27.Is she dead?

**Luna**

After arguing for hours, Luna left Claudia alone, in the middle of nowhere. Instead of going back to the packhouse with the human girl, she chose to shift and return in her wolf’s skin. As she approached the gardens, everyone eyed her suspiciously. Luna was not usually the one to show off her wolf. For most- she was unfit to carry such an important role, being weaker and smaller than other wolves. On the other hand, she always carried herself with her head held high, showing off the power granted by mating an Alpha. She mind-linked one of her maids, ordering everyone else to leave, while she got dressed. Wolves never had a problem with nudity; that was a big part of their existence, especially for the ones who shifted daily. That wasn't the situation for Luna. The Alpha hated it if someone saw his mate naked- her body was for his eyes only. Also, since she shifted only rarely, she took more time to get back into her human form, most of the time spent in agonizing pain. The maid ran out of the packhouse, making sure that nobody followed her. She pointed at the nearest bushes, running towards them, the Luna lazily followed her. Maid dropped on her knees, tapping the spot next to her.

"Lay down, my Luna, I will hold you until the pain fades," she whispered. Luna did as the maid said, on any other occasion, she might try to kill the careless woman, yet now, she needed someone to hold her, and muffle the screams which would leave her lips.

"Just try to keep your lips sealed, if you can't- growl, I'll use the blanket I brought to hide the screams." This wasn't the first time this particular maid had been next to her Luna, holding her throughout the shift. It took nearly half an hour for her to finally shift into her human form. Weakened, she tried to stand up- to no avail. The maid dressed her quickly and called for the guards. As they arrived, all being well aware of her state, they gently picked her up and carried her to the Alphas bedroom. Only, once she was left alone, did the Luna start sobbing, unable to contain her emotions anymore. Alpha busted through the door, the color drained from his skin, eyes wildly scanning the room.

"My love," he sighed, the tension left his body once his eyes laid upon his mate.

"Xavier," she extended her arm, eager to feel his loving touch. The love those two felt for each other was simply admirable; sometimes it seemed to be more than just the mate bond. Unfortunately, even knowing the joy of finding a mate- none of them wished for anyone else to find happiness such as theirs.

"When did you come back? Why didn't you call for me?" He rushed to her side, genuinely worried about her health.

"I had to shift, the stupid human was late and ended up in his office before heading to the clearing, to pick me up. She knows about the bleeders, Xavier. She knows where I led that bitch, and I feel she has said something to Eros. I had to come back as fast as possible; I had to warn you before it's too late. I tried, I did," she sobbed, her bottom lip trembled in fear. The Alpha sat down, right next to her. At first, he kept quiet, lost deep in thought, then he cleared his throat and stood up, walking around the room like a mad man.

"Please don't be mad at me," she whispered, averting her gaze from his nervous form.

"I'm not mad at you; I could never be. Just wondering what the odds of him finding out who's behind this idea is. If he starts to suspect anything or finds out, we need to have a backup plan. No matter what- us two are not involved in that crime, only the human is—the red-haired woman. We must come up with a background story as to how we met her, how we know each other, and how we found out about her plan," he mumbled. Even though their bedroom walls were soundproof, they needed to act more carefully- nobody could find out the details of the past events being somehow connected to them. Luna tried to get out of the bed, losing her balance she nearly fell on the floor face first. Her mate, as always, was there to catch and protect her.

"You can't get out of the bed yet; you're too weak. Rest is what your body needs, and it's the thing you're about to get." He lifted her and laid her back on the bed, instead of showing off more of his nervousness, the Alpha laid next to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, in a protective manner.

"Now, let's just talk. Tell me what happened, how did the plan go? I've been worried sick here, hating the idea of you going alone. This was a ridiculous idea, in the first place," he buried his face in the crook of her neck. There was nothing on this planet that could calm him down faster than his mate's scent.

"I think it went pretty good. I managed to get that little, naive bartender just where I wanted her to be. From there, it went as smoothly as it could. Everything went as planned- the bartender ended up in the office, and I sent out the message. Rosalie stood by the bar door and gestured towards the direction I wanted that human to go. Imagine how naive she is, to believe in an anonymous message, and then trust someone she had never seen before. I knew humans were stupid, yet this is a whole other level." She rested her palm on his shoulder, massaging it lightly as she spoke. Luna didn't want to talk about past events, but she did because he asked- he will be her alibi if everything does go down.

"Then what?" The Alpha breathed in her scent, a wave of shivers traveling over his body.

"I found her and took her to the border. I must say- she did surprise me at one point. Not sure how she grew brain cells but whether it was fear and adrenaline mixing in her body- she tried to get away from me," Luna laughed, remembering how confused Eve's facial expression was.

"What? That's quite surprising, indeed. Maybe she found out that her mate is your son, and now she feels like she has the right to defy you," Xavier suggested, trying to process as much information as he could. He didn't like talking about humans at all, his hatred grew into a greater one, after choosing his Luna- a woman, who despised humankind.

"I'd rather guess it was because of her survival instincts finally kicking in."

"So, how did you get her near the border?" He finally faced his mate- she was biting her lip. Now, all he could think of was fucking the life out of her, rather than having a little chat. He raised his hand to her breast, teasingly squeezing it.

"Xavier, get that smirk off your lips. First, we will talk this out. Later, I'll be rested enough to have a little fun," she winked. The Alpha frowned, making her laugh at his actions. Whoever told him that he was a grown man- was a liar. At times, he resembled a cub more than a fully grown shifter.

"Alright, make it fast," he rolled his eyes, crossing his arms in front of the chest.

"Where were we? Oh, right- the border. Anyway, she tried to get away, and I had to grab her before she could turn around and run. I would have toyed a bit; if it wasn’t for his scent which got stronger and closer with each passing minute. He didn't seem to rush after her, at first, yet when he did- you wouldn't believe how awful that forest area looks now. He destroyed everything in his path to get to her. I left the human between both borders, the bleeder was close, I'm almost certain she got dragged into their caves before he got there." An evil grin danced on her lips and the Alpha started tracing kisses down her neck.

"What about the other human?" he said against her skin, nearly burning her with need.

"She killed the old man and went to the bar. Unfortunately, I didn't find out what she wanted from Eros. Then, she picked me up; we drove to the opposite border and stopped mid-way. She wanted to know a lot of stuff; honestly, I'm almost sure the idiot went back to the forest to save her friend. At least she looked like she was about to. I left her there, looking like a broken, shattered soul, and ran back. Who cares?" Luna moaned her question as Xavier's lips travelled down to her breasts.

"Nobody does, my love," he growled, ripping off her clothing. Luna arched her back, whining at the lost contact between her skin and his lips.

"Is she dead?" Xavier undid her belt, still speaking about the human girl.

"I..." Luna didn't get to finish whatever she had to say, as their bedroom door burst open with a loud bang.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Xavier snarled, his jaw clenched, hands forming in tight fists.