A Secret Alpha Mate

(1sla) Haley's eyes are wide as she looks between her mother and me. She falls reluctantly behind her, but I could see that she wasn't sure if she wanted to leave. “Hailey,” 1 call out, she turns back to me, her face pale, “You're welcome to stay, we can have a house arranged for you if you agree to the terms of Moonstone’s pack.” She nods but doesn’t say anything. “ll think about it” She pauses, “Er, uh, thanks. Luna’ She says and turns away to follow where Cameron and Lucas were taking Julianna. jackson groans and I drop back over him, that was a sign, I'm not sure if it was good or bad but at least it was something. Cameron and Lucas come back within minutes, “Where is she?” I ask, not taking my eyes off Jackson's chest, lightly breathing in and out. “she’s heading back with two of our warriors that have minor injuries. I bet Benjamin took most, if not all, of his warriors here so there shouldn't be any problems back there” I nodded. “What should we do now, Luna?" I looked up at Lucas, he never called me that unless he was joking. With Jackson temporarily down, I guess I was the highest ranked member. “I want Jackson back at Moonstone until he's healed” My voice cracks at the end, “When he is recovered we will head to Silver Moon.” I say with a bit more confidence in my voice. “I think it would be best if you both went to Silver Moon. We can't leave the pack members unattended, and I'm sure ther will be a lot of questions. Ill have William watch over Moonstone with my help while Jackson is recovering” I nod slightly myself, yes that makes the most sense. “Yes, Luna.” Cameron says, “Do I have permission to go back and bring some of our warriors?” “Of course,” I make brief eye contact with him, scared that if 1 looked away for too long Jackson would stop breathing, “I think you should both go and pack a bag, I'm not sure how long it will take him to heal” “Yes, Luna. I will leave immediately while the Gamma deals with the injured here I hear light footsteps crunch in the fall leaves. “Wait I get out, barely a whisper, I fight to control myself, but it takes a few breaths, “Stay until the doctor gets here.’ My voice cracks, “Please.” Silent tears start falling down my face, I didn’t know how long it was until he got here but every minute, every second was another chance at losing my mate, my Alpha, my Jackson. Lucas and Cameron come and sit on either side of me without saying a word. My hands are holding one of Jacksons again and Cameron puts an arm around me while Lucas leans his head against my shoulder. I felt a bit better having them ther knew that they cared about Jackson more than anything, more than an Alpha, he was their best friend, their brother. “The team is here.’ One of the Elders came up to where Jackson was lying, I forgot that Elder John was still sitting by Jackson's feet, he was looking heartbroken and nervous himself. I felt bad for not thinking of him, but I couldn't, not right now. Elder John stands up and brushes the dirt and leaves from his pants. “Luna, Beta, Gamma,” the Elder addresses us. I look up for a second, not wanting to be rude in an Elder's presence, “We have a team of trackers that will hunt down previous Alpha Benjamin's trail. With that amount of blood spilled, his trail should be easy to follow, and he couldn't have gotten very far. Thank you Gamma for offering to help us, but you have do more than enough here. You and your team saved many lives today, and not just of your pack members, but of the Elder" as well. It will not be forgotten.” Cameron stiffens beside me. “Thank you, Elder” He squeezes my shoulder as he stands up to shake his hand, “It was an honor.” “I will let you know if there's any news and return to Moonstone as soon as my job here is done” Elder John says to us, “k will be fine, Isla “Thank you" I manage to whisper, my voice sounding far away like it was coming from someone else. Abigial rushed up to Jackson's side, “He's close.” She announced. I didn't even notice that she left, wasn't she just here by my side? When did she leave? Cameron stands up, “I'm going to go wait for him, Luna.” 1 nod. Jackson was still breathing, blood covered the patch that t man put over his stitches, he was breathing, shallow, but he was still with us. “You're going to be okay." I lean over and whisper to him, leaning my head back on his chest listening to his steady heartbeat. Lucas sits up next to me and I lift my head to follow his line of vision. Cameron runs back through the trees followed by Abigial holding Jim's hand, Jim was wearing a long shirt and nothing else. He anxiously looked around until his eyes focused on Jackson. He rushed up and knelt beside him. “Ym sorry Luna, Beta. Could you take a few steps back, I want to asses the situation.” Lucas takes my hand and pulls me unwillingly back. Cameron walks off as soon as the doctor gets to Jackson. “Where is the car? The nurses?” Lucas asks, I realized that no one else but Jim was with us. “They're following behind, should be here in thirty or so." Jim looks Jackson over, then listens to his heartbeat, he raises 2 hand up to us to be quiet, “I ran here with my medical bag in my mouth.” He states casually as if this was a normal house call. He takes out a needle with some clear liquid in it and injects it into Jackson's arm. “This will help with the pain." He says and waits a minute before undressing his stitches. He sighs, “These stitches aren't great, but I'm assuming it was the best they could do." He takes a closer look. “Hmm, yes it's fine for now. Once the medic van comes I'll redo the stitches in the back before we start driving, and get him cleaned up. Besides that wound he seem: to be fine.” He looks at me huddled into Lucas. “He will be fine, Luna. I am pleased to say. Just needs some rest and medication and he should be back to his normal self even a day or so! I start crying all the emotions that I was holding in the past few hours. Tears of relief washed over me mixed with anger, sadness, and fear. Lucas puts his arm around me and lets me cry for a few minutes. I sniffle and wipe my nose. “Gross, Luna.” Lucas teases, “They're here!’ He says, looking up at two nurses carrying a stretcher into the clearing. Finally “Luna,” Cameron walks back up to us, “I'm having my men meet me here so we can transport the survivors of Silver Moon. There were only five that survived.” He states, looking around the field, “The Elder's said they would dispose of the bodie “Five?” I asked, my voice sounding horse. He nods, “I would say there were almost twenty or so in total when the fight broke out. They were weak though, some of the weakest warriors I've ever encountered. Even though we had eight fighters, and some help from a few of the Elders, i was a fast fight. I took down one of them in two moves.” He shakes his head, “Never seen anything like it" He mutters. “We're going to have them treated and watched over. I've talked to the one’s that are conscious, explaining what's going t happen. One of them said that Benjamin told them that Alpha Jackson wanted to take the pack because of his greed and force them to move to Moonstone. It seemed they thought they were defending their pack, and their honor.” He shrugs, * get the truth out, but we can't fault them for trying to defend their pack when all they knew was Alpha Benjamin's side, e Benjamin's side.” I nod, “Thank you, Cameron.” He smiles at me. “ll see you in a few days, Luna” Jackson is loaded onto the stretcher and 1 follow Lucas and the doctor who are carrying jackson along with help from two Elders. Lucas, Abigial and I waited outside, for the longest fifteen minutes of my life. Th day has felt like years, I didn’t know time could slow down this much. I always felt that time was linear, or I thought it was. That's what everyone always said. But it wasn't really, not when you were waiting for something of this magnitude. For someone that your life depended on to come back to you. “Well, Jim came out, brushing off his hands, some blood on his shirt made me worried, “He's good as new, well he will probably have a scar, but he should be healed in a few days.” He smiles, I cling onto Abigial. It was over, he was okay. I wouldn't feel right until he woke up, until 1 could see his eyes again, but I would take this. I had to take this. “Let's get him back to the pack hospital now, Luna, Beta, my lovely mate. Would you like to ride with us?” I nodded and ge in the back. There are two long benches on either side of his stretcher. I sit next to his head and take one of his hands in mine. A nurse is sitting next to me keeping an eye on some machines around him. He had something over his mouth, wet with condensation from his breath, the wound was freshly dressed and there was blood seeping through it, which seemed to be good. Abigial sits next to me and takes my other hand. jim looks over the machines, and adjusts something that looks like it's attached to him arm, “I gave him some medicatior he's in a deep sleep now, so he won't feel any pain.’ I nod at his explanation. Lucas bites his lip across from me, thinking, “Once we get him settled I'm going to pack my bags and go to Silver Moon tonight. Now that we know he will be okay, I'll start settling things there. I know what he wanted to do there." I nod. “Thank you Lucas, and thank you for, uh, staying." “Don’t sweat it, Luna." He flashed me his signature grin and I returned it without thinking. Once we got him settled in the clinic and hooked up to machines, I felt a bit better. “Luna, you need to eat, maybe take a shower and change. You'll feel a lot better.” Jim says, I nod he was right but I wasn't leaving Jackson, I knew something would happen while I was away. He sighs, “How about I have Gianna bring some clothes and food down and I'll bring in a cot for you to sleep here?” That sounded better, “You wont have to leave the room, there's an ensuite bathroom here. Not the most luxurious but I'm sure you'll manage.” He smiles at me and comes over and puts a hand on my shoulder. “He will be fine, I promise you. I'll start to wean him off the medication tomorrow. I just want him to stay asleep so his we can fully focus on healing the other wounds the best that he can.’ “Thank you!” Jim dressed his other wounds on the way back. None of them needed stitches but he still wanted to clean ai to cover them for a while to help the healing process even more, it made me feel better not seeing any visible scratches scars, besides two marks on his face that were already fading to a light pink. “Has anyone told Gianna and William?” That was probably my job now that I thought about it. “Er, I'm not sure.” On cue Gianna comes bursting in the room. “Oh my baby! She exclaims, running over to him, tears spilling out of her eyes, “Is he okay? Please tell me he will live." Sh turns to Jim. “Yes, Gianna. He is fine, just resting” He assures her, “I-I when I saw the medical van, I ran into Lucas, you know I didn’t hear anything from anyone today, I was waiting anxiously all day here” She blubbers, “And then.” She leans her head on Jackson and starts crying, “To see him like this.” william comes in flushed, but looks relieved when he sees Jackson, “He's okay?” He asks Jim, Jim nods once, “Okay, doctor thank you." “I wish someone would have told us sooner, but no need to worry us I guess.” William comes and puts one hand on my shoulder and the other rubs Gianna's back as she’s still sobbing in Jackson's chest. “Gianna, do you mind?” The doctor says politely, “He has a wound on his stomach” Gianna jumps back and wipes her eye “I-I'm sorry." She leans into Williams’ chest, “My son, my only son." “Vil fill you in, a lot happened today.” I sigh, “William? Can I ask you a favor.” “Anything dear.” “I need help running the pack. Lucas and Cameron are heading to Silver Moon, I think Cameron is already there actually, figure things out there until Jackson and I can join them.” “It would be my honor, Luna,” he says. “Gianna?” 1 ask her, “Yes dear?” “Can you maybe bring me down some clothes, and maybe some food. Whenever you're ready, I hate to ask but I don't wa to leave, and you know where everything is. I rush, feeling guilty asking her to leave her son, I know she was just as upse as I was. “Of course,” She smiles at me, But promise me something.” She raises an eyebrow. “What?” “Ym the first to know next time my son is injured.” She places a kiss on my forehead, “Yes, ma'am.” I say. “Ew. I'm not old” She waves her hand and leaves, “Lasagna okay with you both?” William and I nod. “Don’t go to any trouble." I say. “I need a distraction, William will stay with Jackson so you can get out of whatever you're wearing after I bring you clothe and then I'll start our dinner.” She disappears and I look down at my dress that is covered in dirt and dried blood, I wondered how I must look for the first time all day. (1sla) The doctor came in early, I couldn't sleep on the cot, even though it was right next to Jackson's bed it was too far away. I out and snuggled up next to him, making sure not to move any of the wires attached to him. I breathed in his scent of fre pine, rain, and cloves and drifted off into a deep sleep. “Isla?” I hear a voice, I shoot up in bed, confused, “I was just coming in to check on Jackson and start taking him off the pain medication.’ 1 nod at the doctor and silently get out of bed and lay on my cot, embarrassed that I got caught sneakir into Jackson's bed. I couldn't get back to sleep so I decided to distract myself and get ready for the day. Gianna brought down a lot of skin cz products and makeup and decided to test a mask out and turn on a movie. I stayed with Jackson all morning, holding his hand. There was a knock at the door and William came in, “Luna.’ He nods, oh he was in Alpha mode, “I just came in to give you the official report from the Beta and Gamma.” “Of course, sit down.” I motioned to the chair across the room. He pulls it toward me, next to Jackson's bed. “Most of the pack didn't know about the challenge, it seemed. There were some rumors, sure, but it wasn't widely known! My eyebrows furrow. “But is that usually common knowledge? Did everyone here know?” I ask. He nodded. “We make sure to tell everyone, just in case something happens, so they aren't in shock. It's not just the Alpha, but the pack that is at risk in these challenges so it effects everyone.’ That makes sense. “Lucas held an informal meeting and introduced himself and Cameron. It seems some of the omegas recognized them an felt at ease, so that helped with the introductions. The general consensus, at least among the omegas, was relief. The other pack members seemed confused, but not angry, I think once the news settles in they will accept it.” He looks down at a sheet of paper he brought. “Cameron has already started a new training program,” I smile, not one day in and he's making them work, “They have los most of their warriors, and there wasn't a formal training program in place, so he's essentially starting from scratch. He thinks he will leave behind his second-in-command when he returns, and then go and check on them frequently. It seem: he has his work cut out for him.” He glances back down, “Lucas was trying to figure out about the funds and the state of the pack, but all of it seems to be encoded on a compute We might have to get one of our contacts in to hack it, I'm going to work on making those calls today.” “Thank you." “Lucas is also looking for the papers on Silver Moon's family line. He found a safe but it was open and completely empty. However, we have multiple copies so he thinks that they must have them too. He also showed me this." William pulls up picture on his phone. I squinted to look at it. A family symbol on dark wood paneling, the same symbol I wore across my neck. It was hard to make out for a second because there were large claw marks across it. “Where is this?" 1 ask, but I already knew. “The Alpha's office.” We already knew that was the Silver Moon symbol. I wasn't surprised now. William looks back at the photo. “I can't tell why anyone would scratch this out.” He shakes his head, “I'm sure we will find out the answers we've been looking for” “The lead omega also seems to be in distress” I roll my eyes, “Afriend of yours?” He asks, “Not even close, I'll need to appoint a new one, I'll consult with Abigial on it” He nods, “We can make the change when w get there.” I look at Jackson still sleeping peacefully. “How is he doing?” He asks me, his voice softening. “The doctor came in this morning to wean him off some of the medication. I think he’s going to come back again soon, ar then I hope-"" William places his hand on my shoulder, 1 look to him. “He will wake up, he needs the rest I nod and look down. I know he’s okay but I needed Jackson to be the one to tell me that, not anyone else, “He's lucky to have you." “Ym the lucky one." I mutter, he laughs. “Jackson has been waiting for you for a long time, he wasn't going to leave you this soon.” He stands up, “I should get bac to it, link me with any changes.” “You'll be the first to know” He shakes his head, “The second, link my mate first.” He smiles at me. Gianna came to bring me food and I didn't realize how hungry I was, she sat with me through a movie, and I was grateful the company, and momentary distraction. I felt a light twitch in my hand and my eyes immediately shot to him. Was that real? I felt another twitch and Jackson sho his head. Doctor, I think he’s waking up Be right in He moves a bit more, tensing some muscles, before he opens up his eyes, and stares at the ceiling before looking at his arm with the IV in it, he squeezes my hand and then looks at me. His eyes, the ones I remembered, not out of focus or cloudy. Striking blue. “What did I miss?” He flashes me a huge smile. “Jackson!” I yell and hesitate for a second before I wrap my arms around him, careful not to touch his stomach, “Ym so happy” I say into his neck, he places a hand on my back. Gianna, he's awake william, he's up I link them both, wanting to spend hours alone with him, but he wasn't just mine. “Ah, Alpha.’ The doctor walks in, “How are you feeling?” I step back and sit in my chair next to his bed, not letting go of hi hand. “A bit sore, tired, but nothing out of the ordinary.” “How is your stomach?” He looks confused and then looks down through the top of his hospital gown, realization washin; over him. “silver. I remember” He groans, “Its going to heal as slow as a human wound, that one” Jim nods, “The rest of your wounds are almost completely gone, r broken or fractured bones either.” He nods approvingly, “How long do I have to stay here?” “Normally, I would say a few days” Jackson groans again, this time not because of pain, “But,” im holds up his hand, “I know you have work to attend to, and I wouldn't dare go against my Alpha's wishes," He smiles into his clipboard, “How about you stay tonight and then I can release you in the morning? I still need to wean some pain medication out of you. inform the doctor at Silver Moon about your condition and give you some medication to help ward off any infection.” “Thank you, Jim." Jackson says, “I'm sure I owe you my life’ “It is my duty to protect you, Alpha. Besides, one of the Elder's men stitched you up, without that, you, well you might ha been worse off” My heart clenches up just thinking about what the doctor was implying, a near miss was too close. Gianna and William come running in. I take a few steps back to give them some space. “Ym going to go see Abigial.’ I say to Jim, “Link me when he needs me, I want to give them some time. William has a lot to inform Jackson of too.” “Will do, Luna” He smiles and follows me out of his room. The next morning, we are up early and Jackson wants to get on the road as soon as possible, despite his stitches. Sitting i hard for him due to the nature of the placement of his wound, so he has to lean across the back seat of one of our SUV's. The drive was quiet, peaceful. I felt like I could breathe for the first time in a while. We entered the thick forest around Silver Moon, the sun almost blocked out completely during the drive up to the front gate. Two warriors were standing guard at the front, I don't remember them ever having someone at the gate before. we pull up and one of them looks into the back of the car from the passenger window. I didn't recognize him as one of ot warriours, he must be someone from Silver Moon. “Alpha, Luna." He bows his head to us, “Welcome to Silver Moon.”