#3 By the Light of the Silver Moon

Marigold

“I told you, Finn, we’re all fine.” I sighed at Finn, pulling my shirt down over my stomach.

“I know, I just wanted to be sure.” Finn smiled, kissing my forehead,

“Besides, I’ll take any excuse I can get to see these faces.” Finn took the ultrasound picture from the doctor and brought it over for me to see.

Finn had insisted on taking me to the hospital wing to have myself and the babies checked out. We had another ultrasound done to ensure that we were all safe. Besides a spike in all of our heart rates, everything was exactly as it should be.

“They’re so squishy.” I grinned, taking this picture from his hand. Finn helped me from the hospital bed.

“Your brothers didn’t stick around very long?” Finn said as we walked towards the door of the medical wing.

“No, they needed to get back and smooth things over with Father. Apparently they left in quite the hurry.” I shrugged.

“I’m just thankful that they came at all.” Finn said, pulling me close to his side. Suddenly, he stopped and turned me in his arms to face him.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I’m sorry, Marigold, I never should have let this happen.” Finn pressed his forehead against mine.

“What? Finn, this is not your fault.” I grabbed his face and forced him to look at me.

“But, it is. I promised to protect you and always keep you safe….” I interrupted Finn with a kiss,

“And you did. You saved me.”

“You saved yourself, Marigold.” Finn argued softly.

“Why can’t it be both?” I asked, cocking my head to the side curiously. Finn smiled at me,

“It can be both.” He finally returned my kiss and folded his arms around me for a hug.

“Wait, Finn, what happened to Stone?” I suddenly remembered that Stone was out in the field with me when Torrin’s wolves attacked.

Finn pulled me away and sighed, he nodded towards the hospital room we were standing next to. I looked at him with wide eyes before shoving the door open. I ran inside and found Stone laying on a bed, with his arm tucked under his head and some game show playing loudly on the TV. Stone looked towards the door and jumped up when he saw me.

“Luna!” Stone cried, struggling against the wires that were connected to him. I hurried to his side and kept him from moving,

“I’m okay Stone, sit back.” I ordered, pushing him down on the bed. I reattached the wires, silencing the alarms from the machines measuring his vitals.

“I’m so sorry, Luna, I never should have left you out of my sight.” Stone glared at the floor, clearly mad at himself.

“It’s not your fault, Stone, I purposely tried to get away from you. I was being childish. It’s my fault.” I sighed.

“No, Luna, it’s my job to protect you no matter what.” Stone’s voice was stern. I grabbed his face and forced him to look at me,

“You need to get over yourself, Gamma. I’m more than capable of taking care of myself.” I snapped, frustrated at Stone’s pity party. If he called me Luna one more time I was going to lose it on his hospitalized ass.

“Yes, ma’am.” Stone’s frown finally started to turn into a smirk.

“Don’t call me Luna anymore.” I rolled my eyes at him, shoving him away abruptly. Stone started to laugh at me as he settled back down onto the bed.

“What happened to you, anyway?” I asked Stone, observing his non-existent wounds. He had already healed from whatever put him in the hospital in the first place.

“A small army of wolves attacked me. I was sure I was a goner, but Ferra found me and brought me here.” Stone explained.

“It was Alpha Torrin, he’s the one who brought the wolves here.” I nearly growled his name.

“I know, Ferra told me. She said Renee and the others were involved, too.” Stone grumbled.

“Renee was Torrin’s mate.”

“Was?” Stone asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, was.” I smirked cooly.

“Go girl.” Stone offered me his fist and I bumped mine against it.

“I’ve got to go back to Finn now before he does something stupid.” I said, waving lamely to Stone before leaving his room.

I was surprised to find the hallway empty, Finn was not where I had left him. I followed his scent and found him standing outside the medical wing with Ferra.

“Good to see you, Luna.” Ferra smiled at me, giving me a hug.

“Thanks Ferra, and thanks for saving Stone. He’s doing well.” I said.

“I’m just glad we were able to get you both back.” Ferra replied.

“What’s going on?” I asked the pair of them, sensing the tension between them. Finn took my hand possessively and nodded towards Ferra.

“We found Renee and the others trying to escape pack terrority.” Ferra said.

“Should I assume they’ve been apprehended?” I asked.

“They’re being held in the basement.” Ferra nodded.

“Don’t tell me you guys have a creepy dungeon down there, too?” I groaned. Finn and Ferra laughed at me,

“No, just some holding cells. The basement itself is completely finished, no creepiness.” Finn said.

“What are you going to do to them?” I asked, not sure I really wanted the answer.

“There’s only one thing to do. They plotted against the Luna, they threatened your life.” Ferra said with a hard expression. I looked over at Finn, waiting for him to say something different.

“I agree with Ferra. Marigold, they can’t be allowed to live.” Finn shook his head at my expression,

“You just took out Torrin and his Beta and Gamma, what makes this any different?” He asked.

“I don’t know, I guess I just don’t think she had anything to do with it. It was Torrin who orchestrated all of this.” I sighed.

“You can’t honestly believe that Renee is innocent.” Finn raised his eyebrow at me.

“She and the other girls were hiding in that cabin when Torrin found them, they wouldn’t have been able to pull off anything like this without him.” I said.

“It doesn’t matter. They disobeyed my orders by being inside the pack’s territory at all. Then, they agreed to help Torrin and threatened you. Renee and the others made that decision on their own. Marigold,” Finn grabbed my arms and forced me to listen,

“Renee isn’t you.”

“I know that.” I mumbled defensively.

“I don’t think that you do. Renee wasn’t defenseless, she wasn’t forced to obey. She made her own choices.” Finn gently shook me, like he was trying to shake some sense into me.

“Alright, fine. But, don’t expect me to watch.” I snapped, shaking my arms free of Finn’s grip and sulking away.