The Silver Siren

"Melissa will send a light to guide you to us" I told him.

"Luna," he said, "I will need to send Cole with a team of warriors to you. I still haven't found Penny and I think she is hurt. I can't connect a mind link with her." 

Oh no! I had forgotten all about Penny. I had left her to fight that rogue so I could go ahead and find Reece. If she is hurt, or worse, it would be my fault. 

"OK, send them straight away," I instructed, "I will find you and join the search." 

Melissa said a spell and a tiny white light appeared in front of us. It scurried away speedily down the corridor to Brad's location. 

"I will follow the light to Brad. Can you stay here until the council arrive to take custody of Lucien?" I asked Melissa. 

"Of course," she said, "I will orb to you once he is secured."

I ran after the light, catching up to it after a few seconds. This wasn't good. I'd been so preoccupied with dealing with Lucien that I had totally forgotten about Penny. 

Had she been injured by the rogue? Why hadn't she mind linked someone if she was hurt? A minute or two later, the guide light had led me to Brad and the warriors. There was a hive of activity and warriors were busy securing rogues. 

"Luna," Cole greeted me and bowed his head.

"Cole, please lead the Council to Melissa by following this light. Lucien is being held there," I said. 

"Yes, Luna," he said, and led the members of the council back to Melissa, following the guide light. 

I walked over to Brad. His face was pale, and his face was screwed up with worry. 

"Have you been able to connect to her yet?" I asked him.

"No," he said.

"I'll take you to where I saw her last," I said. This place was like a maze, and huge, but I was starting to figure it out. I led him in the direction of where I left her to deal with the rogue. 

I knew I shouldn't have left her to fight the rogue on her own. She still hadn't recovered 100%. I should have stayed with her. 

We walked in silence for what seemed like an eternity, but in reality, was less than 2 minutes. I was racked with guilt. Did Brad blame me for leaving her? 

We rounded a corner, and I recognised the corridor. I had left Penny right here. But the corridor was empty. Brad inhaled next to me, searching for her scent.

"She's close," he said. We walked on a few more steps and the corridor snaked round to the right. As we turned the corner, we saw her, maybe halfway down. She was laying on the floor, eerily still. 

"Penny!" Brad cried as he ran to her. I ran after him. 

"Penny!! Penny, baby, wake up!" He said, shaking her shoulder, trying to rouse her.

She had an arrow lodged in her thigh, and what looked like half a broken arrow protruding out of her back. She was covered in her own blood and her skin was pale. He yanked the arrow from her thigh, and then carefully dislodged the broken arrow from her back, being careful not to leave any shards of it behind. I smelled it straightaway.  

"Wolfsbane," I said out loud, "this was no ordinary rogue attack, Brad. It was Lucien. He must have attacked her just before finding me. He had a crossbow with silver arrows dipped in wolfsbane." 

"She's ice cold," he said desperately, "She's dying. She's not as strong as Reece, the poison has acted much quicker than it did to him." 

Melissa was still dealing with the Council and securing Lucien into their custody. Waiting for her to return and orb Penny to the hospital would take too long and she was barely alive. 

This was all my fault. Tears trickled down my face as I knelt down next to her and held her lifeless hand. Lana whimpered. Brad was in pieces. He held her in his arms and nuzzled his face into her neck, completely distraught. 

"We have to get her to the hospital!" He whispered, his voice cracking. 

I felt for a pulse on her wrist. It was slow and faint, barely even there. 

"I don't think she'll make it," I said softly, choking on the words. I encased her hand in mine and brought it to my cheeks. My tears fell unguarded down my face and dripped onto her hand. The thought of losing her was too much to bear and left a physical pain in my chest. She had become my family and I loved her as if she were my blood sister.

The room had started to get lighter. I looked around the room, thinking Melissa had orbed in at first, but she hadn't. I was starting to feel weird. Tingles erupted from my abdomen. My pup! Was it OK? 

"Lana," I said, "what's happening?"

"I don't know," she replied, "it's not me. The pup is doing something."

The tingles started to radiate out from my abdomen and travelled up to my chest and then down my arms. 

"Luna," Brad said, looking up from Penny, "Your eyes are glowing."

"I’m not doing anything, but I feel strange," I said.

The light in the room changed then and the tingles were now down to my hands. Still holding Penny's hand, I lowered it from my cheek to see that her hand was bathed in light. The light spread down her arm until her whole body was emanating light, almost glowing. I had no idea what was happening, but I didn't want to let go of her. I knew I wasn't going to hurt her.

Brad pulled back from her, "What's happening to her?" he said. 

I didn't feel in control of what was happening. It felt like an out of body experience. Soon I was tingling all over. The light got brighter, and I saw the wound from the arrow on her thigh starting to get smaller. 

"Brad," I said quietly, "She's healing!" He looked as stunned as I felt.

"How? Are you healing her?" He asked.

"I don't know! I’m not doing it," I cried. Melissa appeared. Thank goodness. She might know what's happening.

"Melissa, I don't know what's happening," I said to her. She heard the worry in my voice.

"It's OK, sweetheart. She's healing," she said.

"How am I healing her?" I said.

"It's not you, my darling," she said, smiling, "Your pup is healing her. He or she's a healer. How exciting!" 

Wait. My unborn pup is healing my Beta?! 

"What?" I said, "How is that even possible?" 

"The pup already has its special power from the Moon Goddess, and it remains dormant until he or she reaches 18. Your power is harnessing your pup’s power in response to your emotions," said Melissa, matter-of-factly. 

We all watched as the pup fully healed the wound on her thigh, then the wound on her back. The colour came back to her skin and her breathing became even and deep. I felt her pulse strong and vibrant again. 

The tingling suddenly stopped, and I released her hand from mine, now feeling back in control of myself. She slowly opened her eyes, and Brad scooped her up in his arms and held her close. 

Tears of joy filtered from my already puffy eyes. These mad crazy hormones! I felt Melissa's arm around my shoulder, and I rested my head on hers. The sense of relief in the room was palpable, not just because Penny had survived, but because it was over. Lucien was now being held in custody by the Council and was no longer a threat. I was finally able to relax and look forward to the future. And I had my mate back, who I was desperate to see. 

"Thank you, Luna," Brad said, and bowed his head. 

"What happened?" asked Penny. Brad filled her in, and I knelt down and hugged her.

“I'm sorry I left you,” I whispered into her ear.

"How do you feel?" I asked her.

"Like I've been trampled on by a herd of elephants," she said. We giggled. She was too weak to stand and needed time to recover, but she was alive, and my heart was almost bursting at the thought.

"Let's go home," I suggested. 

"Amen to that!" said Brad and picked Penny up into his arms.

The warriors gathered at Brad's instructions and the Council's men dealt with the rogue survivors. The warriors led us home back through our borders, into the welcoming safety of our land. Brad and I took Penny straight to the hospital, where I followed the scent of sweet lemonade. 

I could barely contain myself when I saw him. I had never been so worried in my entire life, and to see him sitting up in bed with a huge grin on his face was the greatest gift I could have asked for. I ran over to him and climbed into his lap. My lips met his and said everything I wanted to say. 

"I'm never leaving you again," he whispered in my ear. 

"Good," I said, giggling. I told him everything that had happened after Melissa had orbed him to the hospital. 

"That's unbelievable!" he said, "Our little pup is a healer. Amazing!"

"And so are you," he said, nuzzling his head into my neck. I wrapped my arms around his waist and my hands slipped up his shirt, eagerly caressing his warm skin. He smelled incredible and soon I was lost in the haze of the mate bond.

Allie

It had been over four months since we captured Lucien and secured the safety of our pack. The Elder Council have him imprisoned within their land. And it had been one week since our pup made her way into the world. 

My waters broke early on a beautiful Friday morning. Susie was eager to meet the world, and we only just made it to the hospital wing in time. Everyone is smitten with her, Reece most of all. 

Lily and Spencer returned from their travels and couldn’t be prouder of Reece and I for handling everything the way we did. They moved into a beautiful cottage nearby and are relishing their retirement and their new granddaughter!

Penny had to spend a few weeks in the hospital recovering and building up her strength. Although Susie had healed her and saved her life, there were still some side effects from the poison that she was suffering from. Her wolf gained strength slowly though, and after a few weeks she was able to shift again, but under strict orders from Doc Stevens to take it easy and stick to a meal plan to help her gain healthy weight. Because she wasn’t 100% healed when we went on the mission to save Reece, the poison affected her much quicker than it normally would in a healthy werewolf. If we had found her five minutes later than we did, she would have died. 

As I looked down at Susie, quietly nursing in my arms, I thought about everything that had happened recently. It sure had been an intense six months, but honestly, I had never been happier.

Word of Lucien’s capture had filtered through the werewolf world, and incredibly, sirens that have been in hiding for years, decades even, have made themselves known to us.  

We are safe now.