Chapter 33

We made our way to the hospital through the emergency room entrance. As expected, my mom was there, along with a swarm of medical personnel. They practically swept us off our feet.

Dr. Adam, a colleague of mine, guided Christopher onto a stretcher while my mom ushered me onto another. Even though we were in the same room, a curtain separated us.

My mom was about to fetch the silver treatment, but I stopped her. I felt okay. “I don’t need it, Mom. Just focus on Christopher,” I said, settling onto the stretcher.

Christopher, sounding weak and in pain, disagreed. “Don’t be stubborn, Scarlett. You were hit with a silver dagger.”

“But I’m not bleeding, and I didn’t even feel the burn when I removed the silver bullet from you,” I countered. “If I had silver in me, I would have burned at the touch of your bullet.”

Dr. Adam began the silver treatment on Christopher, who sighed in relief. I lifted my shirt to show the thin scar where the dagger had cut me. It looked like I had been cut with a silver dagger and already treated.

I had a scar, but no wound. My body had somehow healed itself.

“But how is that possible?” my mom asked, her eyes wide with disbelief. I had been asking myself the same question.

“She did it.” I pointed upward, and my mom closed her eyes. Despite being a doctor, she was deeply religious.

I could almost feel her silently thanking the Moon Goddess.

“Do the treatment anyway, please, Scarlett,” Christopher pleaded. I looked at him, seeing the worry etched on his face.

“Okay,” I agreed. I removed my bulletproof vest, and my mom began the treatment.

Dr. Adam looked confused. “Wait? Silver? You’re not pregnant?” he asked. “Wouldn’t that hurt the baby?”

“Yes, I am, but I know he’s okay,” I reassured him, stroking my belly.

My mom returned with a prenatal heart rate monitor. She lifted my shirt and placed the monitor on my belly.

The room was silent for four long seconds before the strong sound of Anthony’s heartbeat filled the room. I exhaled a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

Christopher reached out his hand to me, and I held it. “I admire your faith, but I love that sound and the reassurance that he’s okay,” he said, a smile spreading across his face.

“After you finish the treatment, we will do a full ultrasound, but from the strong heartbeats, the baby is fine,” my mom said, setting the heart monitor aside.

Just then, the door burst open, and Karen rushed in. “Thank the Goddess you’re okay,” she said, rushing toward me. She hugged me tightly, then held me at arm’s length, her eyes searching mine.

Her blue eyes were wide with worry, and her brown hair was pulled up into the messy bun she always wore on duty. “What the hell happened, Lett?” she asked.

I didn’t even know where to start.

I decided to begin with the part that affected her the most—Thomas.

“First, you need to know that Thomas is fine. He broke his arm, but he’s okay.” I hoped to reassure her, but she still looked apprehensive.

“Why didn’t he come with us to the hospital?” I asked, turning to Christopher.

“He’s coming with the wounded guards in the first convoy,” Christopher explained, glancing at the half-empty serum bag. “They should be arriving any moment.”

“But how?” Karen asked, shaking her head. “And you?” She looked at the serum flowing into me. “And the baby?”

“Everything is fine with me and the baby,” I reassured her. “We’ve already heard the heartbeat, and Mom is about to do an ultrasound.” I glanced at Christopher, who gave me a short nod.

“We suspected two different locations where the southern guards might be operating. Christopher sent Dad and Bob to one, and he, Marquardt, and I went to the other.”

“You?” my mom interjected, and I shrugged.

“I didn’t agree to stay behind. Anyway, it turned out that the place Dad and Bob went to was empty, so they came to our location. When we got there, we found southern guards, Alpha Joshua, Bertha, and…” I paused, swallowing hard.

“Brisa.”

Karen’s face turned as white as a sheet. I could practically see the blood drain from her face, and she took a step back.

“Joshua said he bought her for information.”

I watched Karen as I said it, but her expression didn’t change.

“They served as a distraction too. I was going to make Joshua talk because I knew that some council guards would be with Ronald’s convoy, and we needed proof,” Christopher added.

“But Rufus, the council’s chief guard, was hiding behind the quarry, and he hit Scarlett with a silver dagger.”

It was only then that I realized the wolf that hit me was Rufus.

“Robert was close and hit him first, and I took his head off afterward,” Christopher said, his teeth clenched. I could feel his anger growing as he spoke.

“And to top it all off, a rock broke away from the quarry and came toward me, but Thomas was close by and caught it. That’s when he broke his arm.” I finished the story as Karen’s wide eyes darted between Christopher and me, trying to understand everything.

“They surrendered, and as our guards and the council guards started to arrest them, Joshua didn’t give up. He decided to attack me and shoot me,” Christopher said, pointing to his injured arm.

“As it was a silver bullet, I had to take it out,” I added.

“Scarlett ripped that arm apart,” Adam said, calmly examining the wound. “Hopefully the scar won’t be too big.”

“He was in wolf form, and I only had a dagger, okay?” I defended myself, standing up and stretching my arm to see his wound while keeping my other arm still for the treatment.

Christopher held my wrist as I ran my finger over the now almost healed bullet hole. “Scarlett, it’s okay,” he reassured me, smiling. I knew he didn’t care about whether or not there was a scar there. He had plenty of them.

“But what about Joshua?” my mom asked.

“I had no choice. He attacked me, within my territory. I tried to immobilize him, but Joshua didn’t stop,” Christopher said, each word heavy with regret.

I knew he hadn’t intended to kill his cousin. His attempt to immobilize Joshua had proved that, but Joshua hadn’t stopped, leaving Christopher with no other choice.

“You had no choice,” I echoed, trying to reassure him.

Christopher looked down, then met my gaze. Everyone in the room understood what had happened.

“Christopher’s attack happened on our turf, which technically counts as a challenge. So, we’ve gained more territory,” I explained, watching as Christopher swallowed hard.

“Which means we have a lot to figure out,” he added.

I didn’t need him to spell it out. The south was now ours, and that could mean more trouble than it was worth.

After his treatment, Christopher accompanied me to the ultrasound room, where we saw that Anthony was healthy and strong. My mom wasn’t convinced he was a boy, but we knew.

Christopher escorted me back to the pack house, where I took a long, hot shower while he attended endless meetings. It was late when I decided to find him.

The meeting room doors were open, a rarity, and wolves from all sectors were coming and going.

I spotted people from the administrative, legal, guard, and council sectors. Some nearly bumped into me as I made my way to the end of the table. I didn’t need to announce my presence; Christopher would have picked up my scent.

He looked up from the papers he was reading, and when our eyes met, he dropped the papers on the table.

“I came to see if you were ready to call it a night, but it looks like you’re not planning on stopping anytime soon,” I said. As I approached him, I noticed my dad nearby, yawning.

“Scarlett, we still have a lot to get through,” Christopher said, blinking slowly. I could tell he was exhausted too.

“Let me remind you that today you beheaded two people, got shot with a silver bullet, and won a pack. That’s a lot for one day. You all need to rest,” I said, turning to address my father as well.

“We can’t stop now,” Christopher tried to argue.

“Is there anything that absolutely can’t wait until tomorrow?” I asked my father directly.

“Not really, just these two signatures,” my father said, lifting two sheets of paper as he yawned again.

Christopher sighed loudly and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Part of a luna’s duties is to take care of her alpha, right?” I asked, trying to keep a straight face, but he still laughed with his eyes closed.

“Okay, you win,” Christopher said softly at first, then raised his voice. “Let’s focus on what’s urgent, work for another half hour, then everyone goes home to rest. We’ll continue tomorrow.”

I swore I heard a cheer and a collective sigh of relief.

“Great. I’ll wait for you upstairs,” I said, giving him a quick kiss on the lips.

He smirked as I pulled away and started to leave. “You don’t have to wait up for me,” he called after me when I was halfway out the door.

I knew he was planning to work late into the night. “Half an hour, Christopher,” I said firmly.

I went to our room, changed into my pajamas, and got into bed. I was tired too, but I was so used to his presence that I couldn’t rest without him there. I tossed and turned for that entire half hour until I heard him come in, take a shower, and slip into bed next to me.

In his arms, sleep came easily.

I wanted to dream about the Goddess, to get some answers, but I knew it didn’t work that way. I couldn’t just will her to appear.

Two nights later, I found myself in the field again. Under the same moonlight, she sat, taking in the view.

“I thought I’d see you sooner,” I said, sitting down next to her.

“You saw the signs, didn’t you?” she asked, not looking at me, just staring straight ahead.

“Yes, I understood, at least a little, the prophecy about Anthony and even Mathew—” I began, but she cut me off.

“He was just a small part of it all,” she said. “Do you know why Thomas is so strong?”

Her question caught me off guard. I didn’t know.

I had only known Thomas since he met Karen. I thought all the guards trained and were strong, but now that she mentioned it, I realized Thomas was stronger than most.

“Thomas lost a brother in a robbery when he was just seven and his brother was fifteen. His brother had to die for reasons of my own. He had fulfilled his purpose here and moved on.

“But one of the outcomes was that Thomas believed that if he trained from a young age and stayed strong, he wouldn’t meet the same fate as his brother. That’s why he joined the guard and kept training, becoming as strong as he could—so that one day, he would be strong enough to stop that rock.”

“You orchestrated all this just so he could save me?” I asked, startled. A chill ran down my spine, tinged with guilt.

“No, it wasn’t just for that, but it was part of it. As you’re learning, everything is connected. Everything happens for a reason, even if you don’t understand it,” she said, smiling.

Then she turned to look at me, and I was struck once again by her beauty. “Even guard James Werner lives close to the border, where that attack took place. He was the first to arrive, which is why he was attacked so brutally.

“But his house was meant to be there, and he was meant to be attacked. You were meant to care for him, and he was meant to die under your care. You were meant to talk to his family, to help them deal with the legal department, who was—”

“Mathew,” I interrupted.

“Exactly, and after what I told you, for you to have faith. Seeing him there made you understand.”

I was beginning to understand a little more, and it comforted me to know that she was in control of everything and that everything happened for a reason.

“But you know it’s not over, don’t you? All of this, Scarlett, is just the beginning,” she said, looking forward again.

“I know.”

“Just never forget that I will always be here. Even if not in your dreams, I will be here.” She turned to me and placed her index finger on my chest. “And here.” She moved her finger to my forehead, and then I woke up.

It was the middle of the night. Christopher was sleeping next to me, and I turned to him, snuggling into his embrace. His hand rested on my belly. It was the three of us. I knew it was just the beginning, but I couldn’t wait to see what was next.

End of Book 1