Chapter Twenty-Two: Wounds
The air was still and silent as the Messors returned to the ruins of their headquarters and to lick their wounds. Nearly an hour ago, they were ambushed and attached by a swarm of demons. Held captive and many unconsciouses, they could only watch as their leader of four years departed with the incarnation of evil itself, Trigon the Terrible. The entire Messor team was saddened and ashamed they could not help their leader, but in the end, she saved their lives sacrificing her freedom. Raven's last command before she left placed Dante the leader of the team. It took only moments for Dante to take authority by beginning to escort the severely wounded to the medical bay.
Garfield lay in the fetal position in the middle of the arena crying away his sorrows. The woman he deeply loved was now gone. He felt a terrible aching pain in his chest, and he could hear deep inside his psyche the beast was whimpering for his mate. Several minutes flew by as the man lay in the center of the field mourning the departure of the woman he dearly loved. Softly, a hand was placed on his shoulder and Garfield turned around to find Dante's gentle hand on him. Garfield's eyes were red and puffy from crying, and Dante could feel his throbbing heart crumbling. Dante's eyes were red from light crying, but mustered up the strength to take authority when it was needed.
"C'mon, let's get a move on." Dante spoke with a soft mellow voice. "If you are not too injured, can you help others who are?"
Silently, Garfield nodded his head and staggered to an upright position. His whole body ached, but was well enough to move others to the medical bay. He had a slight limp and a hunched back, but was able to make the four flights of stairs to the private hospital supporting an injured teammate. Slowly, he was able to lay the Messor on the white hospital bed and sat in a chair across the room. The rest of the team members entered the room soon either as a patient, or support for the injured. Everyone crowded the room in silence while Dante took center of the circle.
"Hello everyone," Dante spoke in a commanding tone. "I am grateful we all are not too severely injured by tonight's events. I will assure you that my first priority is to get medical staff here quickly to aid the injured. While that is being done, I would like to reinforce and strengthen our security system so we have no more ambushes by demons."
The team nodded in unison as they were awed by Dante's forthcoming with his newly appointed position. Garfield stared at the man still numb from what happened earlier. Everything happened too rapid for him to recollect what exactly happened. Tears continued to travel down his cheek.
"I am hope that soon all of us heal our wounds, but it may be a while for us to heal our sores from the departure of Raven. For now, we need to focus on healing our wounds, and fixing things back to where they were prior to this incident. We must overlook the past and proceed forward into the future" Dante articulated.
"And how do you expect we do that? Completely forget about Raven?" Garfield inquired the newly appointed leader. Immediately after Dante's statement, his mood changed.
"Pardon me Garfield?" Dante asked the man sitting in the chair across the room.
"How could we just forget about Raven and move on with our lives?" Garfield asked raising his voice.
"Listen I am not implying we simply forget about Miss Raven, but simply needing to move on from this situation. We will forever hold her in our memory, but we need to fix what needs to fixed now."
Garfield stood up from his chair clenching his fists. "You act as if she's dead. Our first priority is to get her back and out of the clutches of that evil demon."
Dante exuded an exasperating sigh feeling Garfield's confusion and rage. "We all know she is not dead, but you need to understand Raven put me in charge of the team and we need to heal our wounds-"
"Then we can go get Raven." Garfield interrupted.
The team mirrored the same expression Dante was portraying. Dante shook his head and furrowed his forehead in frustration. "Let me make this clear Logan. We are not going to retrieve Raven now, or ever. It would be a dangerous and pointless task."
Garfield felt rage flow through his body. He gritted his teeth in frustration. "Pointless? How could you call it a pointless task?"
Before Dante could answer his question, Cleaver intervened feeling Dante's irritation. "Logan, you must listen and understand. It would be dangerous task since the demon realm is plethora with dangerous and formidable demons. Also, Raven went on her own will to the demon realm. She would have wanted us to continue our demon hunting without her. Our safety was her first and only concern. Raven was an astounding leader and before she left, appointed someone in command who understands her leadership style and trusts enough to take the team by the reigns. Also we cannot leave this realm in fear of more demon attacks. Although Trigon promised we would never return, we are not guaranteed his army will come back"
Garfield couldn't understand why the other Messor's did not agree with him and began to gang up on him. "B-but," he staggered. "What about Raven?"
"I assure you Garfield, she will be just fine." Cleaver approached Garfield placing his hand on the man's shoulder tenderly. "We understand that you love her, but she is not coming back."
Shocked, Garfield recoiled from Cleaver's touch stunned by what he whispered. "I can't just let her go, I love her."
"We all know you love her, and were eventually expecting you two to be together. I guess you both surprised us with your display of each other's affection before Raven left." Cleaver spoke.
"How did you expectus to be together? We haven't even been a couple long, but you expected it?" Garfield asked directing his inquiry to the team.
A soft chuckle escaped Cleavers thin lips giving Garfield a soft smile. "There were some obvious signs from the beginning, but our hypothesis was solidified when we discovered the beast within you."
"What does the beast have to do with Raven?" Garfield inquired confused as ever.
Cleaver shook his head. "I guess she never told you." He mumbled underneath his breath and spoke to the confused man. "After we discovered the creature that lives dormant inside of you, we had to do some research. More research was done and we came to this conclusion. The beast only emerges from his host when the host feels they are in danger, or their chosen mateis in danger."
"Wait?" Garfield questioned, "You mean by what you're saying is, Raven is my chosen mate?"
"Exactly, you may not have chosen it on your own, but the beast chose her as his mate for life." Cleaver answered. "This may also be the reason you were not able to transform into the beast earlier due to the fact Raven was not in intimate danger."
Suddenly, Garfield felt light-headed and took a seat in his previous chair. Everything made sense when it came to demon. Whenever Raven was in danger, the beast was eager to emerge. The beast wanted her, imprinted on her, and wanted to make her, his property. The beast and he were one, and essentially making Raven his chosen mate. Now, his chosen mate was gone. Away from his touch and away from his embrace. It all synced into his mind making this clearer and less disoriented. He put his hands in his face exhaling a loud sigh.
"I know this news may be difficult to understand and sink in Garfield." Cleaver addressed. "We all know you love her and she loved you, but we must move on. It may be particularly difficult for you, but we must move forward. Raven would want us to."
"I understand" Garfield surrendered feeling nauseated at the same time. His chest still ached and his head continued to pound. Feeling overwhelmed with a feeling of anxiety, sadness, and hurt he desperately wanted to get out of the room.
"I completely understand, but give me some time" he stood up from his chair and slowly proceeded to the exit. "If you will excuse me, I need some time alone. If there is an emergency, I will be in my room."
The team agreed with his request and silently watched him leave the medical bay. Garfield hung his head low and dragged his feet on the floor. He entered the nearest elevator and proceeded to his destination. The man trudged down the hallway and ended up at his destination. He shamefully glanced at the heading on the door labeled "Raven" and entered the code to the apartment suite.
Immediately, the scent of lavender set crashing in his nose. It depressed the man quickly and entered the apartment suite. Although he said he was going to be in his room, Garfield did not want to be disturbed. He opened the door to the bedroom and glanced towards the giant bed. Gradually, the man walked towards the bed and plopped on the purple silk sheets. Her scent filled the entire room. The air, the walls, and the items were all marked with her particular scent. Memories flashed in his mind of the woman he loved so dearly and he hastily plunged his face in a pillow and sobbed.
As time passed, he ceased weeping. However, he continued to felt an aching feeling in his chest. He lay there for moments on the bed thinking of the woman he loved. Gradually and unexpectedly, a new sensation infiltrated his body. He no longer felt sadness, but a feeling of empowerment. He lifted up in head with eyes of fire. A rush of strength filtered through his body. Although the other Messors were unwilling to get Raven back, it only meant he would be the one to return her. The Messors had already done well without him before, and he was determined to return the woman he loved. Whether it was his own feelings or the beast's yearning for his mate, the man gave into this sensation. Without hast, Garfield left Raven's apartment suite heading towards the library.