"Ronald, aren't you coming with us?" Arya asked before getting in with Rebecca and her cousins in the ambulance.
"No, Luna. Alfa instructed me to stay here until he says so," Ronald replied.
With a gentle understanding nod, Arya entered the ambulance, and they were on their way to the hospital.
The ride seemed never ending, and with each passing minute, Arya felt her chest get heavy with emotion.
Her only prayer was that her friend survives this injustice that fell on her.
Who could be so cruel to leave her for dead?
"That was quick!"
Marcus's comment made Arya jump out of her thoughts and back into reality.
"Dear Goddess, what happened?" Dr Gretchen said, staring down at the figure on the stretcher, as she helped wheel her into the observation room.
"I don't really know!" Arya said, not knowing what actually happened.
"I need you all to stay here," the doctor said before entering the room.
"No, I have to come," Arya pleaded.
"Luna..."
"Please, doc."
Gretchen knew that Arya could simply command her to let her go in but was asking. Thinking about the request, Gretchen finally nodded, and before going in, Arya turned to her cousins, "Down that corridor, second room. Go." She pointed.
Gretchen had allowed Arya in not because she was their Luna, but because the scent of her patient was that of a human, and Arya would be able to tell her what she might need to heal, as she didn't study human biology.
"Get the IV ready," Dr Gretchen called out to the nurse as they put Rebecca on the observation bed.
"She seems dehydrated and starved," she observed, placing the needle through the hand delicately.
Gretchen had wanted to become a doctor eversince she was a little girl.
She had seen her mother perish because of lack of medical care, and her father had lost interest in life. He slowly faded away into darkness.
When she got married to Ronald and moved here, she joined the clinic as an assistant to the then doctor, and slowly became head doctor after doctor Steven passed away.
Never in her ten year career had she seen anything like this. She had seen wolves with severed limbs, burnt faces, guts spilled out, and even half eaten patients, but this was the first time she saw a completely starved person, almost a living corpse.
"Luna, is she allergic to any medication?"
"No, not that I know of," Arya replied.
"And is she allergic to any food?"
"Um... mushrooms. She's severely allergic to mushrooms."
"And how about NCDs?"
"No, no, she's always been healthy."
"Uh... OK..." Saying that, she injected something into the saline liquid.
"Doc, what's that?" Arya asked.
"Glucose syrup. She's starved and needs sugar as well as salt in her body right now.
"She will make it, right? Arya asked, her voice trembling.
"Have hope. I'll do everything I can to save her," came the reply.
Deep inside, Arya blamed herself. She's the one who got her out and tried to escape with her. Had she not done that, maybe she'd still be healthy.
She knew for a fact that Alfa wouldn't do this or order this, as she felt his shock when she revealed to Marcus and Natalie that she was Rebecca.
This could only mean one thing; someone went behind his back and almost killed her. But why? Why would someone try to kill Rebecca? What had she done to anyone?
"Luna, we need to let her rest. I've given her some medication, and she will rest while the IV does its magic. Let's hope she gains consciousness soon," Dr Gretchen said, and they walked out.
"I'll go visit my aunt," Arya said and turned towards her room.
"Bobo! How are you?" Kimberly said, as Arya came into view.
"Aunt Kim, you're awake! I'm good, how are you feeling?" Arya said.
"I'm feeling much stronger," she replied. Then she looked at Marcus and Natalie and asked, "Bobo, are they free to go?"
As far as she knew the council, they wouldn't let them go just like that. The old members, with their old thinking, would want some sort of guarantee that they wouldn't speak.
"Honestly, I don't know if they are free or not, but Alfa had allowed us to come here... because you know the photo you took?" Arya asked, giving her some time to think.
"Yes, the girl who was in pretty bad shape. She was asking for you. How's she?" Kimberly asked.
"She's here, in hospital. She is Rebecca."
Kimberly and Pete stared at her in shock. They had seen Rebecca go through so much, losing her parents to divorce, being brought up by her grandmother while their parents forgot about her and moved on with their own lives.
Her grandmother's death, and the way she broke down in front of them. She went through breakup after breakup yet remained upright. Never was she this badly shaped.
"What kind of monster would do that?" Kimberly whispered.
"We're about to find out," Arya said, as the scent of first rain on the wildflowers flowed through the air.
The smile on her face made Kimberly realize that the alfa was near. A wolf, when sensing their mate, feels happy and can not help but smile.
She remembered the first time she smelled Pete, roses and apples. That was when she realized that her true mate is near.
She felt disappointed that her mate, instead of coming near her, was venturing away from her.
She saw him from behind, a tall figure walking towards his next class, with his friends. But why didn't he catch her scent?
Because he was human. Humans don't feel the mate pull like wolves. Kimberly tried everything to not sound like a desperate bird in front of him.
She gradually befriended him, started dating, doing every human thing possible, and then he shocked her with a revelation; he had a crush on her from the time he saw her, but didn't approach, because he thought she was out of his league.
Then Kimberly dropped the missile. She was a werewolf.
Instead of laughing like a normal human would do, he just said, "I knew you were different."
Pete pressed his hand on Kimberly's hand. "Thinking back on college days?" He asked softly.
Kimberly smiled and nodded. Even now, as a human, Kimberly sometimes smelled roses and apples when she was around him. It made her wonder, was this what humans called, 'soul mates.'?
"Mrs Hunter, how's your health?" Came Alfas voice.
"I'm feeling much better, thank you," Kimberly replied, then added, "Um.. Alfa, can we take our children back with us?"
He took in a deep breath. "I will speak with the council and get permission. Until that happens, please accept our hospitality. Stay here. I promise you'll be safe!" He replied.
Kimberly nodded, knowing he's not asking, but ordering.
"Aria, we need to talk. In my office," he told Arya. Then nodded at the guests, and walked out.