The Luna's Ugly Disguise

Chapter 7 - Evelyn

Lucael was up and away from the bed in an instant, throwing on his discarded clothes. I felt the urgency through our matebond. My mate wanted to go and check upon his pack members. He needed to know that they were okay. So I followed suit, and quickly rushed from the bed to the bathroom adjoining to our bedroom. I wanted to be a good mate. A good Luna. And, in doing so, I should be by his side. Be there for our pack members, no matter how dark the situation may be...

Stepping into the large marble bathroom, I quickly cleaned myself up. As disappointed as I may be that our moment of intimacy had come to a halt, I knew that our pack must come first. I was sure we would find time later. Drying myself off, before moving toward the large walk-in closet that he had filled with clothes for me. More clothes than I had ever had, and likely would ever need. I noticed Lucael already dressed and waiting for me as he sat upon our bed. A bed already neatly made, like our passionate embrace had never occurred. He was such a neat freak...

I grabbed a simple pair of yoga pants and, instead of one of my own tops, I opted for one of my mate's hoodies. Many sizes too large, but so comfortable, and his scent lingered upon it. This had become a regular item of clothing I opted for, after he placed one of his jackets upon me while we went out walking one evening, and it had dropped cool. Now I found myself choosing to wear his clothes, just so his scent was around when he was not. As I stepped from the closet, I saw Lucael look at me with a tender smile.

“I wondered why I was going through more clothes than usual.” He offered me a little wink, before giving me his hand. “That would be because you have been wearing them too." He chuckled. "Though they do look awfully good on you, I have to say. Now, come on. They are waiting for us.”

I felt a small smile teasing at the corner of my mouth at his words. He was sparse with his affection, so when the occasional compliment slipped through, it really did brighten my day. But there was little time to savor it as he gripped my hand lightly, and tugged me toward the door of our home. He was in a hurry to go and see the damage that had been done...

Our legs moved quickly, as Lucael guided us in the direction of the pack hospital. My mind was swimming with what we may be about to find. And, there was no time to process any further information he gave me as he explained the rogue attack that had occurred while we had spent time together. The words he shared with me seemed to fade within my mind as it felt like my heart was breaking at the very thought. So many of those injured were youngsters. Yet to come of age. Pack members without a wolf to help them heal. The thought made me so sad.

The moment we stepped inside the hospital doors, I was overwhelmed with the stark scent of antiseptic. And the many pained wails of agony, which made my ears throb with discomfort. These were babies in pain. Young pups. Pups that should have been out there enjoying themselves. In fact, they had likely been at school having fun before this happened. Never expecting it... My wolf whimpered in pain. These were her pack now. It was her responsibility as much as it was Lucael’s to protect them, and it felt like agony to her that she had not been able to. I felt tears stinging in my eyes. I wasn’t sure I was strong enough for this.

But Lucael appeared to feel no such faltering strength. He strode into the corridors of the hospital like he was ready to take anything on. He was every bit the Alpha that his title implied. He went and spoke to each and every member of staff, asking for details, remaining calm and confident, despite the unease I could sense within him. He visited every wounded pack member within each room of the small pack hospital, and took names of those who had been sent home with treatment, so he could go and visit them. This was a man who cared greatly for his pack. And he did not allow anyone to see that he had been affected by what he saw.

All the while I looked on in silent shock at the wounds inflicted on poor children. Innocent people who had no reason to be involved in any pack warfare. Yet for some reason rogues had opted to injure innocent people. I stood by the side of my mate with what I hoped was a kind smile upon my face. Offering my support to my mate, because he was truly the one who was doing the duty of leading our pack now.

There were injuries from smaller pups, to older teens, soon to come of age. But so many that could not heal themselves, which was what left them in the hospital. There were also multiple teachers severely injured from attempting to defend the children within their care. It seemed they had gone above and beyond in order to protect the ones they had been employed to care for. So close to giving their lives to protect. They had their wolves to help, but sadly, due to the severity of the injuries, they were struggling.

I could sense my mate's anger. But mingled with that anger was pain. Distress. And, of course, that same unease. This had been a rogue attack on his pack. Rogue attacks were the unknown. They brought about many questions. And you never knew if they would bring more. Sadly, going off what Lucael had already mentioned, this had not been a lone attack. There had been others, and there likely would be more. The questions was, why?

Once every person was visited, Lucael thanked the hospital staff before we walked away from the hospital building. My mate released a heavy sigh the instant the door closed behind us. “Head home, princess.” He told me calmly.

“You aren’t coming?” I reached for his arm, but he moved it away. I needed him more than ever right now, but he seemed to have placed up a guard. He shook his head.

“I have things I need to attend to.”

“You also need to rest.” I suggested, noticing now that it was well into the evening, and the sky was darkened, implying we had spent hours at the hospital visiting the injured. I understood Lucael would need to assess what had happened, and decide how to address it, but he could do that at home, or he could do it tomorrow. Right now he would benefit from some food and some rest. He did not need to be overdoing it.

“I will be fine. There are things I need to do. You can go and rest. I will return home when I am done.” His tone was sharp, like he did not expect to be argued with, so I simply nodded, and moved toward the house, as sadness filled my heart. I knew I was not to tell my mate what to do. He made his own decisions. This was still very much his pack, and he was older and wiser than me. I had to allow him to make the choices for his pack. But a part of me worried about him, with the sense of unease I could feel radiating from him.

My footsteps felt heavy as I began to walk in the direction of the house. Only hours earlier, I had rushed back there when my mate had notified me he would be coming home to spend time with me, and now I was returning alone because he had things he needed to do, and was refusing to come home. Our pack had been attacked. And seemingly not for the first time. A wave of sadness took over me.

Images of those poor children flashed within my mind. Rogues were notorious for having no morals. For doing what they had to do to gain what they wanted. But this was sinking to a new low. These were innocent children. Children that did not yet have wolves to help protect them, or to help them heal. Their wounds were atrocious! And the rogues, despite not living within a pack, must have known that in school there would not be a large number of adult wolves there to defend them all…

I could not stop the thoughts of the wounds I had witnessed today. Maybe Lucael had been right in saying I would have been better at home. The visions of the damage done to the children lay heavy upon my mind. I had heard doctors mention stitches. Skin grafts. Surgeries. There had been so many large injuries. Injuries children should not sustain. The agony they must be suffering right now was not right. My wolf whimpered in pain once more as she joined in with my thoughts.

'Maybe we could try to help?' I suggested to her as we walked inside of the house. A house that suddenly felt incredibly empty.

'And how do you plan to do that?' My wolf asked.

'I think I should be able to create some form of herbal remedy…' I offered tentatively. It had been a while since I had made any herbal creations other than my own. Another thing I planned to hide, but as wary as I was, I knew there was so much at stake here. This was for my pack members. Innocent children that needed help to heal. Surely that was worth the risk? I was their Luna after all...