Chapter 12
Chapter 12
The air felt heavier that morning, like the kind of day where something was meant to go wrong.
I felt it in the way the breeze brushed past the curtains.
Restless.
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Unsettled.
And then, Patricia’s call came through.
r
Monica. Her daughter. Hurt in an accident. That alone would have made me worry, but it was the way Patricia’s voice cracked–not with sadness, but something closer to fear–that made me grab my bag without even thinking. Audrey was already dressed and ready, as if she knew. Maybe she did. Maybe that’s what happens when your wolf is intact. You just know.
“She lives in Bologna, right?” I asked as we got in the car, remembering how Patricia once mentioned Monica worked there as a nurse.
“Yeah. It’s about a two–hour drive from Florence. Let’s go to Patricia and Louis first,” Audrey replied, voice calm as always, but there was tension in her
jaw.
Something was off.
By the time we arrived at their modest home, the sun was already starting to rise behind the rooftops.
Knock. Knock.
Louis opened the door, his usually warm demeanor dimmed by worry. Without a word, he widened the entrance for us. Patricia was right behind him, and when she saw me, she wrapped her arms around me in a tight, desperate hug.
“Oh, El,” she whispered like my presence meant something.
The reason why I care for them, because they make me feel that I matter.
“I came as fast as I could. How is she?” I asked, glancing over her shoulder to Louis.
He ran a hand over his face and sighed. “The human doctors said it was a car accident. But the healer we contacted from the city mentioned traces of
wolfsbane.”
I blinked. “Wolfsbane?”
My heart dropped. That wasn’t a car accident. That was an attack.
“Rogues,” Audrey murmured, her expression unreadable as she crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe.
Of course. I should’ve known. A rogue attack disguised as something human.
Louis nodded grimly. “There’s an Alpha meeting happening in here this week. We think that’s why. When so many Alphas gather in one place, it becomes an easy target for rogues to try and make a statement.”
I rubbed my arms, trying to ward off the chill climbing up my spine.
This wasn’t just bad luck. It was a calculated move.
“They didn’t go after the Alphas directly,” Audrey added. “They went after someone unguarded. That tells us something.”
“They wanted to scare us,” I muttered, more to myself than anyone else. I glanced at Patricia, who was holding back tears. “They wanted to say ‘we know where to find you.””
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10.31 Sat, 12 Jul
Chapter 12
Silence hung in the room like fog.
We all knew that rogue attacks were never random.
They sent messages. They broke lines. And they made people scared enough to hide..
“Kurt said it would be safer to bring Monica here,” Patricia finally spoke again, her voice barely above a whisper. “But…”
“I got a job down in the south perimeter,” Louis finished her sentence. “And I can’t leave Patricia alone. I won’t let her go to Bologna alone either.”
It made sense…
The perimeter was unstable.
The Alpha and Beta were both stretched thin, dealing with rogue threats and the upcoming summit. The rest of the warriors had been deployed strategically. There simply weren’t enough hands.
Audrey’s silence told me she already knew what I was about to say.
I looked up, thoughts whirling, and said it before I could second–guess myself.
“How about Audrey and I go?”
Everyone turned to look at me like I’d just grown another head.
“What?” Patricia gasped, and Louis nearly dropped the glass he was holding.
Even Audrey looked taken aback.
“El…”
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“No, listen,” I said, stepping forward. “You said Monica isn’t in critical condition. She just needs to be moved, right? She’s awake? We’re not going there to fight. We’re just going to bring her home.”
“Still, El-” Louis started.
“I know I can’t shift. I know I’m not strong like the others. But I’m not useless,” I interrupted, surprising even myself with the steel in my voice. “Audrey is a warrior. I’ll follow her lead. But someone has to go, and you both have more to protect here.”
Patricia looked like she wanted to protest but couldn’t find the words.
She knew I was right.
Louis took a step forward, his face stern. “Are you sure? This isn’t just a walk in the city. If there’s even a chance of rogues-”
“There’s always a chance,” I replied, lifting my chin. “But if we do nothing, Monica stays alone in a hospital with wolfsbane in her system and no one to protect her. That’s worse.”
Audrey finally spoke, her voice even but cautious. “I’ll take her. I’ll protect her. But El, once we’re on the road, you follow everything I say. No exceptions.”
“I promise.”
and just like that, the decision was made.
We left early, just as the sun broke through the morning mist, turning the world golden and quiet.
I sat in the passenger seat, hands clenched on my lap, heart oddly calm but mind racing. Audrey didn’t speak much, which I appreciated. There was a silent understanding between us that the air didn’t need to be filled with words when the weight of our thoughts already felt like lead.
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16:51 Sat, 12 Jun
Chapter 12
The road to Bologna stretched long and quiet, but every turn, every flash of headlights from oncoming cars, made me flinch internally.
It was strange how quickly fear became part of your daily rhythm–how your body just accepted it like an old coat in the winter. Necessary. Heavy.
Familiar.
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My thoughts drifted as the countryside passed by in a blur of green and stone.
The Alpha meeting…
A part of me–small, hidden, but very real–was glad to be far from Florence while it happened.
Glad I didn’t have to be in the same building, the same air, as Ruben and Alpha Gregor. It had only been a few months since I left everything behind, and though I didn’t cry for Ruben anymore, I wasn’t sure if I was strong enough to face him without unraveling.
I wanted to believe I had moved on. That I was healing…
But Mika still hadn’t returned.
My wolf–my other half–was still silent.
Maybe that was answer enough.
As I stared out at the winding road, I found myself quietly grateful for the distraction.
For Audrey, who never asked questions but always showed up. For Monica, who needed us. For Patricia and Louis, who gave me a home when mine
turned to ashes.
And yet… somewhere back in Florence, something else was stirring.
Back at the pack house, when Louis and Patricia informed Beta Alfonso about Monica’s condition–and that Audrey and I had gone to bring her home- they hadn’t expected a reaction coming from the Alpha office.
A low, thunderous roar erupted from Alpha Francesco’s office.
The sound sent warriors still as statues.
The walls themselves seemed to shake under the weight of it.
He hadn’t even been part of the conversation, but of course, he’d heard it. Alphas always did.
The silence afterward was heavier than his roar.
Something had cracked open.
Warriors whispered. They glanced at each other with wide eyes.
The Alpha never raised his voice–never roared, not like that.
Not unless something, or someone, had truly shakert him.
Hope bloomed quietly in the minds of those who heard.
Beta Alfonso, meanwhile, only nodded slightly and sent word to the barracks. Five of their best warriors were dispatched without hesitation, ordered to follow the road to Bologna.
His lips twitched into a small, knowing smile as he watched them go.
Maybe, just maybe… his Alpha had finally found the one thing that could make him feel again.
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Chapter 12
Ellaine…
Because he always shows emotion whenever she’s involved.
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