Allison's POV I looked around the room at the faces of the people assembled. Their expressions were all grim. I could tell that they were worried at the turn of events. Still, they tried to put up a front, probably for my sake. A day had become two, two had become five, and now it was fourteen days since Dante left for war. All the while he was gone, the promise he had made to me kept ringing in my head. If we are successful, which I assure you will be the case, I will return in just a few days, he had said. By no stretch of the imagination could a few days be said to be two whole weeks. As I feared, something had gone wrong. What exactly it was, I could not tell. The uncertainty made it worse somehow. I was constantly living in suspense, not knowing what to expect. I was barely holding on. The only thing that prevented me from flipping my lid was the baby growing in me. Aria had kept reminding me that any form of worry or emotional turmoil would affect my child in a bad way.
Allison's POV When I hesitated, the guard said sharply. "We need to get out of here, Luna. Now." There was a sense of urgency in his tone that got me moving. He walked behind me, his eyes moving restlessly all the while. He handed me into the car he had come with and quickly got into the driver's seat. As he sped off, I glanced at the car I had come with. "Another guard will be along shortly to return it to the pack house," he said, replying to my unspoken thoughts. I scanned the woods and the road as we drove, searching for the signs of danger he had spoken of. But I could see nothing. In my experience, the guards would fence my questions, so I resolved to talk to Maddox instead. As soon as we got to the pack house, I headed straight for Dante's study where Maddox usually spent most of his time in Dante's absence. He was seated opposite Dante's desk, poring over some papers. He looked up when I came in. He looked relieved. "You sent the guard for me?" I said without a pream
Dante's POV There were footsteps behind me. From my place at the lean-to, I turned to see Lucius approaching. He bowed and I listlessly motioned him to the spot beside me. He sat down on a piece of rock and stared straight ahead. "Yes Lucius, what is it?" I asked wearily. "It is the men, Alpha. I went to check on them as you instructed earlier." My brow rose. "And?" "Some of them are hurt. I think the er- unexpected living conditions have- should I say- made the pain from their injuries much worse. They are strong though, I will give them that. A lot of the wounds they had sustained are healing quite nicely. It's just that I think they need a little extra attention. They need treatment." I thought for a second. "Tell the pack doctor to treat them and monitor their progress closely. Are there still medical supplies?" With a bated breath, I waited for Lucius's reply. "Yes, there are. A lot of medical supplies are remaining." I breathed a sigh of relief. Inwardly, I thanked
Allison's POV Aria glanced at me worriedly. She rubbed my legs repeatedly to restore my circulation, as she had said. I pulled my legs away from her and shifted in bed, a little out of her reach. "Stop fussing, Aria," I snapped. "I am not a baby, you know? So kindly stop treating me like one." "But-" I fixed her with a glare, wishing that she would shut up this once. Her lips trembled a little, but she pressed on. "But Luna, are you really sure you are okay?" "Of course I am o-" My words were cut off as I winced. As I attempted to sit up, I felt a pang of pain. Aria's eyes widened. "I am okay," I insisted. Unfortunately, my words did not carry a ring of conviction. Instantly, Aria was on her feet. She straightened the pillows at my back, made a grab at a glass of water by my side, hesitated, and did not offer it to me. Not knowing what else you do, her hands fluttered over me helplessly, while I glared at them with my most threatening expression on, giving the impressio
Allison's POV What was Dante thinking, sending the warriors home where he remained absent? Wasn't he as eager to see me as I was to see him? More cars drove in and more maids spilled out to assist the men. Some of the men seemed very weak, while others were injured. "Most of them seem to need urgent medical attention," I said to the guard. "Yes, the battle was a tough one. We held on for a very long time. The war told on each one of us." "Where is Lucius? I can't seem to find him too." "He er- he is with Alpha Dante." While the guard talked, he shifted impatiently from one foot to the other as though eager to be gone. With a wave of my hand, I dismissed him and he ran in the direction of the pack house. I went into the lobby of the clinic. The clinic was completely filled up. A lot of men were in the lobby with varying degrees of injuries, some of which looked pretty bad. The warriors with the serious-looking wounds were taken by a nurse right into the clinic for immediate
Allison's POV The pain I felt in my lower abdomen was excruciating. It was as though a fire had been lit down there. Against my wish, the pain urged me towards consciousness. I did not want to regain consciousness just yet. I wanted the oblivion of not knowing what was happening. For a moment, I floated between the two conscious and unconsciousness and then there was another cramp. Someone screamed piercingly. After some seconds, I realized that it was me. Slowly, I opened my eyes and saw that I was in my room. The pack doctor was leaning over me, his face lined with worry. The frown line smoothed out when he realized that I was awake. "She's awake," he informed the nurses who sighed in relief. It was a struggle to keep my eyes open as it felt like steel pennies had been laid on them. "Luna, are you feeling okay? Don't bother talking if you feel that you are not up to it, okay? Now, take a moment to observe your body. Are you alright?" I nodded weakly. The doctor continued
Aria's POV I was working at a manic pace. Already I felt a slight ache in the region of my waist, from bending and supporting the injured men. I did not really mind. It was fortunate that I had knowledge of how to dress wounds as the pack was currently short of helping hands. The injured men kept arriving, and some of them had wounds that needed to have been treated days ago. I was glad to be of help though. Having the men back at the pack was what we all had been hoping for for a long while now. Watching the Luna pine away right before my eyes because of the absence of the Alpha had been slow torture. A smile curved my lips as I imagined how happy she would be at the news of the return. "Is that smile for me, beautiful?" asked the guard whose wound I was putting a bandage on. I snorted. "You wish." I wrapped the bandage tightly around his arm and ran my eyes over him. "You seem to be alright," I said. "I can't find any more bleeding or broken bones. You'll live." My eyes
Maddox's POV I stared at the men, hanging on to my every word, and felt the crushing weight of responsibility Dante's death had occasioned. I did not want to be here, in his study, giving orders to the warriors, just hours after the news of his death. I still could not make sense of it all. I supposed that I was still in shock. The warriors assembled shifted uneasily as the silence lengthened. I had just filled them in on the details of what had happened to the Alpha and Lucius. The whole room was gloomy and tense. Every warrior in the room hung their head, refusing to meet my eyes. Most of their faces worked, and I could see that they were desperately trying to keep a hold on their emotions, and not break down. Their slumped shoulders indicated defeat. I could relate. I felt the same way at this moment. I sighed and continued talking. "Now that you know the situation of things, we need to find out what exactly happened to the Alpha and Lucius." I looked at each of the men i