The Heir of Crescent Moon

Chapter 8 - Full Moon m******e

Cory POV

I listened to Tyler addressing his pack. It was Blue Moon's turn to host the Full Moon. I looked around at our packs. Members from Guardian Moon and Crescent Moon mixed in with Blue Moon.

When Mom and Dad first made this alliance, she said the packs were happy to get together, but each pack would stay on their sides. It wasn't animosity, it was just… normal. Each pack stayed with their own people. As I grew up, I saw the packs start to mix. People started to talk to each other. I saw mates finding each other among the packs and the packs slowly mixing with each other. Now it was like we were all one pack, living in different places.

I looked over at Areli. She was marked and mated now. It was just me and Violet left. I looked up at the moon. When was it going to be my turn? I was the oldest, I was supposed to be the first. Mom and Dad had left for their vacation last week. Their kids were grown and making their way. They were finally free to relax for a bit.

Violet was here, along with Lucien and his mate. I came because I'm the Alpha, Violet wanted her mate, and Lucien wanted to see Areli. She was his favorite, even if he denied it.

Uncle Helios was out on a trip looking for another one of his siblings, but in his place were Uncle Lalo and a couple of my cousins. The ones still looking for their mates. Tori, Miguel, and Kaia. Technically, my cousin Xochil should be here. She hasn't found her mate, but she decided she wanted to spend a few years traveling.

I think she's in Bali right now. She emails me every few weeks. She is supposed to take over for Uncle Helios at some point, but considering he and Aunt Nat are both immortal, she figures she can take her time. Besides, this was Uncle Helios' mission, and he wanted to see it through.

Between real cousins, pseudo cousins and friends we consider family, my family is huge. In true Mexican fashion, as Mom liked to joke. So then why do I still feel alone so often? I heard the howls and cries and watched as once again, people found their mate while I smelled nothing. I felt no pull. Tenoch put his head down between his paws. Disappointed and heartbroken once again.

“EVERYONE INTO THE PACK HOUSE. WE'RE UNDER ATTACK.” Tyler screamed, breaking the joyful moment between packs. Soon after, I heard shots filling the air.

“INTO THE PACK HOUSE. WARRIORS SHIFT.” I screamed and heard Uncle Lalo scream the same.

I looked desperately for Areli, but it was all chaos. I couldn't see her anywhere. I could only hope David could keep her safe.

'Find Violet! Keep her with you!' I mind linked Lucien. I let Tenoch forward and shifted. My heart sank when screams rose around me, and I raced toward the fighting. I couldn't tell who anyone was, but right now, it didn't matter. It was us against them. Tezcatlipoca's (tez·kuht·luh·pow·kuh) people had messed with the most sacred night to werewolves.

Tenoch dodged a few bullets, but I saw one hit the wolf in front of me. He roared and whimpered as he shifted back, dead within moments. Werewolves could heal from a lot, but a silver bullet to the heart was almost certain death.

'They're using silver bullets. Get to safety if you're not fighting. Tell the other packs once you're inside.' I sent a pack-wide message. Anyone here should get it.

Tenoch jumped on top of the last SUV and rammed himself into the side of the man manning one of the gun machines. He plunged his teeth into the man's neck and tore out his throat.

'Cory! Where are you?' James screamed into my mind.

'Back SUV. Get the machine guns!' I ordered.

'It's kind of hard with the silver bullets raining down on everyone.' He said.

'That's why we need to get them.' I said, jumping onto the second SUV. I felt the burning of a bullet hitting our shoulder.

Tenoch roared in pain and anger and slammed into the machine gun, turning it ninety degrees south. The machine gun was still firing, and the rounds penetrated the hood. The SUV began swerving and gunned forward, making us drop back and roll off the vehicle.

It slammed into the front SUV, making the man manning the machine gun swerve upward as he tried to get his balance back. I saw another wolf jump up and separate the man's head from his body. I recognized Uncle Lalo's wolf. He nodded at me, and we ran towards the next set.

'Don't kill them all and don't let them kill themselves.' I growled out. We've so far not been able to grab anyone alive. Anyone that has gotten captured had killed themselves before we could question them.

I felt several pack links sever, and I stumbled getting off one of the SUVs. My chest felt like a knife had been plunged straight into my heart, and I was having trouble breathing.

'Violet?' I called out, desperate to know she was safe.

'Here! Lucien! Cory, Lucien is hit! I can't find Areli and Lucien's mate is...' She cried.

'Get inside the pack house.'

'Not without them!' She screamed.

'NOW VIOLET' I roared, flowing my Alpha command at her.

'No! Please don't make me. I need to help them.' She begged.

'Areli is probably inside. Drag Lucien and Cecilia and get to safety, Violet.' I said more gently, removing the command.

'Cory...'

'Please. I need you safe.' I begged her.

'James, find Areli.' I switched to him.

'But the fight...'

'Uncle Lalo's here. We've almost got them all. Find my sister.'

'On it, Alpha.' He answered.

I continued to fight through the pain. There was no other choice. If I stopped now, I would feel more deaths. I needed to save the packs, but I could feel the pain flowing through me. I couldn't tell what part of the pain was losing a pack member or if I was feeling the familial bonds snapping. I couldn't stand and dissect the feeling. I could only make sure those around me were safe.

When the sound of gunshots finally went quiet, I began to wish they would fill the air again, because now all I could hear were the cries of mates and families looking for their loved ones.

'Have you found her?' I asked Violet.

'No. She's not inside. David can't mind link her, Cory.'

'That doesn't mean anything. You know that happens when she is invisible and forgets to lower her mind block. Keep looking. Have David keep trying to connect with her.'

'Anything, James?' I switched to him.

'I found Violet, Cecilia, and Lucien. He's hurt and his mate... she died, Cory, but I managed to bring her back. I don't know if he'll make it with his injuries and a dead mate if they can't save her. I don't know if his wolf will even try if she dies again.' He said. Lucien had just found Cecilia and his life was centered around his mate. I didn't know if he would fight if he lost her either.

'Take them to the hospital. Then call our doctors to get here. Call Evergreen. Have him run the plates and try to figure out how the hell they knew where everyone was. The pack gatherings are only known to the packs.' I growled.

'Did we get any alive?' I asked another of our warriors.

'Yes, Alpha. We have a few of them unconscious.' He answered.

'Don't let them wake up. Pump them full of tranquilizers until we're ready to wake them up so they can't kill themselves.'

'Yes, Alpha.'

I let Tenoch continue looking for Areli. We looked around the bodies and the wounded, guiding people toward the hospital when we found anyone alive. The problem with finding Areli was if she was invisible, her smell would disappear. It was like she just didn't exist. Her mind link would auto-block unless she consciously lowered it. If she was wounded and afraid she might be in too much pain to come back to her visibility or remember to lower the block. I couldn't even try to mind link her anymore since she was now part of Blue Moon. If she was unconscious, it would do nothing anyway.

There. It's faint. - Tenoch pointed out when we walked closer to the stage.

We put our nose to the ground and tried to ignore all the other scents. We focused on her scent of raspberries. It was diluted now, mixed with David's scent, but it was there. I've known it all her life. We found the source of the smell a few minutes later when we saw her trail of blood. Tenoch followed it until we saw the blood pooling next to the bushes. I shifted back.

“Areli. Areli you need to come back. Be visible. Come on. I can't see you.” I said desperately feeling around the base of the bushes. I felt her form. I found the shape of her face and felt down to her neck. I sighed with relief. She had a pulse, but it was faint.

“Areli. You have to wake up, sweetie. Please. I need to take you to a doctor.” I said, carrying her in my arms, but she was still unconscious.

“Wake up.” I shook her, the first of my tears leaving me.

“Wake up!” I said.

“Cory.” She whispered.

“Yes. I'm here. You need to get visible again so that we can get you looked at. Please.” Slowly, she materialized in my arms. I did my best not to react to the sight. She had two bullet wounds in her chest. Her face was pale, and her blue eyes were full of pain. She didn't look good.

“David... I lost him... is he-”

“He's fine. Looking desperately for you.” Before she could say anything again, I felt her body slacken in my arms and she lost consciousness.

“Areli, no.” I said, beginning to run. “Hang in there.” I desperately whispered to her.

“Help! I need help!” I cried when I ran into the hospital. A doctor came over with a gurney.

“She's my sister and one of the Alpha's mate. David's.” I said.

“I'll take care of her Alpha. I need to take her to surgery. The silver is still inside her.” He said, after checking and not finding an exit wound. After he left, I moved over to the nurse.

“My brother. He was brought in? He's an Alpha male, dark hair, grey eyes, about twenty-five.” I said.

“Cory, they’re in here.” I heard James calling. I ran over to see both him and his mate Cecilia on side-by-side beds hooked up to monitors and IVs. Both were unconscious, and I couldn't tell which one looked worse. Someone closed the door, and I recognized Everett, Evergreen's youngest child, coming toward us. He was covered in blood and looked exhausted but otherwise OK.

“Alpha. Mom's on the way.” He said, checking the machines and writing things down. I didn't think he'd finished his degree yet.

“I have been assigned to check up on the more stable patients since they are short-staffed.” He seemed to have read my mind.

“Does that mean they are stable?” I asked, hoping that was the case. I don't know what I would do if I lost any of my siblings tonight.

“Yes, as of right now. It is still a bit touch and go. Her injuries are extensive, and when her heart stopped, his wolf felt it. I am not sure if either knows the other is alive yet. We've put them side by side and made sure a part of them was touching. It should help.” He said, motioning to where their hands were entwined.

“Thank you, Everett. Please take good care of my family.”

“Of course, Alpha. You've always taken care of ours. I won't disappoint you. Can I take care of that wound for you?” He motioned to my shoulder.

“No. It will heal. The silver went through. Tenoch will heal me. There are others that need more help... like my sister. They took Areli to surgery. Iff you find anything out, please let me know.” He nodded, and I gave my brother's hand a squeeze before I went back out to look and examine more of the damage.

“Do we know how many have passed?” I asked James.

“From our pack or in total?”

“Both.”

“Impossible to tell the final number, but at least five from our pack with about fifteen with bad injuries.” I ran a hand through my hair and stepped outside. I could see everyone running around, harassing the nurses as they tried to get through. Many were looking for information but there were so many injured that they were just taking people away from their jobs.

“Everyone stop!” I called out. When I had their attention, I continued. “I know you've all gone through something traumatic, and I know you want to know about your loved ones, but if you keep harassing the nurses, you risk your loved ones not getting the help they need. Please, let them do their job. There's a nurse over there. She'll give you any information you need as soon as she has it.”

I got a grateful look from the nurses as they dashed away to their patients. I looked around and found David pacing in front of a door. I walked toward him. He was crying, and my knees almost buckled under me. She was my baby sister. I couldn't lose her.

“Anything?” I asked, my voice shaking.

“No. She's still in surgery.” I sighed with relief. If she was still in there, it has to mean she was still alive. Uncle Rhett was sitting on a chair next to him. We weren't blood-related, but aside from being one of Dad's best friends, Luna Kelly was Jo's aunt. His eyes were bloodshot, and he tried to smile at me, but all I saw was pain.

“Aunt Kelly?” I asked.

“She's with Tyler's body. She couldn't leave him.” He choked. s**t. Tyler was dead.

“I'm so sorry Uncle.” I said.

“Your brother?” He asked.

“Stable right now.”

He looked over at David.

“He won't leave her right now and I can't... I just can't.” He pleaded.

“I will organize your people. Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere for a while. I'll call Jo and make sure Uncle Gillian brings his mom for Aunt Kelly.”

“Thank you, Cory.” I mind linked James to let Jo know about Tyler. I walked outside and found Tyler's Beta, Miles.

“How many?” I asked.

“Too many. Twenty that we've found. I don't know what to do. There's so many of them.”

“Burn the bastards. Dump them in some pile and set them ablaze. Our people, place them on the stage. I'll call and have someone bring over shrouds. We'll separate them while we dress them for burial. I can help build pyres before we head home.”

“Thank you, Alpha Cory. Ty-”

“I know. It's OK. We're all here.”

I didn't have my phone on me. I don't know where it is. I shifted so fast that I have no ideas where my phone landed.

'James, can you text someone to bring over shrouds? Any and all we have.'

'Yes, Alpha.'

I helped where I could until Evergreen showed up with his equipment. His mate was a doctor, and I saw her running toward the hospital along with a team of our medical staff.

“Our medical people are here. Can you let someone know in the hospital so that they can see where they can help?” He nodded. I saw his eyes glaze over so I walked away to continue helping. I may not be everyone's Alpha here, but our packs were so close-knit that no one challenged the instructions I gave.

I found Uncle Lalo already cutting down wood, so I went over to help.

“There are axes over there.” He motioned.

“How many did Guardian Moon lose?”

“Only about four. Most of our unmated are out on that trip with Helios since it was going to take a while. You?”

“Not sure yet. Five dead, a dozen or so badly wounded so the count could go up.”

“How did this happen?”

“You know what I'm going to say, Uncle.”

“I- I didn't want to believe it, but after this... we have to look at the real possibility that you're right and we have a rat in our packs. We'll talk about this later. If you need anything, let me know.”

I nodded and walked away. It was an hour later when I realized I had heard nothing from Violet.

'Violet?' I tried. I could feel the mind link connect, but all I could feel was numbness and sorrow.

'Violet, where are you?' I tried again, trying to follow the familial bond. I found her near the stage, sitting on the floor. I sat down next to her and pulled her close. Her eyes were looking into the distance, not even paying attention to me.

“Talk to me.” I pleaded with her. Violet had always been a little quieter than the rest of us. Very loving, very calm, but this was different. It was like she wasn't anywhere near her body.

“I don't even know his name.” She said after a few minutes of silence.

“Who? Whose name, Violet?”

“My mate.” She whispered.

“Your mate? You met your mate?” I asked her, trying to make sense of what was happening. Violet didn't have a mate.

“Yes. Five minutes before a silver bullet took his life.” She said. I looked at the body she'd been staring at since I got here.

“Is that...” She nodded, and my heart clenched in pain for her.

“We'd barely found each other when the shooting started. He tried to drag me to safety, but I saw Lucien go down so I pulled away to shield him and Cecilia. I...” Her voice shuddered, and she took a deep breath.

“I tried to get him to come under my shield, but I didn't know his name, and then I saw the bullet hit him. Right in the chest. I felt the bond break minutes after it snapped into place.”

“Oh V.” I said, pulling her into my arms. It took a few minutes, but I finally felt her body start shaking as she allowed herself to feel the pain and loss she'd just suffered. A gut-wrenching sob left her, and I felt my heart breaking with her.

“My beautiful little sister,” I whispered while I cradled her in my lap. “Let it all out.” Her sobs wracked her small frame, and I felt my own tears falling steadily with her. She got quiet after half an hour while I directed James through mind link. I asked him to find the Beta of Blue Moon and try to identify my sister's mate and to care for his body respectfully.

While I sat there with my sister, I was for once grateful that this wasn't the full moon I had found my mate. I was grateful that Mom and Dad were far away from all of this and that the rest of my family had survived.

Beta Miles came walking slowly toward us. When he got close enough to the body of my sister's mate, he took in a deep intake of breath.

“Do you know him?” I asked. He nodded. “Who is he?”

“My mate's little brother. His name was Billy.”

“Billy.” I heard Violet whisper from my arms, and she began sobbing in my arms again.

“Can you please tell your sister that he was Violet's mate? She will want to be there...” I said, not having to finish. He nodded and picked him up gently before adding him to the edge of the stage. I continued to hold Violet until I felt her go to sleep. I stood up with her and took her to Lucien's room. I laid her down in the recliner, kissing her head and wishing I could take away her pain.

Lucien was still unconscious, but his color looked better. I went back out, and David was sitting in the waiting area.

“Anything?” I asked him.

“No. It's been hours. Why aren't they done?” He asked me. I didn't have an answer for him, so I just sat with him for a few minutes before I continued to help with the cleanup. The sun rose while we worked. I could see the grief and exhaustion on everyone's faces, and yet no one complained.

In the end, the majority of the losses were Blue Moon's. Twenty-three dead with many still in intensive or critical care. Nine for Crescent Moon, Five for Guardian Moon.

'Areli is out of surgery.' Lucien's voice reached me.

I ran back into the hospital. Lucien was still in his bed, Cecilia unconscious.

“How are you?” I asked.

“I'll live. Please go check on Areli. Everett let me know and then ran out before he could say more.”

I walked out and went looking for David. Where he was, Areli was sure to be. I found them in a room close by.

“How is she?” I asked. Areli had mom's tanned skin tone on a normal day. Right now she looked so pale, so frail. Nothing like the spitfire girl I know she is.

“She's alive.” He said, his voice cracking.

“But?” I said, not wanting to hear whatever bad news I knew he was about to tell me.

“She's in a chemically induced coma. There was too much damage to her heart. One of the bullets clipped it. They are giving her a chance to heal. If she doesn't...”

“How long?” I asked, my knees threatening to buckle under me.

“They don't know. They are not sure if she's healing so slowly only because of the silver or if her wolf died trying to keep her alive. She is healing too slowly.” David began crying again, and as much as I wanted to join him, I knew right now his pack needed him to be strong. So did my sister.

“She's strong. She's always been strong. She will make it. Stay by her side as much as you can. The mate bond should help her heal and have something to pull her back to us.” I assured him and myself.

A/N:::I have been trying to get a contract with Stary, but if I am being honest, they are now trying to force authors to only update 1500 word chapters to make it appear as though they aren't charging as much as they are. I haven't done that since Alpha Markus and to be honest, I feel like this is just further proof that this app isn't for me. I don't agree with the price increase of last year, and this only further lets me know that instead of making things right, they are pushing in the wrong direction by wanting to continue to charge you the same, but thinking they can trick you into not knowing so. I am still going to see where the contract negotiations take me, but be warned that it's not looking good so far.