His Revenge Luna

Episode Eight

Hope's Point of View

I howled in pain as once again I dropped to my knees.

'Silver!' Maya Spluttered, as if I didn't know. 'I need to keep healing our eyes. I'm so sorry, Hope, but you are going to have to suffer through the silver burning by yourself for now.'

I locked my jaw and clamped my teeth together. I let tiny little breaths in and out, trying not to pass out from the aching in my palms. It was a miserable experience and although the burn was only to my hands, the pain radiated through my entire body. I'd quite happily take another blow to the head instead of this.

I felt a kick to my ribs and I cried out in despair. Moon Goddess, why would you let something like this happen to an innocent wolf? At least two of my ribs were now broken and I was pretty sure one had punctured my lung.

"Climb the stairs." The Beta yelled. How could there possibly be any more?

'Open your eyes for a few seconds, Hope. No longer than that. You need to see where you need to go and that's it.'

Trusting that Maya knew what she was doing and which of my injuries were the priority, I wrenched my eyes open for just a couple of seconds. A couple of meters in front of me was a spiral stair case. I was never going to make it to the first step, never mind to the top.

"Dad?" I heard myself say in a pitiful voice. "I really want to make you happy by climbing these stairs but I can't see and my ribs are broken," I could have mentioned my fractured skull, but honestly that seemed to be the least of my problems.

"You can either climb them yourself, or I can kick you up them." Gee, what a choice!

I choked back a sob. I felt pathetic. And then I had an idea.

"Dad? Does Alpha Donovan want me alive? Because I swear to the Moon Goddess that I will die before I reach the top of this stairwell. My wolf is very weak and is struggling to repair my injuries at the same time. So if he's happy for me to die, then just leave me here, but if he wants me alive, then someone is going to need to give me a helping hand."

'Nice work'! Maya congratulated me in my head.

'Thanks, but there is truth in what I'm saying. My lungs are screwed.'

'We're going to be fine. Just keep your eyes closed. I'm just repairing the nerves and blood vessels in your brain. It's taking a lot longer than it should but, providing nothing worse happens, you should be healed in five minutes or so.' I loved Maya, whilst I was convinced everything was going south she always remained positive. I wouldn't have got through the last five years if I didn't have her.

My father seemed to consider my plea for a few seconds. He didn't look convinced.

His leg swung backwards for a second time and came hurtling towards my chest. Just as he was about to strike me, I started to cough, spraying fresh red blood all over his shiny polished black boots.

"For f**k sake!" He bellowed, before picking me up by the back of my neck and running me up the stairs using his full wolf speed.

'So let me get this straight.' Maya said to me. 'Alpha Donovan lives in a tower above the 7th floor. I mean it couldn't be anything else, could it? At the top of a spiral staircase? Who is he, Rapunzel?'

My lips moved painfully up into a half smile. I could enjoy her humor a little, now that I knew I wasn't going to die just yet.

I heard Beta Robert knock on the door four times. I still had my eyes closed but I guessed that as he did the knocking, that this door was made purely of wood.

Nothing happened. He then knocked three more times and I heard a noise from the other side. Someone was making their way to the door.

"Name and Rank?" Asked the faceless voice

"Robert, Beta." My father responded.

And at long last the door opened. Jesus, how paranoid was Alpha Donovan? His warriors appeared to have their own knocking code which co-insided with their name and rank. I wonder when his irrational anxiety started.

'Maybe when he discovered you had a black wolf? What's he so afraid of?'

"Beta Robert," Donovan greeted my father in a sixty-a-day voice. "What on earth has happened to our little Hope?"

Little hope?? I'd never received an endearment from either of these men in my entire lifetime.

"I'm sorry, Alpha, but she has fought me every step of the way here." My father lied smoothly in a regretful tone. "And her wolf is incredibly weak. It is taking her a lot longer to heal than it usually would."

Maya growled. She hated deceit.

"Oh, Hope, you've not been causing trouble with your Dad have you? Especially not on such a special occasion."

'Eh?' Maya and I said together through our mind link.

"I don't understand Alpha." I kept my voice timid but I could feel my lungs knitting themselves back together. I was on my knees with my head down and so risked a peek at the floor. It was more revolting than the carpet in the hallway, but on the bright side, I could see! Thank the moon goddess.

'I've got your lungs, just trying to fix these ribs.. How are your hands doing?'

'You're more than welcome to come forward and feel for yourself Maya.'

'Yeah I'm not really interested in doing that!'

"Oh hope," Alpha Donovan interrupted our dialog. He sounded disappointed at my apparent memory loss. "Why, today is your 18th birthday. Surely, to Goddess, you remember such a special date"

Oh, I remembered alright - But he certainly didn't!