Chapter 25

Flora’s P.O.V

“Here.” Ruth handed me a can of lime soda as she took a seat beside me.

I had found her minutes after my little chat with Garrick and we had stuck together ever since, unless any of us were needed at our stations. Everyone was tense and worried and scared and so, Ruth and I had huddled together whenever we could and taken strength from each other.

Ruth had been given charge of the submissive teenagers in the thirteen to fifteen range since she was good with kids and she fell in the range between submissive and dominant, although she was more dominant than me but not as dominant as Garrick. She had the perfect dominance for the kids so that they both listened to her and didn’t feel like running the other way.

Now, she once again sat beside me after having to rush over to a thirteen year old boy who had fainted from stress. He hadn’t regained consciousness yet but Jessica had been able to get a quick look at him and deemed he needed rest, otherwise he was perfectly fine.

“I’m scared,” I admitted to her as she wrapped an arm around my shoulder and I placed my head on her shoulders.

Several new soldiers had been brought in as the hours had dragged on and the injuries had kept on worsening. So far, we had lost two soldiers and it had sent almost everyone into panic mode. Since Alpha Nicolas was still on the battlefield, Luna Maria had been trying her best to keep everyone calm and providing food and drinks to those who needed it. But even Luna Maria, the lovely brunette woman who I had never seen without a smile, was starting to get scared and we could tell by her expression.

“I know, love.” Ruth sighed, her form slouched from fatigue. “I’m scared too. But the Alpha and the warriors are trying their best. We need to keep our faith.”

“I’m worried about my parents.” I told her quietly. “Clay and Riley. I’m scared for them. I know it’s selfish but I don’t want them to get hurt.”

“It’s not selfish,” Ruth shrugged. “I totally want my father to be alright too, no matter if someone else gets hurt. And Trevor too. He’s not among the soldiers but he’s on the rescue team. And rogues don’t have a code of honour.”

Yes, rogue wolves were known to be ruthless because they had lost everything they once held dear to them. That’s why they didn’t follow normal battle protocol and just went for whoever they wanted to go after no matter if they were submissive, old wolves or children. And they usually went for the kill.

“You seem to be handling this better than I am.” I told her as I opened the can of soda and took a thirsty gulp. My hands were clean but there were specks of blood all over my shirt. Blood from the men and women I had helped heal.

I wasn’t given hard tasks but the slow drain of power was affecting me. I felt lethargic and tired. The only thing that was keeping me from collapsing into a mess was the adrenalin rush from the fear.

“You’re forgetting,” Ruth chided me half-heartedly. “I’ve been through all of this before, when I was ten.”

Of course! How could I have forgotten? Ruth’s pack had suffered great losses after a rogue attack when some of their own soldiers had gone rogue. That’s why they had to relocate. Our pack had the advantage of being the bigger pack with over three hundred members and we were a close knitted community. That’s why we had only ever suffered small, isolated rogue attacks that was easily handled by our patrol guards. But this was big. Something had caused the rogues to band together and attack at once. And now our loved ones were in danger.

I huddled up close to Ruth, taking strength from her warmth as the world continued to crash and burn outside of the pack house. Ruth wrapped her arms around me tightly, her scent a mixture of lime and honey and it was comforting enough to calm my nerves. I’m so glad Ruth was my best friend.

But the quiet, momentary peace I had found along with Ruth in the middle of the chaos was suddenly disrupted by a commotion right outside the pack house.

For a second, my heart thrashed against my ribs as I thought that the rogue army had arrived at our doorstep and our fate was sealed…that was until the howls went up in the air all around us and Alpha Nicolas’s voice reverberated inside our minds.

Rogue army has been defeated. We won.

Cheers went on all around us at that instant. Some fainted from the stress, some began crying while others danced and embraced one another with tears of joy. Ruth and I also had tears in our eyes as we hugged each other and joined Luna Maria as she ordered the remaining soldiers to open the gates of the pack house to let our packmates inside.

Alpha Nicolas was the first to enter the den, followed by his beta and strongest soldiers. Everyone was injured but they weren’t as severe as some of the soldiers that had been brought in.

Riley, my parent’s and Ruth’s father were in the line that followed and we waited patiently for everyone to enter before being reunited with our families.

“Mom! Dad! Riley!” I instantly went into their embrace as we held on to each other as a family. I had never been so happy to see them return with minimum injuries. The dark clouds were finally gone. Everyone was safe.

Not everyone…

When my parents let me go to go check on the others, I looked around with my heart in my throat. But I couldn’t spot him. No! This can’t be! He wasn’t here.

I caught a hold of Riley’s sleeves before he went over to the healers. “Have you seen Clay?” I asked him urgently.

“Clay…” Riley looked around in surprise, a large gash on his forehead dripping blood all over his face.

I reached out with my hand and used my healing to seal the wound. It took away a bit of my energy but seeing my brother sigh in relief was more than enough reward for the loss of energy.

“Thanks, chubby.” Riley kissed my forehead. “I wish I knew where Clay was, but I haven’t seen him. Maybe he’s making sure we are safe. He must have stayed behind with some of the patrol guards. I’ll go let Alpha Nicolas know. Don’t worry.”

Riley left with the rest of the group but this unsettling feeling in my gut just wouldn’t go away. There was something wrong with the whole situation. Something very, very wrong.

“Flora, you’re required at the infirmary.”

It was surprisingly Garrick who spoke to me, but I stood there unmoving, feeling the wrongness of the situation down to my bones.

Why would Clay stay behind? Was he injured? Was he hurt? Why wasn’t he here yet? Or was he…

NO!

I turned around towards the front door and was about to run for it when a pair of hands wrapped around my waist.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Garrick held on to me as I tried desperately to escape.

“Let me go!” I cried out. “Clay! I have to find Clay!”

“There’s no way in hell you’re going out there!” He snapped, tightening his grip on me. “Clay’s a grown man. He’ll find his way back in no time.”

No! Garrick didn’t understand! I have to go find him! Clay needed me! I don’t know how or why but my gut instinct was telling me to find him!

So without wasting any more time, I swung my head back and heard a nauseating crunch as the back of my head connected with Garrick’s nose.

I had indeed been practicing with Clay for the past few months and it was his idea to use offensive than defensive methods. Of course I held no chance against a stronger, more dominant wolf, but any other wolf would also not expect a healer wolf to attack them and it would give me the upper hand. Like it had done now.

Garrick clearly hadn’t expected the hit, which was why he let me go instantly to clutch his nose while cursing a blue streak.

And I took the opportunity to make a run for the door.