#Chaptér 76: Rogue Defeat
+25 BONUS
After the rogue is so badly damaged that it’s barely breathing, the werewolves shift back to their human form, including Rita.
She helps me up as the others stand around the bloodied body of our attacker, their mouths and hands smeared with blood.
A couple of them approach to check on me. I don’t know who they are; I don’t think I’ve ever seen them before- but they knew me. One of them, the one with a long beard and haunted eyes, stares at me.
It’s unsettling. It reminds me of the way Alex’s mom stares at me. Like he’s looking for something in my face, or rather sees something hidden within it.
“My name is Charles,” the one with the beard says, “and these are Oorna, Abner, and Meor. Abner and Meor were on guard tonight, out in the forest. They could smell the intruder and tracked him here.”
Rita spits on the ground. Is it odd to think, in this moment, that this is unladylike?
“Damn it!” she says. “He’s in rough shape and can’t turn.”
She turns to Charles and asks, “Is there somewhere we can tie him up until he has the strength to shift? We need to ask him some questions.”
By this time, other pack members have wandered around the perimeter and are watching.
Charles nods emphatically. “The Meeting Hall.”
“Perfect,” she replies. “Help me get him there.”
Two of the others shift back to drag the wounded rogue away.
“He made it to Ryan’s house. I’m afraid it’s a little worse for wear,” Rita tells Charles as we watch them retreat.
“My apologies. He should not have made it inside, but we had strict orders from Ryan to patrol the outer borders tonight.”
“Is that what you typically do?”
“No. We’re usually closer to base.”
I can see the wheels turning in Rita’s mind.
“Ryan ordered them to be away,” Rita says aloud, but mostly to me. “And Alex didn’t get sick until we were here.”
Charles, who is standing with us, isn’t registering anything she is saying. His eyes are focused on me.
Finally, I speak up, and my stutter gives away my escalated agitation. “Isss there sss–something wrong?”
“Forgive me, Luna,” he replies.
“Who?”
Rita scoffs. “Excuse me?”
Charles kneels on one leg. “Our missing Luna has returned to us.”
Now Rita is laughing. “Cynthis is not your Luna.”
“What’s a Luna?” I reply, a bit confused.
“A Luna is the female leader of a werewolf pack…which means you have to be a werewolf to be one.”
1 back up a couple of steps, bewildered by the whole scenario. “Oh–no–I’m not. I’m human!”
With his head still bowed, Charles says, “You resemble your mother, Ylfa. She was our Luna when we served Hrolf.”
“Your Alpha that was murdered,” Rita says slowly, like she’s still working things out in her mind.
The other pack members are drawing closer. I freak out and say, “Please ssstand.”
Charles gets to his feet as an older man and woman approach. The man is wrapping a robe around his pajamas and tying the belt. The woman is wearing what I would call a granny gown, her arms wrapped around her chest to keep out the cold.
They’re both old, with wrinkly skin and white hair, but are very alert and sprightly. I wonder how old they actually
are…
“What’s going on?” The old man’s question is targeted toward Charles, but as soon as he sees my face, he does a double take. “Dyanthiana.”
“I don’t…”
Rita interrupts me. “Who is Dyanthiana?”
The man answers. “Our Luna, who is in hiding.”
“Hiding?”
The man briefly glances at Rita before his eyes are drawn back to me. “After the death of Hrolf, our Alpha. You are his daughter, our Luna.”
The man kneels down in front of me, and the woman behind him follows suit.
I start to stammer as my body trembles and my hands wave, crisscrossing in front of me. “No–I–I–it’sss not me.”
Others are watching, drawing closer.
“Please…no…”
Rita intervenes. “Listen, let’s go somewhere private so we can discuss this further.”
I look at her and I can only imagine the look of shock on my face. She shrugs at me, obviously as shocked as I am.
The man stands and helps the woman up. “This is my wife, Lenor. My name is Jeraoul. We’re members of the Council.”
“My name is Rita. This is Cynthia.”
The others smile at me and I shrink away. Rita must feel bad for me, because she again asks to go somewhere we won’t be gawked at.
As if remembering themselves, Jeaoul says, “This way,” and leads us to the base’s Meeting Hall.
I don’t know if there is a blueprint they all follow, but the outside of this building is very similar to the one at the Ayzena base. I realize the inside is the same, as well.
When we arrive, the others are tying the rogue to a large beam in the back of the room. I wonder how even a beast like this can recover from such terrible wounds, but I know they have regenerative abilities I don’t quite
#Chapter 76 Rogue Defeat
understand.
+25 BONUS
All I know is that I don’t want to get any closer to it. Once it wakes up, I’m going to be prime target numero uno. Charles leads us all into the back room. My mind flashes back to the dinner I had with the Ayzena pack. Alex had been in a room like this, arguing for his brother, bearing the weight of the world on his shoulders.
After, he took me on a walk to the stream, to what was to become our spot. The place he would later admit his love
to me.
There is no table inside, which is what I would have expected. It’s what a human meeting room would look like. Instead, there are heavy wooden, highbacked seats in a semi–circle that resemble thrones more than chairs.
Charles motions to two smaller chairs near the wall across from the throne–like seats where Jeraoul and Lenor sit. Power, that’s what their seats say: The ones who sit here hold all the power,
Charles disappears and quickly returns with liquid refreshments. I refuse anything.
Charles makes his way to the center of the semi–circle and faces me and Rita.
And the tale he tells would stay with me forever.
