Chapter 125: You Can't Save Everyone

Chapter 125: You Can't Save Everyone


Elena

We walked into the hospital hand in hand, our little fight had long forgotten. I understood that Bernard is the Alpha and he is the head of this Pack but I am his Luna. I was meant to be his equal, not his subordinate.

I knew that our little fight would come up again but for now, I was okay with tabling the issues. We needed to attend to our wounded and mourn with those who lost their people. The children and the caretakers had returned to the Pack and were reunited with their family. It was heartwarming to watch children run to their mothers and fathers who had fought bravely in battle. But then, there was the other side of it where small children searched for their parents and couldn't find them.

I hugged so many grieving widows and children that my heart felt heavy in my chest. I hadn't shed a single tear in front of them, though. I had wanted to give them the room to be as broken and sad as they wanted to be, I would be the strong one. Bernard squeezed my hand bringing my attention back.

"Are you okay?" I nodded.

"Yes, I just feel a little heavy hearted, I wish that I could take away their pain."

He hummed in agreement but said nothing. We continued to walk through the halls of the hospital silently. We were headed to the ICU floor. A part of me couldn't help but feel responsible for what they were currently going through. If I hadn't been in this Pack, then none of these people would be hurt.

'Stop it,' Bernard's voice echoed in my head.

"Stop coming into my mind." I placed my barrier back on my mind.

There were days I loved that we shared this unique link with one another. Then there were others where Bernard was a little too intrusive.

"Your thoughts were so loud, I didn't even need to dig for them." He stopped us in the middle of an empty hallway.

"None of this is your fault, the only person who is to blame for all this was Richard. He was the one who attacked us, he was the one who stole the gene from your family."

"I know but maybe if I just hadn't crossed your borders that day, then everyone would be safe."

"And I would be without my mate, you would probably be dead. Richard would still be in power." He cupped both sides of my face.

"It is over, Elena, okay?" We won and Richard is dead thanks to you. Not only that but you managed to save some wolves, you did a great thing today. Don't you ever forget that?" He kissed my lips softly, leaving me a little breathless.

I wanted to believe him so badly but I had this gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach that it wasn't over. Mathew was still out there and he took a good number of wolves with him. I didn't express my inner thoughts, I didn't want to stress Bernard out more than he already was. He had to focus on his people now, my problems were the least of his worries.

He walked up to me with arms wide open and engulfed me in a hug. Bernard removed his hand from mine and then Liam spun me around a few times before setting me back on my feet.

"Elena Williams, I could kiss you right now." Liam muttered

"Watch it." Bernard came behind me and Liam raised his hands in mock surrender.

"Not like that, you idiot. Your mate is a genius, who would have even thought to use that serum in battle? If I had only made enough for all the wolves then imagine how different the battle would have been. Elena, what a brilliant mind you have."

"I couldn't have done any of it without you, Liam. You are the one that formulated the serum, to begin with. We owe you our lives." He dismissed me with a wave of his hand.

"Please, you are the one that did all the hard work."

"Okay, now that we have established that my mate saved all our lives, what is the status of the wounded ones?"

"Majority of them are already healing but we have ten who are in the ICU beds. One has shown no sign of brain activity, the rest are on life support."

"And what about their families?"

"They are all in there with them. The one with brain damage had a brother who was also in the ICU. They had been in their first year of duty as warriors, and their parents had decided to pull the plug on the female." I gasped, reaching for Bernard's hand.

"Isn't there anything else you can do for her?" Liam shook his head.

"No, we have run every test and given every treatment possible but she isn't responding. The boy is in acute kidney failure as he is in dire need of a transplant and his sister is the perfect match."

My heart broke for their parents, they had to make such a difficult decision. I could only imagine what they were currently going through, I would never wish that kind of burden on anyone's shoulder.

"Did anyone tell you about Ivory?" He looked at Bernard and his eyes punched together in confusion.

"What about her? The last I saw her, she was helping others carry in casualties."

"Well, she is out of surgery now, that's good news. She collapsed when she was bringing in the last few casualties. Her left kidney took a serious beating and her lungs had a lot of fluid in them which needed to be drained."

I could feel his anxiety coming off him in waves. Ivory is special to him and I knew that.

"Go, I can handle this one on my own." He looked conflicted.

"Go, Bern, I will be fine." I kissed his cheek.

"Ivory needs you right now."

He still looked unsure but didn't fight me on it. He kissed my cheek and then left Liam and I standing in the hallway. We watched his retracting figure until he turned a corner.

"Before we check on the families, I need to do some tests on you and make sure that you are okay. I don't want you suddenly dropping like Ivory did."

I followed him to wherever he was taking me, I was silent and kept thinking about all those families and their loved ones. The ones who have died and the ones who are fighting for dear lives. I wanted their pain and suffering to end but I felt powerless. As their Luna, I should be able to make their pain go away, I felt like I was falling in and only just stepped into my position. We entered the room and Liam examined me.

"You have been quiet, Elena."

"I just have a lot on my mind."

"Do you want to share that burden or are you going to try to be a big strong Luna and keep it all to yourself?" He was trying to make me smile but I wasn't in a jovial mood.

"You were thrust into this world without any warning or any training. No one expects you to be perfect or fully prepared for this role. I may not understand what it is like to be a Luna but after watching Bernard become the Alpha, I can tell that leading a Pack of this size is no easy fear. You have hundreds of people looking to you for guidance and aid." I just listened to his words.

"You can't save everyone, Elena. In a perfect world you could but not in this one. When going into battle, you need to expect some losses, no one can ever walk away untouched and that is the way of war."

"But I have to bury children now, Liam. The girl is just fifteen years old, she has only just begun living her life."

"And she knew the danger of being a warrior, Elena and she understood that she was going to fight for her people and her Luna. Whether you like it or not, there are a few hundred people in this Pack who would willingly lay down their lives for you."

"But I don't want my safety to be the cause of them losing their lives." He shrugged.

"Well, unfortunately, that is the name of the game at this point. We don't get to choose for other people, all we can do is choose for ourselves. You need to remember that you also risked your life today, the serum and killing Richard. You risked your life to save so many, yes, you weren't able to save people like the girl but she finds peace in the fact that she dies with honor and for her people."

His words brought little comfort to me but I didn't fight him or try to correct him. No one understood how I truly felt about the situation and that was okay. I could handle sorting through my thoughts on my own but their advice was doing more detriment to me than it was helping. I knew they meant well but I just needed them to stop.