Chapter 26

*Happy Canada Day!*

...From a Canadian to all my fellow Canadian readers!

A loud scream rippled through the air. It takes me a while to understand where its coming from but when a guard puts her hand on my shoulder that's when I know. It was me the whole time.

Dropping to the ground, I urgently grab onto my mate. Blood is streaming from the corner of his mouth. Biting down on my bottom lip, I cradle his head on my lap.

"Thaddeus, don't do this to me," I cry out. My strength is broken inside of me and all I do is cry. My tears fall all over his face.

Hearing cries from the one who pulled the trigger, I turn my head and glare at her until she notices the daggers I'm sending her way. She has no reason to cry.

"Take her to one of the most secure cells and lock her up," I demand keeping my eyes locked on hers.

"Annabel please I'm sorry!" Rose continues to scream. "I didn't mean to hurt him."

Of course, you meant to kill me instead, I think bitterly. Focusing on my mate now, I let my hands trail over his wet face. I put him down softly as pack doctors and guards surround us.

"Go scour the area with extra guards. If there are any rogues, you show them no mercy," I say to some guards near me. They nod their heads and leave immediately.

I lean forward and press my head to Thaddeus chest. I avoid the bloody gap and listen to his heart beat. It wasn't beating like it used to, in fact it was beating much slower.

"Can you fix him?" I ask Richard. He doesn't meet my eyes at all.

"We'll try."

_

_

Richard and many others focused mainly on Thaddeus and Jay. The Alpha's house was practically on lockdown. No one was allowed in at all. I was the only one who could go in and out though. No one bothered to say anything to me. I think most where worried of how I was handling things.

I didn't speak as much honestly and the last time I ate was last night. I still had to help the pack somehow and the only one who was holding me together was my mate. Even though he was lying down in a bad state, I drew strength from him.

Walking closer to my mate, I realize the doctors are prying the 2 bullets out of his chest slowly and carefully. My bottom lip wobbles as I am trying so hard to control my gears. I know crying won't do anyone good.

I turn away from it and check up on Jay. He wasn't looking so good either. The doctors stitched up his injuries on his legs and neck. Currently, they were placing a neck brace on him and a cast on each leg. I winced at the pain both Thaddeus and Jay might feel when they wake up.

"Luna," one of the doctors, Shira, says. She approachs me cautiously with a pitiful look. "Would you like to know about their injuries?"

I nod not really ready for it at all. "Well, Beta Jay broke some of his bones below both knees. He should recover in a few days or so with the Beta blood in him. As for the injury on his neck, it should take about a month or even more. On the other hand, Alpha Thaddeus should heal quite quickly after he wakes up. But because we have to extract the bullets that were deeply implented into his chest, we had to use extra medication to keep him down. He will wake up in a few hours or so, maybe even more."

I nod and mumble a thank you as my chest is full of relief. "He'll be OK," I say to myself as she walks away.

Heaving a sigh, I sit on a chair next to Thaddeus and take hold of his cold rough hands. I don't know what I have to say but all I want to do is scream at him to wake up. Just when everything was going goo between us, someone just had to ruin it. The someone had to be Rose.

Out of everyone else I would have expected, it just had to be her. My best friends mate. My eyes widen as I think of how Mason must be handling things. His mate who betrayed the pack, is locked up in a cell right now. I scowl all of a sudden though. Mason should be relieved I didn't have his mate killed on the spot. But, my mind suddenly thinks over what Rose first said. I'm not the only one. What if Mason is in on this? He has been distant lately. No, he can't be in on it.

I sigh looking at Thaddeus. Anyways, I know what he'll do to Rose once he wakes up. I don't know much about the rules in this pack but trying to kill your future Luna must result in the highest punishment there is-death.

I glance at Thaddeus's injury before gently placing my hand on his exposed torso. Rubbing his stomach in a gentle manner, I disappear into my troubled thoughts. I don't know what time it is, but I feel myself begin to drift off.

Gentle hands shake me awake. I open my eyes feeling suddenly alert. My mom moves back. "Hi sweety," she says giving me a small smile.

"Hi mom," I reply giving her a forced smile. She, of course, sees through this and wraps her arms around me pulling me in for a tight hug.

When she does this, I burst into tears. She doesn't need to ask why. I cry on her shoulder for what feels like hours until I feel as if I'm out of tears. When I pull back, her shirt is soaked which makes us both crack up. "I'm sorry," I say.

"I'm always here when you need someone to cry on sweety," she replies. "Don't forget it."

"Where's dad?"

"He wanted to be here," she says diverting her gaze towards my mate, "but he needs to help clean the pack."

I nod letting my eyes stray to Thaddeus. He looked so calm and peaceful that I wanted to aw. But who knows, he could be listening to everything around him, just like how I was when I was in his state.

"He'll be OK Annabel."

I nod and interlace his fingers with mine. "I know."

"Annabel, its 9, did you eat? Shower? Brush your teeth? Or even change?" She questions already knowing the answer. She sighs when I don't answer. "Annabel he won't like what your doing. Go clean up and get some food in you. This isn't healthy."

"Later," I yawn.

"Annabel go take a shower and I'll make you something to eat," she says rubbing my back.

I glance at my mate. Understanding what I was thinking of, she speaks up.

"I'll stay here until you get back and if anything happens I'll call you." I thank her before leaving the room.

The bathroom is literally around the corner sweetheart, this isn't going to kill you. I turn and shoot a glare at her as she gives me a playful smile. Rolling my eyes, I take the stairs two at a time, and head into the bathroom in my room.

I grab what I need and jump into the bathroom. Glancing at my reflection, I automatically cringe. Now that I think of it, I'm glad my mom told me what she did because I look like a mess. My eyes are puffy and red while dried up tears are plastered on my cheeks. My hair is in horrible tangles and as I breathe into my hand, the smell of my breath has me disgusted.

I hop into the shower and scrup my body clean. I wash my hair before letting the water touch my head. Afterwards, I get out drying myself. Wrapping a towel around me, I reach for my toothbrush and toothpaste quickly brushing my teeth. I do everything else that is necessary before putting a new clean set of clothes on. Soon after I am rushing back to my mate.

When my mom sees me her face brightens. "Look at you, so much better sweety no offense."

"Its OK. I cringed when I saw my reflection in the mirror," I retort giggling slightly. I turn to my mate grasping his hand. "So anything?"

My mom shakes her head giving me a sad look. She places a hand on my back. "I'll go make you something to eat."

When she leaves, I run my fingertips across his face hoping to wake him up or do something. "I miss you."

There is no reaction on his face at all. I remember the words of Shira. She said he'd wake up in a few hours or so. I glance at the time noticing it was 9:34pm. Well hours have passed since she told me this.

"Thaddeus, please wake up," my voice cracks before I can finish.

"Annabel," my mom says. "Time to eat."

I nod and press my lips to his temple. I know he was going to wake up but I felt so lost without him up and walking. I didn't know how bad he affected me until now.

When I leave the room, I feel tired and hungry as I glance at the sandwiches my mom prepared. As I sit down, my mom sends me a worried glance. I raise an eyebrow questioning her.

"Some cooks need me at the pack house..."

"Mom, go. I can take care of myself." She frowns at me.

"That's not what I saw when I got here."

I shoot her a fake glare but she only gives me a smile in return. "Mom go."

She seems to be fighting herself on this but when she hears my voice, she just nods. "I'll be back very soon. Eat everything on that plate and if for a second you want more, don't you dare hesitate to eat more."

I roll my eyes at her kissing her cheek. "Mom, I'm nearly 20. I'm not a child anymore."

Mom's eyes widen in shock. "Your birthday! Oh my goodness, I almost forgot my own daughters birthday. Its in 2 days! My baby girls going to be old."

"Not as old as you," I reply cheekily. It's her turn to shoot me a glare as I continue smiling. "No offense mom but I don't need you right now. I'll talk to you later."

"Alright," she replies leaving the room. "Bye kiddo."

"Bye mom."

As I begin to eat, one thing hits me hard. I do need my mom.

_

_

After I am done eating, I clean up and head back to my mate. Same old. Nothing has changed at all.

I suddenly think of Jay who probably doesn't have anyone right now. I feel guilty as I think of how Thaddeus has me but who has Jay? I squeeze my mates hand before leaving to check up on Jay.

When I see him, my heart literally drops to the pit of my stomach. Jay looked ghostly pale. I glance all over him and sigh. I doubt he'd be able to do anything anytime soon. I pull up a chair next to him and sit down.

"Hey Jay," I start off. "You don't look too good."

I internally slap myself in the face. Great, I thought. I force out a chuckle. "Um sorry about that. And I'm sorry for not coming to talk to you sooner. And I'm sorry for not listening to you. I know it's my fault that you have way more injuries then you would have gotten if I wasn't there. You were trying to protect me and I wasn't listening. I'm sorry, again."

I continued talking to him about random topics other than the bloodshed that was shared hours ago. I take in his relaxed face and compare it with Thaddeus. Just like Thaddeus I absolutely liked the way he seemed so peaceful. They are both-mostly Thaddeus- uptight and expressionless, but right now, they seem at peace.

I smile at the thought. "One more thing before I leave Jay. I can't wait for you to get your mate. She will absolutely be lucky to have someone as brave and kind as you in her life. Anyways, you better wake up soon."

With that, I leave him and head back to my mate.

I sigh when I realize he is still sleeping. I interlace our fingers together as I sit on the chair next to him. Glancing at the time that has 10:56pm plastered on it, I gently squeeze his hands before falling asleep again.

_

_

I wake up yawning and stretch my sore back muscles.

The first thing my eyes focus on is Thaddeus. He was still in the same position as before. As my eyes trail over him, I feel tears begin to pool behind my eyelids.

"Thaddeus, I thought you should have woken up by now," I practically cry out. No response. "Thaddeus please just wake up. I-I need you."

Again no response. This is what I do for what feels like hours. I cry. Beg. Plead. But nothing happens.

Finally someone walks in. I turn on them blazing with anger. "Get out!" I scream as I see it is one of the doctors. The same doctors that said my mate was going to wake up soon. "I said get out!" I practically shout when she doesn't move. Finally, she nods and rushes out of the room.

I'm seething. I need to break something. I see a cup full of water that someone must've left for me once I wake up. The next thing I know I'm hurling it across the room. The cup shattered into pieces but that's not enough for me. I need to release my anger.

All of a sudden, I am throwing things across the room smashing it into the wall. I don't stop. I just continue until I feel as if my anger is diminishing.

I don't know what happens next but I feel a slight prick on the back of my neck, before I black out.

_

_

"Some people are already cleaning up the mess," someone says.

"She really misses him," my mom says. A silence descends but it is broken by someone who sighs.

"Was it necessary to do this?" Dad!?

"Of course. You didn't see the way she was acting." My mom is saying this.

I peel my eyes open and sit up instantly glaring at my mom. "You knocked me out!"

The words come out but not the way I expected them too. My throat is dry and how I said my words made me sound like an old man.

My dad comes over to me with a glass of water. I take it from him greedily and drink as much as I can to soothe my throat. He takes away the cup as soon as I am finished with it. Almost as if he was worried I was going to chuck it at the wall across from me.

I roll my eyes and move to stand up. My mom reachs to me, to try and help but I don't want help from her. I glance around the room only realizing that I was in my room and Thaddeus was downstairs.

"How long was I out for?" I ask my dad. He shifts uncomfortably before glancing at my mom for obvious help.

"35 minutes," she answers.

As I grip onto the doorknob, I notice that it won't open. I yank on it harder but when nothing happens, I spin around on my heel. "What did you 2 do?"

"Annabel, you need to get food into your system. We hate to do this to you but no one is taking care of you."

"Dad! I need to see my mate! He might wake up now!" I exclaim.

"I've spoken with the doctors and they've told us that they will call you if something happens to either of them," my mom answers.

"You can't do-"

"Annabel just eat what the cooks made and you can go see your mate," my dad voices out pointing towards the plates beside my bed.

With a stubborn glare towards him, I quickly shove everything in my mouth feeling more like a child rather than a future Luna. My parents watch me intently until I have devoured every little crumb.

My dad knocks on the door and someone opens it. I rush out and towards Thaddeus. I don't want to miss when he wakes up. When I rush to him, the doctors are surrounding him. I automatically feel scared of what might be happening.

"What's wrong?" I ask my shaky voice being heard from them all.

"He was moving after you uh left but hasn't woken up yet," someone responds. I push my way through and a grab sk for the doctors to leave the room. I the hand closest to me.

"Hi Thaddeus, I don't know why you aren't waking up yet. Maybe the doctors gave you too much but can you please just fight it. You're strong and you know it. Please just fight. For me?" I don't know what I was expecting but when he doesn't react to my words, I feel disappointed.

I squeeze his hand before observing his wound. It didn't look that bad, I thought. He was healing fast but I wasn't surprised as he is the alpha.

"Thaddeus-"

His large intake of air had me stopping. I held in a breath waiting for his next move. When he didn't do anything else, I exhaled softly.

"Luna, someone has requested to speak with you," a guard says.

"Who?"

"Um Mason," he replies. I stiffen and let go of my mates hand.

Should I go talk to him? I know I can't let him go on not knowing what is happening. At the same time though, I can't talk to him face to face knowing what his mate did.

"Should I send him away? He has been very persistent these past hours."

"No," I state. "I'll go talk to him."

_

_

"What do you want?" I ask.

"Can we talk somewhere private?" He asks glancing at the guards less than 5 feet away.

I shake my head. "We talk here or we don't talk at all."

Mason gave me a frown. "Anna, don't you trust me?"

"I trusted Rose but look what happened. For all I know, you could have been the other mole. I remember Rose saying she wasn't the only one."

Mason looked absolutely pained. "No, I'm not with Brayton. I mean, I never was. How could you say that? You knew me since we were kids."

"Well things obviously change. Now what did you want to talk about? I have a mate I have to get back to."

"Can I see her?" I watch him intently. He was in obvious pain. He had bags under his eyelids and wrinkled clothes on that seem as if he hadn't changed at all. I sigh knowing that I am already giving in.

"You can talk to her for only 5 minutes. There will be 4 guards escorting you to her. After your 5 minutes are up, you need to leave or the guards will have to use unnecessary force on you if you don't listen. Understand?"

Mason stares at me wide-eyed before nodding his head. "I understand."

I turn away to head back inside, but he calls out to me again. "Yes?"

"When he," he took a deep breath," wakes up, will he kill her?"

I could see the scared look in his eyes as he asked this. I already know what the answer is and from the look in his eyes, he knows too. Without a response from me, he tilts his head down in a nod before the guards escort him away.

Walking back, I hear the murmurs of the doctors to my left side. They stop talking for a few moments as I walk past them and continue on. I can feel their eyes on me which makes me turn around annoyed. "Is there a problem?"

They stop talking immediately. "What is the problem?" I ask again. Finally, Richard steps up.

"Uh, Luna when we had to remove the bullets we had to put him on some type of general anaesthetic. We miscalculated the dosages that he needed at the time. In fact, we put in way more than what was necessary."

They were all looking at me as if I was going to burst at them in anger. I must've looked like that at the moment but I kept a calm voice. "So what are you saying?"

"We don't know when he'll wake up."

Hearing his words, I lost it and shifted into my wolf.

I know I wasn't in the correct state of mind. I was growling at everything and everyone. Especially the doctors.

I couldn't hear what they were saying. I could see their mouths moving but no sound entered my ears. All I could tell was the way they were backing up slowly seemingly afraid.

Then, Richards eyes darted behind me and for some reason he nodded. I quickly spin around only to see my dad. In his hand was a syringe.

I growled louder than I've ever growled. He didn't look like he wanted to do it, but for some reason he was doing it anyways. His mouth moved, eyes focused on mine, before he took a step forward. I turned and darted away from him, trying to avoid the needle. I could hear his footsteps behind me as I ran away. Just as I neared my mates room, I felt the prick of the needle. In less than 2 hours I've been knocked out.

As I awake again, I notice 2 different things aside the sore part of my neck. For one, I am not in my bedroom. I am in the same room as my mate. Secondly, I am laying down next to my mate. Why did they put me here?

I get up only to be stopped by a husky baritone voice. "Don't."

I'm frozen in this position. I don't turn my head to see if it is actually him speaking. But when a rough hand interlace with mine, I jump away from him and scream turning around.

My mates dark open eyes observe me. He pulls me to him and his eyes follow something that's falling down my face. I don't realize until then that I'm full out bawling my eyes out. What is wrong with me?

He surprises me by reaching out and wiping them away. He was so gentle doing this. I leaned into him just as he patted the space I was taking before. I shake my head glancing at the wound on his still bare torso.

"I'll hurt you," I murmur glancing at him in worry.

He surprises me yet again by letting out a deep chuckle. I feel tingles inside of me from the sound. "I doubt it," he responds. His hand reachs out and pulls me towards him even closer. I topple onto the bed, awkwardly on him. Rushing to get off, he locks an arm around me keeping me still. "The only way you could hurt me, is if you don't lay down next to me."

I'm shocked by the sincerity of his words. When was he so forward? I shake the thought away before laying down next to him. I drape my arm across his lower torso avoiding the bandages as his closest arm goes around my shoulder. Placing my head onto his shoulder, I listen to his steady heartbeat.

After a while, the silence begins to drown on. I glance at my mate as words tumble out of my mouth. "How did I get on this bed? Last I remember I was being knocked out. Again."

"I woke up a few moments after they did that," he sighed and shook his head. "Knocking out their Luna twice."

"What happened?"

"They were going to take you upstairs but I woke up in time and I got you before they even stepped foot on those stairs," he replies. "Why is my house a hospital?"

I burst into giggles. I couldn't stop laughing for some reason. When I have things under control though, I answer him. "The pack hospital was too far. They couldn't drag you and Jay that far. You guys are both 400 pounds each anyways."

I suddenly think of Jay. "Jay!"

I rush to get up but Thaddeus just pulls me back. "We need to go see Jay, Thadd-"

He smashs his lips to mine the moment I say his name. I'm still for a moment before I kiss him back with equal urgency. I break the kiss though because I think of everyone else in the house. Thaddeus begins to stand up as I give him space.

"Thaddeus, there's people here," I mumble thinking of my mom and dad.

"I sent everyone out," he replies. I look up shocked.

"Why?"

"Next time," he says shaking his head. "I've got things I need to do. Stay with Jay."

He goes upstairs and comes back a few moments later with a different set of clothes on. "Thaddeus," I start as I follow him. "What things do you need to do?"

"Pack business," he says. "I'm behind on it."

He turns to leave but I grip his wrist. "Thaddeus, just tell me."

When he doesn't tell me, I begin to feel frustrated. I stand in the doorway preventing him from going. "You aren't leaving until you tell me what you're doing."

He is quiet for a what feels like hours. He shifts his gaze from me to the doorway, until he breaks. Or I thought so. "You're coming with me," he finally says pulling me by the wrist and leaving through the doorway.

"Where?" The guards around us are suddenly on alert. They nod at Thaddeus before going back to standing and doing absolutely nothing.

Thaddeus ignores me and walks straight ahead. Again, I keep asking him but he shut his mouth and refuses to speak to me. I stop trying after that and follow behind him. My attention is on his hands that are by his side. I hesitate for a second or two before grabbing his hand and interlacing it with mine. He looks down at me with an amused glint in his dark eyes before we just continue walking.

It takes me a while to understand where we are until I see the familiar doors to the prison. I stop walking automatically connecting things together. Turning my head to him, he knows that I've figured out what pack business needed to be done.

He continues walking on though. I tighten my bold on his hand just for reassurance. When we enter, I take a deep breath in and exhale. My eyes are tearing up but they shouldn't be. All of a sudden, I stop Thaddeus.

"Is this the only punishment? Isn't there something else you could do?" He watchs me carefully before shaking his head. He turns on his heels and continues on walking. We pass many guards that bow their head at us but we don't pay any attention to that. We turn and go down a flight of stairs before continuing straight. We pass many empty cells until I see her.

Her head snaps up and her eyes connect with mine. I can see the fear so prominent in her eyes that I feel really bad for her. We stop in front of her cell and Thaddeus turns to me.

"You should go back upstairs," he says in a low voice. I immediately shake my head. He sighs but nonetheless does not argue with me. A guard on silent duty hands Thaddeus a key. I watch as Rose begins to shake uncontrollably. Tears are already streaming down her face.

When the cell door opens, the guard leaves. Now it was just Thaddeus, Rose and I.

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~MissieA out!

♥