Elaine's wolf moved its head from side to side in denial, protecting its pups with its body. The man looked behind her and saw the children. He looked at her with pain in his eyes.
"Your pups?" She nodded, and the man shifted back into his wolf. He let out a howl at the moon that sounded incredibly pained. All the rogues that remained stopped fighting. The man ran from the packhouse, and all the rogues followed him. It seemed he was the leader. The place fell silent. I looked at Elaine; her wolf trembled, as if frozen in place. Jace came back and took the children in his arms, entering the house.
Seeing Elaine like that broke my heart. I was about to approach her when Alec came towards me, his wolf licking my entire body desperately. I heard his voice in my head.
"My Luna, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, are you?"
"Yes, everything is alright. I was so worried when you left. I was going to go after you, but then all those rogues showed up. I had to help Alpha get his children to safety, to his house. I know that's what you would've wanted."
"Thank you." I nuzzled my face against his and licked his cheek. I looked to the side, and Elaine was still there, trembling on the ground, unable to react. Everyone watched her without understanding; no one in the pack knew Jace wasn't her true mate.
"I must go to my Luna." He looked at her and moved aside so I could pass.
I approached her and licked her face, her body, every part that looked injured. Then she started to react, looked at me, and touched my muzzle with hers.
"My Luna is injured. We must go inside."
"It was Azula, it was him."
"I know, my Luna."
"He was my mate."
"I know, my Luna. You are injured. We must go inside."
A howl escaped her lips. I saw Elliot coming towards us with blankets. He placed them on our bodies, and I stepped back, hugging Elaine's wolf. At that moment, I didn't care if the entire damn pack saw me naked. My best friend was hurting, and I couldn't keep pretending I didn't care.
"Step back, my Luna. You are injured. We must go inside."
Elaine didn't move; she didn't react. I could hear her in my head, repeating over and over again that he was her mate.
"Elaine, Elaine, please, step back. You're hurt, Elaine. I'm here with you; I won't leave. Please, step back." My voice sounded like a shout in the silence that had fallen. Her wolf looked at me and backed up. Elaine threw herself into my arms, crying like a little girl. I had never seen her like that. My heart was breaking into a thousand pieces. I wrapped the blanket tightly around her body and carried her in my arms. I felt the blanket slipping from my shoulders when I stopped, and it was quickly caught by my mate. I turned to everyone and gave the necessary orders.
"Beta, see that they clean up this mess. Gamma, damage control now. Make sure they haven't broken into any houses and return the children to their homes, to their families."
"Done."
I turned and entered the packhouse. I could hear the children upstairs talking to Jace while he tried to calm them down. Elaine clung to me so tightly it hurt. She had scratches all over her body. I walked to the first room I found on the ground floor and laid Elaine down. Her hands quickly grabbed onto mine.
"Don't go, Azula, please. You said you'd stay."
"It's okay, I'm here. I won't go, my Luna. I'll ask them to prepare you a bath to clean your wounds. I need to bathe too. I'll do it in the room next door. I promise I'll be back."
I mind-linked the head maid and asked her to prepare the bath for Elaine. I grabbed a long cotton shirt I found in the closet and put it on. The maids came in and quickly rushed to the bathroom. When it was ready, I carried Elaine to the tub and left her there. As I was about to leave, she took my hand again.
"Don't go, Azula, please."
I stayed there while she just lay there in the water, the two of us alone in the bathroom.
"His eyes... his eyes looked at me with pain, Azula. I broke his heart."
I just remained silent, unsure of what to say, so I just listened, holding her hand.
"And he left. He could've killed me or my children, but he just left."
Tears streamed down her eyes. She spent a long time just crying silently.
"I can't imagine how he felt, his scent. I've never smelled anything like it, but I had to protect them, I had... I had to protect them. They're my children."
"You did the right thing, my Luna."
"Then why doesn't it feel like it?"
We were silent for a while until she let go of my hand and tried to stand up, but her body was weak. I helped her up, wrapped the towel around her, and carried her back to the room. Jace was there waiting. He looked up when he saw me come in with Elaine and took her from my arms, laying her on the bed. She looked at him, moved closer to his chest, and began to cry. He hugged her caringly and kissed her head. Yes, this was my cue to leave. I turned to go when I heard his voice.
"Azula, thank you."
"You're welcome, Alpha."
I left the room, and as soon as I closed the door, Alec embraced me.
"Why did you stay with her for so long? You're injured too." Alec picked me up in his arms and carried me to his room. I felt the fatigue and pain that I hadn't felt before. Alec laid me on his bed and hurried to the bathroom. I heard the bathtub filling up and then I saw him coming back towards me. I took off my shirt and followed him to the bathroom, getting into the tub. I couldn't believe that the first time my mate had seen me naked was like this. I felt the hot water relax me. Alec kissed my forehead.
"I don't want you to ever do that again, my queen. She may be the Luna of New Moon, but she is no longer your Luna. You are my Luna, Azula. You are my queen. Your life is more important than anyone else's."
"It wasn't just that she was my Luna, Elaine... She's my best friend. I couldn't bear to see her suffer like that. I had to do something."
"I understand you love her, and it showed quite clearly, but I want to make sure that you are okay first. For me, your safety always comes first, my queen. I want to take care of you. Just let me take care of you, yes?"
"Alright, my alpha."
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