Luna Lena

Chapter 18 - No Mistakes

Apparently, I'd put so much mental effort into attempting to heal Elijah, that I'd exhausted myself and fell asleep. That's what I assumed, anyways, when I awoke curled up next to Elijah on his hospital bed with the room pitch black except for the lights from his vital monitors.

Once my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw Elijah was still unconscious next to me. My heart dropped. Had my healing not worked? Was I not strong enough to heal such serious injuries yet? It was entirely possible, seeing as I'd had very limited practice with my abilities thus far. According to Sofia, dire times like these were supposed to heighten my abilities, though.

I felt defeated. Not only was I the reason my mate had gotten himself into this state in the first place, but I couldn't even help him. In fact, a part of my mind told me he'd be better off without me. My wolf growled at that thought, however, refusing to ever leave our mate's side.

A knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts.

I looked over at the doorway and saw a tall man with sandy blonde hair and a rather golden complexion looking in on me. I furrowed my eyebrows as I'd never seen him before, and he certainly didn't appear to be a native of Night Fire. Seeing he had my attention, he took a step into the room.

"Hello, you must be Lena," he spoke. His voice was deep, but at the same time soft and smooth.

I felt my attitude flare up, and I so badly wanted to talk back to this unidentified male, but something about him made me hesitate. He had a kind face, and for some reason it was making it very difficult for me to be rude to him.

"Correct," I finally replied, keeping my answer short and sweet as I kept my place on the bed next to Elijah.

The male walked further into the room and turned on a small lamp before taking a seat in a chair across from the bed. The sudden illumination showed me his features even more clearly, revealing a captivating pair of sea-green eyes.

"My name is Alpha Ryder," he finally explained. That certainly explained his height and large, muscular build. "I'm the Alpha of the Moon Wave pack, and I've come to conference with both Elijah and Zane. I'm hoping Elijah will wake soon, but if not, you'll have to speak on his behalf."

I furrowed my eyebrows again, "And what exactly brings you all this way to conference with my mate?"

Alpha Ryder gave me a small smile, "I understand you're a new Luna, and therefore still learning the ways of the packs and pack system. I was delegated years ago as a sort of...peacekeeper amongst the packs. Any issues or conflicts between packs are presented to me first as chance to prevent unnecessary violence."

I froze. Had Zane and Elijah broken a law between the packs?

"I know all of this is a lot to take in, and I'm very aware of the situation that Zane saved you from. I'm very sorry you had to experience that, and I assure you, Dean is being conferenced with as well."

I cleared my throat, forcing myself to sound professional despite the building anxiety in my gut, "I also hope my mate awakens soon, not just for his health and my sanity, but so he can meet with you appropriately. I would hate to get any details wrong of a situation that I have limited information about."

Ryder smiled again and nodded, "I've been sending many prayers to the Moon Goddess for Elijah. I have faith that he will wake soon, and if he does, I'd still like to present you the opportunity to meet with me and explain your experience in Dark Root. You're not required to, of course, since you're not an Alpha, but it would be helpful."

I nodded back, "Of course."

"Thank you, Lena," Ryder said before slowly standing from the chair. "I will continue to pray for both you and Elijah. He is a strong Alpha, and I believe you are a strong Luna. The Goddess looks favorably on the two of you."