Arch 1
Chapter 9
Bear Yearwood, Max's uncle and Stormy's dad, was aptly named. He was a very large, wide man. He was tall, as Max and Markus were, but he had a lot of bulk and muscle that they didn't. He had eyes the same color as Stormy's, but the same color hair as his brother, Markus, and his beard was kept short and neat. He was plugging his ears, giving Stormy a bit of a disgruntled look.
"Storm, honey. What did I tell you about bellowing in the house?"
"…To not bellow in the house?"
"Maybe try to remember that next time, Cub." he turned towards Max and Eira with a warm smile, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "Greetings to you, nephew, and our dear Miss Eira. Welcome."
"Hello, and thank you." she said with a small smile.
"So, as I understand it, you're in need of a checkup?"
She looked at Max. She wasn't sure of the terminology to use in this case. She knew she needed to be looked at, but that was about all she knew.
"We actually have a bit of a bigger problem. Claron implanted some kind of device in her head that causes her pain. I don't think he'd try that now, because he needs to be in close range to use it, I think, but we need it out before he decides he needs to do it again."
Bear took a deep breath of air, and let it out slowly.
"Hmm…well, I can do it, but I'll need to run tests first, and get some scans done. Don't worry, I'll get it out. And we'd better start sooner, rather than later."
"I…if I could have a word with Max before all of that?" Eira asked.
"As you wish, little lady. In the meantime, Stormy, I'd like you to…Stormy?" Bear looked this way and that, but his daughter was nowhere to be found. "Aaaannnndddd she's gone." he sighed.
Stormy was gone from the second he said, "in the meantime", like she knew she was going to be the target.
Max took Eira's hand and led her into another room.
"Are you alright, love?"
"I…yes…I mean…" she took a breath. "I need to tell you…why I was yelling in my sleep like I was in the cave."
"So, I…guess it wasn't just a particularly bad nightmare then, huh?"
"I only wish. Max…there…is another me…inside my head."
He was quiet for a long moment, processing what she had just said, and the implications of it, which were vast.
"What…do you mean, another you?"
"She is the reason I was wild when you first met me. Or…at least I think she is. I am sorry, it is very difficult to explain. She says…we are the same person. I keep telling her we are not. But the truth is, I am not sure, one way or the other. She says she is just another part of me that I cannot accept, and that's what causes my…episodes. But I am afraid that if I do, I'll lose control. And what if I did? What if I hurt you?"
He stared at her for a moment in silence, then caught her up in a huge hug that lifted her right off the ground, stroking back her hair.
"Eira, it doesn't matter. Whatever is going on, we'll figure it out, ok? I'll make sure Uncle Bear knows. His wife, my Aunt Sophie, is a psychiatrist. I'm sure she'll be able to help us. It's going to be alright, Eira. I promise."
She breathed a sigh of relief, nuzzling into his chest and closing her eyes as her arms wrapped around him, and, just for a minute, all worry seemed to ebb away as she listened to his steady heartbeat, and the consistent rise and fall of his chest. His heartbeat was measured and unhurried, whereas hers thumped like a hummingbird's.
"Ok." she said finally, releasing him. "It is time."
Max nodded and led her out, his hand in hers.
"You ready?" Bear asked gently. Max and Eira regarded each other, then nodded in unison. "Best be on our way, then."
The pack had their own medical facility, right there at Moon Down. It was necessary for them because there were certain injuries that you couldn't be seen for at a regular hospital without too many questions and lies. And that meant test results could be given as soon as they were processed. As they walked, Max explained the whole other Eira to Bear, who furrowed his thick brows, a thoughtful crease forming between them.
"Yes, that does sound like something more in Sophie's field, but I'll run a few more tests than I had originally planned, just in case. Never fear, Miss Eira. We'll take good care of you." he said with a reassuring smile.
The facility, like all the buildings within Moon Down, was pristine and well kept up. The doors opened automatically, and the receptionist looked up. She seemed like a friendly person, with sky blue eyes that were encircled by red, cat-eye glasses, and dirty blond hair that she kept up in a bun that looked like it was supposed to be neat, but had failed in doing so somewhere along the way.
"Oh, Dr. Yearwood. Hello!"
"Hey, Cynthia. How are you doing today?"
"Oh, just fine. Hello, Max. A new patient, have we?"
Max gently pulled Eira forward.
"Yes. This is my mate, Eira. Eira, this is Cynthia. She helps Uncle Bear run the office."
"Hello." Eira replied.
"It is a distinct pleasure to meet you, Crowned Alphess." she said, lowering her head.
It was an odd thing for Eira, to be bowed to like that, to be regarded with such reverence.
"Your wife is here, Doctor." Cynthia said when she came out of her bow. "She was hoping to meet up with you. She's in her office, if you want me to go get her for you."
"Nonsense!" Bear laughed, tromping down one of the hallways excitedly, disappearing around a corner. When he came back, he had a woman over his shoulder, and he was grinning like mad. "Eira, this is my wife, Sophie Yearwood. Uh, hold on." he said, turning so Sophie's face was actually towards Eira, instead of her butt.
"How wonderful to meet you, dear!" Sophie said, shaking Eira's hand. She had brown eyes but hair just like Stormy's. It was clear Stormy took after her mother, except for her eyes.
"It is wonderful to meet you, too." Eira said.
"So we're getting a checkup today, are we?"
"Oh, yes, and, uh, also, Max thinks it would be good for me to see you as well because you are a…um…psychiartrist?"
"Well, close enough." she laughed. "Of course. I'll get you right in, sweetheart. What exactly will I be seeing you for?"
"Uh…better let me explain that, Aunt Soph." Max said.
"All the better, cause I've got to get this little one to a room and start testing." Bear said.
Eira looked at Max, confused.
"I can't stay in with you, baby. But I'll be right outside the door, ok? You can trust Uncle Bear."
"Of course you can, little one, never fear. We just gotta make sure you're healthy, that's all. If you will follow me, little miss." Bear said, setting his wife down and making his way down the hall directly in front of them, turning into a room. Eira gave one last glance back at Max, and followed.
"They're probably going to be a long time in there." Sophie pointed out.
"I don't care." Max said, taking up post right outside the door. "I'm not gonna leave this spot until she comes out."
"Well then," Sophie said with a smile, sitting in the chair across from him. "I suppose we can use this time so I can become more familiar with my newest patient."
Max told her everything he knew, but, even after that, she kept him company. She could sense how nervous poor Max was, and she didn't want to leave him all alone with it.
It was a very long time later when they reemerged, and Eira immediately jumped into Max's arms.
"I do not enjoy needles." she said, burying her face in Max's chest.
"I know, my poor Eira." Max said indulgently.
"This…may be a little more difficult than we first had thought." Bear said with a grave look on his face.
"What do you mean? What's wrong?" Max asked frantically.
"Well…" he took a breath. "She's healthy, but…I did some tests for certain markers of certain species, since she's obviously a mix of some kind. I checked for human, vampire for the heck of it, and a few other things that I thought she may be mixed with. The marker for "human" showed up, but it wasn't just your normal human. It was close, but not quite. I could conclude that her mother was a vampire…and her father was a Hunter, which, I think, is what's causing her mental distress. She's two things that don't mix. I saw it in her blood and tissue, her very molecular structure is unstable. She's two things that actively try to kill each other. The thing is…Max, I've never dealt with anything like her before. I can make educated guesses about how much morphine and anesthesia to use when I get that thing out of her brain, based on her height and weight, but it's going to be tricky because her metabolism is insane. I tried to take into account her healing factor, too, but…she's vastly an unknown. If something went wrong, I don't know for certain what the result would be. She already has agreed to it, but she didn't want to go through with it until you knew how risky this would be."
Max's arms had gotten tighter and tighter around Eira as Bear got further and further into his findings. He was shaking, and had gone almost as white as Eira.
"Claron…was right. He told me his tests showed the markers for a Hunter." Max said in a wavering voice. "I…Uncle Bear, there's gotta be another way, a less risky way! If anything happens to her…if anything happens to her…!"
Max would suddenly feel a small, slender, intensely warm hand cup the side of his face. He looked down. It was Eira's hand, and she was smiling up at him.
"Nothing will happen, Max." she said with a lot more confidence than Max felt. "I know it will not."
"I…what-?"
"I have lived for 4,000 some odd years, Max. I could have died easily all that time, and I did not. And now…now I have you. We have found each other. I do not believe I would have survived all that time only to find the love of my life and die now. It is fate that we are together, Max. It will not end like this."
He stared down at her for a few long heartbeats, tears running down his face. He was scared, but he couldn't argue with what she'd said. He felt it, too, deep down in his very soul. What they had simply couldn't be extinguished like that. They were brought together for a purpose. What it was, neither of them knew, but that didn't matter.
"O…ok, Eira. We can't keep that thing inside you, anyway. I know we can't." he kissed her forehead, turning back to his uncle. "When…when can you…begin?"
"I've already got everything I would need set up, and my team is ready. I just need to put her under, wash up, and start."
Max took a shuddering breath, closed his eyes, and squeezed Eira tight one more time, his lips still pressed to her forehead.
"I love you so much, baby. I'll be right here so I can see you right after you're done."
"I love you too, Max. I will be out before you know it."
They kept contact with each other until their fingertips couldn't touch anymore.
"You're gonna be just fine, kiddo." Bear said, leading Eira down the hallway and around a corner a good way down.
Max looked like he was holding on by a thread. Before long, Max's parent's, Barlowe, and Stormy were sitting beside him. It wasn't long before the entire pack was there, holding silent vigil in solidarity with their alphas. Coffee was distributed many times over, and blankets and sleeping bags were brought in so the pack could be more comfortable, and the little ones could be laid down without their parents needing to leave.
Bear had started a little bit before midday, and it was a quarter after ten at night before he came out, looking haggard.
Max was immediately on his feet.
"Uncle Bear…?"
He looked up at him with a weary grin, but a grin nonetheless.
"She'll need rest, but one person can-"
Max was already flying down the halls. He didn't technically know which room she was in, but he didn't need to. He could feel her sense her, hear her resplendent heart beat as he could hear his own. He flung the door of one of the recovery rooms open.
"EIRA!" he panted, a wild grin on his face as he stood silhouetted in the doorway.
Eyes opened, and the light shining in around caught on them, shining yellow. Machines beeped and whirred, but he didn't even hear them over her sweet voice.
"Max…my Max…" Eira said. Her voice was a little hoarse and weak, but there she was, smiling at him.
He wanted to dive on her and bury his face in her hair and pull her closer than he ever had before, but he knew he had to be careful. So, instead, he walked briskly over, and slid under the covers, encircling her in his arms with the utmost care, inhaling her scent, and she turned into his chest.
"There she is. There's my Eira." he whispered. "How are you feeling?"
"Very tired, but alright. So very happy to see you, my love. You…will stay with me tonight, yes?"
He laughed.
"I would love to see anyone try to make me leave."