Chapter 68

Amelie

The SUV stops in front of the pack hospital. We're silent the whole way over, just reviewing what happened over and over in our heads. As we were about to step out of the SUV, Tyson spoke.

"Luna, before we go in, I think I need to inform you of what the Alpha and Gamma found." I nod for him to continue. "One of the elite guards sent a picture of one non-affiliated wolf's ankle tattoo, along with her name. They found a missing person's report for Bailey Rhea from 10 years ago. She was only eight at the time. Her tattoo was her initials and the date she went missing. The tattoo we believe is a tag or identifier to their captors." Tyson is steel faces as he tells us, but his eyes show more emotion, sadness, regret, and anger.

"So, you are telling me they were branded like cattle. I can only imagine the horrors they have been through." I close my eyes, drop my head shaking it. I look up at Tyson, who is clenching his jaw. "How many rouge reports do we have to match what happened here? How many dead rouges have we found with the tattoo?" I ask Tyson.

"We don't know yet. We have a team working through the archives. We will hopefully have a clearer picture by tomorrow." Tyson looks over at his mate Shay. I know he was scared that something might have happened to her.

Shay reaches for his hand, "Ty, I'm right here. I'm OK. It's going to take more than this to take me away from you and Easten." I can see Tyson relax a little from Shay's touch. It makes me miss Gideon even more.

I know I told him to trust me and let me handle this, but it's hard not to get emotional. I don't see how he and his men do this. We are still in front of the hospital in the SUV. I say one last thing before we get out. "We all are aware they are victims. We don't know how long they were in captivity or what happened to them. I don't want any of them to leave our pack territory without their families. We have a rare opportunity to reunite families and start the healing process. Please be gentle, and if they don't want to tell us something they don't have to, we can wait. This is not an interrogation. It's just some questions. I don't want to stress them out, so each of us will talk to one of them. I will take the extra. Please get their name, birthday, birth-pack, and the date they were abducted. If they are willing and able to give you more, that's great; if not, we may have to wait." I let out a sigh and pushed the door open. "Let's go." We all pile out of the SUV and make our way to the third floor. I put them on the third floor because it was quiet. I wanted them to have calm.

Doctor Michaels is waiting by the elevator of us. "Luna, they are all stable, and we have them two to a room. We are running blood, saliva, and urine samples on them all now. I hope to have the results in a few hours."

"Thank you, Doctor Michaels, is there anything we should know before we talk to them?" I ask.

"I can tell you they are all lucid now. Just from the physical exam, they have been through hell. I've never seen that many scars on a wolf. I'm pretty sure they are all malnourished as well. They all appear to be young. I think one of the males mentioned he was only 17. With proper care, their bodies should bounce back. The physical is going to be easier to treat than the mental and emotional." I see Dr. Michaels blink back tears.

I reach out and squeeze her hand. "Thank you for taking care of them. Becky will personally assist with the nutrition. I know from experience she's a pro." I turn and give Becky a small smile.

"It would be my honor." Becky nods in response.

We split up Tyson and Shay together in one room. Becky and Jordan in another. I take the room that Bailey is in. I know Matt is also there as well.

I mind-link Matt, "I'm coming in, OK?"

"Please come in, Luna." He response back. I can tell his wolf has calmed down and understands I am not going to harm Bailey. I walk in slowly. I see Bailey sitting up talking to Matt. The other wolf is asleep in the other bed. I guess I'll have to wait to speak to her later. There are two females and four males.

I walk over to Matt and Bailey. I make sure to use my Mother Luna aura to keep them both calm as I get closer. "Hello, Bailey. How are you feeling?"

She looks at me with tears in her eyes, "Thank you, Luna, for saving us." Matt wraps an arm around her shoulder.

"Bailey. I want to talk to you, but you don't have to tell me anything you are not comfortable talking about, OK?" I look at her, and she nods. I look up to Matt, and he looks at me worried. I can tell that the mate-bond is already having a substantial effect on them. I hope it helps her heal.

"Bailey. We found a missing person report about you from 10 years ago when you were eight. I know the tattoo on your ankle came from your captors. We want to stop them and save anyone else that they are holding. What can you tell me about the people that abducted you?" I take her other hand gently in my own.

She closes her eyes, and a tear rolls down her cheek. She opens her big soft brown eyes and looks at me dead in the eyes. "There are hundreds of us." My heart is racing, hundreds!

I stay calm. I need more information. "What can you tell me about where you were held."

Bailey looks down, "There isn't one place but a lot of places. They moved us around a lot in simi-trucks." She lifted her hand that I was holding, exposing her wrist. I could see the scaring from being confined. "They kept us cuffed with silver, and we only got one meal a day along with a vitamin." She pauses for a moment. "When they bring you in as a pup, they make you fight before you get your wolf. Every day for months, you fought so you could eat, could live one more day. Half the pups don't make it. Sometimes I wish I didn't." Tears are streaming down Bailey's face, and I can see Matt's eyes darken. His wolf is pushing forward. My heart is breaking just hearing about it, but I have to stay calm.

I mind-link him, "Matt, you have to keep your wolf calm. I promise you will get the chance to protect our mate." I see his eyes change back to their warm brown from black. His wolf has calmed.

"Bailey. I'm so glad you survived. Now you have found your mate, and I know he will never let anyone harm you again, and neither will I." I gently squeeze her hand. Bailey gives me a slight smile, but it doesn't reach her eyes. There's too much pain and sadness in them. "I am going to ask you something, and I need an answer. How did you come to our pack, and why did you attack us?"

Bailey looks down, then looks up at Matt like she was asking for forgiveness. Matt coos, "it's OK. You can tell us we know you didn't want to."

Bailey nods and then looks at me, "whenever they wanted us to attack, we would be led to a border through the woods, and one of the handlers would take off our restraints, then an Alpha or Beta would force us to shift and stay." I'm in shock. Alpha and Beta are directly involved in the attacks.

Bailey continues, "Then another one would inject us with what they called 'rage potion.' When they inject you, your wolf fully takes over, but they are out of their minds. You have no control, and your wolf goes into a rage. They are primal. The only one who can control them is an Alpha or Beta, and they direct them to attack and return." She starts crying again. "Our wolves might have been in a rage, but you still see and feel everything. So many of us killed innocents and were killed by warriors."

I rub Bailey's back to soothe her. "You safe now. We will free the others, I promise." I look up at Matt. He doesn't say a word, but his eye tells me everything. They say thank you.

Bailey looks back up at me, "Luna, we didn't know a Luna could control our wolves. We are all so thankful you saved us. We don't have to go back."

"It's OK now. I have another question. Have you been accepted into a pack?" Bailey shakes her head at my question.

"We were all taken before we could be accepted into a pack. We were not treated like wolves in a pack but like disposable soldiers. They shaved our heads, called us by our tag, never our names. They beat us, starved us, and…." She trailed off and started sobbing uncontrollably. I think I knew what she was going to say.

"Bailey, you can just nod your head." I took a deep breath. "Did the handlers abuse the she-wolves?" Bailey nods her head, and her sobbing becomes stronger. I'm not going to dig anymore on this topic; I don't want her to relive it.

I look up to Matt, and I can see so many emotions are running through Matt's eyes. I mind-link him. "Matt, the goddess made you Bailey's mate for a reason. You know better than anyone what probably happened to her. You will need to be patient. She will need you."

"Luna, I don't know what to do." He looks at me with the saddest eyes.

"You will. For now, just comfort her and make her feel safe." He nods and holds Bailey while she cries.

"Bailey, I'm going to let you rest and come see you tomorrow. Matt's going to stay here. He will protect you." She nods her head.

"Thank you, Luna." She squeaks out as her sobbing lessens.

I walk out of the room and take a moment to steady my heart. I blink back the tears that are threatening to fall. These wolves have been through hell and lived to talk about it. I got some information but no actual practical details like the names of the captors or locations. Hopefully, over the next few days, they can give us more. We have to stop these bastards.