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Rose x
Zac stood up following his confession and I followed, stepping forward, hands reaching out to him. I was speechless, not knowing what to say, but before either one of us could say anything more, the library doors opened and Jayden rushed in.
"Alpha, Luna." He bowed. Of course Jayden would come in now. This man always had impeccable timing. I roll my eyes slightly when I think about the last time Zac and I were having a deep conversation, on our disastrous
first date, and it was Jayden that had came in disturbing us. Although, at that time I was grateful for the interruption, but not so much this time.
"What is it?" Zac asks. He doesn't hide his annoyance at his Beta's sudden appearance.
If Jayden recognises Zac's curt tone, he manages to hide it well.
"There's an emergency that needs your attention." Jayden states, with a pointed look at Zac.
"What emergency?" I ask, wanting to know what 'emergency' had made the usually stoic looking Beta rush here with an almost flushed appearance.
His eyes glance to me before turning back to Zac. It was as if he was asking permission from his Alpha as to whether I should even be involved.
Zac nods.
Jayden sighs, "There are hunters on the border again." He says, "But it looks like they have doubled their numbers."
I twist to look at Zac, who despite his tough facade, I can see is troubled by this new information.
"How many do you estimate?" He asked, his voice gruff.
Jayden doesn't hesitate, "We think more than 60."
"Gather around a hundred of our guards to come with us and then position the rest around the pack house and the border." Zac orders, stepping away from me to leave the library.
I quickly grab his hand as he walks past.
"I can help." I say and immediately his eyes darken.
"You will stay here Eve." There is no chance to negotiate. "You will be safe here, in the pack house."
I shake my head, "Zac I can help." I try again. There is no point just hiding away when I have the power to be front line, offering whatever I can to help.
"Eve I said no." There's a growl to his voice and I know pushing it any further would just end up in a fight and that's the last thing I wanted.
I sigh and step back, watching as Zac and Jayden stomp out of the library leaving me behind.
I can understand why he doesn't want me to fight with him, but it doesn't mean I like it.
I was still staring after him when another figure rushed in.
"Eve." Kate's voice is slightly trembling as she reaches me. "Did you hear about the hunters?"
I nod in reply, "Zac and Jayden have just left to prepare." I inform her and she nods back, but there is something else she is expecting from me.
"So what do you want to do?" She asks with a raised eyebrow.
I stare back at her unsure of what she means.
"My brother is carrying out his duty to protect our pack, so what are you going to do?"
Her words were a sharp jab in my chest. What was I going to do? Kate was reminding me, that while I might not be fighting front line, there was still other things I needed to do in order to protect the pack.
"Gather everyone who are not guards or trained warriors, including women, children and the elders and bring them to the Great Hall." I say and Kate nods in answer.
"Yes Luna." she bows.
★★
I make my way throughout the pack house, directing anyone I see to go to the Great Hall and when I arrive in the kitchen I tell Carla and the others helping her to grab as much food and drink as they possibly can bring it with them to the hall.
I turn around and head to the medical room, where Taliya was already prepping for the inevitable bloodshed that was expected.
"Are you alright?" I ask, startling her, making her drop a few rolls of bandages to the floor.
"Luna" she bows with a smile, "I thought you would be in the Great Hall with the others." she says and I bend down and help her pick the bandages from the floor.
"I was going to join them now actually," I say handing them back to Taylia, "but I just wanted to come here and check if you needed any help."
Taliya looks grateful as she points me towards a table with a lot of medical equipment laid out.
"I would really appreciate it if you could open all those packages," she says, "often everything just happens at the same time and opening those plastic covers with blood soaked gloves is not an easy thing." She laughs, but I can sense the fear she is hiding beneath her chuckle.
"It'll be okay." I say, but as soon as those words leave my lips I wonder whether I said them more to comfort myself than the doctor.
Taliya turns to look at me over her shoulder, strands of her blonde hair curling around her face.
"I know," she agrees, "Alpha Stone will make sure of it."
My heart stuttered at her words. The amount of belief and respect she had for my mate was incredible and I knew it wasn't just her. I knew every other
member of the pack felt the same way and I turned away as I felt a wave of pride wash over me.
★★
"Luna." I still wasn't used to Kate calling me by my title, but I knew the moment we were out of this whole on-edge situation, she would go straight back to calling me by name.
"Yeah?" I turn to face her as I open the last of the medical equipment and lay it carefully on the table.
"Everyone has gathered in the Great Hall." Kate informs me and I nod my head, turning to face Taliya.
"Do you need anything else?" I ask, wanting to know if I could do anymore to help.
"No Luna, thank you for your help. My assistants have finished the other preparations and will be joining me soon. Please go and join the rest of the pack in the Great Hall."
I lean over and gently squeeze her shoulders. "Thank you Taliya." I say sincerely before following Kate out and in the direction to the hall.
★★
The Great Hall was packed, with children running around, screaming and having fun, completely unaware that danger was lurking outside the building.
There were chairs and tables spread around, yet hardly anyone was sitting down and just one glance at their faces told me of their anxiousness. It was almost painful to watch as everyone stood around with nervous expressions, barely even looking at each other, mostly lost in their own thoughts.
I walked around, trying to interact with everyone, but it was clear that no one was in the mood. They all bowed and greeted me respectfully but then quickly stood back in silence.
I turn to Kate as the doors to the Hall were shut and locked.
"Out of those in this room, choose the strongest fighters and place them next to the doors," I direct, "then get someone to gather the children into the middle of the room."
Kate looks at me strangely and I smiled, "Just in case." I say.
She does as she is told and I can feel a sense of calm when I can see all the children sat in the middle of the hall. It was more to ease myself really. Having the children running around wildly made me worry that in case hunters managed to break into the hall, we wouldn't be able to keep track of the children.
As everyone finally settles down I realise something and turn to Kate who was sitting beside me.
"Where's Demarcus?" I asked, noticing I hadn't seen my teacher among the others.
Kate smirks knowingly, "He decided to stay and help Taliya." she says and continues when I raise an eyebrow, "I think the little witch has a fancy for the blonde haired healer."
I laugh out loud, "Seriously?"
Kate just smiles, shrugging her shoulders. "It's so obvious. I mean all need to do is look at each other and they turn bright red like tomatoes."
I laugh again at the mental image, "But what about Taliya's mate?" I ask.
A solemn look crosses her face suddenly, "Taliya's mate rejected her when she was sixteen. The prick had already got another she-wolf pregnant."
I stay quiet, despite the fact I was burning up in rage.
"Well then I wish Dermarcus all the best." I say, knowing well that Demarcus wouldn't harm a fly and would be good to Taliya.
★★
It was sometime close to midnight when Zac had mind-linked Kate that it was safe to finally leave the hall.
All the children had fallen asleep and most of the adults were barely awake, anxiously waiting for good news, with bleary eyes.
It had been a nerve wrecking and restless day, but finally Kate turned to me and said that I should announce that everyone was free to go back to their houses.
As soon as the words 'safe' and 'leave' were out of my mouth, everyone started to get up and gather their children and belongings and slowly made their way back home. I stayed behind with Kate and Carla until the last pack member left the hall and then we too, slowly made our way back.
"Thank you for all your help Ladies," I say giving them both a hug, and they brushed it aside with a smile and went back to their own rooms.
I was desperate to go and see Zac but before that I knew I had to do a final quick check. I made it to the medical room just as Taliya was cleaning up.
"How was it?" I ask, noticing the blood soaked gauzes and bandages scattered around the room.?
"Not as bad as we expected." Taliya replies, despite her weary and tired expression, "Mostly superficial wounds that will heal quickly."
I notice the tremble in her knees as she bends to pick up some rubbish and I stop her, noticing that she barely has the energy to stand, let alone clear up.
"Sit down Taliya." I practically order, gently pushing her down into a chair. I walked over to the sink and grab a plastic cup, filling it with water from the tap and pass it to her.
"Drink, you look like you're seconds from passing out." At first she hesitates, but then grabs the cub and downs the content as if she has never tasted water before.
"Thanks Luna," she whispers, "I really needed that."
I smile back at her and then walk around picking up whatever's on the floor and depositing in the bin. Taliya tries to get up but one stern look from me has her sitting back down again.
"You don't have to do that." she says looking guilty but I ignore her. For hours she had been working endlessly to help and heal wounded warriors the least I could do is pick up a few bandages.
Once I'm finished, I walk over to Taliya and quickly give her a small hug.
"Thanks for all your hard work Taliya" I say and I notice the red tint on her cheeks.
She thanks me back and I give her one last smile, before telling her to get some rest and the practically running back up to Zac's room.
The closer I got, the more nervous I became. What if he was hurt? What if he was bleeding?
I open the door carefully and straightaway notice Zac's large figure on the bed. He was slightly hunched over but since the light was off I couldn't see anything more.
"Zac?" I asked reaching for the light switch on the wall, before flicking it on.
My eyes immediately fixed on Zac who was facing away from me. Despite me calling for him, he didn't move a muscle or turn to face me.
I could sense that something wasn't right. There was something in the air, and as soon as I realised that it was the scent of blood I rushed over to him.
I covered my mouth in shock, as I stumbled back away from him. He was sitting up, but his usually tanned skin was pale as a sheet of paper, his glowing skin clammy with beads of sweat. But more noticeable was the blood soaked shirt he was wearing and the huge wound visible through the ripped material.
"Zac!" I screamed, tears falling from my eyes uncontrollably. I kneel before him, my hand stroking his face, "Zac! Please look at me, please open your eyes." I beg when my advanced hearing picks up on his slow and irregular heartbeat.
I wasn't a doctor, but even I knew it wasn't looking good for him.
I run to the door and shout for help,? but I know it was futile. Most people would already be asleep and plus being on the top floor meant no one could hear me screaming.
I feel myself start to hyperventilate, running back and forth from Zac to the top of the stairs. I know if I leave him to go and find help it might be too late, so I ran back to his side, tripping over my own feet as I rushed to him.
"Oh God!" I cry helplessly, as Zac's upright body falls back onto the mattress., his eyes fluttering slightly, yet closed in pain.
I hear the beat of his heart get slower and I realise there is only one thing I can do now and so I don't hesitate further. It was dangerous and reckless but it was the only thing that could possibly save him.
I opened my mouth and began to chant.
I really hope Zac's alright.
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