Chapter 22
Chapter 22: Pack’s Response.
Yara.
Damn. This Alpha is too smart for his own good. It’s probably why he’s still alive and most of his pack members are too. It’s also why he’s still the Alpha of this pack after twelve long years of fighting. “What if it is Simon that I’m afraid of? What difference does it make?” I ask him.
“You’re not just afraid of him, Yara. You’ve been hiding from him for a very long time. Years. And the difference is that now, I know who I’m protecting you from. I’ll protect you from anyone who attacks us, but I’ll put a separate focus on Simon. I’ve also sent a warrior to collect your things from the university and erase your presence there…”
“WHAT?!” I ask, appalled. “No, Warren! I’ve worked too hard, too long for you to erase it! Do you even understand what you’ve done?” I ask, as tears prick my eyes. Al my hard work, all my studies, gone.
“I’m keeping you safe, Yara!” he says, as if this is supposed to make it okay that he’s erased seven of the most grueling years of my life.
And this is exactly why I didn’t want to tell him. I drop the instruments on the table and turn. “Find a new doctor,” I growl, walking out of the room.
“YARA!” he yells, but I keep going. I refuse to let the man see me cry. I pass Haynes as he stands from the chair he’s sitting in.
“Luna? Is everything okay?” he asks, as I pass.
“Do NOT let her walk out of this hospital!” Warren commands and I see his warriors stand. They look like they aren’t happy to be put in the middle of this argument, but he’s their Alpha and they may call me Luna, but I’m not officially their Luna, so they will answer to Warren.
I glare at all of them and surprisingly, I watch them all raise their necks in submission to me, as if they are apologizing for acting on their Alpha’s command.
“Yara, let’s talk about this,” Warren says, hobbling up behind me.
“Talk about it! Talk about it!” I yell, whirling around to face him.
“We should have talked about this before you decided to wipe my educational history off the face of the earth. Do you even realize what you’ve done, Warren? You did what you told me you wouldn’t do. Your mark isn’t even on my neck and you’re stripping me of everything that I’ve worked so hard to achieve in my life. Do you get that? It’s no different than if I’d have let Dr.
Stevens take your leg, stripping you of everything that you’ve worked so hard to achieve. The difference is, I gave you a choice and you took mine,” I say angrily as hot tears begin to stream down my cheeks. He takes a hobbled step towards me. “Yara…”
“Don’t you dare lay a fucking hand on me,” I snarl, swiping the tears off my face.
“What did you do, Alpha?” I hear a warrior ask behind me.
“I kept your Luna safe from the Alpha who is hunting her.”
“Is that what you’re going with? Keeping me safe? You had to erase seven years of medical school to keep me safe?” I yel.
“News flash, Warren! If he knows where my car was and he knows that the trackers have been disabled, then he’d have sent warriors out to hunt for me and what would he have found, Warren? Hmmm? He’d have found your scent and mine on that fucking bear trap. And then they’d have followed your pack’s scent and mine back here. I’m guessing Simon already knows I’m here.”
I feel heat at my back. I expect Warren’s warriors to grab me, to keep me from leaving, but instead, Warren’s gaze tracks to them and his eyes narrow.
“I think our Luna needs a break from you, Alpha,” a warrior says, making Warren growl.
“Now really isn’t the time for you to pick a fight with us, Alpha,”
another warrior says. It’s a clear threat. Warren’s leg is still open, his bones still healing. It’s the perfect
time for one of his warriors to overthrow him, especially with Charlie down.
“We’ll take her to the packhouse. We’ll keep her safe while you and Beta Charlie recover,” another warrior says, basically wrapping me in the protection of the pack.
“Savannah, close Alpha Warren’s leg for me please,” I say, then turn to the warriors. “I’m going to the packhouse, but I will be very disappointed if you take this opportunity to try and overthrow your Alpha. Just because he’s a terrible mate, doesn’t mean he isn’t a good Alpha.”
“Yes, Luna,” they say.
I turn and walk out, not surprised when I hear Warren call out to me. I ignore the conversations behind me, just needing to get away before I completely break down. Thankfully, the warriors who escort me back to the packhouse don’t say anything. I walk up to the Alpha floor, not knowing where else to go. I stop outside of Warren’s door, then move down the hall, unwilling to sleep in his bed. When I choose a door, one of the warriors opens it, checking it to make sure it’s safe before letting me in.
“If you need anything, Luna, let us know. We’ll be right outside your door,” one of the warriors says.
I stop, just long enough to look them all over and make sure they’re medically stable enough to be on guard duty before nodding and walking into the room. I close the door and collapse on the bed, burying my face in a pillow as I begin sobbing.
Simon POV.
“Alpha, Alpha Brady’s pack attacked Alpha Warren last night,”
my warriors tell me over breakfast.
“Who won?”
“Alpha Warren, but I heard that he might be injured. His Beta is most likely dead. They had a lot of casualties from what we could see,” he says.
I stand, beginning to pace.
“Do we know what type of injury Alpha Warren has?”
“I believe it’s still related to the bear trap that we found, Alpha.”
So, the Alpha is down, and the Beta is out. “What about a Gamma?”
“I’d heard that his Gamma was killed in a battle a while ago, but he hasn’t had time to replace him.” “So, no healthy ranked members? Is that what I’m hearing?”
“Yes, Alpha.”
“Well then, perhaps it’s time for me to go get my Luna. I wouldn’t want Alpha Warren to have a chance to put his mark on her neck and ruin everything. And we don’t want some other Alpha to get there and kill
her before I can claim her. Gather the troops. Our goal is Yara, but if we can kill Alpha Warren in the process, that will just be a bonus.”
“Yes, Alpha.”