Hannah POV
I sit in the window frame in the pack's infirmary. James is sleeping on my lap; I gently pat his hair listening to quiet "beep, beep" sounds.
Hayden's heartbeat is very weak, yet he is still alive.
I look at all the machines he is attached to, feeling strong pain in my chest. But I don't cry, and I don't have any strength to cry anymore.
It's been five days since the bloodshed, and Hayden hasn't woken up. When we finally managed to get to him in that cellar, he was already in a coma. He didn't become feral, but we don't know if he will ever wake up again. Gideon said that there was a high chance that Hayden's wolf was gone, and losing the wolf is almost always a death sentence.
Yet Hayden is still alive, and we can do only one thing, we can only wait.
James is here because Gideon made it clear that the presence of his pups may be the only way to help Hayden. I didn't even have to ask them; they agreed immediately to stay next to him all the time. They sleep here, and during the days, they take turns so their father is never left alone.
Just like me, they are sad, and it's so unfair. Barely a couple of months before, they lost their parents, and now they have to fear also losing Hayden every single day.
We buried Tony three days ago. Although he wasn't the only victim of Becca's and Connie's attack, he was the Beta of this pack. For many years he served and protected this place and the people who live here. For many years he was Mikkeli's support, friend, and brother.
Mikkeli is devastated, so he buried himself in work, coming back to the safety of his shell. He shows everyone his strong façade, but I know how broken and sad he is, but as an Alpha, he has no privilege to surrender to his pain.
He had to be the one who delivered the news to Tony's mate, although she had already felt that she had lost him. He helped her prepare the body for the burial and hold her in his arms when she was crying. His speech during the funeral was calm but full of emotions of suffering and loss, and all that time, he didn't stop squeezing my hand.
The door to the room gets opened, and Rose comes in; she sits next to us.
"You should go and eat something; I can stay with James and Hayden. You've barely eaten today."
"I'm not hungry," I say, and Rose gently hugs me.
"Tony's family is leaving today," she says, and that's what gets my attention.
"I don't understand. Why?" I ask.
"She's not from here, Hannah. She moved here six years ago when Tony and she found each other. She doesn't have any family here, and Tony's father spends most of his time traveling. He didn't even manage to come to his son's funeral. Her parents and brother are going back to their pack, and she wants to go with them. Her mate is gone, and she still has her kids, but it will take years for her to accept this loss. "
That makes me leave the room; I must at least say goodbye. I go to her, she's packing, and her relatives are helping. She notices me as I stand by the door.
"I want to say goodbye," I decided to speak first.
"Luna, I'm sorry if you think I act impulsively. I can't stay here; everything reminds me of him..." her voice breaks, she starts sobbing, and I quickly go and hug her.
"Do what you think is the best for you and your children. I just want you to know that you will always have your home here, you will always have friends here, and if you ever need anything, we will always help you."
She hugs me back as she cries on my shoulder.
They are gone in the evening.
Mikkeli kept himself calm, but I know that the fact that Tony's mate and children decided to leave is another strong blow for him. He has locked himself in our bedroom and asked not to be disturbed, so when Hank phones, I have to be one to speak with him.
Hank left the infirmary two days ago and went immediately to his pack. He survived the Red Venom thanks to Kyle and other omegas. Kyle was snuggling with him for almost 5 hours. His pregnant omega's scent, with a combination of other pack omegas' scents, made his wolf so calm that he didn't go feral, although it made him so exhausted that he had to spend three days in bed.
During that time, we also had a visit from the Werewolf Council's representatives, and they interrogated me, Mikkeli, Hank, and other Alphas; then, they went with Hank to the Full Moon pack to continue with their investigation.
I owe Hank; after he handled the poison enough to stay conscious, Mikkeli described to him the place me and Hayden had been kept, as I had projected to him the vision of it through our bond. Hank managed to point out a few possible locations so Mikkeli didn't have to waste time checking the whole Full Moon territory.
"Hello, Hannah, how are you?" Hank asks, but I can hear tiredness in his voice.
"Same. Hayden is still in a coma."
"He got much more poison than me, Hannah so it will take time, but he fights; I'm sure he will wake up sooner or later."
"Thank you for trying to cheer me up. How are things at home?"
"They keep asking questions, basically trying to figure out if they should execute someone else. But thanks Goddess, it looks like Connie had done it all by herself, although it will not save my home," he sounds hopeless.
"There is no way to stop disbanding your pack; what will happen with your people?"
"Those who will have families in other packs will try to relocate, but the rest have no place to go. They will be forced away from their homes, from land they often occupied for generations. They will become rogues, maybe even go feral. I try to find them some places, but other packs won't be willing to accept wolves whose origins are stained with Red Venom."
'I'm so sorry; if I can help?"
"Actually, I was hoping you would say that; I have a request. But that's not why I'm calling, Ryan wants to take his daughter's body, or at least what's left of her, and he wants to speak with Becca."
I take a sharp breath.
Becca is still in our pack dungeon, still badly wounded. I haven't seen her since that night. I don't know what Mikkeli intends to do with her. The Council decided that since she didn't buy nor gave anyone Red Venom, Blackwood pack has a right to punish her as we, please. I told Mikkeli everything, including Becca being his sister, but I doubt he cares. She is the reason our friend is dead, he will never see her as a family, and I think he won't show any mercy either.
"Can you be here in an hour? Mikkeli is asleep, so he won't get rampant; I don't think it will be good for him to see Ryan."
"I think so; thank you, Hannah".
In the next hour, I am very busy. I talk with Gamma, who, as I thought, isn't happy with Ryan's visit, as everyone in this pack blames him for allowing this tragedy. Yet he accepts my arguments and promises to handle the visit.
Next, I sit in the kitchen, trying to collect my thoughts. I understand how serious the situation is. Disbanding the pack the closest to us means that there will be unoccupied land near, and that can attract groups of rogues looking for a home, which can be dangerous. It can also start a war among other packs for the territory, which means more blood and victims. And the Blackwood pack has not enough manpower to claim and maintain such a big territory even if we try.
I'm also worried about people from the Full Moon pack, and no one deserves to be exhaled from their home because of the deeds of one person. That makes me think about Connie and about what she chose to do.
I stand up, and first, I go to find Dalton. He is the older wolf who came up with the plan during the hunter's attack on the packhouse and later saved my life. He served as a Head Tracker for many years and has a big knowledge of werewolf laws and customs. We talk for at least half an hour, he answers my questions, and I share with him my idea. He doesn't seem convinced but agrees that we may be out of other options in this situation.
Later I let my legs take me to the dungeon, to one of the cells. Guards seem unsure to let me in, but finally, get convinced since I used my mate/Luna card.
Right now, we have only one prisoner; she is in the last cell.
As I come closer and look at her, I try to figure out how I feel. She is still wounded, both her legs are crushed, so she can't walk. She also heals very slowly; her wolf is probably in extreme pain because of the loss of his mate.
She looks at me; I see the shell of the woman she once was when she crawls closer to the bars.
"What do I owe the honor of your visit Luna?" she says, her voice leaking with hatred, but I also see her lips trembling as if she was trying very hard not to cry.
"I came to tell you that the Alpha of the Full Moon pack wants to see you. I want to ask if you agree to see him?"
She smirks and says in a mocking way: "Does it matter if I agree?"
"I don't intend to force you," I say.
"Please, Hannah, do you pity me" she snorts, and I see that nothing changed. She lost, but she still hates Mikkeli the same. She lost her mate, and still...
"No, it's not you who I pity," I say and turn around.
"Why is Ryan coming here, for sure, not only to see me?" her question stops me.
"He is coming to take his daughter's body..."
"Fuck no! He never cared for her. He shouldn't touch her!" she screams.
I can feel getting angrier and angrier. So much blood, so big loss, and she still doesn't understand.
"That's why I don't pity you; it's Connie who was pitiful, not you, Becca. You got exactly what you deserved; you don't get to make yourself a victim here," I say as she tries to bare her teeth, but I won't let her back away from responsibility, not anymore.
"You said Blackwood Pack should be yours to protect, and yet it didn't stop you from hurting it! You invited rogues to these lands; what about warriors who could've died because of that? I get you hated Mikkeli, but the hunter's attack you prepared could've killed each child here. Is this how you protect the pack?"
"It wasn't like that; I didn't know they have such detailed information about safe rooms. I only helped them to enter the packhouse; I have no idea how they knew so much about our security! I thought..."
"That doesn't change the fact that you deliberately endangered everybody many times! You told me that the previous Alpha saw you and your family as nothing more than collateral damage, but aren't you the same? My family was collateral damage to you; your own neighbors and warriors you were in charge of were collateral damage to you. Tony was only collateral damage for you. Even your own mate was nothing more than collateral damage!"
She flinches as I say the last sentence and looks at me with fury.
"That's not true; I loved Connie!" she screams as tears come from her eyes.
"Then why wasn't she enough for you!" I got closer to the bars, and we look eye to eye. "You said her father would have never accepted your mating, but you didn't need his acceptance. You only had to tell Mikkeli that you were his sister, and he would've welcomed you into the family. You could have only asked, and you and Connie could've lived here unbothered by Ryan or anybody else, and yet that wasn't enough for you!
She snarls, but it doesn't stop me:
"If Connie meant so much to you, why did you allow her to take all the risk? She was the one to order the Red Venom; the Council members have found no evidence against you. You made her conspire against her own pack, against her own parents, and she just did it for you. She killed for you! You said it yourself. You told me that Connie helped you fulfill your dream. Why wasn't it the dream of both of you? Even till the very end, you still could have run away with her, and you said no because your ambition and your past were more important than Connie; everything was more important than Connie! This is why I pity her, not you. I pity her because she was never enough, nor to her parents, nor to her own mate. You are just like your father, just another selfish bastard who doesn't deserve to either be an Alpha or her mate's love!"
She looks away; first, I see her fists are clenched, but I feel no anger anymore. There is no point in it, even if she regrets it and understands now it doesn't change anything. Her sorrow doesn't mean anything now.
I stand up and leave her; as I get close to the entrance, I see Patrick standing there with Ryan, his wife, and Hank. I have no doubt that they heard everything because she's crying, and he looks very pale but quickly gets a grip.
"I'm done here; we will just take my daughter home, thank you..." he says, but I interrupt him.
"I wish to speak with all of you before you go," I say.
"What for?" he asks.
"Because we all lost something important but still have something to protect," I replay.