That's Your Luna

*Rowan*

“What the fuck happened?” Dean roars, turning to face Hezzlie like he’s going to rip her head off.

I step between them, and using my Alpha voice, I say, “Dean, back off.”

He melts into his usual disposition for a moment, but I know how it feels to have someone mess with your mate, and it’s not a pleasant sensation. What’s more, his wolf could take over and do something drastic.

Not that Hezzlie can’t defend herself. I know she can. Still, I’d hate to see Dean get hurt because he did something stupid before he had all the information.

“She was under a spell,” I tell him as James comes up to put a hand on his shoulder. Dean swats him away, and I take the precaution of calling for the guards through the mind-link, just in case. “Hezzlie didn’t mean to hurt her. We don’t even know if she did hurt her. There could’ve been some soft of self-destruct button in the spell Alistair cast.”

Dean literally growls and lunges, trying to get past me, and I do the only thing I can–knock some sense in him. I punch him hard in the jaw, and he slumps backward. He’s bigger than me, but I’m a fucking Alpha King, and he’d better not forget it.

“Fuck!” He stands there rubbing his jaw, glaring at me. “What the hell?”

“Don’t you ever growl at my mate again. She’s your Luna Queen, or will be, one day soon.” I only think the part of, *When I get my shit together.* “Now, tell your wolf to settle down so we can discuss this like civilized human beings.”

“I’ll get some ice,” Elise says, clearly feeling out of place in all of this. Veronica cackles, and behind me, I feel Hezzlie start to relax slightly as Dean takes another step back.

Until Abby pipes up from the bed again. “Seriously, Hezzlie, what happened?”

“You tried to bite me,” Hezzlie tells her. “You went insane. You were trying to keep me away from James, and he’s not even your mate.”

“But… he’s the pack healer,” Abby says, and something in her voice sounds like she’s slipping into another trance.

I look at Veronica, and she says, “There’s your answer. She’s been programmed to fall for the pack healer–so she can kill him.”

“What?” Abby shrieks. “No! Never! I love him.”

Dean turns on James now, another growl registering low in his throat. 

“Okay, I guess that we can’t handle this like civilized people,” I say with a reluctant sigh. The guards have arrived and are stationed outside the door to the infirmary. We are basically out of room in this little hospital room. I glance behind me and see Ann has Hezzlie wrapped up in a hug, but Hezzlie is standing between her mom and Dean protectively. Veronica stands at the end of the bed, her arms folded. She’s enjoying this.

The guards come in, and Dean says, “Seriously? Fuck me. You’re having me arrested?”

“No, I just don’t want you ripping James’s head off. As far as I know, you haven’t been programmed to kill him, and I don’t want your wolf doing anything stupid. James is probably the only person here capable of helping someone you try to shred, and he can hardly do that if he’s the one needing to be patched up.”

“I don’t need to be restrained.” The guards step toward him, but Dean shrugs them off.

“Let’s get everyone who doesn’t need to be in this room out of here then. James, Elise, Abby is fine, so the two of you can go.”

“Gladly,” James mutters under his breath.

“Ann, Hezzlie will be all right, I can assure you.” I turn and force a smile to my mate’s mother who looks reluctant to let her go. 

“Mom, I’ll be okay. You should go.”  I can tell Hezzlie’s more concerned about her mother getting hurt than anything else.

Ann reluctantly let’s go. She kisses Hezzlie’s cheek. “Be careful. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Mama,” Hezzlie says, and Ann slips through behind the guards.

That just leaves my Beta, the witch, the Luna, and the patient–besides me and the guards. “Stay outside this door,” I tell them. They both make the sign of respect and then walk out. I know neither of them wants to have to drag their Beta out of here, but we’ll do what we have to do.

When everyone is gone who needs to go, I pull out a chair. “Dean, sit. Don’t get up. If you get up, I’ll punch you again. Harder this time.”

He sits, holding the ice bag Elise slipped him before she left up to his chin. “What the fuck is happening?”

I turn to Veronica. “Can you explain this to them, or are you just going to cackle and the hell out of everyone?”

She narrows her eyebrows as if she’s been wounded. “That’s not a very nice way to speak to a guest in your home, Alpha Rowan.”

“That’s Alpha King Rowan, thank you very much, and while I’ll be happy if you can help us with this little problem, I don’t remember inviting you over for tea.”

She laughs again, but this one is more demure. “It’s quite simple. Abigail, someone in King Solomon’s castle put a spell on you very similar to the one placed on Princess Mara. You were programmed to kill the pack healer. That’s why you felt like you were in love with him, so you could get close to him and kill him, probably in his sleep. But whoever programmed you didn’t take into consideration that your own mate might actually be here. The only way the sleeping spell cast on you to make you appear to be dead was through the kiss of your one true mate. Dean is your mate. That’s it. Clear as mud.”

Abby blinks a few times, and I hope that means the spell is starting to wear off, but she doesn’t quite look normal yet, not that I know what she usually looks like, but there’s something about her eyes that looks almost glossy. “But what happened with Hezzlie?”

“Hezzlie’s magic interrupted your spell. The magic cast on you to make you do mischief took that to mean either your task was complete or you’d been compromised, so you fell into a sleeping curse. I’m guessing the plan was for Alpha Rowan to let your parents know you were dead. They’d collect your body, and Alistair or whoever cast the spell would break it. Instead, Dean broke it for you. You should be happy we didn’t just throw you in a mausoleum or burn you in a funeral pyre.”

Dean growls again at those possibilities, which makes Veronica laugh for some reason.

Hezzlie wraps her fingers around mine and steps up to the end of the bed. For a moment, I see a bit of that timid girl James had brought in here all those months ago as she says, “I’m so sorry, Abby. I didn’t want to hurt you. I was scared you were going to hurt me. I was trying to put a bubble around you, not knock you out.”

“You didn’t do that,” Veronica insists. “That was the curse.”

“Well, whatever it was, it wasn’t fun,” Abby mutters, rubbing her head. She realizes then that she’s hooked up to a bunch of machines and an IV. “What were they doing?”

“James assumed you were dead,” I explain. “You had no pulse and no detectable breathing.”

“Did that bastard give her mouth-to-mouth?” Dean growls.

I turn and glare at him, and he slumps in his chair. “I’m sure he did whatever was necessary because he had to. He’s a doctor.”

“Is the spell gone then?” Abby asks, looking worried. “I don’t even know how Alistair would’ve  done that. I never went to his room.”

“There are other ways to manipulate a person,” Veronica assures us. “Maybe he snuck into your room while you were sleeping.”

Dean growls. She laughs. I sigh. “Abby, how are you feeling?”

“Fuzzy,” she admits, looking at me for the first time. “Like I’m half-dreaming.”

“Those are the effects of the magic,” Veronica assures her. “I’m certain the curse is broken, and you should be starting to feel a pull toward your mate soon.”

When Abby looks at Dean this time, there’s a fondness there that wasn’t before, and I’m starting to hope that she really has snapped out of it.

“We should  give them some time alone,” I suggest.

Veronica nods in confirmation that it should be fine. I take Hezzlie’s hand and head for the door, but I pause to tell Dean,  “Be careful. You think me punching you hurts, her ripping your throat out won’t feel any better.”

He just looks at me like I’ve said something I shouldn’t have about his mate, but I’m a bit leery of Abby still. I don’t think she can hurt Dean. I don’t think she’s programmed to do so, but what the fuck do I know?

I squeeze Hezzlie’s hand as Veronica follows us out of the infirmary. I dismiss the guards, but as we make our way up the stairs, I can’t help but wonder, *Is Hezzlie trustworthy?*