Her Broken Mate 22

"Seth ... why couldn't I save them?" cried Sarah, clinging to his shirt.

It had been two weeks since the funeral, but she deeply regretted the death of her pack members. As their Luna, it was her responsibility to protect them. She wondered how Seth felt about that? After all, he was the alpha.

She sobbed into his shirt, leaving a wet stain from all the tears she cried. No matter how much time had passed, she couldn't forget how helpless she felt. Beatrice had died in her arms. Ludovic was beyond her reach. Kate... she wasn't even there for her. And the baby... the poor little puppy.

They didn't even have a chance to live.

Tears stung her eyes as she thought angrily about how much she hated Martha.

Her companion, hearing her whimper, could only hold her. He stroked her head and snuggled against her. It was as if he wanted to tell her that everything would be all right and that he was there for her no matter what happened.

He continued to kiss her head while his hand made circles on her back.

Her cries soon turned into hiccups as she managed to mumble, "It's funny... because when I took over the position of Luna, I never thought it would be like this," she blinked and sniffled. "You know, I try to act like everything's fine. Because if I act like everything's fine, then the others don't worry about me. If I pretend I'm not scared, then the others aren't scared either. It's so hard to pretend that everything is okay, Seth."

He was quiet and nodded as he kissed her forehead. She leaned against him, relying on the comfort of her own companion. It was funny, because usually it was she who comforted Seth. Now it was the other way around.

No matter how you looked at it, they'd come a long way together as partners.

She smiled at this and snuggled even closer to her companion. In the arms of her beloved mate, it wasn't long before she drifted off to sleep, welcoming the darkness that pulled her under.
_ _ _

Sarah awoke to a whimper, her senses on high alert. It was the middle of the evening, dawn hadn't even broken.

Looking to her right, she realized the sounds were coming from Seth. They'd slept next to each other, as the bond between the mates was too strong. In the evening they felt lonely, and the bond had strengthened so that it was unbearable not to lie next to each other.

She looked at his face and studied him. Small tears stung the corners of his eyes, while sweat formed on his forehead.

Instinctively, she reached her hand into his hair and stroked it. She was sure he could feel the sparks, because instantly his whimpering stopped. Seth had calmed down, finally snoring softly.

You could tell he was having a nightmare because of his trauma. Even though he wrote that he was fine, he never really was.

Saying you're fine when you're really not is one of the most common lies people tell. It's almost as if they say it to convince others, but deep down they really want someone to notice their pain; who'll hold them when they cry and tell them that everything will be okay. The problem is that fear holds them back. They're afraid that their problems will worry others, so they prefer to keep them to themselves.

She moved closer to Seth and kissed him on the cheek. He smiled softly and nuzzled into her neck.

Sighing, she wondered, 'How broken are you, Seth?'
_ _ _

"Seth?"

It was 11:35 a.m., and Seth was nowhere to be found. Apparently she'd overslept, because it was almost afternoon. Was she that tired? She couldn't remember doing anything that strenuous.

Clicking her tongue, she reluctantly got out of bed and looked out the window. To her surprise, she saw the whole pack in formation. Seth right in front of them in a parade position.

He gave an order, and they all hurriedly did push-ups. From the looks of it, they were doing warm-up exercises, so she might as well join in.

She sprinted to the bathroom and did her morning routine. Then she trotted down the stairs and outside to join Seth.

Seth greeted her with a warm smile, took her hand and pressed a little kiss to it.

Damn, when did he learn to be like that?

It seemed that bonding made it harder for him, too, because with an unmarked female, a mate of one, it was hard to get through the day with other unmarked males staring at what was yours.

Kissing her on the forehand, especially in front of the pack, was another way to show the others that she was entitled to him. Seth moved a little farther and kissed her neck.

This made her blush with warmth and she felt Thunder urging her to take him on the spot, but she ignored her.

'Why do alphas have to be so possessive. You've to admit, though, they're hot when they're angry,' Thunder said.

Sarah giggled softly, which made Seth raise an eyebrow curiously. His face was slightly flushed, but he seemed pleased.

When they turned their attention back to the pack, they found that they weren't staring at anything in particular. They seemed embarrassed to watch their alpha and Luna interact intimately.

Glancing to her left, she saw sweet Seth become expressionless and a serious expression replace the one she loved.

She bit the inside of her cheek and followed him. Seth nudged her, prompting her to perform another command as Luna. They were training for upcoming battles, to be prepared for unexpected attacks.

"Alright, guys, since we just warmed up, let's go for a run in human form, shall we?"

Groans of disapproval were heard, but others agreed with Sarah's suggestion. To those who disagreed, she gave a look that met each one of them. She stared them in the eye, but they all looked away, not wanting to stare too long into the eyes of a leader.

They knew that looking into her eyes was a sign of questioning her position or rather, her authority.

She growled and commanded in waves, "Kate, as well as Beatrice and Ludovic, were warriors who protected this pack. Are you going to let more of your loved ones die just because you were too weak to fight back? Or will you train and become stronger to protect yourself and those you love?"

That seemed to get their attention, because they all lined up and got ready to run. Seth walked at the front of the line, watching for others. Sarah, on the other hand, got in line at the very back.

When the countdown started, they all started running. Running thirty laps was tough, but they weren't werewolves for nothing.

When Sarah stopped to catch her breath, she began to feel uneasy. Almost as if she were being watched.

As she scanned her surroundings, she saw a wolf hiding behind a tree. Just before she was about to scream, he disappeared, leaving no trail for her to follow.

Seth stops running and tells the others to keep moving while he himself walks up and down right next to her.

He takes out his notepad and writes,
'We're being watched, aren't we?'

Her eyes twitched, but she was glad that her mate knew her well. She nodded resolutely, "Yes, and I'm sure that's not all Martha has up her sleeve. Be on your guard."

He agreed and stared in the same direction the wolf had disappeared.

As they both stared off into the distance, all they knew was that they were hiding their scents because they'd vampires in their army.

And it wasn't going to get any easier.