Chapter 29

“What did you find on the bodies?” I ask Liam as we sit in the Alpha’s office.
Owen’s mother also joins us in the office offering up the Alpha’s chair to me, I guess in her way this was her giving up her seat to me as Luna of the pack. With everything going on, it would be difficult to hold a more extensive celebration for my appointment. So, these small steps were enough to show that in all respects I had taken over the official role of Luna of our pack.
“Puncture wounds.” Liam says plainly.
My thought drifted to the many murders through human history who used weapons to cause puncture wounds in their victims resulting int heir death. However, I figured that this was not the case here and that in fact what we were dealing with may be far worse.
“Are you saying another creature made this puncture wounds?” I ask.
“Yes, there are creatures known in our world as Blood Beasts. I guess in human terms you would call them vampires, but that name does not do them justice.” Owen’s mother said.
“What do you mean?” I ask her.
“These creatures are nothing like the ones portrayed in the human world. They are far more dangerous, more animal than man. They enjoy killing and do not care who gets hurt. They have no restraint or morals, they run strictly on instinct. However, wolves are among their favorite prey because they not only enjoy the hunt, but they enjoy the fight for their prize. If my mate…the alpha has found a way to get them on his side, we are far outnumbered.” She says lowering her head.
“What else do we know about their kind?” I ask aloud.
“Not as much as we would need to know, not many have faced them and lived to tell us much. They are experienced at unexpected attacks. They have a distinct scent but as soon as you catch it, they are close enough to attack. They are extremely fast and are good at staying hidden. If we want to fight them, we need to get faster. We need to train harder.” Owen’s mom says turning to me with a look of concern.
I had no idea how well trained the pack was, but I made a mental note to find out tomorrow by visiting the training area to see for myself.
“Is there someone who would be able to train everyone for these new challenges?” I ask her.
“One of our strongest warriors, has faced the blood beasts at least once before. He can help intensify the training for the warriors.” She adds.
“Ok, that’s good. What about the others, should they not also be trained?” I ask.
She looks at me with an expression I can not quite understand. She seems slightly confused by my suggestion but happy? Maybe. She seemed to be unsure about how she felt about my bringing up the subject.
“A select few of the pack are trained to fight in conflicts like this, and others who are not trained are used to protect the woman and children of the pack.” She explains to me.
She seems to be unbothered by the fact that many of the woman are not given the chance to be trained to even defend themselves. It was clear that the pack was lacking in this area, and it was the first thing that needed to be changed.
“In this situation we are not sure how many will join the alpha to attack our pack, we need everyone able to fight. That includes the woman that would usually be sent to watch the children.” I recommend.
“Then who will watch the children if their mothers are sent to fight.” The Luna says annoyed.
“I am not saying the mother will be sent straight into the fight, but if the fight comes to them it would be best if they are able to protect themselves and the children. That means more can be spared to fight and less would be needed to guard them. Everyone should be given the opportunity to protect themselves, don’t you think?” I watch her expression change as she takes in my words.
She smiles slightly and nods. “You are right. We need to give even the mothers a chance to protect their own if they need to.”
“I am glad you think so too. We will split the workload of caring for the children so their mothers can learn at least basic self-defense. I too need to be trained. Even though my wolf seems to be an experienced warrior, I want to have a strong body as well, if for any reason I also need to fight in my human form. I want to be prepared for every eventuality.” I tell the Luna and Liam firmly.
“The Luna is usual left with the mothers and the children, but I am guessing that we won’t be able to convince you to do that.” The Luna says with a chuckle.
“If it is ok with you, I would ask you and Leah to stay with them. Leah is still young, and the mothers would feel comfortable having their Luna there.” I tell her.
“You are the Luna now.” She replies proudly.
“To me you will always be Luna, and I think that is how the pack will see you even when I stand as Luna by Owen’s side. I will always need and seek your council, so to me you are my Luna.” I say reaching for her hand.
I had no idea where this confidence was coming from, but my words brought a grateful smile to her face and that made me happy. There was no time to doubt myself with all the work that needed to be done, and it was like a switch and been flipped in my mind. I was Luna now and the pack needed my confident and strong, and for once I was accepting the strength Anaya offered to me. She had talked me through everything that we needed to do and when I accepted her advice instead of questioning her I realized what a good team we made.
After our final plans were made, we went our separate ways. Liam set off to the training area to explain to the trainers the changes that needed to be made. The Luna asked if she could be the ones to speak to the mothers about my hopes for them and beginning training. I agreed mostly because it felt like I had been away from Owen for too long. As soon as we finished the meeting I made the walk over to the small pack hospital.
The nurses greeted me even calling me Luna, which still felt so weird to hear someone call me. When I reached Owen’s room I looked in through the small window on the door watching him for a moment. Seeing all the tubes and wires connected to him made it hard to breath. The doctors explained that he was not in any pain thanks to the strong medication he was on but seeing him this way made it seem like he was broken. His alpha blood was keeping him fighting and healing, but he was still not waking up. I felt frozen where I stood watching his chest rise and fall slowly, that small action just reminded me that he was still alive and trying to find his way back to us. The doctor caught site of me as he passed the door, and opened it slowly greeting me with a smile.
“Good day young Luna, you are welcome to come in and sit with him.” He says stepping aside to allow room for me to walk past.
“Thank you doctor. How is he?” I ask walking to the bed and gently taking Owen’s hand into my own.
“I am sorry to say there hasn’t been much change yet, but his wounds are healing well. Like we told you, because they were caused by an alpha it is taking them longer to heal, but they are healing which is a very good sign. I know with all the equipment around I may seem like he is still not doing well, but we are trying to give his body the rest it needs to focus his energy on heling fully. After the tests we ran this morning, we are feeling hopeful but like I said it will take time. Please be patient Luna, and hope for the best.” The doctor squeezes my shoulder in comfort before laving me alone with Owen.
I turn in search of a chair, and when I find one I pull it so I can sit beside Owen. I take his hand again in mine and the monitor beeps drawing my attention to it. I am not sure what any of the numbers mean but for some reason the machine had beeped. I shrug it off since it had only made the sound once and I turn my attention back to my mate.
“Owen? Can you hear me?” I say softly brushing my fingers over his hand.
Beep.
The machine alerts me again. I look at the monitor again in confusion, but once again no other sounds come from it.
“I am right here Owen, and…I love you so much! So please hurry and come back to me.” I say moving closer and kissing his cheek softly.
Beep beep beep.
The machine seems to have broken and sends several alert sounds making me panic. I jump to my feet and run to the door opening it quickly. I run to the closest nurse and beg her to follow me.
“Something is wrong! The machine keeps beeping, that’s bad right?” I ask feeling my panic grow as we arrive back at Owen’s room. The nurse rushes in ahead of me and checks the machine.
“I’m sorry Luna, everything seems normal here.” She said turning to me with a sympathetic look.
She was right. The machine was quiet again and nothing seemed to look any different. I was sure it was going off like crazy a second ago. The nurse turns and examines Owen briefly before turning and repeating her words that everything seemed normal. I let out a sigh of relief, but I am still confused by why the machines were going off only a few moments ago.
“I am sorry for wasting your time.” I say defeated and letting the nurse pass by me and head toward the door.
I take my place once again by Owen and as soon as I touch him, the sound of the machine rings out once more. Thankfully the nurse had not left yet and turned to us in surprise.
“There it goes again. What does that mean?” I ask her.
She walks toward the machine and looks over the information on the screen.
“Luna could you say something to him? Anything is fine.” She says not turning away from the screen.
So, I do. “Owen it’s me Amelia, can you hear me?”
The machine chimes again a few more times and the nurse laughs softly to herself.
She turns to me and gives me a sweet smile. “He can hear you Luna, the beeping is his heartbeat rising when he hears and feels you.”
“Oh. Does he always react that way when he is touched? I hadn’t noticed it before.” I ask her a little curious.
“No, he hasn’t reacted to anyone yet, but you are not just anyone. You are his mate and he loves you, you can tell by how his heart skips a beat when you give him even the slightest touch. This is a really good sign; it means he can hear you and he recognizes it is you. I can’t say for sure, but this mean he is healing well. I will inform the doctor about this, and he may come later again to see for himself. For now, just keep talking to him. He seems to really like the sound of your voice.” She smiles and giggles slightly before turning and leaving me alone with Owen again.
I smile to myself as her words sink in. Even though I had been spending more time with Owen and even though he has always complemented me, I didn’t realize how much I actually affected him until now. I guess this is one way to see how my mate really feels about me. These thoughts give me the urge to try something. Touching Owen had sent shivers over my skin from the beginning, but nothing compared to how I felt when we kissed. So, in this moment I wondered how he would feel if I kissed him. In truth I missed feeling his lips on mine. Right now, he had an oxygen mask on, so I needed to be quick. I moved closer to him and I rested my weight on one arm beside him and leaned in closer. I slid the mask down for a short moment and planted a soft kiss to his lips and returned the mask as quick as I could.
The beeping from the machine picked up and lasted far longer than the others, but soon it passed, and the sound faded. That was all the confirmation I needed; he felt the same feeling I did when we kissed.
“I guess you have been telling me the truth all along, you really do love me. I’s so sorry I have ever doubted that.” I say softly feeling my tears building.
I take his had again and kiss it softly, with a beeping sound to tell me he hears me. I wish I had told him how much I loved him, and I was determined to tell him everyday starting the moment he wakes up. There was no way I could doubt how strong our bond was, because seeing him like this has felt like a part of me has darkened only to awaken when my mate is well again. I will be waiting for him, and I will fight for us and for our pack.
I am the White Wolf and this Alpha is my mate.