The Luna

Chapter 9

I woke to arguing and the worst headache. Unable to open my eyes I tried to focus on the arguing voices but it sounded like one of those old cartoons where the parents voices were just weird sound effects. Underneath me felt like the lumpiest mattress I had ever been on. I tried to say something but all that came out was a moan.

"Shut up." Growled Lyonel, the first words I could understand and it felt like he was floating over me.

I felt myself being moved onto my back.

"I think I heard her moan." He said as I felt a hand cup my cheek and I leaned into the warmth of it.

"It doesn't matter if she is awake or not. We need to find a place to lay low" Aries harsh words cut through the brain fog.

"She is the only thing that matters." Lyonel snapped back.

"Man does she have you p***y whipped." Aries came back with a sharp tongue and laugh.

I wasn't sure what was happening but there was some jostling and growls before Atlas voice boomed.

"That's enough! Aries stop instigating s**t just cause your scared. Lyonel check on Dani."

"I am not scared." Aries scoffed and I could almost imagine the pout on his face.

"Dani." Lyonels voice was soft as his breath fanned my face.

I tried to open my eyes again and was able to flutter my lashes.

"She is coming to." He said as he shifted me again and pulled me into his lap my head resting on his chest. I listened to his heart letting the comforting beat ease my anxiety as I tried to open my eyes again.

"What happened?" At least that was what I was trying to say but it came out more like a raspy groan.

"Give me a water bottle." Lyonel said to someone, then I felt it at my lips.

"Try to drink a little Dani." His voice was laced with worry.

I managed to take a small sip, sighing as the cool liquid soothed my parched throat.

"What happened?" I tried again and this time it came out almost normal.

"You did it. You made Alpha Craig kill the witch and while they were confused about what happened we ran." Lyonel answered as he smoothed some hair off my forehead,

I was able to crack my eyes open and realized it was past morning and we were in a large SUV. My lumpy mattress had actually been Lyonel and Ryan's legs

"We made it?" I asked as I grabbed the water bottle out of Lyonels hand and chugged the rest of it.

"Some of us." Aries replied tartly from the front of the car apparently still pouting.

I looked around the car, Atlas was driving with Aries shotgun. Ryan and Lyonel were in the back with me.

"Joe?" I sat up in a panic realizing my other brother wasn't here.

"He is driving the car behind us." Ryan answered as he gave me a calming gaze, rubbing my legs.

I closed my eyes thankful for a second, thankful that my brothers had survived but knowing I would have to face the fact we lost some.

"We made it to the SUV, but they were able to recover quickly and caught up with us. They ran the last SUV off the road and I was able to get a quick mind link from Cody but nothing since." Lyonel said his jaw twitching.

I knew he was taking it hard because he was the captain of my guard and felt like he had let them down. I squeezed his hand as I looked up at him.

"I am sorry I couldn't protect them." I whisper as he wrapped his arms around me.

"None of us would be here if it wasn't for you. Don't put their deaths on you." He murmured into my hair as we held each other.

"Where are we?" I ask as I look out the window, noting that we looked to be in the mountains.

"We had to take some backroads, since they were monitoring the main roads. We actually took a small road through the Blue Moon pack since they were preoccupied . We are now about 120 miles from Old town." Atlas answers his eyes never leaving the road.

"How are you feeling?" Ryan asks as he pulls me towards him out of Lyonel arms.

"Tire and..." My voice trails off as panic fills me.

I couldn't feel my powers, I reached to the place they were and it was empty.

"I can't feel my powers." My voice sounded small as my stomach twisted uncomfortably,

"Like you don't have energy?" Lyonel asked and I quickly shook my head.

"No like they are gone." The minute the words left my mouth my stomach twisted again and bile burned my throat.

"Pull over." I cried desperately as I tried to push down the vomit.

Atlas didn't ask why just pulled over quickly and dashed out of the car. Stumbling on weak legs, I hurried away from the car before I fell to my knees. Thankfully all that was left in my system was the water so it was quickly out of my body. Someone came up behind me pulling my hair gently out of the way and rubbed soft circles on the small of my back as I emptied my stomach. Once I was done I started to shake.

"Are you good." Ryan asked and I turned to look up into his chocolate brown eyes.

I gave a weak nod and he helped me to my feet. We walked slowly over to the SUV where Lyonel and my brothers were arguing. They stopped as soon as they saw me and I narrowed my eyes at them. The second SUV was behind ours now and they guards were out watching the forest uneasily.

"What were you talking about?" I ask as I take the water bottle Lyonel held out for me quickly rinsing out my mouth.

"Don't worry about your powers, they will come back." Joe says as he leans against the SUV. " Aries lost his once for a month following one of his tantrums."

Aries scowled as he ran a hand through his hair.

"It wasn't a tantrum." He muttered as he looked down at the ground.

"He used all his power to burn down the greenhouse that was holding mothers roses for the winter. He used all his power to make sure nothing was salvageable." Joe smirked as he looked at Aries.

"Why?" I ask Aries as he looks a me sheepishly as his finger traced the scar on his cheek.

"I kept pestering her to meet you. She got angry and used a silver blade coated with wolfsbane on my cheek. She told me if I ever asked again she would bury the blade in my heart. So once I was healed I burned the greenhouse down."

I just blinked at him realizing our mother was actually the worst.

"So they will come back?" I ask softly as my leg wobbled under me.

"Yes." all my brothers answered in unison as Lyonel moved to my side putting an arm around my waist to steady me.

I nodded as I closed my eyes leaning into him.

"I already booked a couple of rooms at a very discreet hotel, we can come up with a plan there once we rest and regroup." Aries said as he held a phone up and my eyes widened at it.

My mother was one of those weird people that though any technology like, cell phones and Wi-Fi were corrupting the youth of the pack. I wasn't allowed to have a phone or be on the internet, Hell I couldn't even watch cable.

"Did you have that the whole time? We could have called for help." I say as I look from the phone to him as he smirks at me.

"No. I tried but, Alpha Craig for how much I think he is a imbecile, covered all his bases. I couldn't get a signal or send anything out until we left the pack territory."

We piled back into the SUV and were soon on our way. I was snuggled between Lyonel and Ryan's large bodies. I chewed absently on a piece of jerky Ryan had given me as I still tried to reach down to find my powers. Thankfully my Luna power was still there and it felt very powerful. Once I was done with the jerky I leaned on Ryan's shoulder trying to catch up on some more sleep. I felt numb, as I stared across Ryan out the window watching the scenery fly by. All the adrenalin from the night that had helped me keep my head and emotions in check was gone and now I only felt one thing... lost.

I had never felt like this before. No matter what my mother did to me I always knew my purpose, what I needed to do and now I didn't. I didn't even notice when I started crying until Ryan gently cupped my cheek wiping a tear away with his thumb. I shoved my head into his chest and just lost it. The sobs that left my mouth were unlike any I have ever done before and I couldn't stop. So I just leaned into Ryan and cried.

"What happened?" Aries snapped from the front.

"Nothing happened you i***t. Just leave it alone." Atlas growled at him but I ignored them both as I cried for everything that happened last night and possibly everything I had been through before last night. After some time I ran out of tears so I just hiccupped into Ryan's chest as he stroked my hair.

"We are entering Old Town." Atlas said softly and I took my face off of Ryan.

My eyes were painful and itchy and I had to blink a couple times for my vision to clear. My head was also pounding again and my whole body felt like it was made of lead. I took a deep breath as I tried to push the lost feeling away because I couldn't be lost, I had a pack to get back.

"Where's the hotel?" I ask as I ran a hand through my tangled hair wincing at how it felt.

I had only been to Old Town once, my mother didn't like to leave the pack, so I was unfamiliar with the town. We must have gone to the downtown district because we were surrounded by tall glass buildings.

"It's in a less than desirable part of town but its discreet for a price." Aries says as he looks out the window.

We made a couple of turns and found ourselves in a much different looking neighborhood. Dilapidated houses lined the streets and rogues were sleeping out on the sidewalks. My eyes widen as I take in the full scope of poverty in this part of town.

"Aries, how do you know about this hotel?" I ask almost scared he would answer truthfully but knowing him, he will deflect the question.

"That is on a need to know basis lil sis, and you don't need to know." He laughed as he turned up the music on the radio.

I rolled my eyes as I sat back and looked over to Lyonel. He was staring out the window his jaw tight and I knew he was already trying to figure out how he and the few guards we had left were going to keep me safe. I didn't interrupt knowing the planning was helping him work through what happened last night, giving him some semblance of control. The SUV slowed down and my mouth nearly fell open at the building we were parked outside. It looked like it would fall over if the big bad wolf blew on it.... and we had at least five of those.

"Seriously?" I hissed as I look at Aries and even Atlas looked put out by the state of the building.

"Trust me." Aries said as he gave me a big smile which I think he thought was comforting, but it looked a little psychotic .

"Wait here." He says as he pulls his hoodie up covering his signature hair.

I watched him walk up to the building worried he would fall right through the porch. There were no other buildings on this block giving it a even creepier vibe. Aries returned after a couple minutes jingling keys as he leaned into the window.

"All set. Cover your hair for the way in but once in it won't matter. No one inside will rat you out. Part of the code but that means we can't rat out anyone in here."

"Code?" I ask as look at Atlas but he just shrugs and I realize I had no other plan so we would have to go with this.

Sighing I pulled my hair back and tucked into the hood of my hoodie. Once it was properly in place Lyonel opened the door and helped me out handing me my backpack. I quickly shrugged it on and then followed everyone up to the hotel. Old Town was at a higher elevation than the Luna Moon pack lands and I shivered as the wind seemed to go right through my clothes. When we got the porch the wood underneath us groaned and I was sure one of the massive men with me was going to fall through. Aries opened the door of the hotel with a little extra finesse, bowing to me as we walked in. Atlas growled at him but I was to awestruck by the inside of the building. Where the outside looked like the prop from a horror movie the inside was glamourous with chandeliers and expensive furniture. The few patrons in the lobby ignored us almost to the point it was like we weren't even there. Aries quickly took us up the stairs to the 3rd floor.

"Here is your room key princess." Aries said as he handed me the key and wrinkled my nose, he knew I hated when he called me princess.

"I got you the biggest bed." He winked at me as he looked over my shoulder at the guards behind me.

I rolled my eyes as he walked away whistling some weird song. I glanced at Lyonel whos face hadn't changed since we were in the car. He took the key from my hand and he and Ryan went into the room first. I followed and my mouth dropped open. The room was bigger than my room at home. One side was filled with chairs and couches making a cozy sitting area in front of a fire, the other side held the biggest bed I had ever seen. I was sure I could fit at least ten of guards in it if I needed to. The room was filled with varying tones of gray giving the room a peaceful feeling I was sorely needing.

"Nice." Ryan said as he went around the room making sure everything was nice and safe.

"Oh Dani you have to see this." He said as he stuck his head into a door on the other side of the room.

I indulged him and came to his side and I froze. The bathroom was huge, one side was a shower that could fit all the men I could fit in the bed with multiple shower heads. The sink and toilet were in the middle and on the other side was a giant jacuzzi tub.

"I am so using that tomorrow." I say wistfully looking at the tub.

I would have used it tonight but I was so tired that drowning would be a real issue.

"So what's the plan?" Ryan asked as I stepped back from the bathroom.

I look at Lyonel were he stood by the room door watching the hall.

"I think we need to sleep, then start planning tomorrow." I say softly as I set my bag on the bed.

Lyonel nods as he steps further into the room.

"Do you want someone to stay the night?" He asked as he looked everywhere else but directly at me.

I nod slowly giving him a glance before looking back at the bed.

Seriously I could fit everyone on it I thought ruefully.

I only needed one thing tonight and only one person would be able to give it to me. I give Lyonel a soft smile before turning to Ryan.

"Stay with me." I ask him softly.

Ryan gave me quick grin before looking at Lyonel. I could tell the were mind linking and I watched as Lyonel clenched and unclenched his hands.

"You need to rest and not worry about me. All Ryan and I are going to be doing is cuddling tonight and I know with were your head is at tonight you will not want to cuddle." I say softly as I grab his hands.

"Your right." He says as he tilts his head up to the ceiling closing his eyes and letting out a deep breath.

Opening his eyes he gives me a soft kiss on my head before pulling his hands out of mine.

"I will set up a guard schedule for the door." He said as he headed towards the door.

"Lyonel." I call out before he exits the room.

He turned to me with confused blue eyes.

"Get some sleep. I don't want you guarding tonight. I need you fresh for tomorrows planning." I gave him a narrowed eye look as I point at him.

"Aye aye captain." He smirked before walking out the door.

I turned to Ryan and groaned as he looked at me wriggling his eyebrows.

"So cuddling ..." He says suggestively as he looks at the bed.

"Just cuddling. I am not in the mood." I tell him firmly and he just gives me a goofy grin as he starts undress.

I grab my own clothes to change into, a old t shirt and boy shorts.

Once I turn I see he is down to his boxers. He jumps into the bed scooting to the middle.

"Come my lady, your cuddle buddy awaits.." He says in the worst high end accent I had ever heard but it did bring a genuine smile to my face.

I crawled into the bed and slide under the covers he held up for me. He leaned back and I wrapped my arm over his waist, laying my head on his chest. I breathed him in taking comfort in his scent as it wrapped around me. With the stress of the last two days sleep came for me quickly and as I was falling into it I heard Ryan whisper into my hair.

"I will always be here for you."