Caught in the crossfire

20

The next morning Kay awoke to an empty bed. He was gone but she could still feel him. And somehow, that made her feel a little more whole. It dawned on her then that she'd never realized that she'd even felt a part of her was missing until now. A part of her regretted that they had waited until they had to be separated to begin completing the bond. She wanted to take what she'd heard and learned about the bond and pack link to reach out to him now. But not knowing where he was or what his plans were she feared that if he were already in a dangerous situation she might only be putting him at risk by distracting him. So instead, she lay there in bed, taking comfort in his scent, as she clung to his pillow and tried her best not to worry. Her mate was not just any man, she reminded herself, he was Alaric Fallon. The Alaric Fallon. He was strong. He was a warrior. He never lost. He'd be home soon. He had a reputation to uphold and, more importantly, he had a promise to keep.

Finally, when she could no longer deny her body's needs, she drug herself out of bed. After a quick trip to the bathroom, she went down to the kitchen for a bite to eat.

After breakfast she headed to the pack house to greet the pack. She held her head high and endeavored to put forth at much confidence and a sense of normalcy for her Pack as possible. As Luna, they would be looking to her in Alaric's absence and she was determined not to let him, or them, down. After making her appearance, she headed to the Alpha's office to see if there was any paperwork that she could possibly deal with herself. She wanted to be useful and productive. Since she could not be with her mate to help him there, then this small gesture would have to suffice.

About midday, as she sorted through yet another mound of paper work, out of the blue she was hit with an intense searing pain! Instinctively, she knew it was her mate. As it subsided enough for her to regain a better grip on her senses, her connection to Alaric suddenly felt as though it had been cut off! Something was wrong. Terribly. Wrong. Try as she might she could no longer feel her mate. Just then, as her mind spun into a frenzy of panic, a knock sounded at the door.

"Come in." She said, quickly regaining her composure.

"Luna." The scout bowed his head respectfully as he entered the room. "Someone is here to see you. He says his name is Garreth and that he's a friend of yours from Rock Creek. He claims that it's an emergency and insists on speaking with you. What would you like us to do with him?"

"Take me to him." She responded authoritatively, "I'll see to it."

"With all due respect, I don't think-" he began uncertainty.

"That wasn't a request." She said firmly.

"Yes, Luna." He replied, lowering his gaze.

She followed the shifter out of the Pack's clearing, into the woods, and to the very edge of the Pack's land where a group of Silver Fang wolves encircled Kay's old friend. He looked ragged and worn, no small bit worse for the wear, but he still exuded that same fierce confidence he'd had since a child.

"Kay!" He exclaimed stepping forward. His attempt to move toward her was halted abruptly by the chorus of low, threatening growls that pressed in around him from the Silver Fang shifters.

"It's alright." Kay addressed her pack mates. "I know him. Gare," she turned her attention to the Rock Creek shifter "what's going on? You look terrible."

"Kay" he began, glancing furtively about, "is there someplace we can talk? It's urgent."

"Jesse" she addressed the scout who had brought her, "go see that arrangements are made for our guest. He looks as though he can hardly stand. Also, could you let Nema know that I'm done with her file please? It's in my bedside table if she wants it before this evening. And the rest of you," she faced the others "get back to your patrol. I'd hate to have the borders left open because everyone's attention is here on someone who is not a threat."

"Yes ma'am" they reluctantly replied. Kay could tell that they wanted to argue, but her gaze left no room for debate. Certainly they were not pleased with the idea of leaving their Luna with a strange male from another pack, but without the Alpha there to overrule her command they had no choice on the matter.

As they all left to see to their tasks Kay turned again to Garreth. "Now, what's going on?"

"Kay, you need to come with me. It isn't safe for you here" he replied urgently.

"You know I can't do that Gare." She held his gaze intently, "Care to explain?"

"Kay," he pleaded "we have no time! Colt Bardolf wants you Kay. He knows you're here. I ran here as fast as I could, I barely escaped his men with my life! No doubt they'll be here any time!"

"How do you know this?" Kay asked, her breath hitching in her throat.

"Never mind that right now Kay! We need to go!" He exclaimed, swearing under his breath. "Look," he began at her reluctance, "If you stay you'll only bring harm to your pack. He'll kill every last one of them to get to you. Is that what you want?! Come with me now, while there's still time. We'll draw him away from here then disappear. Go someplace he'll never find you! Rumor has it your mate has it out for him. He'll face Colt, then you can come back home. Kay, please, I couldn't bear to see you hurt! Please."

Slowly, reluctantly, she nodded then let Garreth lead her by the hand as if in a trance. Moments later she was standing in front of a black SUV with a cloth being pressed to her mouth... by Garreth's hand. Snapping out of it she tried to react, but she was too late and within seconds her body collapsed.

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Hello my lovely readers! I'm back lol. Sorry for neglecting you for so long. I do hope you all had a wonderful holiday season! I know I did :D I'm gonna try to get back in the swing of things here now, let's get this story moving :)