Finally Finding My Luna

Chapter 18

{Zader POV}

After a long day of pitches and business meetings, I was exhausted and ready to go home. I glanced at my watch and saw that it was 5:00 pm. Fantastic. I stayed too long again. I looked up around the office floor and noticed that everyone else had already left. It was the day before New Year’s Eve, so it didn’t surprise me that some of the employees had left early. 

They had tomorrow and the next day off. Normally I would work half days for both days, but not this year. I had a mate to go home to. I shoved all of the papers into my desk drawers and shut down my computer. I grabbed the small briefcase that I carried and headed down to my car. 

I drove the thirty minutes home and pulled into the garage. I didn’t bother making someone come down and take my car for me, since I wasn’t in a huge hurry. I opened the door and stepped out of the car. Enslee’s scent hit me almost immediately, along with a foreign unmated male’s scent. 

The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and I let out a low growl. I searched the garage for people, but I was alone. That is when I noticed the Jeep Wrangler was missing. I furrowed my brows and went in search of my mate and potentially my car. 

I walked through the living room and up to our floor. I looked in all of the rooms, but she was still nowhere to be found. I changed into some jeans and a t-shirt, and I looked at the time. 5:49 pm. I knew that Enslee was probably hungry, so I went to the dining hall. 

When I walked in I immediately spotted her at the head table at the front of the room. She was sitting with Renley and Carina chatting and laughing over her plate of lasagna. I smiled at my gorgeous mate and secured my own plate of food. I went up to the table and sat down right next to her. It was only then that she noticed my presence. 

“Oh my goddess! You scared me Zader.” She slapped my arm slightly. 

I chuckled and just shook my head. “All I did was show up and set my food down. You must be on edge.”

Her lips pressed together in a thin line. “Well I guess so, but I missed you regardless.” She leaned over and put a kiss on my cheek, which of course sped my heartrate up to an abnormally fast pace.

“Where is Brett and Davian?”

Carina smiled but took an intense interest in her food and avoided my gaze. Renley elbowed my mate in the side and got up to refill her glass. I turned to Enslee for answers and she started blushing. 

“Davian went to post a guard outside of Analia’s hotel room. Brett is taking care of the new patrol schedule.”

My mouth opened and closed like a fish’s. I was searching for the words to say when the two in question set their plates down along the table next to their mate’s spots. I looked at both of them with one eyebrow raised. “Boys, no offense but you made some pretty big decisions without prior approval. Davian, who did you post outside of Analia’s room? And Brett, what is the new schedule for patrols? I don’t remember telling you boys either…”

Davian and Brett looked at each other, but they didn’t speak. It wasn’t like them to make rash decisions without my say so, and it surely wasn’t like them to not speak to me when asked a question. 

A voice finally spoke, but it wasn’t theirs. “I told them to do it. I found out about all of the stuff you men thought you could hide from us girls… I told Davian to post Asher Wilson and Brett to double the patrols. I also didn’t announce either of these events to any pack members and asked that they don’t either. I didn’t want to create panic in the pack members, especially when it seems that the high ranking members are the ones being targeted.”

I was stunned. My mate was amazing, and she was already the Luna I needed and my pack needed. She looked at me and bit her lip. “Are you mad?”

I wrapped her in my arms pulling her out of her own chair into my lap and kissed her long and deeply. I finally pulled away and she giggled. “I guess not.”

I laughed at how cute she was. “No sweetheart. I am so proud of you. But how did you figure out all this stuff?”

She smiled and started blushing. “I forced everyone to tell me what I’d been missing. See, I had taken a joy ride in your Jeep with Asher because I wanted to see the territory. I met some pack members and they were making comments that had me concerned. So I found the truth. By the way, I think we should talk about this mandate of us completing the mating process or the pack having to...ya know.”

My mouth dropped. Of course she would have figured that out. “Alright babe. After we eat dinner, we can go upstairs and talk about it. I was planning on visiting Analia and Rylan. Do you want to go?”

She nodded with a mouthful of lasagna. “Yes, I was debating whether I should go. I’m glad you asked because I wanted to go see how she was doing. She helped me that first night we all met, and Rylan was there to help too. I am grateful for their help and support of you as their Alpha. It’s the least we can do.”

---

Enslee and I walked into the hospital and down the hallway to Analia’s room. Sure enough there was a young blonde standing outside the door at strict attention. It was almost comical to see him so serious. 

“Asher, how are you?” Enslee asked very sweetly, and the kid almost immediately melted. 

“Oh hi Luna! I am doing well. Thank you for recommending me for this job. It’s an honor to guard the Betas, and my parents were both so proud that I was asked by name. I--” His words cut off when he finally glanced over Enslee’s shoulder to see me standing there. 

I knew who this kid was. I had seen him in the training fields and in the cafeteria with his group of buddies. They often bullied the omegas and weaker wolves. I knew he’d been reprimanded by Davian during training for his behavior. 

“Uh...uh Alpha! Hello sir. I uh..” Enslee reached out a hand and laid it on the young boy’s shoulder. 

“It’s okay Asher. He’s just here to visit Analia and Rylan. Why don’t you go grab some dinner while we’re here? We won’t leave them until you get back.”

Asher nodded and bid us both good evening before scurrying off down the hallway. I looked over at Enslee and chuckled. “Why was he so terrified to see me? And why are you two such good friends?”

“Well he was scared of you because he thought you were here to punish him for what happened at lunch. He’s friends with me because he taught me how to drive today and took me out in the pack territory.”

That explained the unknown male scent in my garage. “Oh, and what happened at lunch today?”

Enslee bit her lip. “Well he may have thrown a pitcher of water on my head and pushed me down.”

I growled lowly and started to take a step in the kid’s direction, but Enslee’s hand on my shoulder stopped me. “Wait! Brett already almost broke his arm. The poor kid didn’t know I was the future Luna. Plus, we promised we wouldn’t leave Analia’s room until he got back. It’s okay. He apologized and made up for it by being my personal guide today.”

I breathed it deeply and looked at my tiny mate. She truly was amazing and born to be my Luna. Little did she know that she was also a rare Kinsmir wolf. I didn’t even know what that meant, but I would in a couple of days. I would also figure out what a Epsilon wolf was too, what I was. 

“Alright babe, you’re right. Let’s go see our friends.”

I mindlinked Rylan to make sure we could come in, and he said it was okay. We softly opened the door and saw Rylan in wolf form sitting on his haunches on the floor. He huffed to greet our arrival, and we started mindlinking as Enslee went to sit by Analia’s unconscious form. 

Rylan, how is everything?

It’s not good Z. She’s not responding to the treatment, and the doctor told me that if she doesn’t come out of the coma soon, it would start to affect the pup negatively. 

What is his plan to get her out of the coma?

Rylan was silent. I tried to hide my concern from Enslee’s piercing gaze, but I didn’t know how well it was working. 

He doesn’t have one.

What do you mean he doesn’t have one???

Every plan he has has a high chance of killing the pup. I know that Analia would rather have herself be harmed rather than the slightest risk of hurting our baby. She and I talked about it when she first found out she was pregnant. In case something like this ever happened where she couldn’t make choices for herself. I just never thought it would.

Rylan, I’m so so---

Our mindlink was cut off by a frantic coughing in the corner. I immediately jerked up checking to see if Enslee was alright, but I was so shocked by what I saw instead. Enslee’s eyes were glowing, and her hand was on Analia’s arm. 

Analia was coughing at the feeding tube and breathing tubes that had been inserted in her throat. She fought and clawed at the tubes that were restricting her airway and eventually got them out. 

Her eyes batted open and she started searching the room. Only when she saw Rylan’s wolf Fraser did she relax. Enslee started to crumple on the other side of the hospital bed as Analia regained consciousness and came back to her senses.

I rushed to catch my mate as she dropped lifeless into my arms. I checked for a pulse, and luckily it was still strong. Analia started yanking the IVs and sensors out of her arms and off of her body. The heart monitor let out a long slow beep to notify everyone that there wasn’t a heartbeat detectable. 

Nurses and the doctor came rushing in the room, which set Fraser into a frenzy trying to guard Analia from the sudden intrusion. He growled really loudly to warn everyone to stay back, but he finally realized who everyone was. Fraser stepped back and let everyone see that Analia was actually alive and not dead contrary to the loud beep’s warning. 

“I am alright!! Will someone turn off that damn machine?” Analia was grabbing her head and covering her ears. Doctor Stevens reached over and yanked the cord out of the wall. 

“How are you awake?? You were in a coma, and there wasn’t a good chance that you’d recover normally let alone wake on your own only 18 hours later!!”

Dr. Stevens was really upset and confused by Analia’s sudden recovery, and I could understand his emotions. I was freaked the hell out because I had seen something he hadn’t. I knew why Analia was awake all of a sudden, but I couldn’t let him know that. 

“We don’t know Dr. Stevens. She just woke up.”

He gave me a sideways glance and so did Analia. I quickly mindlinked her.

Analia, I will explain later, but for right now please let me do the speaking.

I saw her slightly nod her head, and I relaxed a little bit. “Well why is your mate passed out now?”

I internally sighed and tried to think of something. “Dr. Stevens, I believe she fainted at my miraculous recovery. I think the shock was a bit much for her.”

Analia came to my rescue, and I mindlinked her to thank her. Dr. Stevens took a look at Analia while I sat down in a chair beside the bed and pulled Enslee into my lap and held her against me tightly. I listened to her heartbeat and glanced at Rylan who was intently watching his own mate as the medical staff checked her over. 

“Beta, it looks like Analia and the pup are in perfect health. I have to be honest, I wasn’t hopeful that the pup would have survived much longer without deficits or even survive at all.”

Analia stifled a gasp and Rylan laid his head on her legs. Dr. Stevens and the nurses left the room. I saw Rylan start to shift, so I looked down at my mate to avert my gaze. He grabbed a pair of shorts from the bedside table, and he cleared his throat to let me know he was good.

“Hey man, long time no see.” I chuckled at him. He smiled back at me as he shifted Analia slightly to sit in the bed beside her. 

“Yeah man. Fraser was just super nervous after everything that happened in the past 24 hours, especially us not being able to protect her during any of it. He wanted to stay on guard in case anything else happened. Is Enslee okay?”

She was sleeping in my arms soundly, and my heart leapt at the sight of it. “Yeah, I think she’s just sleeping.”

Analia took her turn to ask questions. “What the hell happened?”

Rylan looked at me for answers. “Well honey, I really don’t know. Zader was the one who found you. Z?”

At this point Enslee started stirring and opening her eyes. “What happened?” I chuckled softly at her question that she didn’t realize had already been asked. 

“Hey sweetheart, everything is okay. I was just about to tell Analia everything that happened from the start. I will get to you soon, okay?”

She smiled softly at me and batted her eyes. Enslee didn’t make a move to sit up, so I simply shifted her weight so that she could see Analia and Rylan across from us. 

“Well Analia, there is a lot of catching up for you, but I will let Rylan explain the rest. Brett and I were meeting in my office making some plans, while Rylan was out visiting Davian and Carina.”

Analia glared up at her mate, and he shrugged his shoulders. I decided it was best to keep everyone on track, so I continued my story. “I got this strange vision of you being choked by someone in your bedroom, so I shifted and ran down to you. I killed the guy that was strangling you, and we rushed you here. Rylan got here about an hour later and stayed by your side since.”

Analia nodded her head and snuggled closer into Rylan’s chest. “We came to the hospital to visit of course, when Rylan and I started talking. Enslee grabbed Analia’s hand. Then her eyes just started glowing, and that’s when Analia started to wake up. Enslee started to pass out, and you have been asleep ever since. But it’s only been a few minutes sweetheart.” 

I finished telling the story, and Enslee’s eyes were so wide. “I didn’t realize what I was doing. I just went to hold Analia’s hand and thought about wishing she was better. Then I woke up here.”

I looked at Rylan and Analia, and they were clearly as shocked as Enslee. As bad as I wanted to let them in on the secret, I had to keep my promise to Joanna. Enslee would know, but I wouldn’t tell anyone else until after I had all of the information about what we were. 

Dr. Stevens came back to check on Analia once more before she was officially released. We all made our way back to the packhouse for the night. About halfway back, we met Asher coming our direction. Enslee greeted him. 

“Hey Asher! Sorry that we didn’t mindlink you, but it’s been pretty crazy for the last hour.” 

Asher chuckled and glanced at Analia and Rylan. “I see that. Beta Female, are you feeling better?”

I noticed a shiver run down Rylan’s spine, and I subtly put a hand on his shoulder to calm him. His testosterone was spiking from being overprotective of Analia. She had been hurt and attacked a lot in the past few days, and he felt guilty for not being there to protect her. 

“I am feeling better, thanks Asher. Sorry that you didn’t get to finish your job. But Rylan and I both appreciated the extra security while I was out.”

She elbowed Rylan in the gut not so subtly. “Uh...yeah. We appreciated it.”

She rolled her eyes at her mate that wasn’t as congenial as she was. I laughed under my breath and Enslee had to stifle a giggle of her own. I tucked her under my arm and brought her close to my side. She wrapped her arms around me and squeezed tightly. It felt amazing to have her so close to me. My life was finally complete with her in it. 

“Well the Luna is the one that asked for me by name to guard you. It was truly an honor.” Asher bowed slightly in Enslee’s direction, and my smile widened. I was so proud of her already just for being her, but she was continuing to impress me everyday. 

Asher took off back up the path towards the packhouse and left us to walk more slowly behind him. 

“Enslee, you were the one that had him posted outside our door?” Rylan sounded touched by her action. 

“Yes, Rylan. After everything you all have done for me, it was the least I could do. Analia is my friend, and you are Zader’s. Since my parents died, this is the closest thing to family other than Audrey and her parents kind of taking me in.”

I kissed the top of her head and we continued to walk back home. We all got in the elevator and went up to our floors. Enslee and I got to ours and headed straight for the bed. I was exhausted from the long day at the office and the night we’d just had. 

“Listen, I need to talk to you about something.” I put my hand on Enslee’s shoulders and guided her to the bed.

---

{Enslee’s POV}

I sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at my handsome mate. There was clearly something else bothering him. I could tell in the hospital, but I didn’t say anything because he clearly didn’t feel comfortable sharing in front of Analia and Rylan. 

He knelt down on the ground in front of me. I placed my hands in his and studied him intently. “It’s okay. You can tell me. I trust you, and I will be there for you.”

I leaned down and gave him a kiss on the nose. He chuckled but the happy mood didn’t last long. He cleared his throat and squeezed my hands as he started talking. “Well baby, I appreciate that, but this is about you too actually. I had a conversation with the Head Elder this morning over the phone. I told her about some of the strange things that have been happening lately with rogue attacks on Analia and your premonitions and my visions.”

I nodded and bit my inner lip. I was very nervous about what he was going to say next. We hadn’t really told anyone outside of our circle of trust that these crazy things were happening for fear of retribution and fear from our pack members. 

“She told me that both of us were special types of wolves and very rare. Apparently there is a history behind what we are, and she’s coming the day after tomorrow to meet with me secretly to tell me the rest of our history.”

I looked at him with curiosity in my eyes. “What are we?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “She only told me the name of our species, not anything else. She said I was an epsilon wolf and that you were a kinsmir wolf.”

I slowly nodded my head trying the new title out in my head. Kinsmir wolf. What was a kinsmir wolf? What did that make me? Was that a good thing? What if it meant I was bad or evil? My thoughts started tumbling out of control and I started thinking about all of the worse case scenarios. 

Zader stood immediately and wrapped me in a hug so tight, I thought I might break. I let out a quiet squeak and gasped for air. Luckily he heard me and loosened his grip. “What’s wrong? I felt your anxiety rising.”

For a split second I couldn’t feel the anxiety through my confusion. “What do you mean you could feel my anxiety?”

Zader leaned away from me to look me in the eye. “I don’t understand how, but I could feel it. I somehow realized it was coming from you and not myself. I just had the urge to comfort you, and when you are shifting in your sleep that is the way I bring you back to me.”

I snuggled into his chest and a yawn escaped. “Tired huh?” 

I nodded and let out a breath. He picked me up and tucked me under the covers. “I guess saving lives and bringing people out of mysterious comas can do that to you. You’ve had a big day sweetheart. Time for you to get some rest.”

I agreed that my day was long, but I knew I wouldn’t get much sleep if I didn’t clear my mind. “Hey Zader?”

He looked up at me and raised his eyebrows waiting. “You don’t think that being a kinsmir wolf is a bad thing, do you?”

He stroked my cheek with his hand and kissed my forehead. “No sweetheart. I am sure that whatever it means, it’s a good thing. Nothing about you could be bad or evil. No matter what it means, I will love you regardless.”

He hugged me tight, flipped out the lights and took his place on the couch as usual. We both fell asleep quickly and gave our thoughts to the oblivion that is sleep.