Chapter Three

The cool, crisp air was a definite contrast to the stuffy building she had been in for the last three weeks. As Luna ran through the field, she looked back over her shoulder at the building she had just escaped from. Her heart was racing, and when she heard the sounds of men shouting and running after her, she realized she should have known there was no walking away from this. There was only running.

She took a quick second to glance up at the moon. It was two nights before the Wolf Moon would come to pass, so she needed to get back to her pack as soon as possible. Part of her feared that they would have tried to rearrange the order of control in the pack. She had been gone for three weeks after all. But as she allowed her body to shift from her human form to her wolf form, her connections to her pack were reformed and were stronger than ever.

She could feel all of the excitement and the worry that was running through her pack members. With the idea of being reunited with her only family, she lowered her head and ran faster, the sounds of her enemy behind her growing more and more faint.

The pack house was a good twenty miles away from where she’d been kept. It made her laugh to herself whenever she thought that they lived right under Robert’s nose, and still he could not find them.

Running up to the house, she let out a breath that fogged in the air. It was a sight for sore eyes. Rafe, Jaclyn, Maddie, and Raul all ran out to meet her. She shifted once again and fell on the ground. Her bare body shivered in the cold.

“Luna!” Maddie’s small hands were capable enough to roll her over on her back and she winced at the pain of lying that way. There were whip marks across her skin and Maddie jumped at the feel of them. “Oh, I’m so sorry!”

“It’s okay,” Luna smiled and touched Maddie’s cheek.

Maddie returned her smile and looked up. “I can’t pick her up…”

“I got it,” Rafe stopped her, understanding what she needed and Luna looked up at the big male. He was like the brother she never had and as he picked her 

up, she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Thanks, beta.” Even though she was weak, she managed to lift her hand and flick the end of his nose, making him smirk. She’d done that ever since they were kids.

As they walked in, he lowered his voice. “You were missed, if you couldn’t tell by your greeting.” She looked into his face and saw a pained concern. She also noticed that they weren’t bringing up their questions and she was glad for it.

She needed rest and when she was back to her normal strength she would tell them what had happened…and do what she could to protect them from ever having to go through what she did.

Rafe laid her back on her bed and gave her a kiss on the forehead before grabbing Raul by the back of the neck and dragging him out. “You can ask her later.”

Luna raised her eyebrow. What was it that Raul needed to ask her? She looked at the young male. There was a longing in his eyes and just for the slightest moment, they glanced over at Maddie, and the longing intensified. She knew then what it was that Raul needed to talk about.

Of course, she would give the male the permission. Her lips curled into the biggest smile possible. Maddie and Raul were perfect for one another.

She started to fall asleep as exhaustion took her under, but she heard Jaclyn’s silky voice fill the room. “Maddie, go get some towels and a bucket of water.” The side of the bed dipped down just slightly and she opened her eyes to look up at her best friend…that was a female anyways. “Don’t worry, Luna, we’re going to get you cleaned up and then you can get some rest.” Jaclyn’s voice was soothing and she felt her soft hand brushing her hair back.

“Got the water!” Maddie ran in, spilling some of the water on her and she frowned as she set the bucket down by the side of the bed. “Drats.”

Luna laughed, though the sound was hoarse. “Have I told you guys how much I missed you?”

“You don’t have to tell us; we know.” Jaclyn spoke with a sparkle in her eye, and she dipped a towel into the water. “Can you roll over or do you need Maddie to do it?”

“I can.” She took a bracing breath and tried her best to roll on her side. It didn’t work, so she tried again…and a third time.

“Let me help,” Maddie moved to the other side of the bed and lifted her up.

She didn’t bother with arguing but instead let the young girl help her. She needed it anyways. Jaclyn carefully washed the dirt off her cuts and the rest of her body. As a group effort, they got her dressed into comfortable clothes and settled into the bed.

As the two females left the room, they looked over their shoulders at her and gave her a smile. “Get some rest, and when you wake, I’ll make you something to eat.”

“Thanks, Jaclyn.”

The light was turned off and she listened to their soft footsteps as they walked away. A few minutes passed and she found that she couldn’t rest yet. She could hear her pack’s hushed voices in the other room.

“I wonder what all they did to her,” Maddie spoke, obviously afraid by the way her voice shook.

“Don’t worry, Maddie. Luna’s tough, and she knows what she’s doing.” Raul whispered and by the shuffling of bodies, Luna imagined he was probably wrapping his arm around his young mate.

“Raul’s right. When she gets some rest, she’ll be fine. Luna’s not the one to let this affect her personally. You all know that this will affect her by worrying about us. So let’s keep doing what we’ve been doing and wait for her decision. Don’t do anything stupid.” Rafe’s low voice wasn’t hushed compared to the others. He took command like he should as the beta.

“Come on, guys.” Jaclyn urged the others. “Luna’s not the only one that needs rest. We all do.” Luna loved this side of Jaclyn, the mothering side. She and the other pack members were the only ones that ever got to see it.

Afterwards, the house gradually grew quiet as each of them retired to their separate rooms and got themselves ready for bed.

She lay there for a little while, listening to the sounds of nature coming from behind her window. That was her favorite thing about being here, other than being with her family. She’d always loved being out in nature.

Her mind jumped to a memory, the very first one she had. It was when she was still just a pup and her father took her out with the pack on her very first run under the full moon. That had been the greatest moment of her life.

With the moon shining down on all of them, she could see every single one of them so clearly. The fireflies seemed to follow them on their run, lighting up their path. It felt good to use the strength she had in her little body; her legs growing stronger with every paw she put on the ground. The memory brought tears to her eyes and she looked up, vowing to take as good of care of her pack as her father did with his.