A New Start (original version)

Chapter 13

Jesse

I was on my way to the kitchen when I started hearing yelling. I followed it back to Beau's office. As I was on my way to the office door, I turned the final corner and saw that new member, Seth, punch her, knocking her down and began kicking her. She screamed loud when she went down, and I could see her body starting to tremble. I ran towards them as Beau barged out of his office door and yanked Seth off of her and threw him into the wall, knocking him unconscious. I grabbed Rowena as he was barking out orders and rushed her to Shaun, making sure Beau saw that I had her.

Right now, I'm in the waiting room, waiting for Aria, Jay, and Rose to get done with her. They've been working on her new injuries for the past thirty minutes. Beau has already come in and was pacing the floor. "Dammit, I knew I should have been having that kid watched when he was around her," He said, running his hand through his hair. "Where was he even found?" I asked. I wasn't there when they found the kid. It was a night I had off, so I was asleep. "Ralf found him bloody and beat up on the western side, just outside our territory." He told me. "What are you going to do about him?" I asked. "I have no choice; I have to make him a rogue," Beau said with a sigh.

Suddenly, the infirmary doors opened, and out came Rose with a lot of blood on her scrubs. "Alright, Rowena's asleep right now. All she has on her torso is gauze but, it's covering so much that you can't see skin except on her hips. There are three fully broken ribs; her shoulder was out of the socket when you brought her in, Jess. She had a bloody nose but narrowly missed having a broken bone in her face. Other than that and a lot of pain, she's alright. She'll heal eventually. But, with the wolfsbane still in her system, it will take longer than most. She still wants to train with her powers but, I suggest you have someone with her who can support her physically." She explained to us. "Can we go in and see her?" Beau asked. She nodded. We followed her into the room, and Beau practically broke at sight.

I went to her other side and took her small hand in mine. She's my niece, and I only just met her today, but, already, my wolf and I are highly protective of her. After ten minutes, Beau, Aria, and Jaylen left to inform the pack of what happened. I stayed behind to watch over her. It's been a few hours, and I was having trouble staying awake from boredom. A tray was put beside me, and I looked up from Rowena. Shaun was standing there with a gentle smile on his face. "Eat up, Jesse. There's coffee there too." He told me. "Oh, thank you, Shaun," I said as I moved to eat the food. There was an apple, two slices of pizza, some mozzarella sticks, and some cookies. I ate a slice of pizza, half of the mozzarella sticks, and a couple of cookies, leaving the rest for later or when Rowena woke up, whichever came first. After that, I picked the coffee cup up and sipped on it while checking my phone.

When I heard a yawn come from the bed, I put my phone away and sat my cup down. I sat up straighter and leaned slightly towards Rowena. I was rewarded with her eyes opening. "Hey," I said softly. "Hey." She said groggily. She slowly began to raise into a sitting position with her back against the pillows. "How long was I out?" She asked me, her voice a little rough from not using it. "It's only been a few hours," I said. Before either of us could say anything more, Shaun came in. "Hello, Rowena. I see you're awake. I have a little bit of news for you that you might not like." He said when he saw her sitting up.

She looked up at him in curiosity. "What is it, Shaun?" "Well, with the severity of your wounds and the effects from the remaining wolfsbane still in your system, you aren't fit to go with the team to retrieve your brother." He said, cutting to the chase. I was waiting to see her reaction, knowing it would be anything but good.

Rowena

"You aren't fit to go with the team to retrieve your brother." I was silent for a few minutes after Shaun said those words to me. My wolf was raging to come out. She isn't the type to become furious, but that was the case. I started to feel my body shaking in anger and with the strain from me trying to hold her off. "What?" I snarled out. I knew my eyes had begun to glow a vibrant green color by the looks on their faces. I also felt a warm spot on my forehead from my mark appearing. "I-I'm sorry, Rowena. But, i-if you so much as attempt to shift at will, t-there is a strong chance that you'll die." Shaun stuttered out.

At that, Lyall backed off just enough to not cause me to shift. But, I did feel my canines lengthen and sharpen to a deadly point. "That bastard did this to me. Take me to him." I demanded. They began to say no, but; I used my secret Alpha blood and growled menacingly at both of them, too enraged to care. "That wasn't a request. Take me to him now." The last word came out as a loud snarl. Yeah, I have Alpha blood. My grandparents were the original Alpha and Luna of the Blood Hollows pack before Micah killed them and took over and changed the name to what it's called now. They were my mother's parents. My father was a Beta from a pack in Ireland.

They bowed their heads in submission, and Jesse picked me up since I was unable to walk on my own. He managed to sneak me into the cells. We went down the row of bared cell doors until we got to the one at the very end. He sat me on my feet gently, and I painfully hobbled closer. Inside, I saw the limp figure of that bastard. "Hey, asshole," I growled out at the person. He jumped from being startled. "Oh, you're still alive? I was sure that you would have died from your injuries due to you having wolfsbane in your bloodstream." He said, shocked. I growled out. "I'm unable to go with the rescue team because of you. How dare you take my chances of going." I snarled at him.

Suddenly, his words caught up with my mind. "How do you know about the wolfsbane? You weren't told." I questioned, suddenly very suspicious of him. He didn't say a word that infuriated me even further. I imagined a black star on a specific part of his body then suddenly; he was screaming and writhing in pain. "Tell me how you know," I shouted over his screams. He still didn't tell me, so I adjusted the intensity of the pain, and his back bent backward until his head slammed into the cobblestone floor. His mouth opened wide to scream, but the pain was too much for him to make a sound. I took the marks off of him. "Tell me what I want to know." I ground out through gritted teeth. "A-Alpha M-Micah. He t-told me when I took his j-job r-request." He gasped out as he tried to get his breath back. Suddenly, I saw red. "Take me to Beau," I told Jesse. He picked me up again and began walking back to the packhouse and Beau's office. I couldn't stop the low, angry growls that kept escaping as he carried me.