Chapter 29
Alpha Reece POV (cont)
It was the fire chief who spoke next. He was new to this roll, and I admit I didn’t know his name yet.
‘Alpha’s. I am the new fire chief. My name is Ian Waxley. I am a fated mate of a werewolf from the Crescent Moon Pack. I have not long finished my sweep of the site. I am afraid to say that one of my men found the remnants of some kind of incendiary device. I am sure you will all know what that means.’
Ian Waxley finished what he was saying. And only silence met his information.
“Incendiary device!” Asked the Alpha to the Moon Shadow Pack, finally.
‘Yes, Alpha Wallace.’ Replied the police chief, Jacob Webb.
Alpha Maximus boomed out, ‘do you mean to tell me that this was no accident?’ I hushed him. Telling him not to start a panic. Alpha Maximus held up his hands in an apologetic gesture. Saying no more.
So I took over the questioning.
I held out my hand and shook both men’s hands. They knew who I was, of course. They knew all of us.
‘It’s nice to meet you.’ I directed at Ian Waxley. ‘Do you have any idea why this would happen in this town? Midway has always been a peaceful and loving community. Do any of you Alpha’s know of any trouble brewing?’ I hoped my tone implied that I was not accusing anyone. At this time.
Everyone started talking at the same time. It was utter chaos for a few seconds.
Then Raven let out a growl, that had them all quietening down. Although everyone in the room spoke at the same time. There was one word that kept coming up. Mages!
Alpha Seth Hayes, from the Crescent Moon Pack spoke next.
‘So. They have finally made their move!’ It was all he said, but it was enough for everyone of us. And I for one, was not going to stand for it. Not now I had found her.
The impromptu meeting broke up, with the promise of another meeting the next day. Alpha Maximus invited everyone to his pack lands, for the meeting. Spouting bullshit about having a good Luna by his side, whilst looking slyly at myself and Seth. We remained unmated, and some wolves had the opinion that only when you had found your mate, could you be eligible to be Alpha. The uneasy feeling that I had in my stomach since the conversation with Jeremy, confirmation that potions and spells were involved with Julia and her memory, grew slightly as I looked on at the men in the room.
I knew who I didn’t trust. And it wasn’t Seth. Or Anthony, the Alpha of the Moon shadow Pack.
I left the room, and made a bee-line towards my pack members. As I made my way over, I linked with Brad. When I found out what Julia was doing, my heart started to beat very fast and I had a moments struggle with Raven. Whilst the Alpha’s had been called into the office, the highest ranked members of each pack were sent to the hospital on my pack lands. To help out.
The party that had left an hour ago, contained a few Beta’s, a few Delta’s, and one young future Alpha.
Fuck!
Fuck!
Fuck!
Jackson Forester was headed to the same place Julia was.
And I wasn’t there to protect her.
Julia POV
All the doctors and nurses worked for 12 hours straight, before we started to make a dent in the waiting room. Some of the survivors of the disaster, were incredibly lucky to be alive.
Just myself, I treated wolves from two of the four packs.
I treated a Fae, who I had to talk out of vengeance, while strapping his leg up and putting his arm into a sling. I also treated a full human, who technically should have gone to the human hospital. But, she had a werewolf as her mate. And he didn’t trust the “quacks” as he called them.
The day had been one hell of a crazy ride. My memory had taken a beating today, seeing a few familiar faces. But it was mainly the work I had done, that had triggered the biggest memory overload.
When all the major emergencies had been dealt with, I found I could take five minutes to breathe
When Doctor Jeremy walked up to me, sporting a cup of tea, I smiled at him gratefully, and accepted the cup.
The liquid inside was a pale colour, and not very hot. I smiled up at him, politely, and watched a self-conscious grin spread over his face as he admitted that he couldn’t make tea.
That made me chuckle. I sighed contentedly. I loved my work. I loved this environment.
‘You do know you have the same knowledge and understanding as I do?’
I looked up, sharply at the doctor. ‘What on earth made you say that? I am just a nurse. A good one, yes. But not in your league.’
Jeremy was shaking his head. ‘Sorry, my Lady. But I just don’t agree with you. You treated a lot of patients on your own today. I was watching you. I watched you evaluate, diagnose, then treat the patient. Including the ones that needed minor surgery!’
I was speechless. I hadn’t realised I was being watched. I was just doing my job. He was right though, I did have a medical degree. But I chose to stay a nurse, as that is what I loved doing. Only a few people in my old pack knew this about me.
‘Fess up.’ Doc Jeremy said, jovially.
I smiled at his humor. But refused to talk about it. He kept pushing me to confess, and he started to irritate me slightly. I asked him to stop, good naturedly. He just carried on. I don’t know why he was pushing me. Starting to get pissed off at the whole interaction, I let out a frustrated growl. Like, a proper growl, from a proper wolf.
I could feel my mouth hang open, incredulity shone from my face. I had no explanation as to why I had just made that sound. I was getting overwhelmed. And I didn’t like it. I started to walk away, when I froze where I stood. Doc Jeremy rushed over to me, apologising for upsetting me, and asking if I was ok. I was aware that he was talking to me. Unfortunately for him, my whole attention was suddenly taken up by the man who had just walked into the hospital.
‘Jackson!’ I whispered.
There was no way he would have heard what I said, over all the noise in the waiting room. Nonetheless, his head turned my way. And our eyes locked. I could see his lips form the word, ‘Julia.’ Before I spun on my heels and rushed away.
Jackson POV
I knew that Julia was here. We had been coming to see her. And try to bring her back home. But seeing her face to face, albeit from across the room, was still like a slap in the face.
I watched as she fled the waiting room. Guilt flooded me. I was responsible for that. I could have; should have, handled the rejection better than I did.
Julia deserved so much more than I had given her. Eva still didn’t know that I knew most of what she told me about Julia was bullshit. When my parents had set me straight on the type of person Julia is. I felt ashamed. Although, I still couldn’t place any blame on Eva. It was like my mind wouldn’t accept the information it was being told. Choosing to believe whatever she told me.
It was weird. I wasn’t a push over, by any means. I was known by many, as a strong and fierce warrior. But, where Eva was concerned, I would do anything for her.
And where was she now?
Steaming her fucking ceremony dress. And doing her nails. I mean. Are you kidding me? I knew that was not right. I knew Eva should be here with me. As my future mate and Luna of the pack, I knew that she had responsibilities.
Not only to me and the pack. But to my mother, the current Luna. It is traditional to learn how to be a Luna, from the current Luna. That way, all the rites and knowledge gets past from one generation to the next.
Eva had not been alone with my mother once. Since we got back to the pack, Eva’s main focus was the mating ceremony and trashing her mother and sister. How could she be a good Luna?
I was genuinely perplexed. I confided everything to my best friend, as usual. Dan knew everything about me. That was why he was so shocked that I picked a chosen mate over a fated one.
‘I have to admit, my friend. I have been thinking the same thing. I just want you to admit the girl has a hold over you. Listen, I know its shallow of me to consider her looks as an important part of getting together. But you can’t even say that you fell for her, because of that.’
I looked at Dan, like he had lost his mind. ‘What the fuck does that supposed to mean? Eva is stunning. You’re just jealous. Because my girl is a knock out.’ I was so annoyed with what he just said, I stalked away from him.