Finally Finding My Luna

Chapter 6

{Zader POV}

After exploring the local attractions for the day, we decided to head back to the hotel to get ready for the dinner and ball. Rylan, Analia and I had toured the nearby town and really enjoyed the beauty of winter in the northeastern U.S. that I had actually come to love. 

We ate Maine lobster, went whale watching and just got done snowmobiling across a frozen lake. I had to admit that Analia could really put together a pretty awesome itinerary. I hadn’t had this much fun since before the accident. 

We got out of the black suburban that I had rented for the weekend and went inside the hotel lobby. “Okay guys, we need to be back down here by 5:30 to leave for the banquet on time. I don’t want to miss dinner.” 

Analia and Rylan both nodded and walked toward the elevators to go to their room. I lingered in the lobby for a moment and went over to the bar. I ordered a whisky sour and sat there by myself for a while contemplating how tonight would go. I was hoping to enter into several business and trading deals with other packs in the midwest, but I certainly didn’t want word getting to Alpha Slade. 

He was the last Alpha that I wanted to see or talk to tonight, let alone enter into a mutual beneficial relationship with. He was pure evil, and so were his pack members. They killed for sport and took territory just because they could. That isn’t how a good pack is supposed to be ran. 

After I finished my drink, I laid some cash on the bar and went to my room. I showered off the snow and gasoline smell from the snowmobiles and dried off. After a quick shave I got dressed. I brought three different suits, not sure which one I should wear. 

I settled on the classic black suit with a black button up underneath. I left the top button undone, since I chose not to wear a tie. I put on gold cufflinks and went to the mirror. I looked at my reflection and smiled. After styling my hair, I checked the clock. It read 5:35 pm. 

Shit, s**t, s**t! I was five minutes late, and I made a big deal about not being late. At least it was only five minutes. The drive was actually only 15 minutes from the hotel, but I wanted some time to chat with people before we had to sit down for dinner. Guess I wasn’t getting too much time beforehand. 

I grabbed my wallet, phone and room key and rushed out of the door letting it slam closed behind me. I quickly ran for the stairs instead of waiting on the elevator and practically flew down the three flights of steps. I hustled into the lobby where Rylan and Analia were sitting in cushioned chairs near the door. 

“I am so sorry you guys. I know I specifically asked you to be on time, and I am showing up late. I lost track of time, and I am sorry that you had to wait on me.” I hated being the leader that asked his pack members to do something, but then he couldn’t do it himself. I was taught that an Alpha holds himself to a higher standard than anyone, and tonight I was failing at that. 

“It’s okay Alpha! We haven’t been here long. We should still make it in plenty of time.” Analia was always gracious towards me, but I knew Rylan would give me hell. 

“Ohhhh but we don’t want to be late! We have very important alphas to suck up to don’t we Zader?” he elbowed me in the ribs, and I let out a low growl. Rylan was the only person besides my parents that was allowed to call me by my first name without my title. He laughed, and we walked outside to the car. 

Five minutes later we were on the road headed to the banquet when a popping noise came from the car. The driver’s eyes went wide, and he steered the car to the side of the road. 

“It seems as though we have a flat tire. I apologize Mr. Hale, I will get out and see if I can fix it ASAP.” He opened the door and got out to investigate the damage. A few moments later he opened the door and got back in. 

“I was right. It’s a flat, but I have a spare in the truck. If I could just get some help to change this tire, I can have us back on the road in no time.”

I sighed and looked at the clock. 5:50. There was no way we’d make it on time. We still had ten minutes to go, and this tire would take at least half an hour to fix most likely. I could do all of my negotiating at the ball anyway, as there would be a lot more distractions to avoid Slade easily. 

“Sure, I will help.”

45 minutes later, we were finally pulling up to the pack house. All three of us got out and were escorted into the dining hall. It had been transformed into a ball room to allow for dancing in the center, standing and mingling on the edges and finger foods being served on one wall. 

I could see Slade, his Luna and a younger girl at their side. They were seated at the head table in the front of the room not speaking to anyone. They were very detached and didn’t mingle with any visitors or their own pack members for that matter. 

I made my way to the table that had snacks and grabbed a couple. We hadn’t eaten anything since lunch, and I was starving at this point. Werewolves really liked to eat a lot, Alphas even more so. I leaned against the wall near the front of the dining hall and scanned the room.

Several wolves were dancing, talking and laughing. Rylan and Analia were across the room wrapped up in each others’ arms dancing to the slow song that was playing over the speakers. I smiled watching them. That was the mate bond in action, and it made me want that so much more. 

A faint sweet smell filled my nose just then, and I snapped my head up in the direction it was coming from. 

MATE. OUR MATE IS HERE!! FIND HER NOW!

I was stunned. I actually found my mate! I couldn’t believe it. I started towards the door where the scent of raspberries was coming from. As I got closer I realized there was actually an overwhelming smell of blood. 

My head started spinning. Something was bad wrong for the blood to smell that strongly. It almost overwhelmed my mate’s scent. There was a lot of blood, and I was sick at my stomach thinking about why there could be that much. I mindlinked Rylan.

Rylan, I just found my mate I think.

Alpha, where is she?

I don’t know. I am following her scent, but there is also a strong scent of blood. Come with me in case there is something wrong. 

I cut off the mindlink and continued toward the door. I paused just a moment outside the door and heard a male laughing. A moment later there was faint sobbing. My heart dropped and I shoved the door open. 

What I saw would haunt me for the rest of my life. A male wolf was in between the legs of a she wolf. The girl was completely naked, and her face and upper body was bloodied and bruised. Both of her eyes had swelled shut, and her lip was busted. I was also pretty sure that her nose was broken. 

A rage filled me like it never had before, and I had to fight with every fiber of my being to keep Arlo away. I then realized that the man’s pants were undone, and he had exposed himself. He was attempting to r**e her, if he hadn’t already done so. My mate was laying on the floor lifeless and exposed, and this motherf****r was about to violate her in the worst way possible.

“GET THE F**K AWAY FROM MY MATE!!!” I growled and stalked over to the wolf. I grabbed him by the throat and threw him against the nearby wall. Rylan and Analia were standing in the doorway watching. 

Analia had seen the naked girl and thoughtfully grabbed a tablecloth off of one of the nearby tables. She handed it to Rylan and turned to keep any curious onlookers out of the room. 

“Rylan, cover her up while I kill this wolf. Get her out of here.” He rushed to her side and laid the fabric over her mangled body. She flinched slightly, but I couldn’t tell if it was from pain or fear. I was just happy to see movement. It meant she was still alive. 

Rylan quickly carried her out of the room, and I turned back to the wolf trying to fight my grip on his neck. I squeezed harder making him gasp for air. 

“What the hell gives you the right to r**e a woman?” I asked spitting in his face. He clenched his eyes tight and starting shaking.

“She punched my nose and broke it earlier. That Omega disrespected me! She had it com--” I didn’t wait for him to finish, instead I hit him in the jaw breaking it instantly. 

“I don’t care what she did, that doesn’t give you any right to r**e her!” I let out a deep and guttural growl at him. I broke his right arm and threw him across the room into the opposite wall. He cried out in pain and started to shift. 

I grabbed him by the throat again and growled in his face, forcing his wolf to submit. This would stop him from shifting into his wolf form. I threw him back to the ground and started punching his face over and over. If my mate had to endure that kind of pain, then so would he. 

I broke his nose, made his eyes swell shut and knocked out a couple of teeth. I would have kept going if I hadn’t heard Analia behind me.

“Alpha, I know you’re angry, but would seem that there are other angry wolves out here threatening to harm me if I don’t let them pass.” she said softly. 

I looked down at the wolf’s body below me. He was completely lifeless and almost unrecognizable. I had beaten him so badly, that the healing process wouldn’t kick in for some time. I reached down with both hands and jerked his head sideways snapping his neck and killing him. No one touched my mate, and they certainly didn’t get away with beating her and r****g her. 

“Alright Analia. I suppose there is never a good time to face a pissed off Alpha. Come stand behind me in case things get ugly.” She nodded and quickly made her way from the door, stepping over the dead body in the middle of the room. 

Slade was the first in the room, along with his Luna. When he saw the dead wolf at my feet his eyes widened. Melani gagged and almost puked right then and there. 

“Alpha Zader, what is the meaning of this??” he said matter-of-factly. 

“Slade, this wolf was trying to r**e my mate.” I left off his alpha title to show that I wasn’t in the mood to play 20 questions. It was disrespectful, but I didn’t give a s**t at that moment. 

“Your mate? I thought you didn’t have a mate.” he said and crossed his arms. 

“I didn’t until tonight. Her scent led me to this room, where I walked in on this lowlife trying to r**e her.”

“How do you know she wasn’t willingly having s*x with him?” Slade said sarcastically. Of course he would try to goad me by trying to get under my skin with that. 

“Well, she was beaten to a pulp and completely unresponsive. Plus, he said he was trying to r**e her before I broke his neck. My Beta Female will testify to that.” 

I could see Analia nodding her head out of the corner of my eye. Slade paced back and forth in front of us when another wolf came in. 

“So it’s true? Someone killed my Gamma?!?!” screamed the newcomer. Slade looked up with horror when he realized who it was. 

“Alpha Pierce! Umm… this issue is under control…” Slade said with a tremor in his voice. He was such a weak alpha. 

“Yes, it’s true. I killed your Gamma.” I spoke up.

“Who the f**k are you? Why did you kill my Gamma?” he growled. Clearly he didn’t know who I was, or he wouldn’t be talking to me that way. 

“My name is Alpha Zader Hale of the Black Mountain Pack. I killed him because I caught him trying to r**e my mate!” I screamed at him. 

Pierce swallowed nervously and looked down at the body that still laid in the middle of the floor half naked. He looked back at me and simply nodded his head. 

“Damon did have a temper, especially when he was drunk. Unfortunately, I can’t say that this accusation surprises me. We’ve had several female omega pack members at home accuse him, but I never had legitimate proof. Until now. I suppose this is a poetic form of justice. I apologize for his behavior and for any pain that he caused your mate.”

I unclenched my fists when I realized that the alpha wasn’t going to fight me. He bowed his head and showed a small sign of submission to me. 

“I do ask that we may take his body home for burial. He was evil, but his parents still deserve to say their goodbyes.” I nodded and stepped back from the body while four wolves came into the room. They covered him with another tablecloth and took him from the room. 

Pierce apologized once more and followed them out. Slade was left standing in the room, and he shook his head. 

“Alpha, what pack does your mate belong to?” he asked. I gritted my teeth in frustration. 

“I wouldn’t know Slade. I didn’t exactly get the chance to ask her her name or where she was from. She was bleeding and nearly passed out. She wasn’t exactly in the mood to talk I don’t think.” 

“Of course, of course. I apologize. I will have the pack doctor tend to her immediately. Please take her to the hospital, and I will mindlink the doctor to be waiting for your arrival. She will get priority treatment.” Slade stalked out of the room dragging his Luna behind him. 

I turned to Analia and she nodded at me. We walked out into the dining hall, where the music had stopped and all eyes were on us. I kept my eyes forward and never glanced at anyone. I didn’t really care what everyone thought of me just then, I just wanted to go check on my mate. 

Rylan, where are you? 

I am in a guest bedroom Alpha. It’s the second hallway, first door on the left. One of the kitchen staff is friends with your mate. She led us to this room.

Analia and I are coming. 

I sprinted through the gathering room and toward the opposite wing of the pack house where the bedrooms were. Once I finally made it to the bedroom where Rylan was, I smelled raspberries again mixed with the overwhelming blood scent. 

The girl, my mate, lay unconscious on the bed with the table cloth wrapped around her body. I felt a surge of anger and pain wash over me with brutal force. It almost took my breath away to see her face torn and bloody like that. My mate was hurting, and there wasn’t anything I could do at that moment to stop her pain. 

“Alpha, we need to get her to the hospital ASAP.” Analia’s voice snapped me out of my internal misery, and my instinct to protect her took over. 

“You’re right. Rylan, you come with me to guard her in case someone else gets any stupid ideas. Analia, you stay here with the kitchen Omega to find clothes for my mate for when she wakes up. Then I want both of you to join us at the hospital. Mindlink me if you have any issues.” 

Analia nodded and took off with the girl who had been standing by the side of the bed watching over my mate. I walked over to that same spot and gently lifted her while making sure the tablecloth was wrapped underneath her well. 

Rylan and I left the packhouse, with him leading the way. He made sure the crowd was cleared in front of me as I walked through the great room and out of the front door. We go directions from one of the guards and quickly made our way to the pack hospital. As promised, the doctor was waiting for us at the entrance. 

“Good evening Alpha. I am Dr. Wilson, and I will be tending to your mate. Please follow me.” I nodded my head and carried my girl through the doors and into a room that had an empty bed. Luckily, it was the only bed in the room, which meant we’d have privacy. She would be traumatized most likely when she woke up. There was no telling how she’d react. 

“Can you please tell me what happened?” Dr. Wilson looked from me to Rylan, and I laid her on the bed quietly. Rylan took this as his cue to fill in the blanks, since I was too angry and worried to speak at the moment. 

“The Luna was being attacked when my Alpha found her. She was beaten very badly by another wolf, and he was about to --” Rylan trailed off and looked down at the floor. 

“He was about to r**e her.” I said with my teeth gritted tightly. 

Dr. Wilson’s head snapped up from his clipboard where he had been taking notes. “Oh, I see. Well that means we will have to proceed very cautiously so as to not make it worse for her. Do you know of any medical history that I should be aware of?”

I shook my head no. “I haven’t even gotten her name. Tonight was the night that I finally found her, and I didn’t even get a chance to speak with her before she passed out from the pain.”

Rylan stepped forward and once again answered for me. “Her name is Enslee. She’s a member of this pack? Surely you know her. You should have her medical records here right?” 

The doctor’s eyes went wide again for the umpteenth time tonight. He was really horrible at hiding his expressions. “You mean the packhouse slave?” 

Rylan and I both snapped our eyes toward him. “What? Slave? What do you mean slave?” I growled at him. 

“Enslee is the personal servant to the Alpha and Luna and the Luna’s daughter. She committed a horrid crime 10 years ago and became a slave as punishment.”

I was shocked. My mate? A slave in her own pack? A criminal? What crime could she have possibly committed to deserve ten years enslaved. “What are you talking about? How do you know this?”

“Enslee has come to my nurses many times with broken bones that healed incorrectly, concussions, burns and dehydration. She was never allowed to see me, but I always heard about her injury or illness from one of the nurses.”

My heart plummeted. Not only was my mate beaten and almost r***d tonight, but she had endured other forms of hell as well. My head started spinning, and I could feel Arlo about to break down the wall that I had put up earlier. Rylan grabbed my arm and guided me to a chair by the wall. 

“Alpha, breath. She’s okay now. No one can hurt her now. Focus on the fact that you found her and nothing can hurt her now.” 

Dr. Wilson could sense my impending anger, and he started to back away. “NO! You will not leave this room until you tend to her. Help her right now!” I commanded in my alpha tone. 

Dr. Wilson bowed his head and rushed over to Enslee’s bed with a couple of nurses. They pulled the curtain that was near the bed to begin assessing all of her wounds. After half an hour, they finally reemerged. 

“Alpha, I have good news. She will heal perfectly fine. Her jaw is broken, but it will heal in 48 hours, as will her nose. The rest of the wounds on her face are just cuts and bruises. The worst of those will be healed within 24 hours. She doesn’t have anymore broken bones, so she should be fine to leave the hospital in 48 hours, pending her jaw and nose have healed correctly.”

I eyed the doctor suspiciously. “How could she heal that fast? Her face was beaten so badly.” I had seen pack guards take way longer to heal from less serious wounds.

“Well it must be her Alpha blood. You high ranking wolves do tend to heal faster than us omegas.”

I tilted my head in confusion. Alpha blood? How could the slave of the pack have alpha blood? My mate just kept getting more and more intriguing. The doctor said he’d send in a nurse every two hours to check her vitals and pain meds, and everyone finally left the room. 

I looked at Rylan who eyed the lifeless form on the hospital bed. They had taken the bloody tablecloth and dressed her in a hospital gown. Enslee was in a medically induced coma to help the healing process. 

“Alpha, I do have some information. I know you’re confused, and I may have some answers for you.” Rylan whispered softly. I was deeply touched by his concern for a girl he didn’t even know. That was Rylan though. He was loyal to his Luna, no matter who she was or what she did. 

“Her name is Enslee Ashford, and she’s the daughter of the former Alpha and Luna of the Red Moon pack. The rumor is that her father died mysteriously, and the Luna was going to take Slade as her chosen mate. Enslee is accused of killing her mother out of rage that she would take a chosen mate so soon after her father died.”

I narrowed my eyes at him and c****d my head. “She couldn’t have been more than 11 or 12 at that time. Do you really expect me to believe that a small child could carry out the murder of their own parent?” 

Rylan nodded his head, and he continued. “That’s what I thought when the kitchen Omega, Audrey, told me the story. Audrey and Enslee have been best friends for years now, so Enslee told Audrey what happened. Apparently Slade got angry with the former Luna when she rejected his offer to be her chosen mate. He strangled her in her office, while Enslee was hiding underneath a desk. She literally witnessed her mother being killed.”

I growled and gripped the armrests of my chair to keep from shifting. I wanted to rip Slade’s throat out. 

“Slade convinced the pack that Enslee somehow murdered her mom, and he forced her into slavery for the last ten years. Most of the pack members are under some strange delusion that lets them think it’s okay to enslave a child, but there are a few pack members who loathe Slade and support Enslee’s rightful claim to the title. Audrey is one of those members.” 

I closed my eyes and leaned my head back on the wall behind me. This was a lot of information to take in. My mate had suffered so much in the last decade. Both of her parents had died, she was forced to be a slave and tonight she’s almost r***d. I swore up and down that the moment she was well enough to leave this hospital that I would take her home and never look back. 

I also made an oath that I would see Slade, his Luna and her daughter burn for everything they’ve done to my mate. Everyone who ever mistreated her would pay with blood.