Chapter 77: Chapter 76

Chapter 76 – The Aftermath

“Possessiveness destroys love. And they should not be possessed, because that again destroys your love.” – Rajneesh

Third Person POV

Who ends up picking up the pieces after a battle?

Who ends up mending and healing after a tragic loss?

Ash litters the ground with faint wisps of smoke ascending to the air. The flames met their demise, but not without leaving behind damages, even on the untouched. Hearts were weary, fear is prevalent, and worry hits the souls of Zircon and Gamet alike. However, it is a time for unity.

Pack members worked to repair the inferno’s damage to their home while their bodies were on the brink of exhaustion. No one could think to rest if the beautiful earth around them was charred with black. Pup trainees, with an awakened sense of leadership, led the charge with the adult warriors. Those who haven’t been hurt badly in the war with the behemoth in black.

While their arms worked tirelessly, their hearts were heavy. From the blood on the ground to burial preparations for the fallen and with the news of their ranked wolves and the disappearance of their future

Luna.

An overrun hospital was not a pretty sight. Doctors and nurses whizzed by to help the bleeding and injure wolves, some worse off than others. it was controlled chaos threatening to spill out of control. Rainn sat in a seat in the waiting room, leg bouncing as if it could take away some of her anxiety.

“Mommy?” Adonis asked from the seat next to her. “Will Daddy be okay?”

“He will, my baby boy. She whispered, caressing his hair with her nimble fingers. When Raina heard the news that Valerian had been badly hurt in the fight, she raced over with her son as soon as she was able. Through their bond, she felt his pain. Every hit, every cut–like she was in the battle herself. It was a common feeling that many mated women and men felt through their bonds. All she could do was pray to the Moon Goddess that Valerian would be okay,

Lorelai sat in a seat across from her, eyes glued to the floor, still as a statue. She had yet to know Kwame’s condition. The doctors wouldn’t tell her anything because there were so many wolves needing treatment, especially the Alpha who had the worst of it all. Raina noticed her Gamma Female.

In

empathy, she picked up Adonis and walked over to sit next to her. “Lori? Please talk to me.”

“What’s taking them so long?” Her hoarse whisper grated at the Beta Female’s heart. “They have to tell us something soon, right? I just… I need to know if Kwame would be ok I’m so worried. Mala can’t stop howling for Moses.”

“Our mates are strong.” She took Lorelai’s hand and squeezed, lending her some of her courage. “The Moon Goddess blessed us with amazing men. They’ll make it through.”

“What about the Alpha? Or the Garnet Moon warriors?”

Those questions Raina couldn’t answer. She doesn’t know if Neron was okay and the rumors amongst the hospital weren’t helping. He suffered a serious wound and was being operated on since his healing wasn’t

acting fast enough to repair the damage. Each Garnet Moon warrior suffered significant injuries.

Raina didn’t even know where Kiya was. She waited for her body to appear from a hospital room or the front entrance, but she was nowhere in sight. That only added to her anxiety. The chief protectors were hurt, and her little sister was missing. Times like these were when Raina wished she still had a familial bond with Kiya, at least she would know if she was okay.

Odessa burst through the front doors moments after. She spotted Raina and Lorelal and marched towards them. “Heard anything yet?”

“Not yet,” Lorelai answered.

“They call themselves medical professionals and can’t even work fast!” Odessa complained, running a hand through her brunette tresses. The Beta Female quirked an eyebrow.

“They have a lot of wolves to treat, Odess. Their hands are tied.”

“Whatever.” She rolled her eyes. “I need to know if my man is okay. Is that too much to ask?”

“We all want to know if our men are okay.” Lorelai butted in with a growl, dark eyes on the woman. “Just be patient.”

With a scoff, Odessa dropped into a seat next to her childhood friend and crossed her arms. Raina already felt a headache emerging, and it wasn’t from the chaos of the hospital atmosphere. Within a few minutes, Dr. Jackson walked over to the trio with a clipboard in hand and thick black glasses on his

nose.

“Beta Valerian and Gamma Kwame are alright.” His smile was warm. “You can go visit them.”

“Let’s go see Daddy, Donny.”

“Yay!” Raina and Adonis hurried to Valerian’s room and Lorelai to Kwame’s. Only Odessa remained. “How’s the Alpha?” She asked, her voice cold.

“Not good.” Dr. Jackson began. “He suffered immense internal damage from the Impaling. We’ve worked close the wound with stitches. Now, it’s up to his healing ability to help him out. He’s sedated with p medication.”

“And…Darien?

“Luckily, his injuries aren’t as bad as the Alpha Neron’s. He’s awake and in recovery if you wish to see him.” Dr. Jackson moved on to the other families waiting for news on their loved ones. Odessa had a choice: go check in on Darien or Neron. Her mate or her former lover.

She went to Neron’s room,

Upon entering, the brunette’s eyes burned with tears. Neron laid on his hospital bed, shirtless with thick gauze bandaged around his torso. Small spots of red dotted the deep layers. Her heart lurched as she walked closer, grabbing a seat to sit next to her Alpha.

“He’ll be fine,” Ariel insisted to her human. “We need to see our mate.”

“He’ll be fine. I need Neron.”

“Odessa, for the millionth time, you must let Neron go. He isn’t yours and would never be yours. You lived in your little fantasy long enough. He belongs to our avatar.”

“That superpowered bitch would never love Neron the way I do! He’s always been mine and will always have my heart, and I’ll do everything to make him look at me like he used to.”

“And that gives you the right to treat Darien like this? He loves us more than Mother Earth. His heart is pure, and you’re blinded by old feelings! Blinded by the power you felt when Alpha. How could you be so cruel to our mate?”

you were with the

“Who says I can’t have both?”

“Now you’re being selfish. No one can have two mates, and it’s unethical to have a true mate and a paramour. You can’t be Luna and Delta Female.”

“Don’t be stuck in the old ways, Ariel. We’re in modern times. Humans can have multiple lovers, so why can’t wolves? Why can’t I have two men to love me at the same time?”

“Because you’ll be taking Kiya’s soulmate away from her.”

“I don’t give a fuck! She could burn in hell for all I care!”

“Why do you hate her so much, Odessa?”

That’s the end of the conversation. Odessa slammed down a mental block between her and her wolf. She’ll never understand her, so there was no point in reasoning with her. Her attention was pulled to Neron when he shuffled, moaning in pain.

“Neron…” Her hand went to his forehead, pushing his hair away from his face. He was so warm. Neron would always be the most beautiful man she had ever seen. Powerful and precious. “I love you so much.”

Taking his hand in her own, she planted a soft kiss on the back. “I’m here, don’t worry.”

Neron shuffled, groaned, and muttered a name. It isn’t a name Odessa expected. The name ignited volcanic fury within the woman, causing her to stand abruptly from her seat. The force nearly knocked the chair down behind her.

Kiya… Neron muttered through his sedation. “K–Kiya… she…”

Even in his sleep, he yearns for her. Awake, he yearns for her. No matter what Odessa did, Neron would always yearn for Kiya. Halima. The former slave. Mate bonds were powerful things, and she was unequipped to sever it herself.

“She doesn’t belong to you, Neron,” Odessa muttered, infuriated. “She’s not even here to see you. She’s evil! She brought that monster here that hurt you and you still want her? You still love her?”

Scorching hot tears swam down her face upon exiting Neron’s hospital room, heavy sobs hiccupping through her quaking body. Kiya had made a name for herself in a pack that once hated her. Since former Alpha Jonathan announced her as Neron’s mate and future Luna, the pack had pushed Odessa to the side. She had no authority anymore like she used to. All that power, the glory–gone.

Odessa hated Kiya more than ever. No prayers to the Moon Goddess could ever wipe that bitch from her memory. Suicide didn’t get rid of her. Poisoning didn’t get rid of her. She was a bane in her existence.

“I must destroy her. For good.” She declared in her mind, wiping away her rapidly falling tears. In her head, Odessa could see Kiya as if she was standing in front of her. Standing tall in her Delta might, overflowing with the power of a Beta wolf. Those damned corkscrew curls, shining smile, and big brown eyes. A spitting image of a younger Raina, Even she, who once hated her and would work with Odessa to make Kiya’s life miserable, was now groveling for forgiveness at her disgusting feet.

Odessa had to take drastic measures to ensure that Kiya would forever regret crossing her. For taking her man away from her. For taking space in Darien’s mind as his friend.

Desperate times called for desperate measures.

Abigail

“My love, I promise I’m fine. It’s just a broken arm.”

“You’ve broken one of your beautiful wings, my butterfly. I can’t let that go.”

My love, Jacqueline, holds me tight against her chest as we sit on her hospital bed. A cast is on my right arm, resting in a dark blue sling. That juggernaut had done horrific damage to the territory and my wolf family. My heart ached in pain as the mate bond allowed me a glimpse into the pain of my sweetheart’s emotions.

She often hid her pain. As a strong Beta wolf, it was in her nature to protect those she loved, including me. Now, she was in deeper pain than I originally thought. Not just because of the injuries she had littering her body, from bruises to broken bones, but because her best friend was gone. Kiya was gone. That monster took her and Phoebe to goddess–knows–where.

I’m lucky enough to have my love alive and holding me, but what about Phoebe and Kiya? What was happening with them? Were they hurt? Hungry? Scared? My heart couldn’t imagine the pain they must be in.

“Hey, hey.” I look up to see Sapphire hobbling into the room with the aid of Isaiah. “How are you both feeling?”

“Like shit,” Jacqueline grumbled, and I made it a point to flick her nose. No profanity in this holy room! “Sorry, babe.”

“I feel that,” Isaiah muttered, sitting in a chair, holding Sapphire close with his dark arms. “What the hell was that thing?”

“Cerberus. Phoebe said he’s an avatar bounty hunter, but that’s all there is about him.” Sapphire sighed with the heaviness of titanium. “And he got what he wanted. What are we going to do? We have to find them!”

“Where do we start?” I ask. “We know nothing about this, and who knows where those two could be right

now,”

“This is more than what we could handle, guys,” Galen revealed, walking into the room with Darien and Mikhail trailing behind him. “Zircon Moon wolves are down, the territory is charred bacon, and the avatars are missing.”

“Where’s Odessa?” My love asked Darien. His eyes suddenly cast down on the ground in sadness but quickly perked up.

“She hasn’t visited me yet, but that’s not the issue here,” Darien responded, but I didn’t miss the wince as he rubbed his chest. “We need help and we need it now. Two of our members are missing. The longer we wait, the more danger they’ll be in.”

“So, what do you suggest?” Mikhail asked.

“We need to call Alpha Anthony and let him know what happened.”

I already knew that once the Alpha knows his little sister was kidnapped, all hell would break loose.

And ‘hell‘ was putting it lightly.

Chapter Comments

POST COMMENT NOW