His Mute Luna

Chapter 4 - The Memory

Morgan

All of us were squished into the truck's interior as none of us particularly wanted to sit in the back with dead bodies. It would probably have been easier if we had been human, but eight, full grown, werewolf men? It was a good job we were familiar with one another, as we were virtually sat on each other's laps.

My twin brothers may have been five years younger, but they already had the height and build of an Alpha at only a few inches shorter than myself. Luckily, I was sat next to Cameron, who was the leaner and faster twin, whereas Callum, who was driving, was the broader and stronger of the two. They were the only ones who had inherited our mom's deep brown hair, but I was the only one of the four of us who inherited her almost white-grey eyes.

"So the women...did they get picked up ok?" I asked, needing confirmation from my brothers that my mate was ok.

"Yep. And your team too, they all had plenty of protection on the way home. They should've reached the pack about an hour ago now. I think the women were getting taken straight to the hospital," Cal spoke as he drove.

'Dad?' I reached out.

The mind-link felt a little strained still because of the distance, but a lot easier than the last time I mind-linked him.

'Morgan! You're ok?' He immediately questioned, faintly laced with worry.

'Yeah, we're fine. Unfortunately, we're not bringing any prisoners back to question, just bodies…' I began and launched into an explanation to what had happened. '...So could you notify the morgue and let them know they'll have a delivery?'

'I see, good thinking. Some of your team brought another body too. They said it was the first one you found? It's already been sent for examination. You did good today, son, I'm proud of you. Just get yourself and your brothers home. Michael's already back. He checked out the port just in case, but there was nothing there.'

Mmmm, he checked? Or Ryan insisted he check...that was why I made sure to send my future Beta with him.

It wasn't long before we were crossing the territory border. Everyone in the backseat looked to be drifting asleep, as well as Cam next to me, who was currently using me as his personal pillow with his arm draped across my waist even though I had removed it twice. Cameron always was a pillow hugger from a young age. There was the odd occasion, in our childhood, where he and Cal would sneak into my room at night when something scared them...and Michael too...when we used to be on better terms.

'Wow, you look super comfortable!' Cal laughed in my mind.

'Just because you 2 sleep in a dogpile together most nights, doesn't mean everyone else is used to it,' I snapped back.

Twin werewolves were a lot different from other wolf siblings. They were one spirit, split between two bodies. They were tied to each other permanently, were strongest together and physical separation could be straining. So it wasn't uncommon for twins to want to sleep in the same room or bed even in adulthood. They'd most likely share a mate too. Although the goddess help the poor soul who was mated to these two, they'd need the patience of a saint.

The lights of the pack house came into view, as did the figures of my mom and dad standing out front. I gave Cam a sharp elbow in the ribs to wake up, which he did with a startle.

"Huh! What?" He cried out, sleepily, sitting bolt upright.

Reflexes of a f*****g cat, I swear.

"It's a good job our lives aren't dependent on you right now," I said sarcastically.

He groaned in reply, rubbing his eyes to wake up. He had a shock coming because he and Cal would be delivering the bodies to the morgue with me; the life of an Alpha was anything but glamorous.

My mom, as ever, looked serene in the face of conflict. She had faced a lot at my dad's side as Luna, but she was a force to be reckoned with on her own, having been raised as a rogue in the wilds.

My dad, even though he looked serious, I could tell was still tense. His hair, the same auburn curls that myself and Michael had inherited, looked messy as though he'd been running his hand through it a lot.

"So these are them?" My dad asked, eyeing up the back of the truck with disdain.

"Yeah, me, Cal and Cam are gonna go drop them off," I replied as I handed him the stack of papers we had retrieved from the mines.

"Oh, we are, are we?" Cal asked incredulously, as though offended I had volunteered them.

'Yes! My warriors need to go home and sleep. They've been fighting all night, while you 2 have just been driving around!' I mind-linked them both and fixed them with a hard glare.

They were 22 now and 'mom's baby boys' needed to grow up and accept they had responsibilities as Alphas.

They simply sighed and rolled their eyes at me but said nothing more.

"I'll see you first thing, Morgan, after you've had some decent sleep and we'll go through everything. You and your team deserve some rest for all your efforts," he praised, while I gave a strained smile.

Dammit! I needed to find my mate, neither I or Mars had confirmed that she was one of the taken yet. All we had felt was a pull of the mate bond. I wanted to see her with my own eyes before I said anything to my family. And the news I had found my mate would travel like wildfire, she'd probably hear about it before I even found her!

'Just get daddy dearest appeased, then we go find her! I know what I felt, it was the bond. Don't start doubting me now,' my wolf chided.

He wasn't about to drop this, so I just agreed to shut him up.

"After you're done, Morgan, come sleep at home tonight. We're closer to the hospital anyway," my mom added.

Goddess-dammit! Was this a conspiracy against me tonight?!

'Don't force my hand. I'll pull you home by your ear if I don't see you soon, young man! I know what you're like and you'll just go work or something instead of getting the rest you need' she threatened over mind-link.

My mother was only ever serious when she meant her threats. She would 100% drag me home by the ear if I refused in any way.

'Yeah, ok,' I quickly replied and jumped back in the truck.

"Why are you so antsy all of a sudden?" Cam questioned me, suspiciously.

"It's...just been a long day, is all," I bit out, trying to sound as normal as possible but failing miserably.

I knew the twins were mind-linking between them, but I ignored the pair. This could actually work out in my favour. The morgue was attached to the pack hospital and the pack hospital was where the women were taken.

I could still do this, I could still find her!

After finally being done with the morbid tasks, I made a beeline for the main hospital entrance, completely ignoring my brothers' shouts at where I was going.

I was a grown man of 27, I didn't need my family fussing over me for goddess's sake!

"Morgan?" A voice called.

Oh for f**k's sake! What now?!

'If one more person interrupts us, I shall claw them…' my wolf snarled and, with my own patience diminishing, I may just let him.

Shane approached with a dismayed expression, looking me up and down.

"Do you have any idea what you look like?" He asked me wide-eyed.

I looked down for the first time, taking in my appearance. I was still shirtless and barefoot, dressed only in some thin sweatpants. I had blood down my side and chest, was caked in dirt, grim and dust...that was just what I could see. My gaze drifted back up to meet Shane, who was still staring at me.

"You look like a guy who fought several wolves down a mine. You should be in a shower not in the middle of a hospital. What're you even doing here?"

"Just...dropping something off. I actually wanted to make sure the girls were ok, you know, after everything?" I tried to be as breezy as possible but with the tight line I felt my mouth forming, I wasn't sure how well I was fairing.

He eyed me dubiously, "they left a few hours ago. I'm only here checking on the knocked out patrol."

Why couldn't I catch a f*****g break?!

"So, if they were discharged, that means they're all ok?" I asked hopefully.

"Yeah, a little shaken up as you'd expect, but no injuries at all. That human was a badass though. She's the one that killed that guy in the field. Can you believe it?"

That was pretty impressive. It would have been a difficult task for a human man to achieve, let alone a scared woman who was drugged. I felt that same pride swell in my chest again.

"Ok," Shane spoke suddenly, breaking me out of my internal musings.

"I'm outta here. Naomi is going insane waiting for me. I was meant to be taking the boys to the park this morning, but if I don't get some sleep they're gonna be playing with a zombie," he laughed.

At 29 years old, Shane had already found his mate and had two pretty terrific sons. His mate was a perfect contrast to him, with a deep ebony complexion, thick black curly hair and almond-shaped brown eyes. She was a tiny she-wolf at 5'4 who looked almost comical at the side of his 6'7 towering frame.

I bid him goodbye and as my eyes followed him, they landed on the nurses' station. An idea formed as I walked up quickly to the wolf currently checking the computer.

"Hey, I was wondering if you could help me out?" I asked the nurse.

He looked up at me, slightly stunned and flummoxed by my surely horrific appearance, "uhh...sure, Alpha?"

"Any chance I can get a print out of the four women we rescued today? I just wanna check on them later since I missed them at the hospital. I know you shouldn't be handing out personal information but I was hoping you could make an exception for me?"

It was all information I could find on my own, but it would take me a lot longer to put together.

"Oh, sure sir. It's not as though you're some random," he chuckled and quickly got to work searching through the records.

With a few clicks, the sound of the printer whirred to life. He handed it all over to me and got back to his previous work.

As I left I noticed the time, f**k, it was past 5am. I couldn't just go round these addresses right now! They've probably had the most traumatic experience of their life and the last thing they needed was some crazy looking Alpha at their door trying to find his mate, who also looked like something from a slasher movie.

My wolf groaned and sighed, knowing I was about to give up the search...for now. But he settled, knowing I was right.

'Morgan! For f**k's sake, I wanna go to bed! Get your ass back in the truck or I'll send mom after you. We know she threatened to drag you back,' Cam's voice shouted in my mind. Someone was obviously getting cranky.

I ran back out, folding the printouts and tucking them into my pocket to read through later.

My brothers dropped me off at our parents' home, right next to the pack house. The twins had their own suite there as they wanted privacy from our mom and dad, mainly to escape questions at whatever the hell came out of their bedrooms in the morning.

Quietly creeping in and up to my old room, I thought I had made it when my mom's voice sounded in my mind. I should've known better, there was no sneaking around her.

'And here I thought I would actually have to hunt you down. Try and get some sleep, sweetheart.'

'Ok, I will. You too.'

I guess it didn't ever matter how old we were. Our mom was going to fuss all over us like we were still little pups.

After finally being clean from a longer shower than I thought it would take, I flopped back on my old bed which felt a lot smaller now than it did a few years ago. All I had to do was sleep a few hours to keep my mom happy, try and get through everything as quickly as possible with my dad, then, I would finally be free to find my mate!

All I knew about her was she was blonde with blue-green eyes...she sounded just like the girl I saw twice in high school... holy s**t! Maybe it was her? It would explain why she stood out to me so much at the time.

I was 18 and a senior in high school when I saw the most beautiful girl with honey coloured hair and the brightest teal eyes I had ever seen. The memory of her was so clear, even now. Mars hadn't appeared back then for me to know if she was my mate and I was so focused on only my mate that I hadn't bothered to pursue her. But I often thought back to the memory; how she stood, how her hair fell around her, how our eyes briefly met and how she gave me the softest, sweetest smile.

Being a white wolf, my wolf spirit had taken a lot longer to mature; Mars came to me when I was almost 20, far later than most other Alpha wolves. But he was worth the wait as we were stronger, faster, had sharper senses and also much stronger bonds with the power to reach others' wolves, even if they were buried beneath the surface. I had helped a few Omegas that hadn't been able to shift, do so, for the first time.

I could also suppress another's wolf, sealing it away so they couldn't shift. But it was an incredibly difficult task that took almost all my effort and energy, leaving me blacked out for almost an entire day. It was much easier to release a powerful force than it was to chain it into submission. I had only ever done it the once, to a rather dangerous rogue to subdue him, and I swore I would never do it again.

Closing my eyes, I tried to let my mind drift to my mate and that tomorrow...I may well be in my own bed, holding her tight.