Healing Hearts

C H A P T E R | 28

"You're joking," Layla pleaded, hoping it wasn't true. She would never make her mate chose between each other lives. If anything, Layla would die before Marley is even close to any harm. She didn't like how Marley sacrificed her years of her life to save hers.

Hannah shook her head, "I'm not. Marley should have known better."

Gabby hesitated, "Should have known better. Are you saying Marley should had let Layla die?"

Hannah nodded her head, "Yes."

Gabby pulled Layla to a stop. The Head Doctor agreed with Hannah, but just for different reasons.

"If you were put into the same situation, Luna Hannah, would you save your mate and Alpha?"

Luna Hannah tensed, pulling her lips back as she snarled, "No, I wouldn't." She turned around, and she started to walk away.

Gabby and Layla stared at each other in shock.

A wolf would do anything for their mate, but it seems like Luna Hannah was an exclusion from that normality.

Luna Hannah paused at the door. She took a deep breath, and she could scent Marley on the other side. She smiled softly, "Have you been treating her right, Layla?"

Layla nodded her head, "Of course. I wouldn't do anything to hurt her."

Luna turned around, keeping her emotions at bay. She forced a stern expression on her face, "You better because if she is ever unhappy, and it's your doing, I will make sure you will never see her again."

Layla snarled, but pulled her wolf back. She didn't need to challenge an Luna, especially if she was thinking about Marley's well-being. As a doctor, it was easier to think with her wolf rationally, and it's been easier since she wasn't dying from a one sided bond.

Luna Hannah pulled the door opened, facing towards Marley. She smiled coming closer to her old pack mate. Layla and Gabby quickly followed inside, closing the the door behind them. Gabby flopped down into a chair, leaning on her knees as she was ready to watch the scene unfold.

"Goddess, she's all grown up," Hannah smiled, pushing a strand of hair from Marley's face. Layla stared at the Luna carefully, grabbing her mate's hand and kissing it. "She used to be so small. She was actually the shortest of her age group," the Luna laughed, smiling at Marley's unconscious figure.

Layla nodded her head, pressing her forehead against her mate's. Hannah sighed before placing her hand on Marley's arm. Gabby smiled, waiting to see the lights again.

Marley's eyes fluttered open.

Gabby pouted before she got up to see Marley wide awake.

"Layla?" Marley coughed, and Layla wrapped her arms around her mate. Her legs went on either side of Marley's hip, and Hannah had to take a step back into Gabby to get out of the way.

Layla cooed, "I'm here, Marls." Marley calmed down for a moment, snuggling into her mate before she pushed Layla back.

Her eyes were wide as her wolf let out a cry. Her senses were overwhelmed that she didn't sense Nurse Gabby or Luna Hannah in the room with them. "Where's Gabby?"

Gabby chuckled, waving her hand to get Marley's attention. She took a couple steps forward, hugging Marley and Layla.

"You're ok," Marley whimpered, her hands gripping the nurse's winkled shirt. "Jasmine, she... she," Marley mumbled, shaking her head as she tried to wash the memories away.

"Everything is going to be ok," Layla mumbled into her mate's hair. They both looked into each other eye's for a moment before Marley caught another figure in the room.

Gabby and Layla watched Marley's expression change. When Marley as once happy to see Layla and Gabby, she wasn't pleased to stare into Luna Hannah's eyes. She was taken back, blinking for a few minutes before she clenched her jaw.

"What are you doing here, Hannah?" The bubbly and shy girl the others knew was gone; instead, replaced with a young Alpha who wasn't in the mood for games.

Luna Hannah raised her eyebrows, already expecting this reaction from the eighteen year old pup. "I'm here to help our pack, Marley Moon," she answered, not breaking eye contact.

Marley shook her head, bitting her lip in frustration. She knew she needed all the help she could get, but every time she looked at Hannah, she remembered the pain she had when the she-wolf never came back from the hunting trip. It took a full year before they heard from her, not directly, but they were informed that Hannah had found her mate.

"I'm sorry, Sunshine. I really am," Hannah started. The last years turned her own carefree self hard, but there was still a soft spot for the pup she cared for. "I never meant to hurt you with my departure," she added.

Marley continued to shake her head, "You never... you never said goodbye."

Layla pulled her mate closer, hoping her touch would bring her mate happiness. Gabby patted Marley's head, not daring to look at anyone in the room.

"I couldn't risk going back," Hannah explained. "I'm mates with an Alpha, Marley, and we have our own laws to follow."

"I hate these laws," she cried. "I'm just lying. Everything is a lie. Why should I be so scared of what I am? Of all the good things I can do?"

Hannah crinkled her nose, "Because the outside world doesn't deserve us. Marley, you shorted your life by saving this doctor. Don't you understand that the world is rainbows out here?"

"For the last two years," Marley snarled, "I watch the people I love get hurt for what they can do. I know the world is full of darkness, but that's why they need us - to bring light. When I saved my mate's life, I felt like the Goddess was standing right next to me. It didn't matter if they were going to find out. They are going to war to save us. It shows that the light has always been there. We have been looking in the wrong places for it."

Hannah shook her head, "Anyone can betray you, Marley. Anyone can pretend, especially mates. They only love you for a bond, a bond from the Goddess they no longer worship."

The Doctor snarled, "I would never hurt her!" She bared her teeth, and Gabby stepped in between them.

The Nurse carefully whispered, "I think it's time to cheek up on your pack, Luna Hannah."

---- A U T H O R N O T E | 30 ----

On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate my story (between punctuation, grammar, plot, characters, etc)? I'm just curious about my writing skills

You guys are starting to get more into Marley's pack! I'm really excited that I can start developing more parts of the story (and hopefully keep everything tangled together).

QQ (#35): Who do you see playing as Hannah, and what do you think is going on with her?