The Lost Luna

Chapter 7 - Deception

***Amber’s POV***

For once in I’m not sure how long, I actually had a restful night's sleep. This bed is so comfortable. It was like I was wrapped in a warm blanket, a hairy, warm blanket. I tried to move, but whatever or whoever had me stuck in place didn’t allow me to move. After shuffling slightly, I was about to look up and see the most gorgeous face. I didn’t know Ryder could look even more attractive, but looking at him sleeping proved me wrong. His midnight-black hair was all messy, and he had light chin stubble, almost like he skipped a day shaving. Without thinking, I just started tracing my finger on his face absent-mindedly.

“Well, good morning to you too, beautiful.” I gasped out of shock. My cheeks heated ‌as my blush deepened. I tried to bury my face in his chest to hide my blush, but that was proven pointless. He gently touched my chin, sending what felt like fireworks off under my skin. Tilting my head up, he placed his lips on mine. The kiss sparked a fire in me. It started off as gentle. Maybe he intended for it to be a soft peck on the lips. But something in me wanted more, wanted more of him. Before he could break the kiss, I tangled my fingers in his hair as I deepened the kiss. His tongue slid across my bottom lip, asking for entrance, and I happily allowed it. Our tongues were fighting for dominance, and his won as a moan escaped my lips. Before I knew what was happening, he rolled us over, so he was on top of me. He broke the kiss, allowing us to get air into our lungs. His forehead was rested against mine, and I was met with his pitch-black eyes when I opened mine. It wasn’t Ryder I was kissing. It was Jake.

“Jake?” My voice came out barely audible.

“Please forgive me. I didn’t intend on meeting like we did before. Ryder is very hard-headed and wouldn’t allow me to apologize; instead, he wanted to do it for me. I’m also sorry for kissing you without your permission. Ryder is fighting for control back.” Before I could reply, his eyes were back to their icy blue.

“I’m so sorry, Amber. He waited until I was lost in the kiss with you to overpower me for control.” I couldn’t stop myself from the laugh that came out of my mouth. He c****d his head to the side, giving me a confused look.

“You don’t have to apologize. I’ll be honest, I’ve wanted to talk to Jake for a while now. It was nice speaking to him.” A goofy grin appeared on his face. Within seconds, his lips captured mine, and I matched his with the same amount of passion. Suddenly, he pulled away, and his eyes were glazed over. I knew he was being mind-linked. His demeanor changed, and I felt his body tense up.

“Stay here! Please! There’s a rogue attack. I reenforced the doors here with silver. They won’t be able to get in. Don’t open the door for anyone, even me. If they somehow manage to get in, go into my closet in the very back, there’s a red shoebox. Push the box to the right; it’ll open to a tunnel that leads outside into the forest. Run far away from here and don’t stop until yourself. Do you understand?” It felt like everything had happened so fast that I was struggling to keep up. I couldn’t do anything except nod. He kissed me without wasting another second before sprinting out of the room. As soon as he was gone, I sprinted and locked it.

As soon as the door was locked, I felt the floodgates open as tears flowed from my eyes. The sounds of fighting, whimpers of wolves in pain, and the yelps that followed an injury. The sudden rapid bagging on the bedroom door dulled those sounds.

“Amber! Please help me! They got into the house! They’re trying to kill me! Please don’t let them kill my unborn baby or me.” It was Blair that was outside the door. I was stuck between letting her fend for herself or go against Ryder and let her in. Deep down, I knew I couldn’t allow her unborn child to die because of their mom. I had a gut feeling that something was off, but I couldn’t stand there and allow someone to die, knowing that I could’ve helped them. Without thinking, I quickly unlocked the door and rushed her inside before slamming the door shut and locking it.

“Where are you injured? I think the first aid kit is around here somewhere.” I was looking around the room until an uneasy feeling came over me. Turning my gaze to Blair, I say that she wasn’t injured. Even with our wolf healing abilities, some evidence would be leftover. But she looked completely fine. Not a hair was out of place. I looked into her eyes and saw nothing but pure evil. “Bl..Blair.. What’s goi-” I couldn’t finish the sentence before she stabbed me in the chest. It burned, which told me ‌it was a silver dagger. The blood started gushing out of me faster than I expected. I looked at her hand, and it had burn marks. Is she that crazy that she’s willing to hold a silver dagger with her bare hands? I felt myself losing consciousness. There was only one last thing I could do.“Help…dagger…Blair.” I was too weak to mind link Ryder a complete sentence; hopefully, he should be able to figure it out. That’s when I heard a voice I’d never thought I would hear again.

“BLAIR, WHAT DID YOU DO!?! The plan wasn’t to kill her!” I didn’t need to open my eyes to know who that was. It was that sorry excuse for a father, Paul.

“Does it really matter? Either way, it’ll weaken Ryder. You know a wolf can’t survive after their mate dies.” She sounded so far away, yet the smugness was apparent in her voice. *SLAP* The sound of someone being slapped temporarily filled the room.

“You stupid b*tch! Look at her neck. She hasn’t been marked yet. Which means it won’t hurt him as much. You managed to f*ck up the entire plan!” Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion, as my body felt cold. Just then, the sound of the door bursting open filled the room. The most intoxicating smell flooded my senses. Sadly, the metallic smell of my blood started to mix with it. A deep growl was released from Ryder, followed by the sound of someone getting thrown across the room, landing with a loud thud. I tried to hold on and remain conscious, but I felt myself getting weaker by the second. I could smell two other scents, one of which was similar to Ryder’s.

“Ryder! Get her to the pack hospital! She has lost too much blood already.” Was that Alpha Blake?

“Wait, should we remove the dagger? It’s burning her skin!” The voice sounded muffled. I felt myself slipping away. Is this how I’m supposed to die? By the hands of my mate’s pregnant lover?

“NO! She’ll bleed out faster, and she’s already lost a lot of blood.” The voice sounded muffled. I could feel someone picking me up and carrying me. But everything felt like it was drifting away.

***Ryder’s POV***

Amber’s lips are like two plump rose petals. They’re so soft and pink. I could smell her arousal, which made my wolf howl with joy. “Mark her! Mark her!” he kept repeating that repeatedly.

“No! I will not mark her without her permission!” It was hard to focus on kissing her with him yelling in my head.

“Fine, but let me apologize for scaring her in the woods.” He was seriously trying to give me those puppy dog eyes. I swear he can be so dramatic.

“No! I’ll do it for you. The last thing I want to happen is for you to mark her against her will.” I was met with silence after saying that. He put a block up so I couldn’t reach him. With him no longer talking to me, I can now focus on kissing my beautiful mate. She started running her fingers through my hair while allowing my tongue to explore her mouth. I could feel myself getting lost in the kiss when a small moan left her mouth. Then, Jake pushed for control, leaving me to watch my wolf passionately kiss our mate. When he broke the kiss, I saw her shock when she realized it wasn’t me anymore but Jake. I decided to let him apologize, but before things could go any further, I started pushing for control. Once I had control back, guilt washed over me. She shouldn’t have met Jake under these circumstances.

“I’m so sorry, Amber. He waited until I was lost in the kiss with you to overpower me for control.” She let out a little laugh. I c****d my head to the side. What was so funny?.

“You don’t have to apologize. I’ll be honest, I’ve wanted to talk to Jake for a while now. It was nice speaking to him.” I couldn’t stop the goofy grin that appeared on my face. Within seconds, I captured her lips with mine, and she matched me with the same amount of passion. Suddenly, I froze Blake was mind-linking me about a sudden rogue attack. When he cut the mind link, I knew she could see the change in my demeanor, and my body tense up.

“Stay here! Please! There’s a rogue attack. The doors are reinforced with silver. They won’t be able to get in. Don’t open the door for anyone, even me. If they somehow manage to get in, go into my closet in the very back, there’s a red shoebox. Push the box to the right; it’ll open to a tunnel that leads outside into the forest. Run far away from here, and don’t stop until you're safe. Do you understand?” I could tell she was struggling to keep up. All she was able to do was nod. I kissed her before sprinting out of the room.

As soon as I was out of the back door, I quickly shifted and took off towards the fighting sound. I saw Luke fighting one rogue, and another was sneaking up on him. Without hesitation, I jumped over him and landed on the rogue ripping its throat out as its body was under me dead. I could easily see both my father and his beta fighting off rogues. Soon all the rogues were dead except for a few that were being dragged towards the dungeons. There was something different about this attack. There were far more rogues when we’ve been attacked in the past. I looked towards alpha Blake and Beta Jacob. They had an expression on their faces that was similar to mine. I shifted back and walked towards them.

“There’s something different about this attack. Normally the attacks are much larger; what do yo-” My sentence was cut off when I received a faint mind-link from Amber.

“Help…dagger…Blair.” She sounded so weak. I quickly shifted back to my wolf and sprinted towards the packhouse without thinking.

“Ryder, what’s going on?” I could hear the concern in my fathers’ voice.

“It’s Amber. She’s been hurt. Come to the packhouse. I’m not sure if it was by rogues or something else. She sounded weak when she linked me.” I was the first to reach the packhouse, and I couldn’t help but be confused. On the outside, there wasn’t any evidence of rogues being there. The pit I had in my stomach just became heavier. I could smell the metallic smell of blood, but that’s probably from the battle. I worried more when the scent of blood mixed with my mate's scent. Panic overtook my body and began racing towards my room, taking the steps two or three at a time. The smell of her blood grew more robust the closer I got to my room. As soon as I was outside my room, I felt the color leave my face. In front of me stood Blair who looked like she had been arguing with some random person next to her; and Amber is laying on the floor in a pool of her own blood. Instantly, I saw red and was seething with rage. I grabbed Blair and threw her across the room. The sound of her hitting the wall, followed by a loud thud, filled the room. Alpha Blake and beta Jacob entered the room. They gasped at the drizzly scene in front of them.

“Ryder! Get her to the pack hospital! She has lost too much blood already.” My dad was shouting at me but I was too stunned to see my mate in that condition. But I was also confused. Why wasn’t she healing? Lycans heal faster than most wolves, sometimes more than alphas. That’s when I saw it, a silver dagger sticking out of her chest.

“Wait, should we remove the dagger? It’s burning her skin!” The panic was clear in my voice. I’ve never been so scared in my life. I’ve waited so long for my mate and when I finally find her, I might lose her.

“NO! She’ll bleed out faster, and she’s already lost a lot of blood.” My father's voice bellowed out. While we were talking, the mystery man had slipped out of the window and was being chased down by Jacob. I had to focus on what was important and that was getting Amber to the hospital.

When I got to the hospital I burst through the door practically knocking it off the hinges carrying my mate. “I need a doctor! My mate, she has been stabbed!” I yelled out using my alpha tone.

“Code Blue in the ER. I repeat Code Blue in the ER.” Someone was saying something over the intercom. The double doors leading towards the hospital rooms bursts open with Dr. Miller and Nurse Marissa came running through pushing a stretcher towards us.

“Alpha Ryder, please place her on the stretcher.” I could hear the urgency in his voice. As soon as I placed her on the stretcher, they were rushing her back. I tried to follow but Nurse Marissa stopped me.

“Ryder you can’t follow us back there. It’s not good for either of you, both of you will stress each other out. Look, there’s an empty room down the hall to the left. You can take a shower in there and I’ll leave some pants for you.” The nurse had an apologetic look in her eyes but she was also blushing extremely hard. As much as I don’t want to admit it, she was right. But why was she blushing so much?

“Maybe because you’re naked, dumb*ss.” My wolf could be annoying, ‌but I was so focused on Amber, I didn’t think about putting clothes on. I’m standing in the hospital shower watching with Amber’s and rogue blood mix with the water as it hits my body. I was so deep in thought that I didn’t realize that someone had opened the door. A pair of my boxers and basketball shorts were on the chair when I walked out with a towel around my waist. After I was dressed, I couldn’t think of anything to do. Just then, the door opened, and they wheeled a bed in with Amber on it. No one said anything to me. They were too busy attaching different wires and cords to her.

“Ryder, that chair over there can pull out so you can rest on it. I highly doubt you want to leave your mate’s side. I’ll bring you a blanket.” Before I could say anything, the nurse was gone, but she quickly returned with a pillow and two blankets.

“Thank you, ma’am. It means a lot to me, you saved my mate’s life.” She said nothing. All she did was squeeze my shoulder and bow before leaving the room. I moved the chair so it was next to her bed and held her hand. Hospital chairs are uncomfortable, but I will deal with it if it means I get to be near her. Although it was hard getting comfortable, especially since it barely fit me, I felt my eyes get heavy as I fell asleep still holding her hand