Page 11

Emily

Doc wakes me to do his morning checks. I’m perplexed by how effortlessly I slept last night, despite my emotional breakdowns throughout the day and being in an unfamiliar pack.

But this calm yet bustling environment somehow soothes my wolf, allowing her to rest and heal.

She is adamant that we are safe here. I wish I could trust her as much as I used to.

Physically, I’m doing much better today.

The nurses turn off the gentle beeping of the monitors, but the constant chatter of Doc and his nurses provides a soothing white noise effect.

An older nurse applied some lavender drops on my pillow last night and the scent has helped me to tune out the antiseptic.

The pain in my leg has softened to a manageable throb and I’m relieved to no longer feel foggy from the pain medication or infection.

“I’m delighted with how things are progressing,” Doc says as he removes the cage and pins from my leg under a local anesthetic. “Your wolf has already done most of the work of pushing the pins out as she healed you.”

“That’s great,” I say as I let out a deep breath of relief.

“You’re clear to leave the pack hospital today, but you’ll need to stay nearby. I would like to monitor your leg for another few days. And you’ll need to wait to shift into your wolf’s form until your human one is fully healed.”

I nod, though I’m far from reassured. I don’t have anywhere to go or the money to pay for my stay. How do I explain I can’t ever go home?

I run my fingers over the hospital gown I’m wearing.

Not exactly my style, but it is the first thing I’ve worn in weeks other than the t-shirt Jackson gave me.

I don’t have any clothes to wear out of here and he has already told me I’m not ready to shift yet.

I’m probably walking out of here in this gown.

“I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me. ”

“Wolves watch out for each other. I don’t know where you came from, but please understand what you have been through.” He pauses and stares out the window for a few moments. “That should never have happened to you.”

I nod and glance down. Part of me knows Doc is right. Nobody deserves what Aidan did to me. But I’m so angry at myself for not leaving sooner. I’m such an idiot for all the times I convinced myself it wasn’t so bad.

Doc pats my shoulder before leaving me to my ever spiraling thoughts.

A knock on my door startles me. I should be able to sense the approach of others, but I’m even more useless than usual right now. My senses are dulled, as if wrapped in a fog, making it difficult to discern the surrounding details such as individual scents.

The absence of my wolf’s heightened perception leaves me feeling vulnerable, disconnected from the world around me. It’s another indicator of how sick I was before getting here. My wolf is gone practically dormant while she heals.

Jackson stands in the door with a beautiful she-wolf. She’s tall and gorgeous, with wild, curly brown hair, tanned skin and dark brown eyes. It’s hard to pretend they don’t look good together, but then, why am I trying to pretend? It’s none of my business who Jackson is with.

I shake my head, trying to clear my mind of these ridiculous thoughts. This is the same guy who acted like he was going to tear me apart yesterday. I should be terrified. And a part of me is, but the other part is experiencing something entirely different. Something I’m not used to at all.

I don’t know if it’s what Doc said about Jackson or the way the nurses act so uninhibited in teasing each other.

But it’s obvious how relaxed everyone is in Lunar Eclipse.

They are so comfortable with each other that the usual whirlwind of thoughts in my head has quietened to a gentle hum.

Not all the way, of course. I did just barely escape my old pack with my life, after all.

“Hey Emily, Doc says you can leave the hospital today. You look so much better already,” Jackson says, and my cheeks heat at the memory of how awful I looked when he first met me. “I mean, healthier. You look healthier.”

He grimaces and the stunning she-wolf with him attempts to cover a snort of laughter with a cough. “Smooth Jack, real smooth,” she says while shaking her head and patting him on the back.

Oh, she was laughing at him, not me. Strange .

He shoots her a glare but it's not the kind of anger he showed yesterday. It's almost playful. “This is Alpha Ryan’s sister, Sofia. She wanted to meet you,” Jackson explains.

Sofia bounds in to the room fully, plops a large bag down on the chair, and looks me up and down. I brace myself for the nasty comments, but they never come. Sofia merely beams at me. She holds out her hand.

“Hey, you can call me Fia; everyone does! Sorry you’ve only met ‘Brooding Mc Surly’ over here, but I promise I’m much more fun!”

She speaks so rapidly that I find myself staring at her with my mouth hanging open. But there’s something about her bubbly demeanor that draws me in and I find myself warming to her instantly.

“Oh, uh, okay,” I stutter, gaping at her. “I’m Emily,” I say, taking her hand awkwardly and gawking between Sofia and Jackson with confusion.

“You can go now,” Sofia says to Jackson in a pointed tone as she pulls clothing out of her bag and starts throwing items on the bed.

“What’s going on?” I ask, still completely bewildered and confused. My mind races, trying to figure out what’s happening.

“Girl, please, you can’t leave the hospital in that,” she deadpans as she waves her hand up and down, gesturing to my hospital gown. “Jack. Out. Now.” She glares at him, and he raises his hands in surrender before backing away towards the door.

My disbelief is palpable. No way would a female order a ranked wolf around in Blood Moon. I open my mouth to ask, but decide against it. I don’t want to be rude, so I avert my gaze as I fidget with the blanket covering my legs. Sofia giggles and continues going through the clothes.

“I’ll be right outside. Call me if you need anything, Fia.

Don’t take any chances,” he says while glancing my way.

I guess his words should be insulting, but they aren’t.

I’m so used to my weakness being pointed out; it’s kind of nice to be considered a threat for once. No one’s ever thought that before.

Goddess, I’m so pitiful.

I glance at Sofia after Jackson leaves, not having a clue how I should be engaging with her.

I never had a lot of time to socialize as a pup.

It was too risky that I might do something to upset my father.

I’ve been with Aidan since I turned seventeen and he never allowed me to be around others without telling me exactly how I was supposed to behave .

“Sorry, I’m not used to females like you. I mean… I didn’t mean that how it sounded. I’m sorry,” I ramble, mortified. I’m such an idiot. Drawing my shoulders in, I burrow further under my blanket, wishing the ground would swallow me.

“Hey, hey,” Sofia soothes. She tilts her head and frowns before taking my hand and squeezing gently. “It’s okay, you didn’t say anything wrong.”

“I didn’t?” I ask quietly, my breath starting to even out.

“Nope. Not at all! What has you so worried?” she asks while rubbing soothing circles on my hand with her thumb.

How do I explain to this self-assured alpha female that I almost exclusively say the wrong thing without seeming like a complete freak?

I take a deep breath like Doc has been showing me and when I can function again, I try to make eye contact and explain myself.

“Uh… I can be a bit awkward. I say stupid things a lot and... and I don’t get why you’re being so nice to me. I don’t deserve it. You don’t want to spend time with me.” Sofia cocks her head to the side and levels me with a look as her dark brown eyes bore into me.

“Someone told you that, huh?” I can’t respond or make eye contact, so I just nod.

“So, here’s the thing,” she says, squeezing my hand again.

“I don’t know you yet , but I’d like to get to know you and form my own opinion.

Is that alright?” she asks softly. I nod again, my throat tight.

I wish it were that easy. I would love to experience the joy of a friend, even if only for a little while, but I can’t stay here for long.

“You don’t have to tell me any more than you’re ready to, but I need to understand what we’re dealing with here to some extent.

We need some information so that we can keep you and everybody else safe.

How about a trade? I’ll tell you all about me and my pack and then you tell me whatever you’re comfortable sharing? ”

It’s hard not to trust her. She seems so genuine. Over breakfast, she tells me all about the Lunar Eclipse pack and how she’s helping with Luna tasks until her brother finds his fated mate. Her description of Lunar Eclipse sounds so different from Blood Moon.

“So, there’s about 250 members of the pack. We have around fifty warriors, eight omegas, and the rest are unranked. Everyone has jobs in the pack or the local human town, but their homes are provided from the pack funds.”

“You interact with humans?” I ask in surprise. It was expressly forbidden in Blood Moon to interact with anyone from outside the pack unless the Alpha allowed it.

“Yeah, our pups go to school in the human town. I’m pretty sure they think we’re in a cult or something, but whatever.” She shrugs, clearly used to the idea. Whereas I haven’t ever even spoken to a human. I’ll have to pick her brains about what to expect before I move on.