After three days in the hospital, my arm and ribs are beginning to heal. Physically, I’m starting to feel like myself again.
The medical staff keeps checking in on me, asking subtle and not-so-subtle questions about the injuries that clearly didn’t come from a car accident. So far, I’ve just lied.
I know they’re just worried about the injured young woman sitting in their hospital, but the truth would put them in danger. I’m doomed, pulled into the wolf world without my consent. I won’t put anyone else through that. I won’t risk their future.
Dr. Everett comes in at noon sharp for her usual check-up. “Hello, Ms. Maisie. How are we feeling this morning? Any better?”
“Great,” I lie, masking the constant throbbing in my mind with a fake smile.
“Good! Well, I have exciting news for you. Now that you’re a bit stronger, we can try to get you up and walking. Maybe eat lunch outside of this room. Do you feel up to that?”
“YES!” I shout, eager to escape this sterile, depressing medical room. The sooner they let me walk, the sooner they’ll let me leave.
Dr. Everett disconnects me from the machines and hands me some clothes to change into. Once I’m dressed, she guides me down a long hallway, then out into a lush garden overlooking the mountains.
This must be some fancy private hospital; my heart races as I think about the bill I’ll receive.
Dr. Everett gets me settled in an outdoor seating area. “I’ll be right back with some lunch for us. Don’t try to move too much; your muscles are weak after spending so much time in bed these past few days.”
Left alone for a few minutes, I breathe in the fresh air and take in the view.
An old castle looms beside the hospital. Flowers and mountains stretch out into the distance. I’ve never seen a landscape quite like this before.
Suddenly, pain pulses through my mind and mark—a fresh wave of torment. I take deep breaths, trying to steady myself.
“Hello. Ms. Maisie, right?” a deep voice asks, startling me.
I turn to see the same two men who were with Dr. Everett on my first day. They’re dressed in sharp suits, wearing serious expressions, probably in their mid-fifties.
“Hello,” I respond cautiously, unsure who these men are or how I should react to them. “Just Maisie is fine. Do you work at this hospital?”
Maybe they’re from the billing department. That would suck. I have no idea how I’m going to pay for my stay here—I don’t have my cards, my ID, anything, and I can’t access my accounts without giving away where I am.
The taller of the two men nods, attempting a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Glad to see you out and about. We’ve all been worried about you. Can my friend and I join you?”
He waits for my nod before sitting down. “I don’t think I got a chance to introduce myself. I’m Alpha Dawson, and this is Beta Blake.”
My heart starts to race, and my mind screams at me to run. Did I hear him correctly? Is this some kind of trick? Alphas, betas—that’s the world I just ran away from. I stand up, scanning the garden for an escape route.
“Um, I’m going to go. I think the doctor needs me,” I mumble, lunging away as fast as my sore muscles can carry me. But a strong hand gently wraps around my forearm.
“Please stay,” says the man—the werewolf. The alpha! “I think we need to talk a bit about what’s going on.”
I force myself to take a few deep breaths, but still, my words come out in a rushed whisper. “Please, I just want to leave. I won’t tell anyone who you are.”
“Where are you going to go? You’re still pretty sick, and the infected mark on your neck isn’t getting better.”
Once the pain reduces to a loud banging on the wall instead of hammering, I look up from the ground to see the alpha and beta both wearing concerned faces. Their eyes are dark and intense but not threatening.
No one speaks, at least not out loud. Maybe they’re talking to each other in their heads, through their mind-link.
Eventually, a woman joins us. She sits down next to me gracefully. Alpha Dawson wraps his arm around her, and a warm smile crosses his face as they touch.
“Hi, Maisie,” she greets. “I’m Luna Dorothy. Are you up for going on a walk, getting away from these silly boys? There’s a small garden up that hill that I always find calming.”
I nod, and she helps me stand, supporting me until I regain my balance.
I’ve never met a luna before. She’s nothing like the overpowering figures I imagined. Her flowing black hair and flawless complexion should be intimidating, but her smile is so genuine that it puts me at ease.
There’s no fear in her eyes, no visible bruises on her skin. Maybe this pack isn’t so bad. Or maybe they’re just better at hiding it.
Once we’re out of earshot, she starts to speak. “I’m sorry about my mate. He should never have approached you out of the blue like that. He doesn’t understand how overwhelming he is. How are you feeling?”
“I’m okay,” I lie, trying to downplay the throbbing headache, nausea, and pain.
“That’s good to hear,” she replies, her gaze steady on me. “Can I be frank with you? You strike me as a smart girl, and I’d appreciate the same honesty if our roles were reversed.”
I nod, though I’m not sure I want to hear what she has to say.
“As you clearly know, based on your reaction to my husband, we are werewolves. Your car accident happened on the edge of our territory. This is the Blood Moon Pack.
“Our scouts were initially going to take you to a human hospital, but then they noticed your mark. They worried that you might be a mate of one of our pack members, so they brought you here instead. Does that make sense?”
“I know it’s difficult to talk about what happened,” she says, putting a hand on my shoulder, “but I need to know if someone from our pack hurt you.”
I shake my head. “No… It wasn’t someone from here.” Then I grimace, realizing I’ve basically just admitted that someone from somewhere else hurt me.
She tries to smile, but her eyes fill with pity. She leads me to a bench surrounded by flowers. “I’m relieved to hear that. Violent behavior wouldn’t be tolerated in Blood Moon. Do you know which pack your attacker was in?”
I shake my head, avoiding her gaze as I kick a pebble near my feet. That is too dangerous of a question to answer.
She pats my hand gently. “You don’t need to be scared to talk about it. We’ll protect you. But we do need to investigate. Can you tell me anything about what happened? Maybe what your attacker looked like, a name, where you were when they bit you…”
She sighs, trying to give me a reassuring smile. “Did he explain how the mate bond works?”
“A little… after he… after he bit me.” Fear grips me. Tears break loose and stream down my face. “He can’t find me. I can’t go back.”
“You might die if you don’t go back. Being away from a mate can be fatal.”
“We’re not mates,” I interrupt harshly. “I never… We never…” I look away, the tears flowing freely now. I can’t say it. It’s too personal.
She gives my hand a reassuring squeeze. “You didn’t complete the mate bond?”
I shake my head, still avoiding her gaze.
A heavy sadness envelops us both. The luna tries to empathize, but she can’t truly understand. She’s a werewolf with a mate who treats her well.
I didn’t even know about mates until all this happened. I didn’t know about werewolves. I was just a normal human woman, living my normal human life. Now I’m trapped in this nightmare world, knowing I will die soon.
“Will you help me?” I whisper.
She hesitates. “I can’t promise that we won’t try to find out who did this to you. It’s my duty as luna to keep everyone in our territory safe. I can’t do that if he’s still out there preying on humans, freely roaming between territories.”
She gently takes my hand in hers. “I know it seems that way, but power like his comes from fear. He’s more powerful if his identity stays hidden. If my pack knows who did this, we can punish him under werewolf laws.”
My stomach sinks. She doesn’t realize how wrong she is. But I can’t worry about that right now. I have more pressing concerns.
“You won’t send me back, though?”
“Of course not. You have the right to choose to stay separated from him, even if it costs you your life. Blood Moon will protect you until…until the end.”
