Chapter 30

For once in a really long time I feel well rested even if Quentin woke me up every few hours because he was concerned about my concussion. The only thing that kept me from strangling him was the way he would wake me up each time. Brushing my hair out of my face while placing a gentle kiss to my forehead, and the way his silver eyes scanned my face for any indication of pain or discomfort.

Rolling over towards the window I squint my eyes at the bright sunlight pouring in through the window. Last time he woke me up he told me Aidan called to say he contacted the guy in the mountains, and that he agreed to look into it. It was the biggest reason why the last few hours of sleep were so refreshing.

The house is quiet which isn't surprising considering Quentin told everyone to get out so I could rest, but I'm hoping they come back soon because I've wasted enough time as it is. We need to call all the other Alphas and Lunas to let them know about the note because if we start keeping shit from them they won't know who or what to believe if it comes to light.

I stand up and head out of our bedroom making my way down the stairs and to the kitchen. The smell of coffee is overwhelming so someone must have just made it. Peaking out of the window near the table I spot Quentin sitting on our bench on the back porch holding a mug in his hand.

"Good morning." His smile is infectious until his eyes land on my face and then it falls. I forgot that the bruises would still be there from last night or technically the night before that. He recovers quickly setting down his coffee and opening his arms for me.

"How are you feeling?" He pulls me onto his lap so my feet are spread out on the seat next to us.

"Better." I rest my hand on his cheek pulling his face closer and connecting our lips for a simple but meaningful kiss. "Thank you." I lean my forehead against his just appreciating this calm quiet moment between us. Moments like this with him are my favorite.

"For what?" He tilts his head quizzically as always.

"For being you." It would take me years to list out everything that I could thank him for. I've matured into the person I am today with his help. We constantly bring out the best in each other by balancing what's important to each of us. Not to mention the countless time we've been a rock for one another during hard times.

I rest my head on his shoulder watching the sun rise up over the trees enjoying the cool morning breeze. Thinking back to last night I remember I never got the chance to ask Jasper how he found me.

"Where's Jasper?" Normally he would have slept in our spare bedroom, but I can see Quentin making him stay in the pack house so he wouldn't wake me up.

"He had to go home for the day, but he'll be back either later tonight or tomorrow. I frown at this, hoping whatever the reason was isn't too serious. Quentin reaches up rubbing the crease between my eyebrows. "He didn't look worried if that makes you feel better." It does help my nerves enough to drop the subject.

"Um did he mention to you how he found me?" I bite the inside of my lip looking down at my hands. We can't ignore what happened last night, but I'm concerned Quentin is still too worked up about it. I don't want to hit a nerve again, but my curiosity is killing me.

"Yeah, he told me that you need to work on your indoor voice." Hearing his laugh was the last thing I expected out of him. Glancing up at him I feel my own smile take over my face at his goofy grin. "He isn't wrong." He defends, and I lightly punch him in the shoulder.

"Maybe he shouldn't eavesdrop." I point out trying to help my cause. I should have been more careful in making sure no one was outside while Victoria and I were talking. This isn't the first time someone has told my voice travels, to put it nicely.

Although I must admit I'm grateful to be having such a peaceful morning after that whole debacle, and I wouldn't wish to spend it with anyone else.

* * *

The whole day has been quite uneventful. Much to Quentin's delight I agreed to stay off my feet just to be safe, and spent the whole morning with Quentin calling to get updates on all the other packs. So far there have been zero attacks since Crescent Pack's and that doesn't sit well with me. The rogues had no problem jumping from pack to pack wiping out as many warriors as they could, yet all of the sudden they are dormant. Maybe they are the decoy, or the council wanted them to start this plan into action? No matter what the reason is, I spent the afternoon lost in my own thoughts.

Emma came over with Otis after lunch to spend as she called it "girl time". I felt silly sitting on my butt letting her paint my toenails while the world we know could crumble as soon as tomorrow. Otis has grown so fast, and it's hard to keep him from crawling out of your sight. He's an extremely curious child for his age and seems alarmingly aware of his surroundings.

"How are you guys doing?" I look from Otis to Emma who doesn't falter from her precise painting. A dark curl falls into her face, but she just blows it out of the way.

"All things considered we are doing really good." The smile that lights up her face is genuine, and it has me returning it with an equally as joyous one. "We have already discussed having more kids, but I want to wait until we get this council and rogue bullshit over with." This is why I have always enjoyed having Emma around during stressful times. She will always find a way to look on the bright side, but sometimes I worry she may be too optimistic.

"You're not worried?" I whisper as if we could get in trouble for discussing it. She finishes my last toe before screwing the cap back on and sitting up turning her body towards me.

"Of course, but if I let the fear consume me I can't enjoy each day to the fullest." She shrugs glancing back over to Otis who is about to shove a coaster from the coffee table into his mouth. She reaches down gently removing it from his hand before picking him up and setting him down on her lap. "What about you? Have you discussed having kids with Quentin?" My cheeks heat up at the idea, and her eyebrows scrunch up in confusion.

"No, not really. I....uh, no." I stumble over my words feeling embarrassed for acting so awkward when the idea of kids is brought up. Maybe after all of this is over I'll warm up to the idea, but right now having children is the farthest thing on my mind.

"It's okay if you don't want to have any. That's your choice. I was just curious." She reaches over giving my hand a reassuring squeeze. I appreciate her not pushing the subject because it makes me so flustered. "Plus I wouldn't blame you after witnessing this monster." She giggles lifting Otis up and blowing a raspberry on his tummy. He screeches out in delight, a toothless smile spreading across his face.

This is what confuses me the most is I watch adorable moments between Emma and Otis finding it admirable, yet the thought of have a kid myself doesn't feel right. I would be lying if I said it doesn't scare me especially knowing Quentin does eventually want kids.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt. Can we talk?" Carl strolls into the living room with a sad smile on his face. He shoves his hands into his pockets waiting for me to answer.

"Go right ahead. I need to get this guy something to eat anyway." She stands up with Otis, grabbing the diaper bag before hugging me goodbye. "I'll see you later." She waves leaving the house with a sleepy Otis in her arms.

"Want to go for a walk?" I stand up slowly so I don't get dizzy. Carl nods holding his elbow out for me to take. "Thanks." I slip my arm through his letting him lead the way to the back door where I quickly slip on my sandals. We start down one of the commonly used trails.

"I wanted to apologize for snapping the other night." He doesn't stop walking but looks down to me with regret in his eyes. "I was so petrified that you weren't going to come back, and when you showed up I reacted out of anger which was wrong of me. I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you because I was upset with myself for not being there when you needed me." My heart clenches as his admission, and I rest my head against his shoulder so he can't see the tears pooling in my eyes. I'm lucky to have found Carl when I did because I don't know what I would have done without him. He's my unofficial right hand man and best friend.

"You don't need to apologize, and I promise not to run off without telling you again." I stop walking so he can see the honesty in my eyes.

"I like how you didn't promise to not run off again, but to tell me before you do." He raises an eyebrow smirking down at me.

"I'm just being honest." I laugh pulling him forward resuming our previous pace. The next half an hour is filled with small talk about anything and everything, and it's refreshing to hear his laugh again. He's had a rough few weeks preparing the warriors for a possible attack at any given moment, so I want us to even for a hour or so be able to just have fun and worry about our responsibilities later.

"What's wrong?" I step in front of him as he halts, his eyes glazing over. His demeanor shifts back to his cold expressionless warrior face. "What happened?" He gulps looking off into the woods for a brief moment before smiling back down at me, but I can see the worry in his brown eyes.

"Nothing, sorry. It just startled me a bit. I guess I was a lot more relaxed than I thought." He chuckles swinging his arm over my shoulder, turning us to walk towards the northern section of the border. "Quentin wants us to meet up with him." He tries to put up a carefree facade, so I let him think I believe him while keeping my eyes and ears open for anything suspicious.

"What does he want?" It's not that I don't trust Carl, but I don't trust what others could threaten him with. He's the type of person to protect others over himself and I'm not going to watch him sacrifice himself for me.

"Nothing. Just misses you." Another thing about Carl is he can't lie for shit. I don't think he realizes he has certain tells when he lies. He either rubs his eye or scratches the corner of his nose, and right now he just did both.

"Okay." He leads us through the forest that's getting darker with each passing second. The temperature drops as the stars slowly light up the sky, and my stomach flips as dread washes over me. We step out into a clearing where Quentin is waiting, but his less than genuine smile has me stoping in my tracks.

"What's going on?" My dads, Della and Aidan all step up next to Quentin, and my heart races as I examine each of them. My dads look upset, Fletcher's fists are clenched at his sides and Ryder's eyes are all red and swollen. Aidan has an arm wrapped around Della's waist, his face expressionless, which he only does when he's furious or scared. Della holds it together until my eyes contact with her heartbroken light green ones.

"What happened?" I stumble out of Carl's hold closing the distance between us. "Are Troy and Victoria okay?" Della forces a smilie nodding her head.

"Everyone is okay." Aidan starts as Jasper walks out of the brush carrying a black folder. I let out a small sigh of relief knowing everyone is safe, but there is something serious going on. "I called Bruno, the man that lives in the mountains, and he found some information about your mother." My heart drops into my stomach.

"What?" I turn towards Quentin my vision blurring with tears. How can some random man that we barely know have found information about my mother in less than twenty four hours than they did in fifteen years? Della and Aidan have tried for years to trace my mother's life to find out if I have any family out there, and couldn't even find out her old pack.

"I'm so sorry Tessa." He takes a step forward reaching out for me but I shake my head backing up. I don't want to be comforted. I want answers.

"What did he say?" I wipe away my tears as they fall while looking between everyone for an answer. Fletcher looks to Aidan nodding his head.

"Your mom was a member of Dark Mountains for a few years. She was an orphan in a different pack until she turned eighteen, and then she moved to Dark Mountains." My head feels numb trying to imagine someone willingly going to that deplorable pack.

"That doesn't make her a bad person." Della injects her voice thick with emotion. "It wasn't uncommon for young adults to join Dark Mountains as a way to rebel. Try to remember who she was when she was part of Black Moon." She bites her lip turning back into Aidan's chest as another sob resonates out of her.

"My dad?" My mom living in Dark Mountains for any period of time couldn't have caused this reaction from all of them. There's something much worse yet to be told.

"He was a warrior." Fletcher admits. Eric's words resonate loudly in my mind. The way he described her with so much hatred like it was personal.

"Her mate?" I'm not sure which answer will hurt more. The thought of her never finding her mate is excruciating, but the idea that her mate was one of Blake's men is dreadful.

"No." I blow out a ragged breathe rubbing my chest. Eric's words repeat themselves over and over in my mind like a broken record. I don't judge her at all for having a child with someone who isn't her mate. We are allowed to have feelings for others, and I know first hand how intensely you can feel for someone when you actually meet your mate yet.

"Did he try to kill her?" I growl. The mere thought of that kind of betrayal to someone who is carrying your child is unfathomable. I know the answer before anyone speaks up because Quentin's fists clench at his side giving it away. He didn't only try to kill her he tried to kill me.

"Yes. It's the reason she left. It appears she sought help at a different pack before residing in Black Moon." Aidan explains while Jasper holds the folder out for me to take. With shaking hands I open it scanning the documents inside.

"He's dead, right?" I flip through the documents until I find a few picture of my mom and a man I've never seen before. His light brown hair matches my own, but his blue eyes are much darker than mine. Not necessarily by the shade of blue but his have a sinister glint to them.

"He died during the battle fifteen years ago." Della speaks up sounding guilty for some reason. "I want to apologize just in case it was me." Her voice cracks again, and I hold my hand up to stop her.

"It's better you than me." I shrug and she chuckles quietly returning my smile. Blood or not anyone that was on the field that day along side of Blake got what they had coming. If he really tried to kill my mom I just hope whoever ended him made sure it wasn't quick.

"How did Eric know?" The initial shock and pain is slowly waning into rage. How did he get this information before us? More specifically who gave him this information before us?

"Our best guess is that since he is working with the council they have access to a few of Blake's remaining warriors who could have remembered them. It isn't something that just comes up in conversation, so they are intentionally looking for damaging information about us." Aidan crosses his arms as the rest of my family sobers up a bit. Now isn't the time to wallow in self pity. I need to call all of the other packs to let them know so they can hear it from me. If they believe that I'm intentionally keeping it from them it would weaken the trust we've built jeopardizing our cause.

"I need to call the rest of the Alphas and Lunas." I shut the folder turning to head back to the pack house, but Quentin gently grabs my arm stopping me.

"Take a minute." He rubs both of my arms before pushing a stray hair behind my ear. "It's a lot to take in." I roll my eyes at him stating the obvious.

"I'm not that fragile, and right now we need to think about the pack." I push hoping he'll see that I'm fine for now. "The pack can wait until the morning to find out. We'll hold a meeting, but I have to tell the rest of the packs before they hear it from Eric." He nods a small smile spreading across his face.

"I'm so proud of you." He leans his forehead against mine. "You..." His eyes glaze over just like Carl's not even an hour ago, but it doesn't last as long. I know immediately that something terrible has happened. "Shit!" He hisses turning to everyone else in the group.

"The council just took over Mystic Rivers pack." It isn't unexpected, but it's still concerning. There is no longer a way out of this but war. The time for negotiations and surrendering is over, and it's about to get bloody.

No more words need to be spoken between us all as we turn racing back towards our pack house. Some of our warriors come barreling back towards the pack line for extra protection. We don't know what all the council has planned nor do we have all the details as to what happened. I silently thank Carl for turning to join them because it's one less problem I have to worry about when I know he'll keep everyone safe.

"I'll start calling the packs in the east you start in the west." Aidan instructs Ryder as we all pack into our biggest conference room. I throw the folder onto one of the filling cabinet, and snatch a few rolled up maps from the corner.

"They want to establish a solid expanse of land that will be harder to attack unnoticed." I point to the neutral territory behind mystic rivers where they could easily station rogues safety behind the lakes and swamps. It would be impossible to sneak an entire army into the land from any direction.

"We need to make them come to us." Della scams the map pointing to a large expanse of open neutral territory. "A base camp here would ensure they couldn't sneak up behind us since it's at the base of the mountains." I bite my nail looking to Quentin who is standing next to me concentrating on where Della is pointing to.

"That would leave those who can't fight sitting ducks stuck in each pack." I point out. The elderly, young, pregnant, etc wouldn't have any protection if we are all waiting at a different location.

"Let's set them up in a hidden location." Quentin suggests as Fletcher approaches our side of the table.

"They've only overtaken Mystic Rivers, but the rest of the packs are on guard. They want to strike." He looks to Della who shakes her head.

"Not yet." Jasper raises his hand to gain our attention.

"Those who can't fight can stay in my pack during the battle." He looks up with determination.

"No, I meant what I said. You are not going to be apart of this. It's for your own safety." I put my foot down, but it seems to have little effect on him.

"Tessa they are staying on my land with my pack until this is over." He demands placing both hands on the table leaning down to my height. "I will fight." We glare at one another until Della cuts in.

"It's the best option. The other packs don't need to know it's his pack. We can say it's just neutral territory we found, and plus the council wouldn't look there especially since it's closer to their location than ours." They are both right, but it feels as if all the nightmares I tried my best to avoid are playing out right in front of my eyes.

"Stay with your pack and guard them." I attempt to negotiate with him, but he chuckles humorlessly.

"I'm fighting along side you." He promises with authority seeping into his tone. "The night we met I promised to help you whenever you needed it, and I'm not about to break that promise." The tension in the room is suffocating, but I know there is nothing I can do to stop him. He's made up his mind and I can't hold it against him too long because I would do the same for him. I seal all of our fate by nodding in defeat.

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Song: Immortalized by Hidden Citizens and Keeley Bumford.

I want to start off by thanking you all because Rogue To Luna hit 200,000 reads this morning! I started writing this series because I wanted to write a unique story and writing helps me manage my anxiety, so to see it grow this much is insane to me. The most I can hope for is that my books leave a lasting impression on you, or help you in someway. You all are so supportive and push me to become a stronger writer. I couldn't ask for better readers! I love you all so much! The last few chapter are going to take a day or two longer than usual to write since they are longer than some of the others, but don't worry I'm working so hard to get them out as fast as I can. I would love to hear all your theories for what's left to come in this book, and even any theories you have about the third book. In the note at the end of the next chapter I will be announcing who's POV the third book will be focusing on. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart for everything you all do! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and if you did don't forget to vote and comment! Stay safe. Until next time.

~Stella Gordon