Gamma's Energy Attracts

Part 26

Caly’s POV 

We all stayed up a bit too late since me and the pups had such long naps driving home. Julia and Conner stayed painting until after 10 pm. I worried about the paint fumes getting into the pup’s room so I left the windows open an inch to help it dry, then stuffed a towel under the door. I also convinced the pups not to peek in their new room, it would spoil the surprise. We'll see how long that lasts.

I was on my tablet ordering furnishings and final touches while Stav flicked through the movies on the TV. Honestly, he could pick anything, he'll be asleep in ten minutes if he would just lay down and close his eyes. I made a few suggestions, when that didn’t work I took the remote and picked a rom-com for him. He was already snoring ten minutes later when his phone rang.

Stav shot up out of bed, grunting into his phone as a greeting. My ears perk up, it’s Shane on the other side of the phone. "Sorry to wake you, Alpha. We just picked up two wolves on the North border."

"On my way." He says and cuts the call. He grabs his gym clothes and I hop out of the bed to get dressed as well. “No. You stay here.”

‘Oh hell no! Who does he think he is?’ Athena thumps her tail angrily causing a pounding headache for me.

My phone begins to ring, it’s Shane again, “Sorry to disturb you, Luna, but Alpha didn't let me finish. They aren't rogues, they are female and one needs medical attention. It was weird, they weren’t trying to sneak in, they presented themselves to the first guard they could and they asked for the All-Mother. That’s what Conner always calls you, right?”

“Put them in the interrogation room for now. I’ll be right down, I will bring Doc M with me.” Stav and his advanced Alpha hearing is no doubt listening, he lets out a loud huff of air.

“NO!” Stav says again, a little more forcefully as he blocks the bedroom door. "I am not risking your safety!"

Athena rears her ugly head and snarls before speaking to Stav, “They are here to see me, I need to know what they have to say.” Stav eyes me warily but doesn’t argue and Athena refuses to back down. Athena finally has enough and pushes past Stav and stomps us over to Colin’s apartment, unceremoniously banging on his door at this late hour.

‘For goodness sakes, he has a doorbell!’

‘Whoops,’ she chuffs out unapologetically, she's in a mood to bang on something and she's taking it out on Colin's door.

Colin appears at the door and does a double-take at Athena’s black eyes. “I need the Doctor. You stay with my pups,” she barks out orders but doesn’t explain the situation.

Stav stands behind me, “Shane picked up two rogues. Come down with me, Caly can stay up here.” Athena spins around and angrily bares her fangs in Stav’s face but he remains undeterred, “We can handle it. I won’t let strangers have access to you until we know who they are!”

“Not two rogues. Two females. Do not forget I know how females in dungeons are treated,” her fangs being out caused spittle to fly out of our mouth and she is right up in Stav’s personal space. “Perhaps it is you who should not go down there with me.” She makes a ticking noise in the back of her throat, a threatening message to Zeus.

Stav’s lip curls up in a sneer, but he steps back. “Colin, she stays in the observation box. If Caly has questions she can mind-link them to you. You will mind-link me if she steps into that room, that is an order. I am trusting you, both of you.”

The ticking noise dies suddenly in my throat, Athena nods slowly in agreement and retracts our fangs. “Thank you, my Alpha,” she purrs out seductively and tilts our head to expose the Mark on the side of my neck, offering herself freely. 

‘Why do you do that?’ I ask my wolf.

‘Because he is the Alpha, a proud dominant male. He is the Boss around here, he’s just not the Boss of me. I’ll let him be d*minant all he wants though, we like it whether you admit it or not.’

While I’m not paying attention, Stav leans in and roughly nips at my mark, proving Athena’s words and sending a thrill up my spine.

Caroline has thrown on some scrubs and is holding her medical bag, I notice Colin and I are still in pj’s. Oh well, if I don’t leave now, I may not get another chance. I start to zoom down the stairs before my babysitter, I mean my Beta says, “Slow down and hold the rail!”

“Shane says one needs medical attention,” I continue my pace but hold the rail anyway.

“You’re more likely to need medical attention, Caly, you’re a klutz. I only have one Doctor Mate, if I have to choose between a Luna with a broken ankle and an unknown person, I’m picking the option that will allow me to live through Stab’s wrath.”

“Stop calling him Stab! Look, if you were really worried, we shouldn’t be talking, it’s a distraction.” I argue as we all made it to the door safely. It’s a short walk to the cells, but the wind is brutally cold, a winter storm is rolling through.

Colin unlocks the door for us and I walk down the steps. We have to walk through the staff room to access the cells. The room is a bit dusty and unkempt, there’s no staff sitting around idly either. That’s a good thing, we haven’t had much use for this horrid place lately. I brace myself to see the first cell, the one I started my life at Blood Pact in. I step through the door and come face to face with the past. The silver chains are still attached to the walls, taunting me, another chill runs up my spine, this one is far from pleasant. I’m hit with memories that feel all too fresh in my mind, no matter how many years ago it happened. The frustration, the pain, the starvation, the fear. It’s all there waiting for me to succumb to its madness as the bile rises up my throat to choke off my breath.

Colin steps into the hallway beside me and he stops to look at the cage same as me, an inscrutable look on his face. The night he found me, he was on the outside looking in at me but this place plagues his memories, too. He was horrified to find me in such a state, and right now I can feel him reliving his guilt, his disgust with his Pack, his rage at the injustice of it all. He’s letting the memories feed his energy, I feel the white-hot heat emanating from him, pushing against my back and since he's taller than me, I also feel it pressing down on my shoulders like an uncomfortably heavy cloak.

He runs his hand through his dirty blonde locks, it's a nervous habit of his before he grips my upper arm gently. “Let’s not do this to ourselves,” he whispers as he leads me down the end of the hall. "Caro can wait in the observation deck with you until I assess the situation."

I can see her shifting on the balls of her feet. As a Doctor she wants to rush in and get started, but the Pack has its rules, medical care for prisoners happens only if it is safe, we will not risk the safety of even one Pack wolf over a Rogue. That's Stav’s rules, but the reality is that Colin won't let an innocent suffer, he will take one look at them and call Caroline in, willing to protect her with his life.

I look into the room from the safe side of the two-way glass. Shane has made no effort to restrain them, despite there being chairs, the women are huddled together on the floor, the older one cradling the younger one who looks like she is fighting to stay conscious. She keeps whispering, "We made it, we will be alright now. I have seen it."

 The older woman looks to be in her late thirties, the other is maybe twenty but it's hard to guesstimate as wolves tend to look young for our age. They are both covered in dirt, except for the large oversized shirts Shane must have given them but there's no blood and they seem free of injury.  More troubling are the not-so-subtle signs of neglect. Both females look far too thin, muscle atrophy to the point they are just skin and bones. Their long matted hair hasn't seen a barber in years, it is brittle and lifeless, thinning in spots; I wonder if it's from malnutrition or being roughly dragged by the hair. It's a bit chilly in here, they are shivering from sitting on the cold concrete floor, but clearly, they're not able to use their wolves in this weakened state to keep warm. What is far worse is the look in the young one's eyes, like her body they are gaunt and hollow, almost devoid of hope.

“How do they expect to get anything from them in this state?” I mutter to myself, frustrated more than anything.

“The sad fact is that prisoners are easier to pressure for information once they are scared, confused and in pain. Life has already done all the work for them. I am surprised the Alpha let you come down here without him.” 

“I think he knows I wouldn’t allow any of his interrogation techniques on defenceless women.” 

“That wouldn’t normally stop him from sending Terri in.”

“These two are the ones Julia said were seeking me, my wolf knows it. These two aren’t dangerous, but that doesn’t mean who might come looking for them won’t be. Terri is right to be cautious, and I need to be more critical of people's intentions. Terri and I can talk with them in the morning.”

Caroline is chomping at the bit, she must see something even more troubling than I do, loudly slapping her palm against the glass to get Colin’s attention. He nods, for her to come in at the same time the younger one passes out. I head back to the staff room to rifle through the cupboards. There's not much here, but I find bottled water and itchy wool blankets. There's a jar of instant coffee and powdered creamer, so I fill the electric kettle. Hopefully, Caroline will find a good enough excuse to bring them into the hospital, and we can get them fed and in proper clothes.

'Shane, open the door please.' He holds it open for me, but I stand off to the side and shake my head no, passing him the items. 'I promised Stav.' He gives me a smile of understanding and hands it off to Colin. He follows me as I head back to observation. 

"Did they say anything useful to you? Their names, even? What is your take on this situation?" I ask as I watch the Doctor taking vitals.

"I didn't understand half of what they said, the younger one was rambling about the Moon Goddess and the All-Mother finding her own Pack. The older woman seems more lucid. It sounded like they had escaped from somewhere, travelling for weeks and came here on purpose. I don't think they mean any harm, Luna."

"Neither do I." I can’t help but think this is what Julia’s wolf was trying to tell us. These wolves were seeking us, not as a threat, but to be protected from whatever Hell they had run from. "They are in no shape to be questioned right now. I want them taken to hospital, I'm sure Doc will back me up. What precautions can we take that will make Stavros less likely to blow his top?"

"We could use silver cuffs at the bed rail to…"

"Absolutely not! I am not chaining them to inflict more injury!" I snarl, my head immediately going back to the awful memories. I had been shackled as a torture for my wolf's behaviour. I had tried to kill the guards, after all. 

Shane's eyes widen at my sudden burst of anger, he backs up with his hand's palm out as if surrendering. "I didn’t mean like the chains in the cell! A simple cuff and a silver-lined zip-tie, just to prevent shifting and wandering. The silver is covered, it’s not even painful. We'll post two guards at their door. Maximum supervision until we can actually speak with them."

Oh. For a moment, I forgot there was a gentler way. I had been put in those zip-ties before. I couldn't shift, but the effect was so mild it didn't even stop Athena from speaking to me.

'That’s because I am tough, Babe, I have a high silver tolerance. I've seen this on the cop shows you like, so it must be considered human-e. Get it? Humans and humane?'

'Your comedy routine needs a little work before you take this show on the road,' I deadpan.

'Shut it, b***h, I’m hicklarious.'

"I'm sorry, I just panicked and jumped to conclusions."

I focus on speaking to Doc, 'I want them treated in hospital.'

'I agree.' She says as she tries to pat the young girl's cheek to wake her up.

'Say whatever you need to convince your Mate, so I can convince Mine.' I chuckle out loud, Shane is still warily watching me. I know how thorough his reporting to the Alpha is, I want to make sure he has no proof of collusion between me and Doc.

'United front, gotcha.'

"She can't wake her up, we are taking them inside,” I say monotonously to Shane.

"Mm-Hmm..." he hums with fake skepticism. "I know you think I am the Alpha’s snitch-b***h, but you are the Luna now, I am equally devoted to you. I called you when the Alpha didn’t listen to the whole story because I knew you would be gentler than the Alpha." 

I keep my game face on and pretend I have no clue what he's talking about.

"I haven't mentioned all the times you try to sneak off to the stores unguarded, do I?"

Crap. I winced as my heart rate picked up and he caught it. I don't go shopping very often but I do sneak off to Leo’s Bakery sometimes. Scratch that, I am not sneaky, I head right out the front door and I know people are keeping an eye on me until I get inside Leo’s.  They stare at me point blank and mind-link. Shane is often waiting outside the door by the time I am done talking with Leo.

"You're right. Now help Colin carry them in."  We head inside and straight to the second floor of the hospital wing, where the actual rooms are for long-term use. At the top of the stairs, I can hear a heated discussion. 

"I am waiting right here. I'm telling you, Ryan, Doctor Murray and the Luna are going to walk around the corner any minute. ARRRGH!" It's Tabitha, and that groan sounded like she was in great pain.

"Tabi, Baby, you are in labour, and of course, we will see them if you just let me mind-link them!" Ryan argues out of frustration, he sounds like he was at his wit's end.

She snaps, "Goddess dammit Ryan, I have foreseen it! You know I can’t see more than five minutes into the future. For the last damn time, I am the one carrying this pup and I AM NOT IN LABOUR!"

Caroline and I run down the hall to see Tabi doubled over as much as a pregnant woman can with a beach ball-sized belly, balancing herself with one hand on the Nurses desk and using her other to crush Ryan’s fingers. 

"We’re here! Tabi, let's get you into a room so I can check you," Caroline tells her.

She shoots Ryan an angry glare, "SEE! I TOLD YOU!" She screams as she stands straight to hug her baby bump. Okay, she was right about us, but I think she may be wrong about being in labour. She is already at the stage of 'this is all my Mate and his overactive d*ck's fault' so it can’t be long now.

Colin and Shane round the desk carrying the other two females. Caroline points to an empty room for them as she tries to coax Tabitha into another. Tabi’s face goes pale as stops dead in the middle of the hall. Then she looks down at the wet spot as it grows on her sweatpants and drips down to the floor between her legs. 

“It can’t be!” She sounds in shock as she emotionlessly says, "My water broke."

Slowly a new pattern blooms on her sweatpants, bright red blood starts to spread down her legs.