Finally Finding My Luna

Chapter 16

{Zader POV}

Rylan was looking at me expectantly, and I offered a sheepish smile. “Yeah, she did say that. She didn’t want to say anything in front of everyone. Enslee is very modest about her strength as an alpha female. But yeah, she killed the others. Renley and Carina definitely helped though, and she couldn’t have taken all three of them of course.”

His eyes went wide and his mouth dropped. “I didn’t realize she knew how to fight, what with her growing up as a slave for her entire teen years.”

Usually wolves started training as a teenager, but Enslee didn’t have that opportunity. They certainly weren’t going to let her train to fight as a slave and captive. Her pack wouldn’t risk her being taught how to defend herself or to gain strength. That’s why they starved her and beat her regularly. 

“As far as I know, she doesn’t have any formal training. She did say that her wolf was practically screaming for them to shift, and she just followed her gut instinct. She said that moments after they shifted was when the first wolf showed up.”

Brett and Rylan both c****d their heads in amazement. “I think it might have something to do with whatever she is that makes her special. I think it’s a power she has, somehow able to sense immediate danger. I don’t know for sure though, but she said she had never experienced that before.”

They both started thinking to themselves, and I got curious myself. I knew we’d have to consult the Elder council on this to see if they had any information. I am sure they’d heard of the news that I’d found my true mate, and they’d want to know the progress of our mating bond. I made a mental note to call the head Elder to update them and see if there was any research they could do on Enslee and what she might be. 

“I will call tomorrow to see if the Elders know anything about her. For now, someone better go find Davian. I know he was pretty upset when he mindlinked me earlier to notify me of the dead prisoner. He had left before I could get down here.”

Flashback

---

I had just rolled over and shut my eyes to join Enslee in sleep. She was breathing softly in the bed across the room and I smiled listening to the sounds of my mate sleeping peacefully. 

All of a sudden, an urgent poking came through in my mind. Only high ranking mates and my top pack guard, Davian, could reach me when I had mentally put up a block. I opened the intellectual wall and let whoever it was through. I expected it to be Rylan reporting the condition of his mate, but I was sorely mistaken. 

‘Davian? What’s wrong?’

His voice in my head was frantic with worry and rage. ‘Alpha, I don’t know what happened. I went to take Carina up to our house and put her in bed to go to sleep. After that I came straight back to the dungeon to check the prisoner and to see if I could coax him into shifting back to his human form…’

His voice trailed off and I could hear a growl from his wolf. ‘What is it Davian? What happened?’

‘He was already back to human, but he’s dead. I discovered a bottle of pills next to his body, and they are wolfsbane. I assume he hid them under his tongue in his wolf form in case he were to get captured. I don’t know how many he took, but his death was quick and painless. He got off easy! Damn it!! I didn’t have the guards check him!!’

‘Davian, it’s alright. I will come down now and we can talk about it. Everything will be okay.’

He was too upset with himself to listen. ‘No, it’s my fault. All of it. I wasn’t there to protect the girls, Rylan’s unborn child, my future Luna...my own mate for crying out loud. Rylan was so angry when we got home, and I knew he’d want to get revenge for what happened. Now he can’t, because of me..again.’

The mindlink suddenly cut off, and I couldn’t reach him any longer.

---

I had quietly left and made my way quickly to the underground dungeon to convince Davian that it wasn’t his fault and no one blamed him for what had happened. He had already torn out of the dungeon, and I followed his scent outside where I saw the tracks of his wolf.

I had mindlinked Brett to come down to talk about what we should do. We were in the middle of talking about it when Rylan came through to tell me about Analia’s checkup. It was a few hours before he got to join us. 

“Yeah, I will go track him down. I know he feels really guilty and all, but he really shouldn’t I might swing by his house to get Carina. He may not listen to anyone but her.”

I nodded and agreed with him. “You’re right. Go get her and fill her in on what happened, but tell her to not say anything to my mate. Enslee’s fragile from her assault and having to kill two people tonight.”

Brett cleared his throat and raised his hand. “Also my mate please. I love Renley, but she’s so innocent. She knows how to fight, but she doesn’t know how to kill. She was so shaken up about the fact that she almost had to kill that wolf but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. I don’t want her to know that we didn’t get any answers.”

Rylan let out a long breath and agreed that his mate wouldn’t know either. “She’s already freaking out about the fact that the baby is coming sooner than she expected, so I definitely don’t want her to know that he died without giving us information.”

We all agreed that the girls should remain in the dark, and we would tell them something when we knew something. Rylan headed out of the dungeon, while Brett and I headed for my office. It was already 2:00 am, and I would leave for the office in 5 hours. I knew I would be tired at work tomorrow, but I wanted to do some strategic planning.

My office was right down the hall from the door to my living quarters, and Enslee’s future office was across the hall from mine. We were halfway through getting the patrols reconfigured to try to remain unpredictable for the rogues that had been observing our pack recently. 

My wolf came forward and started getting agitated. He was wanting to shift.

I think we need to go to our Beta Female. She’s in trouble. 

A brief thought flashed through my head as I saw an image of Analia writhing on the floor with hands around her neck. The vision was so surreal that I stood up and backed into the wall behind my chair. 

I yanked the door open and ran down to the sixth floor. I rushed into the bedroom, with Brett hot on my heels. What I found chilled me to the bone all while enraging me enough to make my blood boil. It was the exact scene in my vision. In that split second Arlo came forward and we shifted smoothly. 

I let out a roar that had the man on top of Analia turning to defend himself, but he was far too late. I ripped his head clean off of his body before he could shift into wolf form. Brett stayed human and picked Analia up carrying her out of the room. I dropped the severed head and let it roll across the floor next to the body that lay lifeless beside the bed. 

I sniffed the air to make sure he was the only one, and I didn’t smell any other foreign scents. He was definitely a rogue though, and I had no idea how he’d gotten past our borders, across the pack territory, into the packhouse and onto a high ranking pack member’s floor. I was beyond pissed at this. 

I walked down the hall where Brett sat on the couch holding Analia’s unconscious body in his arms. He felt for a pulse. 

“She’s alive, but her pulse is shallow. She needs to go to the hospital, now.”

I mindlinked him since I couldn’t speak verbally in my wolf form.

Get on my back and hold her. I am faster as a wolf.

Brett wasted no time carrying Analia to the elevator. He was a good Gamma, especially in times like this. 

Mindlink the patrol guards and have them post outside of the doors to your floor and mine. We don’t know if he was alone or if there are others going after our mates as well. 

Brett spoke out loud to confirm my order and we got down to the main floor. Once out in the driveway I laid down on my stomach to allow Brett to climb on with Analia. Arlo sprinted as fast as he could to get to the hospital, and we all burst through the ER doors. The head nurse looked startled as hell to see my large black wolf with Brett and Analia on his back. 

“Get Dr. Stevens in here NOW! The Beta Female was attacked, and she’s pregnant. Get someone to bring the Alpha a change of clothes.”

The tiny brunette sprinted off down a hallway, and Brett followed closely behind carrying the limp body of Analia. I watched with worry and sadness in my heart. Brett, Rylan and I had grown up together. We wer all best friends and had dreamed about the day when we’d all be mated and starting our families. That day was here, but instead of being happy about it, we were all fighting an invisible enemy that wanted to kill our mates and Rylan’s pup. 

I had no idea why someone would target my pack and my Betas and Gammas. No one had attacked us like this before. Analia had been mated to Rylan for two years. It wasn’t until we got back from the Christmas Ball that these attacks became so personal and close to home. I sighed and knew I would have to be the one to mindlink Rylan. Brett was too busy taking care of his mate. 

I opened my mindlink and began searching for my Beta to tell him about his mate who was now lying in a hospital bed fighting for her life. 

--- 

{Rylan POV}

I walked up the front steps to Davian’s and Carina’s little cottage. They lived close to the tree line of the forest in a cute house that was gray with yellow shutters. Davian grew up in this house, and Carina had loved its charm. 

I knocked on the door cursing myself for having to wake her up. I was sure she was exhausted just like the other girls. She had fought the rogue and helped defend my mate, and for that I owed her big time. I wouldn’t have bothered her, unless it was really important. I knew she wouldn’t be mad, especially when she learned it was about Davian. 

About five minutes passed by before she opened the door and flipped on the porch light. She rubbed her eyes sleepily before she opened them and looked at me. “Oh! Beta Rylan, I am so sorry I made you wait. I was getting dressed before I came down. What can I help you with?”

I smiled warmly at her, but it quickly faded away when I remembered my reason for the visit. “Carina, you don’t have to apologize. I should be for waking you up at this hour of night, but I wouldn’t if I didn’t absolutely have to. It’s Davian, and I need your help.”

A look of alarm crossed her face, and she immediately stepped out on the porch with me. “Where is he? Is he alright?”

“Yes, well sort of. Physically he’s fine. Listen, we need to talk for a minute so I can explain.”

We sat in the rocking chairs while I told her the story of how the prisoner committed suicide and Davian took off into the woods out of guilt and pain for what he thought was his fault. 

“Of course, none of us blame him for what happened, for any of it. I am going after him to tell him that, but I thought you might want to accompany me. He may not listen to anyone but you right now. Zader said he was pretty upset with himself.”

“Of course Rylan. I will help you find him and talk to him.”

I sighed and stood up. “One more thing Carina. We aren’t telling any of the high ranking females. They are all fragile right now for their own reasons, and we don’t want them to know that the prisoner died without giving us intel.”

A grim line formed on her lips and she looked up at me with a stare that could make any wolf quiver in fear. Davian had really met his match. 

“Beta Rylan, you know I won’t go against a direct order from my superior, but you also know how hard it will be to keep a secret like that from my best friends…”

I laughed and rolled my eyes at her. “Yes Carina, girl code and all that. But this is really important. I wouldn’t ask you to keep a secret unless it was what was best for them.”

She nodded and we walked to the back porch. While nakedness is very common amongst wolves, since we’re always shifting and such, we still tried to respect each other’s privacy as much as possible. I stripped out of my clothes and folded them and laid them on the porch steps while Carina turned her back to me. I shifted into Fraser and let out a yip when I was fully wolf to let her know it was her turn. 

I laid down facing the woods while she did the same. A few moments later she rubbed against my side to let me know she was ready to go. We couldn’t yet mindlink since she wasn’t formally a member of the pack. I nudged her in the shoulder with my nose to signal her to take the lead. 

As Davian’s mate, she would have the strongest sense of his scent and could track him better than I could. She lifted her nose in the air and started searching for his scent. A few seconds later her dark brown wolf darted into the treeline wasting no time. Fraser immediately followed and honestly had a hard time keeping up with the small wolf leading him. She was very fast. 

I figured it was because she knew her mate needed her and could smell his anxiety. Wolves emit very strong scents when in distress, so it wasn’t very long before we caught onto his trail as well. It was very old, but still strong. He must be very upset. After a couple of hours of tracking we found him deep in the mountains that were north of our pack territory. 

His light yellow wolf was curled in a pile in the middle of a clearing with the moonlight on him. Davian’s wolf perked his ears when he heard our approach and he stood with a growl. It wasn’t very long before he realized who we were and he stopped growling and plopped back down in a big heap. 

I immediately shifted back into my human form, and Carina’s wolf kept her eyes averted. 

“Davian, I know you can hear me. You shouldn’t feel bad about what happened tonight, any of it. Everyone’s okay, and it wasn’t your fault. The girls took care of themselves, just like they were trained to do. Analia is fine, and so is the baby. The doc gave her a clean bill of health.”

It doesn’t matter. She could have been hurt or killed. So could have my own mate for that matter. I should have stayed closer to them. 

I heard his voice come through in my mind, and I sat down in the dirt across from him to look him in the eyes. “You couldn’t have taken on three wolves all alone. No one could have. They would have had to shift and defend themselves anyways. No one blames you. Not me, or Brett or Zader. We’re all just thankful you were there to help them get home.”

That’s besides the point. It’s my job as the head guard to ensure prisoners are held for questioning and receive the punishment they deserve. I didn’t think to check him since he was in wolf form. He got out easy because of that mistake.

“Davian, no one thought to check him since he was in wolf form. No one could have predicted that he would smuggle pills in his mouth! Even if you had found the pills, he probably would have killed himself some other way. He was determined to die, the method probably didn’t matter all that much.”

I patted Carina to tell her that it was her turn to comfort her mate who was clearly still upset. They conversed silently for some time before Davian mindlinked me again. 

Carina has threatened to move out if I don’t man up and get over my pity party. I still want to apologize for everything that’s happened, and I promise to get you and Analia the justice you deserve. 

“We’ll discuss that at a later time. For now, let’s all go get some re--”

I was cut off by a mindlink coming through.

Rylan, we need you at the hospital. It’s Analia, she’s been attacked. It’s not looking good Rylan. You need to get here fast.

My whole world started spinning out of control, and before I knew it we were running in wolf form. I don’t remember consciously making the decision to shift, but apparently I had. I could feel Davian flanking my right with Carina on the left. My heart warmed at their loyalty. They had no idea why we were running, but they followed regardless. 

I pushed Fraser as fast as he could possibly run and headed for the hospital. It took about an hour to get there after trekking so far north to find Davian. I burst through the doors in wolf form and found Zader’s wolf laying in the floor in front of the nurse’s desk. 

Zader, where is she?

He got up and trotted quickly down the hallway and nodded his head toward a hospital room door. It was slightly ajar, and I could smell Analia on the other side. I spotted Brett sitting in a chair beside her bed, and I nudged the door open. 

Brett, I am here now. How is she doing?

He turned and stood as I entered the room. My wolf was very large, and I had to creep by him so I didn’t bump into him as I made my way to the other side of her bed. “Rylan, she’s in a coma. The attacker choked her too long, and she lost air for several minutes.”

What happened?

“You better ask Zader. He’s the one that somehow knew she was in trouble and actually saved her.”

The pain that consumed me was surreal and crippling. I closed my eyes, and my wolf let out a soft whine at the inner pain we both started feeling. Fraser hadn’t seen his own mate in months. Analia wasn’t able to shift while pregnant, or it could kill the unborn pup. Her wolf wouldn’t be able to come out until at least a month after she’d given birth. 

While I really yearned to shift back to my human form, I knew that Fraser was just as protective of our mate as I was. He wanted to stay in wolf form in case we needed to protect her again. I truly hoped that the attacks were over and done with, but I knew deep down that this was only the beginning. 

I decided to step back and let Fraser take control so I could mindlink Zader to find out just what happened to Analia in my absence. 

Alpha, do you have time to talk?

Of course Brett, how’s she doing?

She’s in a coma right now. Brett said that she lost air for so long and it really harmed her. He also said that I should ask you what happened?

Well we came into the bedroom and there was a rogue in human form on top of her on the floor. I had already shifted, so I simply tore his head off of his body and didn’t give him a chance to even think about what was happening. He had been choking your mate to death and she was unconscious when Brett and I brought her here.

But how did you know she was in trouble? Brett said you ‘somehow’ knew. What did he mean by that?

It was silent in my head for a few long moments before Zader spoke again. 

Well I don’t really know how I knew. My wolf just suddenly came forward telling me to shift. Out of nowhere I got a vision of Analia laying on the floor being choked by the rogue. I was seeing something that was happening a floor away at that exact moment. I have no idea how, but that is the truth. It’s never happened to me before.

I thought about what Zader had said and remembered his story about Enslee’s wolf telling her to shift just before the attack earlier in the night. 

That sounds very similar to your mate’s apparent premonition of the wolves in the city. It was like she knew something bad was about to happen before it did. You saw something bad happening while it was ongoing, even though you weren’t in the same place. Do you think that maybe both of you are special?

Zader was quiet for a moment, and I guessed that he was thinking about the possibility.

I don’t know. I feel like if I was special, my parents surely would have told me by now?

Unless they didn’t know themselves. They might have been like Enslee, unaware of their bloodlines or whatever it is that makes you special. 

That’s true. I will definitely have to mention my own apparent abilities to the Elders when I call tomorrow. 

I let the mindlink fade and turned my full attention to my mate. Fraser laid down in the floor by Analia’s bed and strained to listen for her steady heartbeat. He was worried about her, but he was happy to be so near after everything that had happened in the past 24 hours. We lay there throughout the night not closing our eyes for sleep to guard our mate and make sure nothing went wrong.