Page 57 of Heart of the High King
Chapter 24
Something inside of Aleksander made him keep track of the time he’d spent away from Rafferty, though it hurt with each passing month, and there had now been seven of them. Long ago, he’d stopped speaking with Sullivan, and he refused to ask Kendrick for updates. Rafferty’s youngest sibling didn’t offer them either, which Aleksander appreciated. There was no way he could listen to anything about the girlfriend he might still have or any other exploits. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t even bring himself to delete his contact information on his phone, let alone move forward with separation papers.
Each day he simply tried to make it through without thinking of him, and there were even occasions when he was nearly successful. But at night, when everyone was nestled in their beds, he lay in his and mourned for what might’ve been and the friendship Rafferty had so cruelly axed. His dreams were plagued with dark rooms and pain, leaving Aleksander tired when he woke. It didn’t stop him from forcing himself up though, to do his best to be there for the family that had started more than six centuries ago when he’d been forced off his father’s land.
The incredible people who shared his name did everything they could to keep up his spirits, making his love for them grow. So as he walked into his living room on Monday night, he shook off his despair and if his smile had dimmed since Rafferty walked away, then there was little Aleksander could do about it. Getting a grin from Dra’Kaedan, Aleksander sat on a comfortable sofa. The Grand Warlock worked hard to grow a sanctuary that had from the start added new people incredibly slowly, so on nights like this one he was practically vibrating with excitement.
When the forty people and three dragon familiars surrounding Aleksander grew quiet, he started their weekly meeting. “Thanks, everybody, for being here tonight. I’m going to hand things over to Dra’Kaedan so he can update you on his coven.”
“I feel like such a warlock when you say that.”
“Squirt…youarea warlock.”
“I know that, Tallosaur. I’m just saying it makes me feel more mystical when you refer to my coven that way.”
“I assume that’s a good thing?”
“Of course it is,” Dra’Kaedan remarked, handing Aleksander a stack of papers and giving another bunch to his familiar. “We have a new applicant, you guys! His name is Kitchi Aehsepan, and he’s a raccoon shifter. So, here’s his deal. Before the Council of Sorcery and Shifters arrived in North America, many Native American tribes lived in harmony with both shifters and magickind. However, once the humans forced us to sign the treaty that stated that we could not intermingle, the tribes had no choice but to kick shifters out. So, Kitchi’s parents were from a tribe in Wisconsin called the Menominee, and the moment they signed a treaty with the human government, they had to ask his folks to leave. They joined the Prycyon Iotor shifter community, which is all raccoon. Their leader is Adsila Gvli, and she’s the doyenne of her people. They live in really scattered groups with no current sanctuaries, and the doyenne transfers anyone unhappy around, but Kitchi’s problem is that he’s already been moved around a ton. It was Adsila’s suggestion that he fill out our application because she has limited resources and a lot of raccoons to keep content.”
“She’s a lovely woman. Fate chose her as Doyenne around the time Kitchi was seventeen. He’d just lost his parents to a fatal car accident and Kitchi was, literally, the first issue she tackled. Adsila initially set up a sanctuary, but the problem is that raccoons generally do not do well in large populations together, and the fighting became intolerable, so she had to change her tactic. Kitchi’s struggled to find himself; he has tried many careers—the most recent being a hair stylist. He loved it, but raccoons are apparently notorious for having sensitive hands, and he was forced to quit because he simply couldn’t handle the damage from the constant washing and the chemicals. He’s searching for what’s next,” Aleksander added.
“If raccoons don’t do well in groups, why would D’Vaire be a good place for him?” Noirin asked.
“Kitchi’s the rare breed of raccoon who is genuinely looking for people to connect to. He has always wanted a large family,” Killian explained. The leader of the druids had been enthusiastic about the entire process once he found out he was selected to participate, and Aleksander appreciated his willingness to help. “Raccoons are also a matriarchal society, and while they do not openly discriminate, a gay man in a society like that is perceived as having less value. It’s an attitude Adsila is trying to change, but people are inherently stubborn when it comes to new ideas.”
“What’s Kitchi like?” Worth inquired.
Aleksander grinned. “He’s fun. Kitchi is forty-five and bubbly. We spoke at length with him, and he had a million questions about the house, the people here, and Arizona itself. He likes the idea of finding a place where he can settle. Kitchi likes to read, watch movies, and he admitted that he’s terribly lonely. While there are many raccoons, he feels like an island as the only Menominee. The tribes kept their last names in their native language, so it’s apparent to other shifters like him where he hails from, making him an instant outcast. But for Kitchi, who has never even been to the Menominee reservation, he feels like a fraud. I enjoyed talking with him a great deal.”
“We all did,” Renny enthused. “He’s a ton of fun and called himself a freak about a dozen times. I feel like he’d be a great fit.”
“Maybe we could get him to cut Aleksander’s hair if he gets voted in, so I don’t have to do it any longer,” Noirin muttered.
“I’ve told you I can go out and find a stylist,” Aleksander retorted.
“I’m not going to make you do that,” Noirin fired back.
“And anyway, I already asked him,” Killian interjected, kneading his mate’s shoulders. “Dray here doesn’t like leaving the house either. Kitchi’s on board to help anyone at D’Vaire. He loves what he used to do and is willing to cut any head of hair in the house.”
“Any more questions before I call a vote?” Aleksander asked. When no one offered up one, he smiled. “Okay, everybody, who votes yes to let Kitchi join Dra’Kaedan’s Coven?” Every hand in the room went up, and a feeling of satisfaction rushed through Aleksander the way it did whenever they were able to expand the family they each nurtured. It was a beautiful feeling, and for just a moment, true happiness melted away his heartbreak, but it didn’t last, because nothing would bring Rafferty back.
∞∞∞
Conley walked into the Intensive Care Unit of the Nashville Council Hospital, and he and his mate immediately ran into the same doctor that had overseen the mystery patient’s care since the moment he’d been moved from the emergency room nearly ten weeks ago.
“Dr. Odocoileus, how are you?” Drystan asked the white-tailed deer shifter. The man’s brown hair was sticking up, but he had a genuine smile on his face.
“We took him off life support yesterday. He’s groggy but was able to answer a few basic questions. Thus far, he’s refused any effort to get his name. I’m hoping you two can help us there and persuade him to tell us. It’s hard to say if he has any memory of the events that led him here. He’s in a very fragile state, and I know you want to speak with him, but I can’t give you much time, and I must insist that you don’t stress him out. We’ve worked very hard to get him here, and it’s nothing short of a miracle that he’s alive. However, he’s still in terrible shape and has more to endure if we’re going to give him any quality of life.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll only ask him a few questions. We really just want to be able to find out who he is. I mean, this guy has been here for two and a half months. If he’s got family somewhere, they might want to know he’s alive. Although, we’ve checked through the missing persons reports on the entire continent and he matches none of them,” Conley responded.
“Well, go on in, his wolf is waking a bit too. He’ll need to be tranquilized again.”
“I’m hoping we can come to an arrangement soon. Perhaps the wolf will come home with us for a little while or something. We can’t keep him out of it forever,” Conley commented, his brow furrowed. To date, the doctor had only allowed the wolf a day at most to walk around, and Conley didn’t think it was good to keep the animal knocked out for such lengthy periods.
“Reverent Knight, I can’t have a wolf running around a hospital. He scares the other patients and their visitors, not to mention my staff.”
“We’ll see if we can get him to leave with us.”
