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

Aria's POV I stared at the door to the Emergency room where the Luna had been taken minutes ago. They had whisked her away so fast that I had gotten just a brief glimpse of her. She had looked so frail and helpless as she had been wheeled in there, dressed in a shapeless, blue hospital gown. Only the steady rise and fall of her chest told me that she was still breathing. She had been unconscious and I guessed she had been sedated. Slowly, I sank into the chair in the waiting area. As agreed, she had not been informed of the surgery. Reluctantly, I admitted that was the right decision to have been taken. I wondered how she would feel when she woke up to discover that she had been cut open, that the decision to save her and not her baby had been taken without her consent. All those considerations were secondary now though. What everyone wanted was for her to make it out of this alive. I did not need to be a doctor to know that she was fast losing the will to fight for her life.

Allison's POV Aria stood at the entrance of my room. She walked further into the room, her flowing, black velvet dress rippling as she moved. She stopped beside my bed and regarded me closely. "Well, I don't believe it!" she exclaimed. "Luna, I can't believe that you are not dressed yet." I yawned and stretched. "I will get dressed... eventually." Aria gaped and shook her head. "The time is 6 pm. 6 pm!" she repeated when I said nothing. "The ball is due to start anytime from now. Your hair and makeup aren't even done yet. Luna, you should have been ready hours ago." I grimaced at the word make-up. "Who needs make-up anyway?" I grumbled. "It even wastes time. I have an idea, Aria. How about I go downstairs with no make-up on? I will just er- try to fix my hair up a little." Tria looked scandalized at the very idea. "Definitely not, Luna. What would people say? You are one of the reasons why this ball is holding. You have to be perfect for tonight. A lot of people from other

Dante's POV With a flourish, Maddox handed me a document that had every inch filled with letters and figures. "Here, take a look at this," he said smugly. I settled down to read what he had given me. Without taking my eyes off the document, my hand wandered across the desk. Anticipating my wants, Maddox pushed the calculator towards me. I snatched it up and for the next few minutes, the only sound in the room was the faint beep of the calculator keys as I put together the figures before me. When I was done, I leaned back and whistled in surprise. "How accurate is this?" I inquired. Maddox flashed a smile. "I knew you would ask that. It is very accurate. I went through it thoroughly. I knew that you would want to see the documents sooner or later, so I prepared in advance. Surprising, isn't it?" "Not entirely," I replied after a few seconds' hesitation. "I was sort of expecting something like this. But the figures- the figures are quite astronomical. Wow." Maddox had given me

Dante's POV I glared at the woman who was on her knees before me. She was crying and mumbling incoherently and had been doing that for the last few minutes. Stiffly, I walked back to my desk and sat down behind it. At least the desk provided a sort of barricade that might prevent me from hurting her. I closed my eyes, shutting out the image of her face. Slowly, I massaged my temples as I felt the headache I associated with one of my fits of rage coming on. My wolf was getting restless, wanting to come out. If it did, it would be bad for the woman- very bad indeed. Calm, be calm, I muttered to myself over and again. When I felt I was somewhat in control of myself, I raised my head and pinned her with my stare. "So, what are you trying to say, Tessa?" I said. "Apart from the Luna and I, you are the only one who spends so much time with my son as you are his nanny. Explain to me how the hell this happened under your watch." "It didn't-" I motioned her to be silent. "The Luna