for crying out loud," he complained as he slammed his fist onto the counter again, drawing looks of irritation and concern from the staff nearby.
Helena winced as she tried to massage her sore muscles. They had been scouring the city nonstop looking for every underworld thug that might lead them in the right direction or offer some kind of clue. They wanted something to offer when Gavin finally woke up. Everything he sacrificed himself for was for nothing. Sure, he saved thousands of lives during the war at the academy, but the self-sacrifice from pushing himself to protect Erza and their unborn child was too much. To make it worse, she goes and gets abducted before Gavin even gets treated.
Helena shivered at the thought of the powerful monster she'd seen Gavin become that day for them. For her, Erza. The army of the dead that he summoned to protect them all. Yeah, Gavin would burn this town to the ground when he finds out. The thought made a shiver run up her spine. Long gone were the fond memories of pleasant times at the academy, studying magic in the library as they got ready for the competition with Daedalus.
The temperature appeared to grow a bit warmer as they made their cups of coffee. They stayed by the coffee maker as they sipped the hot beverage. Their thoughts a jumbled mess of what to do now.
The lights kept flickering as they continued their discussion. "We have to keep him grounded when he finds out about Erza. With his power, there won't be many that can stop him if he goes out of control," Jackson said as he took a grateful sip, letting the caffeinated beverage warm his throat and stomach. All Jackson wanted was a long, fat nap and an end to all this chaos. He never imagined his life turning out this way. That he would get caught up in this plot of terrorists, gods and death. It was all too surreal.
Helena nodded as she set her cup down on the counter. "Mission impossible right?" she tried to ask him with a soft chuckle.
Jackson nodded. "That's for sure. He's going to be mad with grief and rage. We don't even know if she's still alive or-" Jackson said before Helena slapped him across the face.
Her shoulders rocked as she fought back tears, "Don't. Don't say it. Don't even think about it," she said quietly as she weakly beat her fists against Jackson's chest.
Tears flowed down her face as she continued beating on Jackson's chest. There was no anger in her fists. Just fear and heartache over her friend and alpha. Helena tried to communicate through the mental connection they established the morning of the tournament. Anything to get some kind of response that she was alive and well.
Nothing.
No matter how often Helena attempted to communicate with Erza she got no response. Every time silence was the answer. Helena's heart shattered more with each failed attempt to reach her alpha.
Before Jackson was able to respond, a powerful wave of energy blasted through the halls of the hospital. It was oppresive and aggressive as it knocked everyone to their knees. No one, not even the trained Magi guards that stood outside Gavin's room could remain standing. Fear and panic gripped the nurses and patients as no one understood what the cause was.
Helena cursed as she was forced to drop to her knees. The weight was impossible to fight against. She could barely lift her head and as she did so, she noticed dark red waves of red mana exploding from Gavin's room. She could see some of the staff, paralyzed by fear as they couldn't lift their heads to look around. The powerful and chaotic mana energy was slashing at the walls and doors of the hospital.
"Shit" Jackson whispered, fear gripping his heart. They were too late. Gavin was awake, and somehow, he already knew. This was a worse case scenario for them. Jackson strained his sore, tired body against the weight of the mana that forced his body to the ground.
He had to reach Gavin, he had to calm his friend down before he ripped the hospital to shreds. He focused on his mana flow. He willed the magic to give him strength to fight back against Gavin's. He struggled to lift his head and noticed the look of sheer panic and terror that was etched on Helena's beautiful features.
"We have to get to him before its too late, before he-" Jackson was interrupted by the last thing he wanted to hear. A baleful howl came from Gavin's room. The sound was beautiful, but foreboding. It filled his heart with such a sense of fear and trepidation that Jackson's own heart raced as he listened to it. It wasn't a cry of hunting, or wrath. But of utter pain and anguish.
He struggled to his feet. Sweat glistened on his brow as he used everything, he had left to push against the anger that was coming off Gavin's mana. He had to calm his friend down. He had to ground him into a much calmer state, if that was even possible. He struggled to place one foot in front of the other. Forcing every ounce of his will power into his own body to make it move. He was barely twenty feet from Gavin's room. He had to get to him.
"Gavin!" Jackson called out in a desperate plea to reach his friend. "You have to calm down buddy," he continued as he struggled to move. He leaned against the damaged segments of the wall as he pushed against them moving down the hallway. He was almost there. He was almost to his friend and alpha.
Staff were frozen, silent and fearful as they watched Jackson and Helena struggle to reach Gavin's room. No one else could manage even getting to their feet, let alone pushing against this wall of energy to walk towards the source.
"Gavin, come back to us!" Helena cried out, fear gripping her heart. She only recently found these people. Found her pack. She couldn't afford to lose them now when they needed her help the most.