Midnight Moon's new Luna

Chapter 6 - Not Forever

Caleb

“Why won't she go with me?!” I complained to my Beta, Jacob, after explaining my situation to him. He was lying in a hospital bed, bandages wrapped around his torso, right arm and leg, and his head. He had an IV and was on strong painkillers, but he was still clear of mind. It took a lot of drugs to affect us two-natured. We were waiting for the medical truck to be prepared, that would take us back to Midnight Moon.

“Isn’t it obvious?” he asked, “It should be. Anyways, I know you have been wondering about, and looking for your mate for a couple of years now. But my mind is somewhat preoccupied by my injuries and pain! Have you made sure our hospital is ready for me?”

“Of course,” I said.

“Good. You can still focus on your duties then.”

I considered that. I’d actually told them to prepare for him a couple of days ago, when he was still unconscious. But since he had only gotten better since then, it shouldn’t be a problem. However, I should probably give them an update on the way back.

“Whatever…” I snarled. “We are going back home. She can do as she pleases.”

“You know this doesn't have to be a goodbye. You have a duty to your pack. She had a duty to her mother. It’s not forever,” Jake said.

“She made her choice! She made it clear I'm not a priority to her.”

“You’re an i***t…”

“What did you say?” I was getting angry again. I was already upset. I didn't need attitude from my second in command. He rolled his eyes but changed the subject.

“It’s not goodbye forever, and you know it.”

I was about to interject, but he spoke right over me. “If you thought it was, why not just reject her then and there, and save the both of you a lot of trouble? No, you didn’t. You have every intention of seeing her again. For now, you are just frustrated and behaving like a petulant child because she didn’t come with you.”

I growled at him. “Is that how you speak to your Alpha?”

“As you Beta and friend, it’s what I need you to hear. But for now, we have other important things to discuss, so try to put her out of your mind for a minute. Have you thought about what to do about all these attacks on our packland? It’s getting worse and worse.”

“I don’t see a way as long as Cedric is the Alpha,” I muttered. Why was she so stubborn?

“He’s still rather young, and he doesn't have any heirs, which is kind of the problem. I know you don’t want to, but we could just give him what he wants.”

“You know as well as I do that that isn’t an option!” I said. “We are better than that. We’ll have to find another solution.”

There was a knock at the door and a nurse peeked her head in. The truck was ready. Jake was carefully moved to the bed at the back of the ambulance-like vehicle. I strapped in on a chair next to him.

“You know she is planning to go through her first shift here. At the hospital, in an empty room.”

“Well… That is her choice then,” he said, but I could hear in his voice he thought it was a bad idea. “Speaking of choice, you’re set on not giving in to Cedric, then?”

“Of course! We are not giving in to the devil. She’s a child!”

“Fine!” He looked at me, and gave me his signature crooked smile. “I just had to be sure you were set on this. I can’t wait for payback.”

Smiling like that, with his bruised face, he looked wicked. Maybe I shouldn’t send Jake out to the border so often. He was a good fighter, but far from the best. The reason I sent him to do a runaround of our borders every day was that there was nobody who was a better tracker than him. He didn’t go alone, though. I always sent two warriors with him. But I needed to know if enemy warriors had been scouting along the border, or even crossed, without our patrols noticing. Jake would know if they had been there, and he could track their movements.

Many had been surprised when I chose Jake as my Beta. They’d thought I would pick Ben, who now served as my Gamma. Ben was a great fighter, and he enjoyed training our younglings. He was a good father, patient and intelligent. He was great in the gamma role, and would probably have been a good Beta as well.

Jake could hold his own in a battle. But he thought he was better than he actually was. That led him to take risks, which in turn led to him getting hurt. But I needed him by my side. For me specifically, he was the better Beta. He understood me, and could calm me down when my emotions took control. He made me into a better Alpha.

“Laila will be happy to have me back at Midnight Moon,” Jake said. “She’s had to take care of John all by herself.”

Laila was Jake's mate and wife, and they had a 5-month-old son together.

“That’s the best part about being part of a pack, Jake,” I said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You’re never alone. All she needs to do is to ask, and she’ll have all the help she needs.”

“You know her. She’s too proud to ask for help. I’m not really in shape to play with John, but I can at least watch him, if she needs some alone time or a nap.”

“You’ll be in the hospital. At least for a while.”

“I’ll get dr. Gonzalez to prescribe me some pain meds, and send me on my way,” he said.

“Good luck,” I chuckled, “you know as well as I do that she won’t let you leave until she, herself, decides you’re well enough.”

“You mark my words,” he said, “I’ll be out of the hospital before the week is out.”

I truly hoped that would be the case. I could manage for a while without him, but I relied on Jake. And with the near constant border attacks, as well as this whole Vera-thing distracting me, I could really use him.

“Do you think the goddess always gets it right, Jake?” I asked. “When choosing your mate, I mean.”

“Far be it for me to question the goddess. But I do know there’s no one more perfect for me than Laila. In our case, she got it right. It’s like we were made for each other.”

“Say you and Laila never met. Then what?”

“The Goddess doesn't give you a mate, and then dosen't make sure the two of you meet,” he said. “She doesn't work like that.”

“Humor me,” I insisted.

“Well, if we hadn’t ever met, then I’d never be whole. A part of me would be missing. And the sad part is that I’m not even sure I’d notice.”

We sat in silence for a few minutes before Jacob broke it. “You asked her what pack she’s from, right?”

“Crescent Moon.”

“It’s not close, but neither is it on the other side of the country,” Jake said. “And it’s not such a bad pack. So she’ll be fine, until you have time. Once we’ve dealt with Cedric and Snow Moon, you can go see her.”

“I suppose you're right.”

Did I want to see her again? Yes, of course I did. Whether we stayed together after that, or rejected each other, we couldn’t leave things like this forever.