Kai made the boy named Patrick carry David back home. It was obvious he had been the ring leader amongst the group. They had looked to him when things had gotten out of hand. Kai also had plans to go talk with the other teens who had taken part in the bullying. They were still so young so hopefully, he can change their views on others like David.

Kai had felt the strong magical energy building up and heard David's familiars cry for help. The previous day, He and Cora had witnessed David and his mother practicing, but they were making little to no progress. With such a large pool of magic, it was just too much for them to handle.

Kai was more than happy to step in and help the young sorcerer learn to wield his magic. Not just because it would save the young boy's life, but because it would be the best distraction from his own problems.

It had already been five days since he had last seen his mate, Sebastian. In truth, his heart felt like it was going to break. He had been tempted to go find the Alpha, even if it was just to get a small gimps of him, but he knew better. If he were to set his eyes on him he would crave more. He wanted to feel those sparks dance across his skin, he wanted to run his hands through Sebastian's unruly hair. He wanted to run with him in their wolf forms. He wanted to learn everything about him, his likes, dislikes, what made him smile and laugh uncontrollably, what brought tears to his eyes so he could protect him from all that would ever pain him. He wanted to learn everything he could about his mate.

He always dreamed of how life with a mate would be like. Waking up with his love right by his side; the first thing he saw every morning and the last thing he saw when he closed his eyes. He craved it. He wanted it all, but, he couldn't have it.

All the reasonings for being wary of connecting with his mate lied with his age. Sure supernatural creatures tended to live much longer than humans, some had been alive for hundreds of years, but none were as old as he; he was ancient. He has seen kingdoms rise and fall, old friends, supernatural or not, all come to an end.

In his beginning, he had walked the earth aimlessly. He didn't fit in anywhere and in all his years he had never found a creature like himself. He tried to live amongst almost every kind of supernatural there were, but when they would find him out, they had other reasons for wanting to keep him around.

He couldn't even count how many times he had been captured in his youth. They had tortured him, experimented on him, tried to be used, as a means or a weapon. It never ended well for the groups who harmed him. He always tried to reason with them, plead for them to let him go before he wasn't able to hold back his magic, but they never headed his warnings.

The longest he had ever been kept prisoner was for two weeks because he truly did love the ones who held him prisoner, but just like all the rest, they came to a horrible end. He had handed out his trust so easily; As a child who longed to be loved, to be accepted, but time and time again had they spat on his trust and broke his heart.

The first time he had heard about "mates" was when he had taken refuge in his first wolf pack. Considering he did in fact have a wolf form, he had hoped that he would find a mate. He had long been past his eighteenth birthday but it had given him something to hope for. But that was so many years ago. Even though he had a wolf didn't mean that he was in fact a werewolf.

Another concern of his was that years of loneliness were never kind to anyone's sanity. He had his dark times. Times that he deeply regretted and wished that he could take back. He had done things. His years as a healer would never condone his past actions.

Even if he spent the rest of his eternal life living for others, it would never erase his past.

Red. Red was all he could see. A red sky, with black clouds. The wind was hot. A thick coat of blood stained his hands as if it were a perfectly fitted pair of gloves. The screams, the pleas, and cries rang through his ears. Fear was pungent in the air...

and he smirked.

Kai shook his head and stuck his hands into his coat pockets, willing to erase the feeling of the warm, tich blood from his hands. He couldn't let anyone, not Cora, not even his mate find out what he truly was.

"Why?"

Patrick looked at Kai and raised an eyebrow in question, "Why what?"

"Why were you challenging David to a fight that he wanted no part on in? Why do you pick on him?"

Partick let out a sigh. In all honesty, he really didn't have anything against David, but it was different for his friends. They all sneered and looked down at the little hybrid. They called him weak disgusting. Most full-blooded witches aren't accepting of witch hybrids. All they see is tainted blood. "I don't know, I guess because all the others do it? I know that that's a shitty reason, but I never take it further than a few remarks and a shove here and there. I really don't want to hurt him."

"You were wielding a weapon," Kai said in a matter of fact tone.

Patrick winced. He remembered how scared David had looked at his sword. How Davis had looked at him in fear. His heart ached weirdly. "I wasn't planning on using it. It was just for show for the others."

"Surely you are old enough to know that your actions and your words no matter how big or small you think they may be, will have repercussions. Did you ever stop to think of how your mistreatment may affect David? You're lucky that the fight did not happen or else I am sure that you would have been forced into giving a demonstration on how to use that sword of yours. And all of you should be thanking the stars that no one got hurt." Patrick looked down at the unconscious boy then back up at Kai as if saying, "I beg to differ".

"He's fine. He just exerted himself too much. All that power build-up must have been excruciating for him. The sleep that he is getting is greatly needed. When he wakes he will be well-rested and ready."

"Ready for what?" Partick looked at Kai with a puzzled expression but Kai said nothing in reply. He took a few more steps then stopped. He put a hand out to stop Patrick from going any further and then waited quietly, listening to his surroundings. Patrick was about to ask what he was doing but Kai then let out a long loud whistle. It was then that Patrick understood that just a step away was the invisible barrier to the Long Claw Pack.

Kai made sure to keep Patrick a step behind him as he heard the thundering of paws coming closer. He could hear the wolves running long before he could see them.

Five men appeared in front of them from around the trees after they finished pulling up their pants to greet their new arrivals. One of the men was about to question why they wanted to speak but when they saw an unconscious David, they stiffened. One of the five looked ready to tear them apart and did not wait before growling menacingly, "What did you do to him, witch!?"

Patrick took a step back and pulled David even closer to his chest. The man looked livid and he was afraid that if he were to attack David would, for sure, get hurt. He was ready to call out to the wind in defense but Kai took another step, putting himself in between them and the beastly men.

"Sirs, we have no ill intentions. David was on his way home when his powers became unstable. Luckily, he was able to reel them back in before anyone got hurt or any real damage was done. He is fine at the moment, just resting, but we wish to lay him down to rest in his own home. I also wish to speak to the boy's guardians and explain the incident in much more detail."

The men looked at each other. A few words were shared through the pack link and an argument as to who would contact David's mom. After three minutes of silence, besides a whimper and some wincing from the men when David's mom was finally contacted, the men quickly escorted them through the pack. Two men were in front of them and three in the back. Kai could also see the other three who were following them in their wolf forms in the shadows.

It wasn't long before they stopped at a decently sized home closer to the border than most of the other homes. Standing at the door was a woman who had her arms crossed over her chest. The scowl on her face made Patrick squirm and avert his eyes downward. As she stepped to the side to let them in, Kai nodded his head down as a silent greeting. She followed right after them and gestured for Patrick to lay David down on the couch.

It was silent. Kai stood to the side with his hands calmly to his sides as the woman kneeled down and put her hand on David's forehead. She was ready to cast a healing spell but stopped when she realized that she didn't need to. Her brows furrowed in confusion. She could see the magic of the witch who had carried him in cling to Davids's clothes, but none had been used to heel him.

Usually, when her son used his magic he always had to be healed, since his magic always had a big toll on him. His well of magic was bigger than it should have been for a witch his age and with so little control, it was dangerous for him to use it without someone stronger taking some of the magical weight off of his shoulders. Whenever they practiced that's exactly what she would do, but it was hard, even for her, and she was a strong leveled witch. They were only able to practice for no more than an hour a day before they were both completely exhausted.

His magic at the moment was different though, it was docile. It felt like a calm and steady stream that it was supposed to be instead of the raging waterfall it usually was. She got to her feet and turned to the others in the room as she folded her arms across her chest once again. She raised one of her perfectly sculpted eyebrows as she took in the two men in her living room. "Well? Anyone going to tell me what happened to my son, or am I just supposed to guess?"

"Well, ma-"

"It was my fault."

David's mom's narrowing eyes turned to Patrick. "When David got to school he didn't seem very well. He had managed to avoid my friends and I all day and ran out of school the moment the bell rang. We followed him and when we caught up he looked even worse. He was pale, sweaty, and out of breath, but we didn't care," Patrick lowered his head in guilt, "I hurt him." he looked back up to see that David's mother now looked vengeful, but he continued, "He lost control of his powers and everything went up in flames. Thankfully David was able to call back the flames and no one got hurt, but he tired himself out doing it. I- I'm sorry."

She stared at Patrick's guilt-ridden face for a while longer before turning and pointing a finger at Kai, 'And what about you? Where do you fit into all of this hm? Were you also picking on my son?"

"No mam. I had been walking by when I head the altercation."

She waited for the young man who looked no older than twenty-three to continue and explain further but he didn't. She looked to the teen and saw regret written all over his face. She let out a sigh, "Thank you for bringing him home, you can go now." Patrick opened his mouth to speak but she continued, "And if you ever hurt my son again you will have me to deal with, and I'm not as lenient as my son."

Patrick gulped and nodded his head, "I promise, I will never hurt him again." She was satisfied with the response and was about to turn her attention back to the human but Patrick spoke again. "I know that I don't have any right to ask you anything considering all of this is my fault, but.. would it be alright if I stay? I want to make sure he's alright."

She looked at him, sizing him up which made him uncomfortable considering she had just threatened him, but after a minute she nodded her head and told him to get a cup of water and some pain killers from the kitchen for when David woke up.

As Patrick rushed to do as he was told Kai could see the invisible red string that connected him and David growing in length, keeping them tethered. On David's eighteenth birthday they are going to be in for quite the surprise.

David's mom studied the human male in her living room. She still didn't understand why he was here or why he had interjected himself into a supernatural problem. Surely he must have been scared shitless to see David's fire magic. She reached out her hand and introduced herself, "Theresa Guerra."

"It is a pleasure, Ms. Guerra, my name is Kai"

Once his hand was in hers she was thrown into a vision of the future. In it, she saw David in a field practicing his magic while Kai spoke to him, teaching him. She tried to see further into the future as well as Kai's past, but she was shone nothing more than that one moment in time.

Theresa was a seer; that was her core. She would get flashes of the past, present, and future and if she touched someone she was able to delve into their memories as well as see their future in specific.

She pulled her hand away, confused as to why she wasn't able to access his memories or why she couldn't see anything more than that one scene. What she saw didn't even seem as if it were through Kai. Kai wasn't the main focus of the vision, David was.

"So is there anything else you need? You said you weren't apart of the hazing, so why are you still here?"

Kai nodded in understanding of her confusion, "Mrs. Guerra, there are some serious and urgent matters I wish to discuss with you, but it will be best if David can also hear what it is I have to say as well as any other immediate family that is active in Davids life. Is there any other family that has matured or are near adulthood? Another legal parent or guardian?"

"David is an only child, but there is my husband. He'll be back later though."

"Would you mind if we wait for him to return? If you wish we may discuss it without him if you believe it the best option but if you value his opinion and would prefer to make this decision together we really should wait. I-"

"Wait! What decision?"

Kai took a breath and looked at Mrs. Guerra wit a more serious stare, "The decision of David's future."

Theresa was hardly a patient woman. She wanted him to just spit it out already and stop dragging it on but the look on his face had her biting her tongue. If it was about her son's well being then she knew she had to wait.

"Fine. We will wait."