Chapter 22

"We need to get them to the hospital!" I wail struggling to get out of Quentin's hold, but he just holds me tighter to his chest whispering reassuring words in my ear. Neither of them have any obvious injures that I can see, but that doesn't mean they are okay. Someone was able to knock them both out without us hearing or them being able to notify us in time, and that means we don't know how long they been in this state.

"They are going to be okay." Quentin's breath tickles my ear as he whispers into my ear, and I watch as Aidan reaches down picking Carl up and throwing him over his shoulder.

"Be careful!" I yelp as Fletcher does the same with Asher. Ryder leads us all back towards our pack with Della taking the back of the line watching out for any trouble. This wasn't how I envisioned our night ending. We were supposed to come up this a strategy to end this as peacefully as possible, but now it's very clear that's not happening.

"What happened?" Oliver greets us at the pack line with a few warriors who carefully take Carl and Asher before heading in the direction of the hospital. Breaking from Quentin's hold I run after them followed by Quentin and Ryder, but Aidan, Della, and Fletcher follow Oliver towards the pack house.

I'm so thankful that it's the middle of the night and everyone is home asleep so they don't have to see this chaos unfold in front of them. I see warriors stumble out of their houses disoriented and shift heading in all different direction.

"Just a precaution." Quentin places a hand on my lower back as we step into the hospital immediately greeted by a group of nurses indicating which room to go into. I need to thank them later for putting both in the same room because I don't know how I would have handled not being able to see what's going on with them both at the same time.

"Is this how you found them?" Parker appears hastily putting on his doctors coat and grabbing his stethoscope. The nurses continue to hook the boys up to monitors checking their vitals.

"Yes, but I don't know how long they were like this." I don't even realize I'm shaking until Quentin wraps a blanket around my shoulders pulling me into his chest.

"Let's get bloodwork done to make sure they weren't injected with something." Parker says to one of the nurses making my eyes widen. I didn't even consider that since it would be extremely difficult to sneak up on a Beta's son and a highly trained warrior.

"Heart rate and oxygen levels are good, and there's no sign of blunt force trauma." Another nurse informs Parker as she checks over Carl's head for any injures. I knew they weren't attacked too horribly since they had no blood surrounding them or on their clothes.

"Della said she needs us in the office." Ryder walks over to us looking flustered. I eye Asher and Carl still laying motionless on the hospital bed. "They're in good hands." Ryder assures even through I already know, but I'll feel an immense amount of guilt if Carl wakes up and I'm not here for him. Although Della wouldn't call us over if it wasn't important.

"Let's go." I interlace my fingers with Quentin's letting him lead us out of the room and down the hallway. Hopefully by the time we are done the bloodwork will be back so we can know what the problem is, or even better they'll wake up. It doesn't take us long before we are walking into one of the conference rooms where Aidan and Fletcher have a bunch of papers spread out on the table, and Della is by the window talking frantically to someone on the other end.

"What's going on?" I let go of Quentin's hand so he can shut the door behind us. Della says a quick goodbye to whoever she's talking to hanging up a smile taking over her face.

"We have a witness." She races over to the table writing something down on the piece of paper, and I walk around the table looking at all the papers spread out forming a timeline of all the council rulings and action over the last fourteen years.

"A witness?" I don't see how a witness would help us with our council issue. In fact they have proved to be completely useless time and time again when it comes to this situation, but we are just the first people to have the balls to say something.

"A young man stumbled onto Nora and Elijah's pack seeking refuge, and after exstensive questioning admitted that they are part of the rogues who attacked both of our packs." She beams handing me a piece of paper with the transcription of the questions that were asked and the answers he provided. Quentin snakes a hand around my waist looking over my shoulder reading the paper along with me.

"Could he be the one who was spying on us?" I hand the paper to Quentin to look over, pulling the blanket tighter around my shoulders. I find it very convenient that someone happened to stumble onto Crescent Pack territory around the same time we had an intruder.

"No. It was shortly before our meeting." She clarifies with a hopefully look in her eye.

"Is he willing to testify? We could hold an emergency meeting with all the packs and the council and he can tell them who's behind all of this. Who is responsible for all of the deaths." My own hope deminishes as I watch Della's smile fall.

"The only problem is he claims to not know who the leader is." She sighs leaning against the table and crossing her arms over her chest.

"That's bullshit!" Quentin snaps running his hand through his hair. "I want to interrogate him. He has to know more than he's leading on." His eyes darken a bit with anger, and I can see he's thinking of all the different ways to get the rogue to talk.

"Of course he does, but that would take time. Time that we don't have because the rogues could be readying another attack on anyone as we speak." Fletcher reminds us motioning for us to come to the table. Walking closer I read through some of the pages of witness testimony from both of our recent attacks. "I'm going to make all of us copies because we need to have this memorized for tomorrow. I don't know how soon the council will agree to hold this meeting but be prepared for sooner rather than later." He looks me in the eye as he says this. It's times like these that I feel bad because I know they only explain it all for my sake, and considering Quentin's exstensive history with the council he already knows all this.

"Are we calling them now?" I stand up straighter readying myself for the onslaught of questions. One thing I already know based on my own experience is that we will have to fight tooth and nail to even be heard. Quentin could still face treason charges, and to be honest I'm not even sure what basis they revoked Black Moon's recognition. Other packs look up to Black Moon so hopefully they will at least listen to what we have to say, but the council could still dismiss it as my family stepping in to help because we got caught.

"No. We will wait until morning. Plus that gives Elijah and Nora plenty of time to get more information out of the rogue." Aidan pipes up before diving back into the stack of papers next to him. There's a knock on the door before a timid Emma peaks her head in.

"I'm sorry if I'm interrupting but the boys are awake." She steps inside rocking a sleeping Otis in her arms, but I don't stick around long.

Quentin follows behind me as I run down the hallway to the stairs not stopping me in anyway because he knows I need to be with Carl right now. I've always loved how supportive Quentin's is of me and Carl's friendship, and even from the beginning there was never a glint of jealousy in his eyes. Carl's like a brother I never had and it's relieving that we all trust each other enough that there is never any tension.

"Thank the Goddess you're okay." I wrap my arms around Carl's shoulders delicately not wanting to hurt him since I don't know what happened yet. Stepping back just enough to look over at Asher neither of them seem injured just a little dazed and out of it. "Do you know what happened?" I sit on the edge of Carl's bed taking his hand in mine and giving it a comforting squeeze.

"I don't know I was walking a parameter Asher and I had decided on and next thing I know I'm waking up here." His furrowed eyebrows and the frustration in his eyes has me worried. It's highly impossible for anyone to sneak up on a warrior with as highly ranked as Carl, so the fact they could is an indicator of how skilled these rogues are.

"What about you? Were you guys together or did you split up?" Just because they were found together doesn't mean that's how they were when they were knocked out. Asher blinks a few times clearing his throat before speaking.

"I was talking to Carl and I thought I heard a twig break but everything went dark before I could say anything." Asher sighs resting his head back against his pillow staring up at the ceiling. I feel guilty for letting Asher go out there when he has a mate who is pregnant at home. If something happened to him I would have never forgiven myself. "Did you catch them?" Asher looks composed but I can here the fear in his voice.

"No. The scent was very faint by the time we reached you." I don't mention how unusual that is because he is rattled up enough as it is. I know what I felt, but I also know what I smelled. It smelt like the rogue hadn't been there for hours instead of seconds, and the only explanation I can come up with is that whoever it was has been a rogue for a very long time, which would cause their scent to weaken over time.

"It would explain why you guys could smell them before they snuck up on you." Quentin cuts in from his spot in the chair in the corner of the room. "The bloodwork should be here any minute, and hopefully will give us more answers." Carl sits up groaning in pain clutching his stomach.

"I'm just sore." He reassures when he sees my eyes widening with worry, and leaning over to call a nurse.

"We have a witness to the attacks, and we are calling the council tomorrow." I don't want Carl to think we are just sitting around doing nothing after what just happened to him. I know Della doesn't want information to spread to the wrong ears but I trust Carl with my life, and I know he would never betray me in any way.

"A rogue?" His eyebrow rise so high they almost disappear in his hairline. Biting my lip to suppress my laugh I nod, and he looks relieved for the first time in a while. Parker walks into the room holding two files with a indifferent look adoring his face, and after knowing him for a bit now I know that he is hiding his emotions for a reason.

"Both of your bloodwork came back, and you were somehow injected with a mixture of poisons that caused you to pass out. One of which being wolfs bane which caused your wolves to also become incapacitated for a short time explaining why it took you longer to wake up than usual. The others were different sedetives that shouldn't leave any lasting effects." The news isn't as satisfying as I wanted, leaving us with more questions than answers.

"When can we leave?" Carl shifts in his seat looking uncomfortable. Parker chuckles nodding his head.

"You can leave now if you want, but take it easy for the next few days until your body has flushed the poison out completely. If you still feel ill or especially faint come back in immediately because it's impossible to predict how your body will react over time." The second Parker nods to both Quentin and I and turns to leave the room Carl shuffles out of his bed.

"Can you stay just for tonight?" I plead giving him my best puppy dog eyes, jutting my lip out in a pout. Carl rolls his eyes at my attempt of persuading him even though he hates hospitals. He says they creep him out.

"Is he staying over night?" He challenges pointing over to Asher who sends him a glare in return. Men and their fragile egos. Ryder steps into the room before they get into a full blown argument.

"No, he's going back home and staying in our hospital." Ryder informs us all leaving no room for debate. "Your dad and Stephanie want you home." He looks to Asher with softened eyes. Understanding completely I don't try and fight them on this because if it were me and Quentin I would have torn down here to drag him home myself.

"Be safe, and thank you for helping. I'll call you in a few days to check up on you." I pull Asher into a hug after he stands up taking a few tentative steps testing his balance.

"I'd do it all over again for you. As soon as I'm cleared by the doctor I'm coming back to help." He begins but I stop him before he can promise too much.

"No, you have a family at home who needs you. Plus we have plenty of help." As much as our relationship is strained that doesn't mean I don't still care about him, just not in the same way it used to be.

It also helps that technically my dads pack hasn't gotten their recognition revoked yet so it wouldn't make sense for him to be helping right now. Tomorrow it's only going to be Silver Dawn and Black Moon packs requesting a meeting because I want to keep my dads out of it as much as possible.

* * *

Sleep did not come easy last night after Ryder left with Asher, and Carl agreed to stay at the hospital just until the morning. Laying next to Quentin while staring outside the window up at the moon wondering why the Goddess would write such a fate for all of those innocent people who lost their life. They had families, mates, and friends who will never forget the despair of losing them.

The second I saw the sun peaking over the horizon through the trees I slid out of bed making sure not to disturb Quentin, who's been snoring for the past few hours. Closing our bedroom door as quietly as possible I tip toe down the stairs to the kitchen to get something to drink.

"You scared me." I jump nearly a foot in the air seeing Della perched on a stool at our kitchen counter reading over a few papers. My dads took our spare bedroom on the first floor and Della and Aidan stayed at the pack house so I wasn't expecting to see her here. Especially since I didn't hear her come in.

"Sorry, I couldn't sleep so I thought I would make breakfast for everyone..." she trails off tilting her head at me once she gets a good look at me. "Come here sweetheart." She opens her arms and I throw myself into her comforting embrace allowing the tears to finally fall.

"I'm sorry." I stammer out through my hiccups, but she just shushes me pulling away and wiping the tears off of my cheeks with the back of her hands.

"There is nothing to be sorry for. Do you know how may times I cried while we were going through the Blake and Raven ordeal?" She waits for me to answer but I just shrug not trusting my voice. "A lot, and I was fives years older than you are back then. This isn't an easy nor normal experience to go through, and it's okay to let your emotions show otherwise they boil over at the worst possible time." I take a deep breath trying to calm down.

"I just feel like this is all my fault." Maybe if I hadn't brought up learning more about my mom none of this would have happened. Della chuckles a small smile forming on her lips.

"I remember thinking the exact same thing back then too, but Aidan kept reminding me that if I hadn't stumbled onto his pack we wouldn't have found each other. If i would have died that day in the woods I wouldn't have met Aidan, Emeric, Ryder. Fletcher would still be under Blake's control having never met Ryder. Troy and Victoria would never have been born, and we all wouldn't be a family." She makes a good point, but I can't stop thinking about all the people who now don't get to have their mate, family, and kids

"I can't stop thinking about the families." Her eyes soften understanding where I'm coming from.

"Try and think of it this way. If we don't stop this rogue army now, how many more lives will be taken? Yes there is going to be a battle that's just inevitable and more people may die, but if we stay focused and stratigicly use our resources to our advantage we can do this." I nod my head feeling a small portion of the weight lifting off my shoulders. "As for Ivan I don't want you to worry about him anymore. When this is over with he won't be part of the council." She sounds so sure of herself making me curious on how she knows this.

"How can you be sure?" My tears have stopped but evidence of is still there. With my face feeling hot I know it's got to be blotchy and my eyes rimmed red.

"He made a promise to me many years ago that he has failed to keep." A smirk takes over her face that has me shuddering. Whatever be promised he clearly is going to regret not keeping it. Della is a force that is not to be reckoned with. "Now why don't you eat something since you didn't get any sleep." She slides a bowl of blueberries over.

"How do you know I didn't sleep?" I didn't have a chance to look in the mirror so I don't know if I have dark circles, but my eyes do feel much heavier than usual.

"It's our job as Luna's to worry for our pack." She chuckles shaking her head. "Don't worry you learn how to handle it." A much larger smile takes over her face when she looks over my shoulder. Turning to see Aidan walk in he says good morning through a yawn while plopping down in the seat on the other side of Della.

"Coffee?" She asks sliding a full mug of coffee to him, but he shakes his head while rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Grabbing the leg of her chair he pulls her closer to him, and wraps his arms around her placing a kiss on top of her head.

"All I need is you." He whispers quietly. It's a scene I've seen hundreds of times throughout my life, and I'm hoping to see hundreds of more. The small gesture has always been something I wanted to have in my own form with Quentin. A gesture that is a reminder that your mate is there and shows how much they love you. A gesture to show that they are with you, Always.

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Song: Rival by Ruelle

First I want to thank you all for 700 reads on this book! Throughout writing this book I always worry that it's not as good as the last one, or that people won't like it as much because it's not from Della's point of view. But every time I see all the love and support this book gets it puts me at ease knowing I'm going in the right direction with this series, so thank you from the bottom of my heart! I can't believe we are this far into the story already, but we still have so much yet to come. It's only going up from here so prepare yourself! I love hearing and any questions, comments, or concerns you have so don't be shy, and leave a comment. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and if you did don't forget to vote and comment! Stay safe and stay home! Until next time.

~Stella Gordon