Chapter 00001

Chapter one

Elara's pov

"Just hold on tight it will soon be over." I comforted the screaming woman beside me. Sweat trickled down her neck as she alternated between sobbing and screaming.

"The baby's head is coming, any moment now." The pack doctor informed us and I held onto the woman's hand tighter.

"I can't, I can't do it." She shook her head.

"Yes, you can." I countered.

"No, not without Tom. Tom should be here with me." She sobbed out before screaming as another contraction hit her. I couldn't help but feel guilty about the pain and loss she was going through. I had failed my pack as a Luna, they had put their trust in me and I had let them down.

"Listen to me, Lena. Tom would want you to be strong in his absence, this child is the last reminder of him you'll ever have...do you really want to let that go?" I asked and the woman's eyes met mine and held. I masked the pain I felt, letting her see determination and strength, as was expected of their Luna.

I couldn't imagine how hard it would be for her to have a child without her mate. A mate who was dead because I wasn't able to do my job right. The woman nodded slowly at me and when the doctor urged her to push, she pushed with all her might. She squeezed my hand so tight I couldn't feel a thing anymore but I didn't let go, she needed all the strength I could lend her. A few minutes later, the piercing scream of an infant filled the room and her beautiful baby boy was placed in her arms. Lena smiled down at her child, her eyes shone with love and I couldn't help the spark of envy and longing that spread within me.

"Thank you Luna Elara, thank you so much. I wouldn't have been able to do it without you." She looked up at me, her eyes filled with gratitude.

"It's the least I can do Lena. You are welcome to live in the pack house until you can find your feet." I informed her before I moved away.

I let out a sigh of relief as I closed her door behind me. I slowly strolled towards the emergency unit, bracing myself for what I would see.

"Are there any more casualties?" I asked one of the doctors as soon as I stepped into the room.

The metallic smell of blood invaded my senses the deeper I walked into the room. As I passed by, I looked at my pack members, some of whom had sustained bad injuries and some of whom were fighting for their lives. They were all surrounded by their loved ones who were sobbing uncontrollably. As I walked passed them, I couldn't tell if I was imagining or if they were looking at me with anger and hatred in their eyes.

"Two more men died this evening." The doctor informed me, breaking me out of my thoughts and I rapidly blinked back the tears that pooled in my eyes. The last thing my pack needed right now was a weak Luna.

"Inform them they are free to move to the pack house if they feel unsafe going back to their homes. Everything will be provided for them." I told her and she nodded before walking off.

"It isn't your fault Luna." Doctor Kyle, the head pack doctor, said as he approached me. Kyle was an elderly man who used more herbs for his treatments, he had been the pack doctor ever since I was a little child and he was almost like a father to me.

"That's debatable. Anything I can help with?" I asked, changing the subject.

"We already have all hands on deck Elara. You haven't gotten a wink of rest ever since the attack." He observed.

"How can I rest Kyle? How could I possibly rest when my pack just got attacked by hunters and there was nothing I could do to protect them?" I asked at a loss.

How had we gotten here? How had I not seen that there was a traitor in the pack who got close enough to know essential details about our border security?

Kyle's lips turned downwards and he looked like he had something to say but before he could speak the speakers strategically stationed at different points of the pack went off.

"All members of the Nightshade pack should be present for an emergency meeting in front of the pack house now. I repeat everyone should be present at the pack house for an important meeting now." Silas's voice boomed through the speakers and my heart squeezed for my mate. If things were bad for me here, I could only imagine how bad he was feeling.

Calling an emergency meeting most likely meant he had found whoever had betrayed the pack and wanted to address the issue. My eyes widened in realization and I turned to Kyle.

"I know you have to go and support your mate. You are a wonderful luna, Elara and Silas couldn't have asked for a more perfect mate." Kyle patted my shoulder before he turned and walked away.

Tears prickled the back of my eyes as I walked out of the infirmary and made my way to the pack house. Most wolves had gathered in front and the whole place was abuzz with murmuring and anticipation. Everyone, no doubt, wanted to know what was going on.

"Alpha, I was just at the infirmary. What have you found?" I asked Silas, my mate, as I walked up to him.

He stared at me blankly, his eyes cold and hard.

"What's wrong? Has something happened?" My brows furrowed in confusion.

"Seize her." He called out to the guards who sprang into action and restrained me. I groaned as they twisted my hands behind my back and pushed me down until I was kneeling on the floor.

What the hell was happening?