Who is Magpie?

“You can’t walk all the way back like this, I will carry you.” Bronx said when she’d finally calmed down and waited for her to look at him. “You’ll have to shift, I’m sorry my Luna, it’s going to fucking hurt.”

She nodded wearily before shifting, knowing like he did that it was all she could do. She cried out, a whine that ended in a scream, as her form changed and the damaged bone and tissues tried to figure themselves out. In her human form her injuries were more clear, and he could see the red vividly against her fair complexion and where it ran in streams through the mud that remained on her skin. Dried blood stippled over her face and down her chest, mostly not hers, and she wiped at it with the back of her hand.

Bronx laid flat on the earth, tilting to one side so that should could climbed onto his back, with as much coordination as a polliwog. Once there she wound her fingers through his fur to get a better grip and he waited impatiently for her to be ready.

“Stop trembling,” she whispered in his ear. “I could have gone at least one more round.”

He whimpered beneath her but started forward. He had taken a few slow steps before trying to walk quicker and she slipped. Her breath came out pained and high.

“I’m fine, just go,” she encouraged, stifling any other sounds of pain along the way which prevented any communication.

She regretted being so fast earlier and making it so far from the pack house, as every step only caused a different injury to flare up. By the time the pack house came into view her hands were barely able to hold fists. Her blood had run and soaked into Bronx’s fur, but she could also feel the itch of some of the areas trying to heal.

Jessamine’s legs wobbled beneath her as she slid off Bronx’s back, but the yard was already full of shifted and unshifted wolven looking to help. Someone wrapped a blanket around her and over her shoulders as Bronx shifted beside her and scooped her into his arms, avoiding the bite on her leg.

“Is the medical bay prepped for her?” Bronx asked, walking towards the exterior door.

“Yes Beta.” Jessamine recognized the voice of Chey from the card night but didn’t turn from his chest to greet her.

“Jessa, what are your injuries?” he asked firmly and she looked further away from him.

“I’ve got bites on my thigh, shoulder, ankle, and upper arm. My ankle is fractured and my shoulder is out.” Jessamine admitted, going through the things that hurt the most.

She lifted the arm that was still in its socket after Bronx laid her in a medical bed. She had tried to avoid wincing but she knew her face showed it all while she tried to find a position that kept off her thigh and back. Bronx had already set to work with the prepared warm water and towels to clean the wounds and Dr. Pon began looking at the joints.

“I can’t move these two fingers,” she added. “And my back aahhhh!” She jerked away as Bronx touched the skin there, the pain of the already scarred skin being cut so deeply and unwanted reminder.

“I’m sorry Jessamine,” Bronx soothed. His anger and adrenaline from the run to find her had been so high, and now he was out of the action and his only useful skill was his ability to operate warm water and a cloth.

“I’m fine,” she assured in return, but her hand had struck out and gripped the bed firmly. “But I think with this and after everything else you should just call me Jessa.”

“Oh, so we’re that close now?” He asked, forcing the joke.

She chuckled but then groaned. “Ribs aren’t broken but likely bruised to shit.”

“You are many lovely shades of purple,” he admitted. “But those will also be the first things to heal.”

Doctor Pon was setting her fingers and splinting them in place while trying to assess the order of injuries to address. He moved to the ones she had admitted were broken first in the hope of setting them right the first time, moving toward her ankle when she stopped him.

“My shoulder next please,” she wheezed, trying to move into a better position for him but he grabbed it regardless and knocked it in place. “Ra-ahh, fuck, thank you. Bronx, there were five, they…”

Bronx pat her hand. “Sshhh… it’s okay, we can talk about it later. Let’s just focus on you right now.”

“No, no. This is important. They called me Magpie.” Bronx was nodding, having heard the same from the one he killed. “They said they were taking me home. That if he can’t have me, no one can.”

“No one is taking you away,” he assured, internalizing the images those words instigated.

After a solid hour of attention Jessamine couldn’t stay awake. She had fallen asleep squeezing Bronx’s hand but eventually let go and sunk into her pillow. Doctor Pon went over her again and again, finding injuries she hadn’t even registered with the comparable pain. Being a wolven she would heal quickly, but that had only made treating her more difficult as they had to re-break her toes and wrist to line them up correctly.

Bronx waited diligently by her side until he heard familiar steps down the hall. Not everyone was so recognizable, but growing up together and walking beside him as long as he did, his brother’s steps would always be easy to recognize.

Ezekiel soon walked into the medical bay, one bite on his shoulder that had already begun to heal making Bronx realize the rest of the blood over his body wasn’t his.

“Dr. Pon just stepped out, she’s okay. Why don’t you have a quick shower before she sees you like this?” Bronx suggested, but Ezekiel sat in the chair on her other side instead.

“This is not okay,” he said lightly, gently trying to move her hair back from her face but the dried blood and mud made that difficult.

They sat in silence for several minutes, first Ezekiel just watched her sleep and they he did as Bronx suggested showering off the blood before Jessamine could see it.

A small part of him wanted her to see him in the blood of her enemy’s, as a sign that he would take care of her, but a larger part feared upsetting her while she was injured. The last thing he wanted was for her to worry about him while she should be focusing on her recovery.

After the quickest shower he had ever had in one of the other medical rooms, he returned to her side in his sweatpants and waited until the Doctor returned.

“Alpha,” Doctor Pon began surprised, moving toward him to get the conversation he had been dreading out of the way. “Well…. I don’t need to tell you that she’s lucky to be alive. Five wolven against one, even from a strong alpha line like she is… it’s likely only thanks to her damaged pain receptors that she was able to hold them off for so long with the extent of her injuries.”

Ezekiel was nodding. His head was in shambles, feeling like he was loosing her all over again. “I know.”

“Luckily, her wolf is strong, and she’s already begun healing many of the more superficial wounds. She needs bed rest for at least a week, I’d honestly prefer two but I don’t see her listening to one.” Doctor Pon continued, also addressing Bronx now that he noticed Ezekiel was barely present.

“We’ll do our best to to keep her resting,” Bronx assured.

They had helped her to wash off as much of the blood from her face and body as possible, but nothing would be as cleansing as a shower once she could stand. The surrounding pillows had been placed to keep her in the most comfortable position even after she fell asleep, but even the light sheet had been too much to let touch her back. Currently this was all Bronx could see of her, the four ragged claw marks that tore across her spine had been covered in salve and butterfly bandages with so little skin for stitches.