Who is Magpie?

“Ezekiel,” Bronx interrupted his thoughts. “I know you hurt for her, but you need to snap out of it. Someone took her bedding to lead you off, not to mention informed a pack of rogues what was happening tonight. We have a mole.”

The word triggered more anger than he was ready for and he roared so loudly that Jessamine startled awake. She looked over at him, reaching to squeeze his hand, and he tried to apologize but she just smirked in return.

“Don’t act rash,” she demanded. “We’ll give them hell together.”

He pulled her hand up towards his face, kissing the splints gently. “Don’t worry about that, you’re on bed rest.”

She pushed herself up painfully now, despite everyone begging her to keep laying down, but Ezekiel watched her eyes look firmly into his with unwavering focus. “Together,” she told him firmly, squeezing his hand, and then looking at Bronx and back to him, “or not at all.”

“Ok, ok, just lay down. You need to rest, in bed, two weeks.” Ezekiel told her firmly.

She barked a laugh in return. “That long and my muscles will start to atrophy, no way…”

“You’ll be safe,” Bronx interrupted suddenly and she froze.

The words surprised her, because Jessamine hadn’t even been thinking about it but now the thoughts she had been ignoring bubbled to the surface. “I won’t stay in this room, with a double agent in the house I’m no safer here than I was in the medical bay in the Garden.”

“You were sleeping, how did you know?” Doctor Pon asked, intrigued and maybe a little wary.

“About…? What the inside informant?” She looked at him and and he nodded. “One of them said I was alone, they knew Ezekiel had gone the wrong way. He would never have wandered far enough from my trail for them to be comfortable, and sure I couldn’t reach him, on his own. If he had stuck around near where he would have lost my scent in the mud he would have seen the blood in the water, in the next creak, from the first one I killed. Which means there was an obvious trail instead. Even in working with the Garden, anything of mine there would have smelt like… what was it?”

“Lemons,” Ezekiel and Bronx said at the same time, and she giggled.

“Which means they got my scent from here,” she concluded.

“You figured that out, from them saying he went the wrong way?” Bronx asked, “…while you were being attacked or while you were in exceeding amounts of pain?”

“Why does that matter?” She demanded but in seeing their faces rolled her eyes and answered. “To be honest after I killed the second one it felt a little familiar fighting three and my mind wandered.” Bronx scoffed and shook his head with a laugh. “I still don’t think I would have won, I was getting pretty slow. Killing the first one, Anthony apparently if that does anything for you, so quickly was key in me lasting so long.”

They didn’t like hearing this addition, realizing how close they had been to actually losing her. “A number of your injuries were also close, you must have incredible reflexes to avoid many major areas.” Doctor Pon commended, seeing things more analytically like she did.

“Thank you, I’m glad they weren’t formally trained.” She returned, happy someone else understood her like that.

Ezekiel didn’t like thinking that she only survived due to several lucky happenstances. This should have been a happy night for the two of them, and instead she was back in the medical bay. Even though she had been with them for several weeks now, she was back in the medical bay because of the same people that had been controlling her life for seven years. She couldn’t even have this one night outside of the compound.

Jessamine and Doctor Pon were going over her injuries and the ones he had found that she hadn’t noticed. She hadn’t been sleeping long but she already seemed more awake. Anyone else would have assumed it was due to a second wind. Ezekiel knew better, feeling the unease in her chest like it was his own, she hated everything that this attack meant.

He leant forward toward her, and she dropped the sheet to meet his embrace. The thin hospital nightgown was tied and adjusted to keep her back bare while it healed, and covered just enough of her body for some semblance of modesty while covering as few of her injuries as possible while they were addressing them. He held her head in his hand, feeling the stiff dried blood still in her hair and broke.

His pulled a deep breath of lilies, the tip of his nose drawing a line over the side of her neck and then he sunk in his teeth. Her gasp came just as quickly as the sensation, feeling his teeth pierce one of the few areas of skin that hadn’t been injured.

Despite herself and her injuries Jessamine leaned to expose her neck further and moaned out loud. He slowly let go, kissing the skin gently before pulling away.

“Later my Luna, come on,” Ezekiel wrapped his arm around her lower back between injuries and pulled her to the edge of the bed in front of him. “You can recover in our room where I can keep a closer eye on you.”

Her good arm wrapped over his shoulder and he lifted her with one arm under her good thigh and the other in the same area on her lower back. Her hospital dress fell just beyond her butt as he picked her up, her legs wrapping around as tightly as the various injuries allowed. Her head rest in his shoulder, showing him her mating mark over the bandaged shoulder.

Irregularly as they walked, Ezekiel would kiss the mark affectionately and Jessamine felt as though this would be an ongoing sign of his feelings. When they came to the foyer dozens of wolven were sitting on the floor talking very quietly until Ezekiel came into view. At that instant all of the heads bowed and then waited patiently.

“What’s this?” Ezekiel asked without any real emotion, like this tone had been practised.

It was Fiona who stood up. “We have increased the patrols around the house and a second search team has been dispatched to check the surrounding area.”

Ezekiel looked questioningly at her. “Yes, thank you.” He then looked at everyone else. “Is there something else.”

There was a curt nod from Fiona before she spoke. “We are all waiting to hear of our Luna’s condition.”

Ezekiel nuzzled the side of her neck by the bite before he whispered. “Can you stand?”

“Put me down,” she spoke at the same time.

Both Ezekiel and Bronx stood on either side of her to support her, but everyone had seen her back as they entered and could see the bandages and splints around the night dress. Ezekiel held her around the waist and Bronx looped his arm around her good arm to keep weight off her leg. Ezekiel kissed the top of her head before taking a big breath.

“Tonight under the full moon, five wolves attacked your Luna.” Ezekiel began, and Jessamine turned away embarrassed, but he pulled her chin back to look at him. “And she fought them off longer than she should have had to, longer than many could alone.” Gently petting the outside of her cheek he continued while looking into her eyes, “Longer than she’ll ever be alone again.”

Jessamine closed her eyes and leant her forehead against his.

He turned back to those remaining. “Someone in this house made that attack possible, and when I figure out who it is they will hang for it.” His tone turned cold in an instant, but instead of the fear Jessamine expected to see, everyone here looked angry.

“One of our own?” Fiona demanded.

“It’s possible,” Bronx interjected, concerned his alpha would answer out of emotion. “Until the person or persons is caught all guard positions will be run as pairs.”

“Yes boss,” Fiona confirmed before looking away from Bronx to Jessamine. “We’re glad you’re still with us Luna.”

Jessamine smirked lightheartedly. “You should see the other guy,” she joked, but thought back to the other guys and her smile dipped.

Many in that room wished to see the other guys and looked forward to the second search party returning to spill the tea. Jessamine looked over the gathered crowd, knowing how likely it was that the person responsible was in front of her and tried to remember every face. She knew they were likely not a mole, not placed in the pack house for this purpose, but someone they knew she had wronged while with the Fae, who they had exploited for this.

“I know why,” Jessamine began lightly. “I get it. Something the Fae made me do hurt them enough that me being here now feels like their loss is being overlooked. And I want them to know that I never had a choice. There was no choice between do it or die, because I would have chosen death.”

Ezekiel squeezed her with this statement. “Jessa you don’t have to…”

“I do,” she interrupted. “They kept my wolf from me and beat me until I could do what they wanted. Now I’m free from them, and they’re taking my pack from me by convincing its members that I did what they made me do like I could have stopped.”

“Jessamine…” Bronx began.

“They need to know I tried!” She demanded. “When I thought I was going to die tonight I remembered… I remembered how I got there….”

“What?” Ezekiel and Bronx said in tandem, looking at her now.

“I did go to them,” she admitted, turning to talk to Ezekiel though she knew the others still listened. “The rogue wolven had taken over my town. They caused the accident that killed my pregnant mother and step dad. For two months I wondered when they would come back for me, until they did. I didn’t know I was wolven, I only knew that there was a restaurant the wolven didn’t touch and I went there to hide.”

She took a small breath, closing her eyes. “He gave me promises and pretty words, before locking me up and.. making my life not worth living. The teas began after my third attempt, and I don’t remember much of the next year.”

Ezekiel looked so sadly at her that she willed the tears to stay back. She could see how much he wished he had been there to keep her from the mistake she made, but she had no one to blame for that first bad choice but herself. Bronx too squeezed her arm like he wished he could have prevented it, and she felt blessed to come out of it on the other end to such caring people.

“The Martin took my desire for revenge and made me fight my own people.” Her teeth were nearly grinding together with the anger. “I only wanted to survive. And I’ll be fucking damned if any other wolven goes to them because they’re afraid to die. They deserve a better Luna than me, but no more of our wolven will lose their life to their lies.”

She moved her arm from his grasp, putting more weight than she was ready for on her healing leg, to cup his face. “Okay,” Ezekiel spoke softly, but there was a growl in his throat.

He wasn’t thrilled with the idea of letting a traitor live, nor any of the other truths she had just announced so publicly. Even still, as he looked over those gathered he saw that those words had been important. Even Fiona, who had liked Jessamine already, seemed better for it being said out loud. Most everything that people had learnt about Jessamine had been through rumours, Ezekiel was unable to share anything while trials were ongoing and after that no one thought of gathering to straighten out the bad rumours from the true ones.

“Fiona, divide up those able to work starting with the main house and all of the quarters. Every exterior gate doubled as well. Regardless of anyone inside coming forward for forgiveness there was an attack, and we want the Ashford pack knowing it’s safe to rest.” Ezekiel said suddenly before scooping Jessamine with carefully placed arms.

She didn’t argue, for once she almost sighed with relief to be picked up. There was nothing more for her to say,, but she knew Ezekiel’s words had been as much for her as anyone else.

Heads bowed as they walked passed and up the stairs to his room, Bronx opening the doors for them and followed close behind.

P