His Redemption (Complete His Series)

Azalea

“I refuse,” I said with my hands on my h*p.

“Little Luna, if you insist on being all around the packhouse during the day, you will not be walking everywhere,” Liam argued. “Especially not up and down the stairs.”

“Declan and Robert will not be carrying me around like a child,” I told him.

“No one thinks you are a child,” he said.

“Your uncle said to reduce physical activity, not to cease it completely,” I said. Last night Liam and I spent the evening just enjoying each other. We both needed some time to relax with our mate. Then, this morning he told me I am not allowed to walk around the packhouse anymore.

“Then you need to choose whether you are in your office or downstairs, and I will take you there,” he tried to compromise. I threw my hands up in the air in frustration as I turned on my heel, storming into the bathroom. I grabbed my hairbrush and started pulling it through my hair aggressively. After effectively making my hair a billowy cloud of soft frizz, I tried smoothing it out and pulling it back into a twisted braid.

Liam finally stepped into the bathroom. He came up behind me, bringing his hands around my front and resting them across my stomach. “Please don’t be upset,” he said softly. I looked at him through the mirror. “I know you don’t like it, but it’s only for a little while longer.”

“I know,” I mumbled. I was not mad at Liam, not really. I know he can’t understand how being the weak link in a pack where everyone is strong and capable feels. Liam naturally never felt like that.

“I know I am excited to have you in my arms more during the day, even if it is just to deliver you up and down the stairs,” he said with a charming smile. He nuzzled my ear and followed with light k****s right behind my ear, sending a pleasurable tremor down my spine.

“We aren’t going to make it to the stairs today if you continue to do that,” I told him in a breathy voice, my core warming.

“What? This?” he tried to play innocent as he continued. I tried to wiggle out of his grip as my nerve endings started to light up at his touch. Liam just chuckled, the deep vibration in his chest resonating into me from behind. “Ah, ah, ah. Your escort isn’t ready to let you go.”

“Liam,” I almost m****d as his k****s migrated from light caresses to lascivious suckling. He just hummed into my skin. A light rapping on the door interrupted him. With slumped shoulders, he moved over to the door, opening it to find Leo standing there patiently.

“Hi Daddy!” he said brightly.

“Hey, Little L, what’s going on?” he asked.

“Everyone wants to go swimming, and Miss Lacey said she could wrap my cast up so no water can touch it but I am supposed to ask you and Mommy if it’s okay. So, can Miss Lacey do it? Please,” he asked.

Liam looked back over his shoulder at me. I shrugged; he wouldn’t be in a cast if it were my decision. “Alright, sure. You have to get a new cast if it gets wet; remember that.” Leo jumped up and down excitedly and bolted from the room.

Liam spun around, his eyes darkening as they raked up and down me once more. “Where was I?” he said.

“Escorting me to my office so that I can call and speak to Theodore,” I told him. His face dropped.

“I really don’t want him near my packhouse,” Liam said, displeasure clear in his tone.

“He is our best bet at understanding what is happening with Hiram and how to help him. If you truly think we are headed for a war with the vampires, shouldn’t we know as much as possible about how they can hurt us? Liam, I couldn’t even feel him to heal him,” I said.

He knew I was right but didn’t want to admit it. “Alright. But he will have guards on him the entire time he is here. He comes, looks at the wound, tells us everything, and leaves,” Liam said.

“Alright,” I agreed.

“Let’s go. Declan is downstairs already,” Liam grumbled.

Missy

I woke up stretching my limbs only for them to be met with others. My mind immediately changed from its sleepy haze to an alert reality. Last night I fell asleep with Maddox again, and he must still be here.

“Hey,” he said. I flinched, not realizing he was awake.

“Good morning,” I said. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep like that.”

“It’s okay,” he said, smiling. He sat up, his soft hair a tousled mess on top of his head. He had a tired, placid smile on his face that was quite charming. “I need to get down to morning training but didn’t want to wake you.”

“Oh,” I said, sitting up.

“I can meet up with you after breakfast, though,” he said. “Grab me a muffin?”

“Sure,” I said. Almost automatically, Maddox leaned forward and placed a soft k**s on my cheek. We both froze.

“Um,” he coughed. “See you later.” He scrambled from my bed and nearly ran from the room. I brought my hand up to my cheek. Butterflies were blooming in my stomach. Maddox just kissed me, and I don’t think he meant to. I flopped back onto my pillow, groaning.

–

On my way down to the dining room, I passed Liam carrying two plates of food upstairs towards his office. He told me Lea and he were eating in her office this morning because he didn’t want her up and down the stairs more than necessary. After Junior was born, I was surprised he didn’t put an elevator into the packhouse. Lea did not like being carried up and down the stairs when she got tired. Then it was worse when she was pregnant with Leo.

Felix and Lacey sat with Leo and Junior in the dining room, Delilah and Lucas not around. I sat down with a plate of food while Leo was prattling on and on about going swimming later. “Where are Delilah and Lucas?” I asked Felix and Lacey.

“Lily and Mrs. Hale took them out for the day when Declan came to guard Luna today,” Lacey explained.

“That’s cool,” I said, eating slowly. Maddox and the k**s were still on my mind. I watched Lacey and Felix interact with Leo and Junior as we ate. Lacey was patient with both Felix and my brothers. Leo tried to finish quickly so he could swim faster, but she told him he had to wait until everyone was done. She complimented Felix nicely. She obviously didn’t mind being the voice of both of them. His face wasn’t as grim either; he even smiled at her fondly a few times.

Why did everyone else make having a mate look so easy? Liam is head over heels for Lea. Damien dotes on Lily. Austin and Abigail are really sweet together. Does the mate bond just make everything easy? I honestly couldn’t decide if I wanted to find my mate on my birthday or not. I care about V and Maddox and don’t want to hurt either of them.

When everyone was finished, Lacey took Leo into the kitchen to wrap his arm in some plastic wrap so he could swim. Felix went upstairs with Junior so he could change into his swim trunks. I went over to the breakfast bar to get Maddox something before heading out to meet him by the training ground. The quiet new girl was standing by the food, looking uncomfortable.

“Hi,” I said, coming up behind her. “Just getting down here?” She nodded shyly.

“You can help yourself. There is plenty,” I told her. She nodded again. I reached next to her and grabbed a couple of berry muffins before grabbing a napkin to wrap them in. She shyly reached forward and grabbed one of the banana oat muffins. “Those are the best ones,” I smiled at her. “It’s Lea’s recipe, and Miss Marci makes them just as good.”

“The Luna?” she whispered.

I nodded my head. “She is an amazing cook but an even better baker. Liam likes to joke that her pastries will make him fat one day.”

“Oh,” she said, her voice still barely audible.

“Where are Julie and Emmett?” I asked. She shrugged. “Well, if you have no one to hang out with, you can come with me. I am gonna take Maddox some breakfast out at the training grounds, but I don’t have any plans for the day.”

She gave me a slight grin and nodded her head. Looks like I just made a new friend.

Azalea

“I would really appreciate anything you can help us with,” I told Theo after he agreed to come to the pack today with an escort.

“Of course, Luna. You have been so gracious, allowing me onto your land with little trouble. I am glad I can be of assistance,” he said. Liam stood on the other side of my desk with his arms crossed. He didn’t like this at all, but he knew we needed to find out as much as we could about vampires and how they affect us. Doctor Ron called him this morning to tell him that there are no documents left in the pack that he can find with any information referencing vampire bites. There are very few documents left regarding the previous war, according to Robert.

“We will see you in a couple of hours then,” I said before hanging up. Luckily, Declan was sitting outside so I could talk to my mate candidly. “There will be four wolves escorting him to and from the Inn, and we will have extra warriors at the clinic and with us. Damien and Felix will be with us too. If he can fight off all of that to hurt us, then we can’t win a war anyway,” I told him in a dry voice.

“I don’t like that he is sired to the vampire that is declaring war on my pack,” he said.

“You don’t like that he is a vampire, period. You only view him as the enemy. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right? Plus, he rescued our children,” I pointed out.

“He may not be the enemy of our enemy. It could be a show to gain our trust. Warwick has waited all this time to come back for our pack and my family. He wouldn’t rush things unless his hand is forced,” Liam said.

“But we cannot be for sure about any of that. We know almost nothing about Warwick. Maybe Theo can shed some light on his sire. If he is against his sire, maybe he would side with us. Having a vampire on our side couldn’t hurt,” I reasoned. Liam scowled and nodded. I could tell he was having trouble overcoming what has been ingrained in him about vampires. He turned like he was going to leave.

“Liam, remember you are not the Alpha your father was. You do not have to lead in the same way, and you don’t. That means that you don’t have to have the same ideology too. Maybe werewolves and vampires don’t have to be enemies. Maybe you can change this,” I told him. His shoulders were taught beneath his shirt.

“I love you, Little Luna. I will see you in a bit when Theodore arrives,” he said before exiting my office. For now, I would just let him be. Declan entered my office now

“So, what is on the agenda for today, Luna,” he asked.

“So, what is on the agenda for today, Luna,” he asked.

–

“Liam, you can put me down now,” I said as we approached the front door. Theodore would be arriving any moment.

“I will put you down outside,” he said. I rolled my eyes. “I thought I was the one in a bad mood today.” He raised an eyebrow at me.

“No wonder your father was always so grumpy. Declan never stops talking. I think he might ask more questions than Leo and Junior combined!” I ranted.

Liam chuckled. “He has gotten more relaxed since retiring, I promise. He still knows what is going on, but I am guessing he is just trying to make this comfortable for you.”

“Well, Declan is a sweet man, but it is incredibly hard to work through budgets for the Inn when he is incessantly talking. Some things just require concentration,” I pouted.

We stepped out onto the porch, and Liam set me down gently. He wrapped his arm around my waist. A vehicle approached followed by two wolves. Two more warriors exited the vehicle along with Theo. “Good afternoon, Alpha, Luna,” he greeted us.

“Theodore,” Liam greeted him sharply.

“Thank you so much for coming, Theo. We truly appreciate your help,” I said with a sideways glance at my mate.

“Shall we take a look at your injured pack member?” he asked, moving right to the point.

“Sure. The warriors will escort you over to our pack clinic.” I said.

Everyone loaded back into the vehicles, and Liam helped me into ours. Damien and Felix would be meeting us at the clinic. We drove the short distance to the clinic and met Doctor Ron in the waiting room. Liam must have warned him to cancel any appointments today because there was no one else here.

“Alpha, Luna,” Doctor Ron greeted us. “We can go straight back. Beta and Felix have already arrived.” Liam and I led the way with Liam’s uncle while Theo and the warriors followed us. Damien and Felix stood by the window of the room. They fell in line behind Liam and me as we passed. When we stepped inside the room, my stomach clenched at the sight of Hiram. He was paler than before, and the bite wound on his neck had taken on a nasty purple-brown color.

“As I thought,” Theo said, approaching the bed. He inspected the wound without touching Hiram for a moment. “This wound is from a very new vampire.”

“How do you know?” I asked.

“The coloration, the weak vitals, the extended coma. These are all indications of a new vampire’s venom,” he explained.

“So, what do we do?” I questioned.

“Unfortunately, I am not sure there can be much done. I know of a few instances where the venom was able to be extracted from the wound, but those were fairly quick after the bite was inflicted. I bet if we were to check Mr. Hiram, he would have some blackened veins throughout his body. The poison has spread by now, and he will probably not make it.”

“So, the venom of new vampires is essentially fatal. What of older vampires?” Liam asked.

“As vampires live, their venom morphs, so to speak. At first, their bites are essentially fatal. A human bitten by a vampire will die within 36 hours of the bite if the transition does not begin. Clearly, wolves can withhold longer. But after about a year, the venom because less poisonous to other supernatural creatures. Instead, it can take away the abilities that come with their races. For a werewolf, it can weaken them, taking away strength and heightened senses. If the vampire is old enough, it could even sever the link between man and wolf. It may still kill the werewolf, but they are more likely to survive a bite from an older vampire. What our venom loses in poison concentration, our bodies gain in strength, speed, and other abilities.”

A paralyzing numbness shuttered through me, crawling across my skin uncomfortably. Hiram was going to die, and we couldn’t stop it. Liam was stiff next to me. “How do we treat these injuries?” Liam asked.

“For a bite from a youngling, flush the system. I believe it is called dialysis in human terminology. You need to remove the venom. In theory, a vampire could retract the venom themselves. For a bite from a mature vampire, prayer. I am not aware of anything that can be done to help, although flushing their system may lessen any damage. In most cases I have seen, they have kept the victim comfortable until they have woken up.” Theodore had a sad look on his face.

“Which side are you in this war?” Damien demanded.

“War?”

“Do not play at innocence. Warwick has proclaimed war on B***d Eclipse by attacking our pack and kidnapping my children. This is all the proof I need to know he is behind this,” Liam gritted.

“If Warwick is coming for your pack, one bitten warrior and an unsuccessful kidnapping will not be the end. He will come for everything you hold dear,” Theo said contemplatively. “I will not be on the side of my kinship, but I do not wish to be on yours either. I have no part in this war.”

“You chose sides the minute you agreed to come to this packhouse and help us,” Damien said. The room was quiet with his dark implication.