48

He grinned, his eyes turning black as he looked back over to the two guards. They were very tall and muscular men, but I knew he and the other three warriors could handle them. Christine and I will go into Veloces' cell and handle his father. He's going to be tough to at least knock out, but I was determined to free my mate. Without any warning Clayton and the warriors attacked the two guards, growls and snarls echoing through the dark halls.

Christine and I snatched the keys from a guard's waist and unlocked the cell door, swinging it open. A loud growl escaped my throat as I spotted Veloces laying on the ground and a man standing over him. The man shifted his gaze up, his blue/brown eyes sending rage through me. I bared my canines, my claws out as I slowly walked towards Veloces. Christine was also growling, her eyes dark as the need to protect her Alpha coursed through her.

Crudelis tilted his head, a sadistic grin plastered on his hideous face. "Well, this must be Veloces' mate..." he sneered.

I rolled my eyes, "No, I'm his long lost sister." I snapped, my voice dripping with sarcasm and hatred.

Crudelis grinned, "I like her, son, she's feisty! She would of made a great Luna if I didn't have to kill her."

I laughed, "Like you can kill me."

He growled and lunged for me, but I side stepped him. I mind-linked Christine and told her to start unchaining Veloces. Crudelis spun around, his eyes narrowed. He then shifted into a large dark grey wolf, his dark eyes sparkling with rage and hunger. He had a wolfish grin on his face, the muscles showing through his short fur. I took a deep breath, knowing I shouldn't shift yet.

"V-Vanessa...n-n-no....h-he's..." Veloces tried saying but went into a coughing fit. "H-he'll...k-kill you."

I ignored him though, focused on the task in front of me. I could see Clayton come to the door from the corner of my eye and grinned. Curdelis lunged at me again, but this time I side-stepped him and grabbed him by the throat. He choked and gagged as I tightened my hold. I then slammed him into the ground, the cement shattering underneath of him. He slowly got up and shook his head, baring his teeth and running towards me. I then looked at Clayton, he shifted and pounced onto Crudelis. They both rolled around, snapping at each other's faces as I helped Christine.

"Kyle and Tom, help Clayton! Harold, help us." I ordered.

All three ran into the cell, Kyle and Tom shifting into their wolves as they attacked Crudelis. Harold swiftly helped us stand Veloces up and drag him from the cell. We ran as fast as we could down the hall, praying that the three would be able to knock Crudelis out. As we reached the final hall we heard footsteps behind us. I felt relieved when Clayton, Kyle, and Tom appeared behind us. Fortis climbed up the latter and pushed the door open. He then climbed out as Lucas helped us get Veloces up.

Veloces collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air. I knelt beside him and stroked his cheek, "Hey, you need to keep going." I urged.

He looked up at me with pained eyes, "I-I can't...the silver..." he whispered.

"Silver?" I furrowed my eyebrows, my heart beating faster.

"Guys, we need to go. Crudelis will be awake soon." Clayton said.

I looked up, seeing about six guards running from the woods. "We can't go that way."

"Then what do we do?" Christine asked.

"Guys! Get in!"

We all turned our heads to see Olivia driving towards us in some SUV. I didn't bother to ask questions as we all dragged Veloces into the truck and closed the doors. Olivia sped off, hitting a few guards on her way out.

"Damn, you really don't care for them." I commented.

She grinned, "Nope!"

Once we got onto the road we all relaxed and Olivia slowed down just a tiny bit. I turned my attention to Veloces who was panting. I ran my hand through his hair, trying to help him relax.

"Veloces, what do you mean about silver?" I whispered.

He slowly opened his eyes, "C-Crudelis...h-he...made me...s-swallow...silver."

"Dude, you're sweating silver!" Fortis shrieked.

"Did you just scream?" Clayton chuckled.

Fortis blushed a little, "Shut up."

"He is sweating silver though." Christine chirped.

"His body is getting rid of it, a doctor will have to pump his stomach to get the rest though." Olivia explained. "My father uses this on many rogues."

"Will he live?" I asked.

She nodded, "Yeah, how much did he make you swallow?"

"A c-cup."

"Oh yeah, he'll live."

I kissed him on the temple, ignoring the silver that burned my lips. Veloces rested his head on my lap, closing his eyes as he rested. I looked out the window, dread filling me once again. Alpha Jeremy is going to be pissed off tomorrow, especially that his daughter is with us.

I groaned internally, we're far from being out of these woods.

~Vanessa~

Olivia parked the SUV in front of the packhouse before hopping out. She swung the doors open as we all gently pulled Veloces out of the SUV and to his feet. He groaned before shoving us aside and running or well, limping, over to the bushes. I frowned as he emptied whatever was in his stomach; before he could collapse I grabbed him.

"Hey, take it easy." I whispered, rubbing his back.

His eyes were wide and his face was as white as a sheet, he was panting as well. Fortis walked up beside us and started supporting most of Veloces' weight.

"We need to get him to the infirmary." he spoke, glancing at his brother.

I nodded and helped him walk the injured Alpha to the infirmary. It took us twenty minutes just to get there and another five to get him on a bed. The pack doctor immediately got to work, barking out orders like nobody's business. Fortis and Clayton guided me to the waiting room as I struggled to see what they're doing to him.

When they finally got me to the waiting room Christine sat me down and hugged me. I sighed, swallowing my panic.

"Fortis." I whispered.

He looked over, "Yes, Luna?"

"C-could you tell me everything before you were sent away?" I asked.

He nodded, "As you know, Crudelis lost it after he found out Veloces wasn't his child. I always had a feeling because Veloces didn't share any common traits with Crudelis. Sure, Crudelis has blue/brown eyes but Veloces' are a bright blue. No one in our family ever had those bright blue eyes, no one in the pack. Except for his Beta, Marcus, who was a strong fella. Of course Marcus lied and told him our mother forced him to have sex with her, telling him that Crudelis wasn't enough." he explained, shaking his head.

"My mother is nothing like that, she never was a cheater. She loved our father and we knew it, she loved him till her last breath. After she died everything got worse, my father sent me away and goddess knows what he did to my brother. Before I was sent away my mother told my father everything. How Marcus forced her to have sex with him. Not the other way around. He didn't believe her and that's when he stabbed her in the heart. He never questioned Marcus, why would he? Marcus was his closest friend since day one, he always supported him and had his back.

Yet, Marcus betrayed him and technically raped my mother. I don't know when, but Veloces told me that Crudelis killed Marcus after Marcus confessed to it. It was on our mother's birthday." he whispered, a sorrowful look crossing his face. "I guess the guilt finally got him."

He looked back at us, his eyes watery as he held back unshed tears. I nodded, "Thank you."

He smiled, "You're welcome, Luna."

For the next six hours we all stayed in the waiting room, falling asleep slowly. After a while Clayton picked Christine up and said they were going to bed. I could tell he was a little reluctant, but I assured him that I would alert him if anything happens. I then convinced Fortis to go to a guest room since he kept shifting around on the chair. He refused though, going back to Black Thorn territory with Clayton. Saying the pack needed someone to watch them and start the training.

"You're an awesome Luna." he said before grabbing his jacket and leaving.

I smiled to myself, I never really thought of myself as a great Luna. I mean, I rejected their Alpha and left him, abandoning them. The thought had my guilt clutching my heart as the minutes ticked by. I closed my eyes and forced down the tears, not wanting to cry anymore. I snapped them back open when someone gently tapped my shoulder.

I looked up to see the pack doctor, she was smiling but looked exhausted. "He's going to be fine." she said before I could even form the question.

I let out a sigh of relief, "Thank the goddess. Can I see him?"

"Yes, but there's something I need to tell you first."

"Yes?"

"He's in a coma. We don't know how long, but we're hoping he wakes up soon."

I felt myself pale as my eyes widened, a coma. He's in a coma and I'm left with training a huge pack and defending them against Alpha Jeremy. I then clenched my jaw, no, I can do this. I'm the mate to one of the strongest Alphas. I'm the Luna to one of the strongest packs. I need to train them and show everyone that I'm not weak. That I know how to lead a pack, Alpha or no Alpha beside me.

After my little pep talk to myself I followed her into the infirmary. We walked through three halls and stopped at a door. She quietly opened it and let me in; I slowly walked towards his bed and sat in the chair beside it. I took his limp hand and watched him.

He had an oxygen mask on, stitches on the side of his face, he had two IVs in. One was putting medicine into him and the other was giving him blood. The pack doctor checked him over and then wrote something down on her clipboard.

"He lost huge amounts of blood during surgery. We found a pretty large spot of internal bleeding, it did give us a fright. We fixed it though, just giving his body the extra blood so his heart doesn't work as hard. He does have a bruised ankle, it should take three days to fully heal. He does have silver poisoning though. A mild case of it. We pumped his stomach and he has stopped sweating silver, but there are small pieces of it still in his blood stream. The extra blood should help pump the rest out.

Depending on when he wakes up, he may feel weak and sick. He'll have a pretty high fever, but once the silver passes it should go down. We'll give him medicine for it though. He'll need to drink a lot of water and Gatorade to get those electrolytes in. He'll most likely be tired, but that's normal when it comes to this. The whip wounds on his back and chest are healed, but there are scars. A few will fade, but many others will most likely stay. The wounds were very deep." she explained.

I nodded, taking in all of this information. "So, overall, he's in pretty bad shape?"

She pursed her lips, nodding slightly. "He's in between good and bad. Good thing, he should make a full recovery. Based off of the fact he was healthy before the abuse, he's an Alpha so he heals faster than a regular wolf, and that he's younger. With the right amount of rest, he'll be fine. One suggestion though, when he wakes up, do not say anything about the pack. Until he's cleared, he cannot become stressed out." she quickly warned.

"I'll make sure he stays relaxed." I replied, giving her a small nod.

"Good." she smiled. "Good thing you're his mate."

With that, she grabbed her board and left, closing the door behind her. I turned my attention back to Veloces and gently kissed his forehead. I rubbed circles on his hand with my thumb, watching the rise and fall of his chest. A stray tear rolled down my cheek.

"Please, wake up soon, Veloces." I whispered, resting my head on his bed.

I closed my eyes, fatigue settling in. As my world plunged into darkness I swear his grip tightened a little.