**Oliver POV**
I felt that something was off. Kataleya hadn’t been answering her phone and called her house and her youngest brother, Elijah, told me that she had left shortly after she had texted me. I went searching for Michael to see if he could help me find his sister.
I spotted him making out with the Crimson Sun Alpha’s daughter. “Michael!” I yelled to get his attention. He waved me off as a sign that he was busy, and I was interrupting him. I ignored his hand gesture and continued to grab his hand. He breaks away from the girl he was making out with and scowls at me.
“What do you want? Can’t you see that I am a little busy here?”
“Michael, I think there is something wrong with Kataleya. She was supposed to meet me here at 8, but it is now after 9 and she isn’t answering her phone. I called your house and your brother told me that she left shortly before 8. I have a feeling that something is wrong with her.”
“Okay. Okay. I will help you locate her and then you will see that everything is fine.”
We searched the entire pack and could not find her. Michael checked with the guards that were posted at the entrance to the pack borders and they have not seen her. Michael and I looked at each other and I could tell that he was starting to worry about her too.
We both decided to check the woods between the two packs to make sure that she did not get lost or run into any extra trouble. We were walking for about 5 minutes when I heard a low cry. I look at Michael and he puts his finger to his mouth, telling me to stay quiet.
The crying continues and I can’t tell if it sounds like Kataleya, but whoever it is sounds like they need our help. We continue to quietly trek through the woods, being careful to avoid rustling any leaves and twigs. As we step through a clearing, we spot three rogues hovering over a body. As soon as they sense our presence, they take off running.
I ran into the clearing, only to see the girl lying on the hard forest floor, curled into a ball. Michael rushes past me and barks orders at me to call both of our fathers and to have the pack doctor come with them. Only then did I realize that Kataleya was the one lying on the forest floor. It was hard to recognize her. Her brown hair was a tangled mess, matted with her blood. I could make out the blood running down her thighs, the bruises that were covering her arms and legs, the hickeys that were covering her entire body. She looked like they had ravaged her body and did not leave anything remaining. She looked so small, so broken. My Kataleya. My friend.
I pulled my phone out and dialed the Alpha first. He answers after the second ring.
“Oliver, what is it? Is everything alright?”
“No, Alpha Michael. I need you to come to the forest that is between our pack and the Crimson Sun. Kataleya was attacked and looks to be severely injured. Can you bring my father and the pack doctor with you?”
“I am on my way! Don’t move her, we will come to you, Oliver.”
“Yes, Alpha,” I mumbled. I hung up the phone and looked at Michael. He had just picked Kataleya up and was about to start moving with it.
“Stop! Michael, the Alpha told us to remain here and my father, him, and the pack doctor will meet us here.”
I look at Kataleya’s damaged body and it finally hits what those rogues had to have been doing to her. I felt the tears start to trail down my face. If only I had decided not to bother Kataleya and decided to hang out with her at her house like we usually do. Why did I go in without her? Why didn’t I wait for her like we had originally planned? Now she has been injured and it is completely my fault.
We didn’t have to wait long for the Alpha and my father to show the pack doctor. The Alpha rushed to his daughter’s side and picked her up out of Michael’s arms. My father walked over to me, and he asked me what happened to her. I recounted the events to him, and I started to break down. I told him how it was all my fault that she was injured and that they hurt her. My father wraps me in his arms and tries to gently reassure me that everything will be alright and that Kataleya is fine.
I looked up into my father’s eyes and mumbled, “I am a failure dad. I failed as a future Beta of this pack. I should not have allowed anything to happen to her.”
My father squeezes me tighter and whispers that it was not my fault and that there was not anything that I could have done to help her. He tells me that if I had been there, then the Goddess only knows what they would have done to me, but I could use this experience to better improve my skills, so that I will be able to protect her next time.
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She has been out for two days. The doctor said that it was her body trying to adjust to the trauma. Michael and I have not left her side. Her parents come and go, and they stay when they can. Both of our parents have tried to convince us to go back to our houses and shower and eat something. I honestly don’t think I will be able to eat anything until she wakes up and I see that she is okay. She looks so fragile, so broken. She hadn’t moved, there had been no sound besides our breathing.
The doctor said that she was brutally raped. From the looks of it, it looked like there were multiple attackers, which makes sense since we saw three rogues when we arrived. Kataleya’s father is on a war path. He had been sending warriors out on search parties looking for the rogues that attacked his daughter.
“Michael, do you think she will be okay?” I hesitantly asked him.
“Honestly, I don’t know. I’m worried that is why she hasn’t woken up. She has endured too much trauma for her body and her mind to comprehend.”
Maybe everything will be okay. I can only hope. I miss my friend. I miss hearing her voice. I miss seeing her bright blue eyes brighten when she gets excited or watching her eyes darken when she gets upset.