“Do you know how much you weigh?”
NOTES: Part One of Heroes Live Forever. Ohoho yes, new multi-part fic, as promised! :D No hints at what this one is about, you’ll just have to read along and see for yourselves ;D The title is a bit tentative, so please don’t hate me if I change it. As far as this intro/prologue goes, it’s kind of… weird, idek, but I had the image and went with it, and this is what I ended up with. Just like with my last multi-part, you can all rest assured that at least one of your pack (Cole’s) characters will feature, but believe me when I say that, like last time, I will do my best to include as many of them as possible ♥ But enough of my babbling! Here’s hoping you like the start, and I can keep up a nice, swift and steady pace that I did with the previous one >.>! Title (for both the part and the fic itself as a whole!) is from Heroes Live Forever by Vanessa Amorosi.
YOU ARE THE LIGHT
Heroes Live Forever • Part I
With the raven-haired Molly Cullen over his shoulder on one side and the perpetually youthful Rory Laurence in an effortless headlock on the other, the broad, tall fighter seemed to be holding all the cards, and yet when he turned, with a respective squeal and yelp from his ‘captives’, he was met with a cushion to the face that not only ruffled his already scruffy brown hair, but stopped him in his tracks completely. Hazel eyes blinked and his expression shifted from one of teasing triumph to one of surprise for all of three seconds before he gave a thoroughly playful growl.
Cassidy Blake released one of those obviously harmless screams that only females seemed truly capable of and immediately backed up, almost falling over the coffee table and the male who had fallen back across it from the force of his laughter. “Dammit, Devon!” she wailed, screaming again when he lunged and caught her legs. The redhead flailed, arms pin wheeling, and went sprawling towards the couch with a rather undignified, pitched yelp. As she went, she managed to snatch one of Molly’s waving hands, and with the momentum of her fall, she was able to pull her surrogate sister from her captivity across the fighter’s shoulder.
“Hey, that’s cheating,” Keegan MacIntyre announced, trying to sound annoyed and managing only to stifle his laughter temporarily. Rory was still flapping and giving token struggles, for all the good it did him. He was no match for the larger, older male, and he knew it. It was all for show, all part of the little game that had started out of nowhere, and everyone in the room was simply enjoying the downtime, the peace and quiet. Figuratively speaking, of course.
The recent battle had been a rough one, and many of the pack’s experienced fighters were still feeling the lingering effects of their wounds. Even while he played with the younger wolves he had adopted as siblings, Keegan sported visible bruising around his neck that extended up to get lost in the dark hair of his beard, discolorations that wound all the way around as if someone or something had attempted to strangle him. If it hurt him to move the way he was, though, he hid it well, no doubt just as eager to let off a little steam as the younger pack members around him.
Off towards the window, Alannah and Brennan Cooney sat together, the male of the pair perched comfortably on a chair with his mate settled snugly on his lap, his hands around her waist and his chin on her shoulder as they perused a simple game of Solitaire set out on the table before them. The female’s dark eyes were fixed on the scuffle in the middle of the room and she laughed as Molly and Cassidy managed to untangle their limbs from one another after sprawling into the couch. Devon Riley was still rolling over the table, and with a light thump of body hitting the carpet, he fell off the other side. Cassidy snorted loudly. Brennan smirked from behind Alannah, and reclined into the seat further, taking his mate back with him at the same time so they could watch the play fight, relaxed and very much on the sidelines.
From where she sat beside the rarely used fireplace, in one of the large armchairs that seemed easily capable of swallowing a person whole, Nerys Llanfair had her legs folded up beside her, the book open against her thigh, one hand lifted to half-cover the faint smile on her lips as she watched her mate and his adopted siblings. Her blonde hair was swept over one shoulder, green eyes following the back and forth as Keegan managed to bat a cushion out of the air with a second proclamation that his opponents were cheating. “No projectiles!” he announced with a laugh riding through his tone. Nerys smiled warmly, and glanced across the room to the final occupants.
With Cecilia ‘Sissy’ Donovan sat quietly on the floor in front of their shared seat, the young female wearing an entertained smile, Cole Stanton and Dia Mantenega were side by side; the Alpha male’s arm was around the female’s shoulder, the fingers of his left hand gently, idly toying with the ends of her black hair. The light caught the white gold Claddagh ring on his fourth finger, an identical band on Dia’s hand. The old female laughed when Cassidy hurled a cushion across the coffee table at Devon instead, pegging the young male right in the middle of the face and sending him tumbling back with a muffled, “Oof!” Beside her, Cole chuckled, briefly averting his attention to meet the Beta female’s gaze and give her a quiet smile that she returned.
It wasn’t often that the pack got to unwind like this. They all wanted to enjoy it, and Cole could understand that. Keegan wasn’t the only one in the room still healing from wounds suffered in the recent fight. Brennan’s right hand was wrapped in a white bandage that their human physician had insisted upon, if only as a precaution; the Irish male had managed to break two of the bones across the back of his hand and had sliced up the skin on his palm after a nasty fall. It could have been a lot worse, and they all knew it. Alannah would be walking with a slight limp for a few days yet, something that she wasn’t letting affect her, covering it as much as was possible. Keegan’s bruises weren’t limited to his neck; they flowed down his sides and over his back, dark evidence of blunt force strikes that had cracked several of his ribs, and yet there he was laughing and twisting to intercept attacks from the younger wolves, hiding any pain he felt effortlessly. The Alpha female hadn’t uttered a word of complaint when it came to the headaches that were a result of the crack across the skull that had drawn blood, but her mate knew she was still feeling them even now. The flesh and bone were repairing; she hadn’t needed stitches, but that hadn’t stopped Cole from worrying.
As the oldest member of the pack, the most experienced, not even Cole had escaped the fight unscathed. It had been equal parts luck on his opponent’s part and stupidity on Cole’s; he had left his enemy with an obvious opening, and the rogue had taken it. The gash hadn’t been pretty, and it had bled and stung, as any open wound would, but Cole had certainly suffered worse. The fact that he still ached whenever he moved, days after the fight itself, didn’t concern him. It was normal. He was still healing, and it was all part and parcel of being a werewolf. Their doctor had simply advised he keep from overexerting himself so he wouldn’t tear the wound open again, and avoid laying on his left side. Cole was doing his best to follow those instructions, and whenever he slipped, Dia was on hand to give him a stern glance or a pointed sigh.
Sudden movement from the middle of the room distracted the old male from his thoughts and he couldn’t help but laugh as Molly physically launched from the couch and onto Keegan’s back while it was turned towards her. The fighter gave a surprised bark of a laugh and was forced to release his hold on Rory to try and keep his balance. He needn’t have bothered trying; Cassidy reached out and grabbed Molly’s legs, giving them a helpful - unwise though the action was in the long run - tug towards her, lending her weight to the battle. Rory recovered and turned, gathering his courage with a bright grin and tackling the older male around the waist. Keegan lost his fight against gravity, and it was at that exact moment, as his footing failed, that Cassidy realised her mistake. Green eyes flew wide open, and with a shriek of alarm, she turned and scrambled against the thick back cushions of the couch, trying in vain to get out of the way.
The group landed tangled together, Rory coming out on top and grinning ear to ear, Molly waving her arms madly from the bottom, Cassidy pinned to the back of the couch by her legs and Keegan thoroughly sandwiched in the middle, fighting to breathe through the fits of laughter that had overcome him. From the other side of the room, Nerys smiled openly, a rarity for her, but at the sight of her mate and his extended family indulging in the harmless fun, she apparently couldn’t help herself, eyes fixed fondly on the tangle of wolves young and old; it was clear who she was focusing on most of all, even as one gloved hand reached out from the mess of limbs and grabbed the belt of Cassidy’s jeans. She squeaked and tumbled back, almost knocking Rory off his Keegan-shaped cushion, ending up with her head dangling off the edge, hair spilling like an auburn waterfall towards the floor, trying to breathe and only laughing harder.
When Irina Bianchi entered the room with Connor Hall at her side, the pair took a few moments to survey the scene before the feral female walked to the back of the couch and peered over through her loose mane of wild, dark hair. “Keegs, you big oaf,” she said with laughter in her voice, “you tryin’ to kill Molls?”
“Hey, she’s the one who pulled me down on top of her,” the older fighter responded with a grin that made him look so much younger than he actually was. “Well.” His hand moved and Cassidy shrieked loudly, trying to curl into a foetal position away from the tickle-assault that just wasn’t possible with the way she was sprawled over the fighter. “Cass’ helped. Why? You think she can’t breathe under there?”
“Do you know how much you weigh?” Irina asked incredulously, but she was grinning, rolling her eyes good-naturedly and offering the older wolf a light, teasing growl. Behind her, Connor stood with his thumbs hooked in his pockets, glancing towards Nerys and then to Dia and Cole, giving each a nod of respect and acknowledgement.
“Fine, fine,” Keegan grumbled, and gave Rory a light shove. “Move it, runt,” he mock-grumbled. Rory responded wordlessly, tongue poking out in a decidedly childish fashion before he slipped to the ground and then picked himself up, giving himself a shake that was thoroughly wolfen, before helping his ‘big brother’ rearrange Cassidy so the redhead could regain some semblance of balance as well. All the while, Molly flapped and flailed, until Irina reached down and hauled Keegan up by the collar of his t-shirt, offering her other hand down to the flattened she-wolf underneath. Keegan craned his neck back to offer the Irish female a grin, and she slapped him lightly on the back; her aim was good, Keegan didn’t even so much as wince, betraying that she had missed the fading bruises.
Cole watched the interactions and movements of the pack in the room with him, the smile on his face soft, just hinting at the paternal affection he felt for each and every one of the other wolves in the vicinity, from Devon flat-out on his back at their feet to the Cooney pair by the window. Even Nerys, someone whose relationship with the Alpha male had always been especially difficult to categorise, was often regarded in that manner, though since she had risen to the rank of Beta within the pack, it had become more brotherly on his part. Cole had long ago given up on trying to put a title to it. There wasn’t a single wolf under the roof of The Hyperion that didn’t mean the world to him, for so many reasons, he couldn’t even count them all in his head.
When Molly was upright, her hair a matted mess on her head, Keegan tugged her against him and gave her a one-armed hug that she quickly accepted as apology, grievances forgotten as she slouched into his side, fitting there snugly. Now that the excitement was winding down, she looked half-ready to doze off right where she sat. Keegan slumped back gently, and from where he was positioned, he was able to reach his free hand over the arm of the couch, a hand that Nerys accepted with one of her own, the distance between their seats small enough for them to do so comfortably, without straining. She gave his larger fingers a squeeze that he quickly returned.
Taking in a deep breath as if to sigh, Cole’s smile faded, becoming more of a frown. Almost as if Molly’s weariness were infectious, he was starting to feel a lethargy overcoming him, supported strongly by the constant throb in his side that had come and gone as it pleased over the course of the last day or so. Dia was the first to respond to the discreet shift in her mate, her head turning and tilting back in his direction. Nerys was next, taking her eyes from the hand that was comfortably twined with Keegan’s to glance straight across the room at the Alpha male.
“You okay?” Dia lowered her voice for his ears only and he nodded his head slowly in return, exhaling in a low stream. One of the female’s hands lifted to push lazy spikes away from his face, removing the shadow they had cast. “You’re warm,” she told him quietly, “you should go lie down.” Her fingers grazed the stubble at his jaw and when he opened his eyes they met hers. There was no arguing with Dia at the best of times, a lesson he had learned slowly over the centuries. There were very few fights that Cole was allowed to win when his opponent was his wife and mate.
Offering her a smile of defeat, he took his arm from around her shoulders, resigned to his fate. Her concerned look didn’t falter, not even when Cole kissed the top of her head, and she watched him rise and head out of the room. He could feel her gaze on his back, and a discreet glance to his left as he headed for the exit into the lobby confirmed the suspicion that Nerys was watching him as well.
Any other Alpha would have taken that unwavering focus as intrusive, even challenging.
Cole knew better.
TO BE CONTINUED.