Moonblood

Chapter Six

Pups and Strays

EIRA

I fall to my knees as I reach a clearing, and I groan from pure exhaustion and hunger. It’s been two days!

Two days since I left Ashbane pack. Two days of trudging through the forest on an empty stomach and without sleep.

My limbs tremble and my stomach rolls violently. I haven’t been able to keep down any food. Everything I eat, no matter how little, always comes back up in less than ten minutes.

In the distance, there’s a packhouse. But I’m too tired to go there, too tired to move. I stretch my limbs on the hard ground and rest my back.

‘Just a little rest,’ I tell myself. And I close my eyes to sleep.

“Is she dead?” My eyes snap open at the question, and I blink up at the faces that hover over mine.

They shriek, and fall back.

“Oh my goodness!” One of them squeals.

I squint from the harshness of the sunlight and push a hand over my face, blocking out the light. It’s unlikely that I napped for even five minutes, judging from the tiredness I still feel.

I sit up and stare at the girls in front of me. She-wolves! My nose picks out their scent. They give me a little wave.

“Hi?” The short-haired one says. Then turns to the long-haired one when I don’t respond.

She whispers, “Can she speak?”

The long-haired one shrugs. They talk about me like I’m not there.

“Yes, I can speak,” I say, and they jump with wide eyes. They were too antsy. “My name is Eira, what’s yours?”

“I’m Asha,” The long-haired one replies, then points to the short-haired one. “This is my sister, Hana.”

“Nice to meet you both.” I manage a smile. My stomach grumbles loudly, and my cheeks heat in embarrassment.

They just stare with wide-eyes. A long moment passes with no words exchanged between either of us.

This is awkward.

I clear my throat. “Do you, perhaps, have any food?”

Asha blinks. “Urm.” She looks toward the pack house at the distance. “If you follow us home, I’m sure you can have some food.”

Hana’s eyes glaze over for a bit and then she snaps out of it. She turns to Asha. “Beta Wendy says we can bring the stray.”

The stray? What stray? I look around for strays.

“Come on, we’re allowed to bring you.” Hana reaches for my hands.

Realisation dawns on me. “Oh,” I say. “I’m the stray?”

They press their lips together, and I frown, offended. But they weren’t wrong. It’s better to be labeled a stray than a rogue.

I grudgingly reach for Hana’s outstretched hands and she pulls me up. My legs tremble and Asha rushes to my other side to hold me up.

“How long have you been without food? You look pale,” Asha comments and picks up my small backpack.

“Two days,” I murmur weakly.

“Where are you coming from? Did your pack cast you out?” Hana asks.

I shake my head. “No, I left. My mate rejected me.”

The memory brings tears to my eyes, and I sniffle. My wolf was gone too. I discovered that when I woke up hours after the rejection.

Hana inhales sharply. “Oh no, we’re so sorry.”

My heart twists in my chest. I don’t reply. They don’t pry after that, and I let them help me to their pack house.

As soon as we reach, the door opens to reveal a man and a woman. The chatters in the house reach my ears.

“Beta Felix, Beta Wendy,” Asha and Hana chorus with a bow. I manage a bow too. I hope they weren’t like Macy, I won’t be able to handle it.

“Hello, Eira,” Felix greets with a hard glare. “What pack have you come from?”

“Oh leave the girl alone, Felix. She’s already on the brink of death.” Wendy nudges him, then takes me from Asha and Hana.

“Come on,” she says. “Let’s put some food in you.”

She sits me down and places a bowl of steaming beef soup in front of me. The delicious aroma causes my stomach to rumble, I just hope it keeps this one down.

“Your hair,” Asha says, and my heart lurches. I hope they don’t taunt me for it. “It’s really pretty, unique. Where are you from?”

I shrug. “I don’t know,” I reply and stuff my mouth with food. I moan at the taste that floods my mouth.

“This is so good,” I tell Wendy. She smiles warmly at me. “Thank you.”

“It’s nothing, dear.”

“So,” I pause. “What’s the name of your pack?”

Hana frowns. “We’re a rogue pack. We don’t have a name yet, but we’re the only rogue pack on this border.”

Everyone stares at me, probably to gauge my reaction as now being part of a rogue pack. I have to admit, it wasn’t what I expected or even wanted.

But they were the nicest rogues I’ve ever met.

“Oh.” My eyes widen. “I never would’ve guessed. There’s still much to learn, isn’t there?”

Asha beams. “Yes, yes. Eat up, and rest. We’ll answer every other question later… within reason, of course.”

I nod at her and dig into my food.

It’s barely twenty minutes after eating that I feel the rumble in my stomach.

Goddess, no.

I cup my mouth and squeeze my eyes shut as nausea rolls in my tummy.

“Are you okay?” Wendy asks, placing the back of her hand on my forehead. “You look green.”

I shake my head. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

I stand to my feet and stare wide eyed at Wendy. She quickly points to the bathroom and I run in there, throwing up the delicious beef soup.

I retch violently into the toilet, and scrunch my nose at the sight.

“Goddess,” I breathe and rest on the floor. My eyes spin along with my head.

A cool hand rests on my forehead and I blink the dizziness away to find Wendy, Asha and Hana in the little bathroom.

“I think you need to see the pack healer. You’re burning up.” Wendy suggests.

I groan when a splitting headache assaults my head, and I squeeze my eyes shut.

“Hana, go get Esme, please,” Wendy says.

And that’s the last thing I hear.

***

I wake up to four familiar faces and one strange face.

“She’s awake,” someone says. I blink the fog of dizziness and sit up. I’m shocked to find myself on a bed, and in a room with herbs and spices.

“Hi, everyone,” I croak and look around the room. “Where is this?”

“It’s the pack infirmary, also known as my home,” the strange old lady with gray hair responds. “I’m Esme. The pack healer.”

“Oh, thank you,” I say.

Everyone else is quiet, even Asha and Hana. I frown as I take in their worried faces, and nervous looks.

“Is something wrong? Am I dying?” I ask. Hana averts my eyes and chews on her lip, and my heart picks up.

Their silence and solemn expression cause fear to coil in my chest. I look at Esme, and her lips are pressed into a thin line. Felix just stands at one corner with arms crossed.

“You’re not dying,” Esme says. “On the contrary, you’re carrying life.”

My brows pinch together. “Can you make that simpler?”

“You’re pregnant, Eira. You’re with pup.”

The first thing I do is blink. And then I laugh. The laughter bubbles out of my chest and spills past my lips.

But no one is laughing. In fact, their frowns deepen. And I stop abruptly.

“You’re kidding,” I plead.

Esme shakes her head slowly. Tears spring to my eyes, and lips wobble. My heart pounds in my ears.

Then, I wrap shaky hands around my tummy. “Pregnant?”

“Yes, dear.” Esme nods solemnly.

And the tears fall. I press on my stomach and I sob.

What do I do with a pup? I’m only still so young.

I have no wolf, I have no mate… I have no pack.

Yet, I’m pregnant. And it’s Cassian’s.

Do I go back to Ashbane pack and tell him?