Chapter 35: Chapter 35

ETHAN

The elevators slide open as I reach the foyer to my penthouse. It’s late, and I’m exhausted after such a long day.

I walk in and turn on the lights, alarmed when I notice Scarlet sitting on the sofa. She has her knees bent up in front of her with her hands resting on top as she stares out the wall of windows.

She is startled out of her thoughts, blinking at the sudden brightness. She only spares me a glance before her eyes drop back to her knees.

Clearly, something is wrong. I toss my leather jacket over the back of a chair and walk slowly over to her.

Cautiously, I sit down beside her. When she still doesn’t acknowledge my presence, I reach up and gently sweep her hair behind her ear. Her eyes finally look up and focus on me, and I can tell she has been crying. Her eyes are red and puffy, and dried tear tracks mark her cheeks.

I cup her cheeks as her lip quivers as she looks at me. “Babe? What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” I question worriedly. She bites her lip and shakes her head before taking a shaky breath.

“I have something I need to tell you…,” she begins, and I can tell she’s nervous. This, of course, causes my anxiety to spike.

“Okay…what is it?”

“You know how you told me about your mother? And how she…died?” she replies softly, carefully.

My lips press together. I do know. In a moment of weakness, I had told her. It’s not something I like to talk about, let alone think about. I manage to give her a curt nod, silently telling her to continue.

“Well, I asked Jo about it. Turns out she knew your mom.”

Jo must be older. What happened to my mom was about twenty years ago when the war was just starting to come to an end. St. Louis had been won and renamed Crescent City. Survivors were wandering into our borders regularly, ready to make this their new home.

“Okay…,” I say, not sure what she’s getting at.

“Well, she said that your mother died when rogues attacked the packless. She died saving a little girl…” Scarlet pauses for a moment as she inhales deeply before letting it out in a quivering breath. “She died saving me.”

I stare at her for a moment. My brain seems to be struggling to comprehend what she’s telling me. “What do you mean? How do you know this? Are you sure?” I ask as I begin firing the questions at her.

“Yes, Jo was there. She’s telling the truth. She would have no reason to lie to me. I’m so sorry Ethan. I’m so sorry,” she sobs as fresh tears begin to leak out of her eyes and down her rosy cheeks.

She shakes her head, and I reach out for her, pulling her into an embrace. She sobs into my shoulder as I lightly run my fingers through her hair and down her back soothingly.

My thoughts are swirling around in my head as I try to make sense of everything she just told me. I feel a bit frozen, in shock. Luckily, comforting my beautiful mate seems to be calming my own nerves.

“Shh, shh,” I murmur in her ear. “It’s okay, Scarlet.” I can feel my own eyes watering, and I take in a deep breath trying to calm myself. Everything that I thought to be true was a lie. I have no idea whether it was an intentional lie or not, and I guess I may never know.

My mother died a noble death. My mother died as the kind of luna that people love and respect. She saved a young girl, my beautiful mate. I miss my mother, and I love her, but now that feeling has come back tenfold. She’s the reason that my angel, my love is here today. She grew up to be just as kind and compassionate, just as brave. My mother would be pleased. I know that she would have loved Scarlet just like a daughter.

I raise Scarlet’s face to look at me as her breathing begins to even out, and her tears slow. I use the pads of my thumbs to wipe them away as I stare into her mesmerizing eyes.

“I love you, Scarlet. What happened to my mom was a tragedy but even knowing what would happen to her, I have no doubt that she would do it again. She would be proud of the woman you became. Proud that you were going to take up her mantle as luna of the Crescent Moon Pack.”

She sniffles and a small smile lights up her face. “Really?”

“Really,” I insist with a grin of my own. I kiss her forehead before she nuzzles into me. Holding her tightly, I enjoy the feel of her against me. She tilts her head before I feel her soft lips press gently against my cheek. She wraps her arms around me and embraces me tightly.

“Oh! Goddess, I almost forgot,” she says as she escapes my arms and runs toward the jacket draped over the back of a chair. She digs into the pocket and pulls out a small vial.

She hurries back to me, holding the vial out. “A rogue gave this to me. He said it’s from Cassia.”

My heart leaps at the sight of the vial. Could this be it? “It must be the cure,” I say, barely containing my excitement. I grab her hand and lead her out of the room, our steps echoing in the silent corridor. “Come on, we need to get this to the infirmary.”

We rush through the darkened halls, the urgency driving us forward. The infirmary is quiet, the faint hum of medical equipment the only sound.

It’s late, and Bethany isn’t here. I consider waiting, but a glance at the she-wolves in their beds, their labored breathing and gaunt faces, convinces me otherwise. I can’t wait.

I close my eyes, focusing on my link with Bethany.

“Bethany, I need you at the infirmary. Now. We might have the cure.”

“A cure? Thank the Moon Goddess. I’ll be right there.”

Moments later, she bursts through the door, her eyes wide with hope and exhaustion. “Show me what you have.”

Scarlet steps forward, holding up the vial. “We think it’s the cure.”

Bethany takes the vial, her hands trembling slightly. She examines it closely, then looks at me. “I’m not sure, but we have to try. I’ll give half to one of the wolves and see what happens.”

We watch as she carefully administers the liquid to one of the wolves. The minutes tick by slowly, each one feeling like an eternity. Twenty minutes pass, and I notice a change. The wolf’s breathing steadies, her color returning. She looks noticeably healthier.

“It’s working,” I breathe, relief flooding through me.

Bethany nods, her eyes shining with cautious optimism. “I’ll monitor them overnight. If this really is the cure, we’ll know by morning.”

I place a hand on her shoulder, gratitude in my voice. “Thank you, Bethany. I’ll be back first thing in the morning.”

***

The first light of dawn filters through the high windows of the pack house as I make my way to the infirmary, my steps quick and determined. The night had been long, my mind filled with hope and dread, but now it’s time to see if the cure worked.

As I push open the infirmary door, I’m greeted by the sight of Bethany bustling around the room, a faint smile on her usually stern face. My heart races.

“Bethany,” I call, my voice breaking the morning quiet.

She looks up, her eyes meeting mine with a spark of hope. “Ethan, you need to see this.”

I cross the room in a few strides, coming to a stop beside the bed of the she-wolf we had given the vial to. She’s sitting up, her eyes clear and alert, her skin no longer pale and sickly but flushed with health.

“I can’t believe it,” I whisper, a smile spreading across my face.

Bethany nods, her excitement barely contained. “It’s incredible. She responded to the cure really well last night. No issues. Her vitals are stable, and she’s been improving steadily since last night.”

I turn to the she-wolf. “How do you feel?” I ask gently.

She looks up at me, her eyes filled with gratitude. “Stronger. Healthier than I’ve felt in weeks. Thank you, Alpha.”

“Amazing. Bethany, administer the other half.” Thank Goddess I was able to save them in time. Thank you, Cassia.

Next, I mind-link Alex and Xander to meet me in my pack house office. They arrive shortly after me, and I sit on the edge of my desk.

“You guys should take a seat,” I warn as I gesture to the two leather armchairs in front of me. They give each other questioning looks before following my suggestion.

“Last night, I got some new information that I think you both need to hear.” I inhale deeply before I begin to tell them everything that Scarlet had told me.

They sit there in silence. Different emotions flash over their features. Alex bows his head, and silent tears fall down his cheeks. Xander leans back, his foot propped on his knee and a hand resting on his chin as his eyes hold unshed tears.

“And you’re sure?” Xander finally asks.

“Yes,” I answer. Scarlet trusts her source, and I trust Scarlet with all my heart.

“So, the packless are innocent?” Alex then questions.

“Yes, which brings me to something else I wanted to talk to you both about. Scarlet suggested we allow the packless into our packs.”

They both open their eyes wide with surprise before I continue.

“I was thinking we could all visit the packless and talk to them. We can interview all of them and help place them in jobs in the city. I know of several of our businesses that are hiring, and according to Scarlet, there are a lot of skilled packless members. We could house them, and the ones that don’t want to live in our pack houses can rent apartments if they want. We can evenly divide them among our three packs based on skills and needs.”

They stare at me, and at first, I think they believe I’ve gone crazy. Finally, Alex says, “I think that’s a good idea. Sounds like they were wrongly banned anyway.”

“And we could definitely use more help now. We’re being spread pretty thin now that we’re preparing for an attack,” Xander adds.

I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as a shiver runs through my spine. My brows furrow, wondering what caused such a reaction. I glance around but don’t see anything that would have caused it. I shake those thoughts away and turn back to my brothers.

“Okay, so I want you each to select a few of your guards and a few of the HR managers from some of our hiring businesses. They can go with Scarlet tomorrow morning when she goes to help serve breakfast at the shelter. Everyone will be there for their meal, so that way, we can make the announcement, and the people can take their turns to come and talk to us,” I begin as we start to make plans.

I want to get everything organized as quickly as possible so that we can start getting everyone trained and in place. The packless are also not well protected where they currently are.

My day is full of strategizing with my brothers and continuing to research anything else that can prepare us for a fight if the witches come. Before I know it, the moon is shining overhead, and the sky is an inky blue.

“One last thing before you guys go. I was thinking about having a ceremony to introduce Scarlet as the official luna of the Crescent Moon Pack. I thought it best to try to do it as soon as possible to help with morale and so that everyone knows who she is and can help protect her in a fight.”

“That’s a good idea. Do you need any help with the planning?” Alex offers.

“Alex, can I have you work up a budget plan for the event and book a venue? Xander, I want you to talk to Persephone and see if she can come up with a menu. I would like for her to cater,” I reply, to which they both nod. “Okay, then that’s—”

“~Alpha!~” a panicked voice sounds in my head that I quickly recognize as Levi, one of Scarlet’s guards for this evening. Nerves creep up my back, and I instantly have a bad feeling, my gut twisting inside of me and my breath hitching in my throat.

“~There’s a problem! You need to come to the Scourge immediately!~”

“~What’s wrong? Is Scarlet okay?~” I ask as my heart begins hammering in my chest.

“~She’s missing, sir. Scarlet is missing.~”