Chapter Someone Saved My Life Tonight

A loud knock on the door wakes us both. I sit up, groggy and disoriented. What time is it?

“Shit, it’s nine.” Elijah jumps up and grabs sweatpants.

“Shower and come down when you’re ready, baby.”

He kisses me before running out the door.

I roll out of bed slowly and stumble into the shower. My body is sore and tired. I smile thinking about how that came to be.

I rush through my shower and pull my hair into a long braid, trying to get down to the kitchen. I need food and coffee.

I throw on jeans and a loose shirt before hurrying out the door. The hum from the tattoo gun already fills the air as I make my way downstairs.

Cole is on the couch with another guy I’ve never seen. They look tense as they talk quietly with Elijah.

Cole stands as I approach and Elijah growls.

Cole laughs but sits down, smart.

“Sorsha, this is Ben,” Elijah tells me, “He just completed the third level of warrior training.”

“Congratulations, nice to meet you.”

“You as well, Luna.”

Ben looks young, maybe sixteen, very young to have completed three levels of warriors training already.

“Something happened last night, Sorsha.” Elijah tells me and I turn to face him.

“The council was attacked by rogues. Two guards and three members of the census and records staff were killed.”

“What?”

“They didn’t catch any of them,” Cole adds, “it was like... I don’t know it seemed like they purposely ran in and attacked a few people and left. They didn’t try to run further into the lodge or get to anyone ‘important.’ It’s like...”

“Like it was meant to be some kind of distraction maybe,” Elijah’s rough, Alpha voice cuts through.

“Exactly,” Cole say, “why those wolves? It doesn’t make sense.”

I sit next to Elijah’s head and everyone falls into silence.

The Goddess did warn the council to prepare for something. Maybe that was it?

“Go sweep the grounds again,” Elijah tells Cole and Ben, “just to make sure, lets keep the rotations unpredictable.”

“Yes, Alpha,” they say before nodding and leaving.

“Cole is leaving tomorrow for his pack, he wants to make sure they are well guarded with everything that’s going on.”

“That’s understandable.”

“As much as he pisses me off he’s a great warrior,” he huffs.

The hours pass as the three of us chat about art, movies, music, everything. The more we talk the more I can feel the closeness between Elijah and Matt. They’ve spent countless hours together while Matt decorates Elijah’s skin. Matt is quiet and observant. I get a sense that he has listened to Elijah a lot over the last few years, really been a shoulder for him. I appreciate him more than he will ever know.

A few hours pass and Matt claps his hands together, “done!”

Elijah pulls himself up from the table and Matt takes a picture so he can see it. I stare at it. It’s weird to see my own image there but its really beautifully drawn and Matt is amazing. The eyes are jarring. The color matches perfectly.

Elijah wraps his arms around my waist and rests his head on my shoulder.

“What do you think?”

“It’s amazing. You’re both so talented. Would you draw me one?”

“A tattoo?”

“Yeah,” I chuckle at the shock in his voice.

“Anything you want.”

“What if I want to get your portrait covering my back?”

He hesitates and I lay my head back on his shoulder and laugh. I didn’t think so.

“What about something small? Like... maybe a little mostly black wolf on my hip or something?” I whisper so only he hears.

He tightens his grip around me and growls.

“I’ll get right on it,” he kisses my mark.

“I gotta get out of here man, my mate is waiting,” Matt says as he packs the last of his ink away.

“Thanks man, we’ll come to you next time.”

They bump their shoulders together and Matt nods to me before leaving.

“Will you help me wrap this so I can shower? We have to be somewhere in an hour,” he informs me.

“Where?”

“You’ll see,” he winks at me.

I help him wrap his tattoo and he jogs up the stairs.

As he pulls his clothes on I try to pry information out of him.

“Do I need to change?”

“No...”

“Do I need to bring anything?”

“No...”

“Are we leaving packlands?”

“No...”

I huff.

He takes my hand and we walk out of the house, toward the packhouse. As we round the corner a car pulls to a stop in front of us.

Aunt Gemma steps out and I freeze. I look between the two of them as a huge smile grows on my face.

“Surprise,” he says quietly before I take off running into her arms.

She wraps me in one of her perfect Gemma hugs.

After she lets me go I slam my body into Elijah’s, wrapping my arms around the small of his back so I don’t press against his tattoo.

“Thank you,” I whisper to him as he wraps his arms around me.

“I love you, Sorsha,” he says against my forehead before pressing a kiss there.

“I love you.”

My aunt smiles at us with a twinkle in her eyes.

“Can I give her a tour?” I ask him.

“I’ll come with you. I can hang back so you can talk if you want me to.”

I giggle into his chest, “thats sweet but you don’t have to hang back.”

“I know we’re in front of the packhouse but I really want to show you our house,” I bounce on my toes, so excited to see her and show her my new home.

“Lead the way,” she smiles as I grab Elijah’s hand and begin walking back to our house.

We use the back trail so that we can get there quickly, plus, I don’t want her to see everything before we get to it.

Elijah jerks to a stop and I can tell he’s being linked.

“Shit.” His whole body goes ridged, “something’s happening. I have to get to the gate. Cole is coming to take you somewhere safe.”

Less than a minute later Cole sprints down the path.

“I swear Cole...” Elijah growls.

“I’ll protect her, Alpha,” he says seriously.

Elijah pulls me into his arms before cupping my face in his hands.

“I’ll be right back. I love you.”

“Be safe. I love you,” I whisper before he tears himself away, shifting, then bounding down the path.

“Come on, Luna, let’s go to the Alphas office, we can lock it down.”

Gem and I follow him down the path. Before we make it to the clearing behind the packhouse Ben runs toward us.

“I’m taking them to the office,” Cole tells him.

“Good idea!”

As we move into the clearing two rogues are causally waiting there.

Cole turns to Ben and nods, they step forward each set to take one of the rogues.

Cole steps forward but Ben doesn’t. Instead, he lunges to the side, pushing a syringe into Coles leg.

“Sorry, pal,” he laughs as Cole’s eyes go wide and he stumbles to the ground.

I turn to Gemma in time to see another rogue that came from behind us stab her in the shoulder with a syringe of the same orangish liquid.

“Elijah!” I scream through before I feel Ben stab my neck.

“Sorsha!” Elijah’s frantic voice echoes through me head as I loose consciousness.