Her Protector

3. Nova

Noni pushed her way through shirts and coats, urging me to do the same quickly. I followed her steps, part for part making sure to close the door behind me. “Lock it,” she ordered.

I turned back to the door and fumbled in the dark trying to find the latch and bolt as quick as possible; the moment my fingers grazed the latch, they instinctively knew what to do. I whipped back around the moment I was done and closed the distance between, almost running right into Noni and Aj. We waited in the dark as Noni herself and then Aj in the system once she was finished, she scooted them over and looked at me expectantly. I placed my hand on the scanner and felt the split-second flash of heat as the computer read my fingerprint. Once it pinged, the door slid open revealing a comfortable sized panic room that didn’t feel like a panic room. We immediately filed in, grabbing all Aj’s things in the process… who knew how long we would be in here.

A muffled, “Oh Luna, why’d you lock us out?” came from behind the locked doors of the amour and bedroom.

“Anything else,” I asked hoping and praying she’d say no…

Noni quietly looked over everything and checked the panic room supplies. Looking back at me she nodded and gave me the thumbs up, “We’re good!”

Needing no further instruction, I pressed the panic button and watched as the room locked itself down, setting off an intruder alert alarm throughout the pack house. The alarms could be heard blaring through the hallways from the monitors, blaring the announcement for the entire pack to prepare; the curious part of me wondered what the stranger was thinking now that his presence was no longer a secret. Would he leave without carrying out his mission or would he die trying to get to me?

Did I want him to die, I asked myself seriously. No…

I wanted to know who he was working for… I wanted to know who his Master was and what did he or she want with me? How did they know me? The alarm brought forth a million different questions in my mind and nothing, but time was going to answer them. Only time would tell if he’d run away or if he’d die fighting Maxon. Only time would tell who his Master was and what they wanted with me.

The panic room was no bigger than a small child’s room, there was an extra door that was in the bottom of the far-left corner which was more than likely the bathroom. The walls weren’t silver, thank Goddess, giving the room an inorganic, robotic vibe. In the top right corner of the room sat a soft looking full-sized bed with a crib, nightstand and lamp. To the left of the surveillance monitors sat a medium sized fridge and a small counter and microwave… Comfortably crafted chairs sat in front of the monitor screens that overlooked the pack house and the lands surroundings our home. Aj’s toys and chairs filled the remaining empty spaces, giving the pup a lot to stay distracted.

We’d be comfortable here, I thought. A couple hours at maximum, but my fear had me feeling like it could be days…

After taking a moment to set Aj up and unpack Noni whirled around to face me, studying my face intently. “What’s going on with you?”

“What do you mean,” I asked confused.

“What do you mean,” she mimicked as if something was wrong with her voice. “Why didn’t you answer me?”

My face dropped. “You weren’t talking were you,” I asked curiously. I was slightly embarrassed because I hadn’t heard a thing and I didn’t think I had been that deep into my worry…

“I’ve been using our link… I didn’t want to scare Aj,” she said nervously. We both turned to the creamy, caramel boy who had been playing with his trucks completely oblivious to the dangers around him… as a child should be.

“Are you feeling okay,” she asked worriedly.

“I feel fine,” I said brushing her probing mom hands away from my forehead, “fit as ever.”

Ignoring me entirely she said, “Well, it must be something wrong with your gifts…you think someone poisoned you in order to attack the pack?”

Her tone held betrayal and conspiracy, I tried to ignore my wolf’s nagging feeling that it had been Noni to do such a thing. Noni was my best friend and sister… she would never. “Noni you’re not helping… I hadn’t had that in my mind as a thought until now; you’re going to make me panic,” I accused.

Noni held up her hands in surrender, “Sorry… today hasn’t been a normal day and honestly it all fit together…”

“Noni!”

“Okay. Alright, I’m done.”

I rolled my eyes at her, annoyed that I had allowed her words to pull more fear into my heart and mind. Thoughts of betrayal or even disloyalty within the panic sent nausea rolling through my stomach; Maxon and I had tried and prided ourselves on how fair and warming we ran the pack. We thought our pack loved us, they hadn’t said otherwise or made any move to show us we weren’t good Alphas…

It was just Noni’s words… don’t start doubting the pack, my wolf barked snapping me out of the thoughts.

What if—

No what if, she growled cutting me off. We will not doubt our pack.

I bowed to her mentally, showing her that I wouldn’t challenge her on it. I silently began following the tether that connected Maxon and I; calling out to him through it I waited for his usual, almost instantaneous response… but instead I was met with silence. I could feel him and the tether that connected us, I could practically reach out into my mind and touch it but there was no conscious thought from him…

Maxon, I called out again. Maxon, please.

It was like someone had turned out the lights in the room… as quick as I had felt Maxon and our tether, was just as fast as it was gone so fast, I thought I had imagined it. My eyes watered, my heart was breaking from worry; maybe I had been poisoned and maybe something happened to my mate… I looked at Noni nervously and whimpered. As soon as her eyes met mine it had taken her seconds to cross the space and pull me into her arms and hugging me motheringly.

“Nova, what’s wrong?”

“I think you’re right… something’s wrong with my gifts,” I admitted my voice cracking as I tried my best to hold back the ocean of tears threatening to release at any moment.

“Why? What’s wrong,” she asked.

“I can’t link Maxon… I can’t feel him anymore; I can’t feel us anymore,” I cried. The tears burning hot as I finally allowed them to fall.

“Have you tried your brother?”

“I can’t feel any of you Noni…”

A noticeable panic had built in my voice; how would I be able to function as Luna, or even a pack member if I couldn’t feel or link my pack? For what seemed like the millionth time today, my heart began to beat erratically with fear and self-doubt. I couldn’t remain the Luna if I couldn’t feel the pack… everything in my gut told me that and no matter how much the pack loved me now, I would become the pariah again almost instantly…

What else could possibly go wrong, I cried to myself silently.

Noni sighed and turned to the monitors; most of the pack had evacuated and the warriors had already broken into groups, half protecting the women, children and elderly as they made their way to the underground bunker, while the other half flooded the pack house in search of the intruders. It was times like these I was happy I had an Alpha as a mate… we wouldn’t have had that bunker if it weren’t for him being irrationally overprotective. My wolf and I were proud though… even without our nurturing hands hovering over them, they still conducted themselves perfectly. No one screamed or ran by pushing each other; I couldn’t have been any prouder of my pack in that moment… we are stronger together.

“Bad man,” Aj growled at the screen.

The man had finally made it through Alex and Noni’s bedroom door and was now ransacking their room in search of me. Fear filled me as I didn’t recognize the man on the monitor and a part of me could’ve rolled my eyes… now was not the time for unknown crazy wolves to be looking for me. One of the main reasons Maxon had been afraid to claim me as his mate was now his, and my own reality.

We watched him go through dresser drawers, flip over Aj’s crib, their bed and bathroom; he was obviously going to destroy everything in sight until he found me. The man left nothing unturned or unchecked before he turned his attention to the amour; the man stared directly at me through the hidden camera built into the amour doors. The way he looked at the door, anyone with eyes could see that he knew he had found me. It was when he inhaled deeply that we all knew he had found me…

A creepy laugh sounded through the monitors and then he spoke, “Luna, I’ve found you. The Master will be excited I’ve finally found his bride.”

Master, my wolf and I thought together angrily. Wait… what did he mean bride?

Noni looked at me, fear for me written all over her face. Again, I watched her brain churn for an idea, but I knew she wouldn’t be able to come up with anything; all she’d be able to do was link Alex and tell him our situation. Even then, all we could do was wait for Maxon and Alex or the warriors to make their way to us and hopefully that was before the man made it through the doors. Unfortunately, the time had already begun ticking away as the man starting hacking away at the amour doors…

“I’m linking Alex,” she concluded as her body jerked with every swing of his knife.

“That seems like the best idea Noni,” I chuckled nervously. “Please put an emphasis on Master and bride please.”

“Maxon would teleport here for sure,” Noni laughed.

I silently watched as Noni had gone completely still and quiet while trying to concentrate on the tether that connected her to my brother. I subconsciously scooted closer to Aj trying to comfort him, or myself really, until we had come up with a plan. I absently watched my nephew play with his toys, willing my mind not to venue too far off into the unknown… there was no telling what I would find myself thinking if I allowed it.

Why is it always me? What’s so great about me, I asked myself frustrated.

Just an hour earlier I was fighting the nauseating fear and excitement of Maxon proposing and the prospects of having pups and now here I was, terrified for my life and hiding in a fancy dresser… I had the worst luck. This just fortified my reasonings for not wanting pups in the first place. Why would I bring children into this world knowing the kind of target they’d be? Why would I want my children to suffer the same way I had at the hands of their pack members?

The pack wouldn’t do that to our pups, my wolf retorted in their defense.

I don’t think that they would… but I don’t think they wouldn’t either, I told her honestly. Some wounds stay fresh, no matter how much time you allow them to heal.

You should have a little more faith in your pack… and your mate, she added as an afterthought. Maxon wouldn’t leave us to care and protect our pups alone.

He left us alone now…

My wolf all but smacked her teeth. This was random and you know it… how could he have known?

How would we ever know, I shouted back at her. We would never know when we were a target until we already were…

My wolf had gone silent, there was nothing she could say that could beat that. It didn’t matter if Maxon created and trained an army to protect us we would still never know who or when, just that we were scared for our lives…again. It’s not like it would stop until Maxon and I were no longer the Alphas but then it would just be my child’s turn to live in constant fear. It wasn’t as if I couldn’t protect myself… I just knew I couldn’t protect myself and protect my pups.

What if we were attacked and I lose them before I ever met them?

My wolf cringed at the thought and so did I. You think about this often.

It wasn’t a question, but I knew she would want an answer, I nodded to myself slightly. Since the moment we mated with Maxon I’ve felt this fear… threatening whispers, eerie chills… this man feels like a warning to me.

“Hey Nova,” Noni shouted waving her hand in front of my face and snapping. My eyes watered as I blinked them into focus, forcing them to concentrate on Noni’s moving hand. “Nova, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, I just—

Looking around the room, the words caught in my throat and my heart sank. I began to shake my head slowly as I eased off my chair and looked around the room once more; Noni watched me as if I were losing my mind, I could feel her trying to peek inside my head, but something was stopping her… the harsh feeling of déjà vu rushed me leaving my head to spin and my stomach to churn nastily… I gripped the counter for support, my knees seconds away from giving.

“Nova,” Noni cried worriedly. “What’s wrong?” She began to nervously look around the room trying to spot anything that was out of place or new, but she came back with nothing. I’m sure I looked just as crazy as I felt to her…

“Water,” I begged still trying to get a grip. This couldn’t be…

Felt like it, my wolf offered reassuringly.

Noni sprinted around the kitchen counter and grabbed a glass to fill from the refrigerator. I watched her work quickly like a worried mother; she’d periodically peek over at the baby monitor in the middle of the kitchen island. I looked over at the clock hanging about the kitchen stove and my heart began to hammer hard… “Nova,” Noni said again.

I looked at her and grabbed the water, turning my eyes toward their front door almost glaring at it. “I had a premonition.”

“Was it about your wedding,” she said wagging her eyebrows suggestively.

“No,” I replied flatly.

Taken aback, Noni replied in a much more serious tone. “Okay… if not that then what was it about?”

Before I could answer Aj’s crying went off on the baby monitor. Noni looked at me apologetically and went to make a move for the steps. “Wait!”

“Nova?” She asked stopping mid-step.

“Someone is going to break into the house for me…”

Her eyes took on a more serious tone. “What do you mean? Who’s breaking into my house Nova?”

“I don’t know. I just know what he wanted, and it was me,” I explained quickly. “My gifts won’t work after he comes…”

“Nova, you’re scaring me.”

“You’re not the only one… he didn’t even look familiar, but he was just the hired help. I don’t know if—

The hard pounding sounded on the door, causing Noni and I both to jump nervously. Noni looked at me with a blazing glare. “If this is some joke that the three of you will think is funny, I suggest you tell me now so you’re in the clear.”

“No jokes,” I said seriously.

She looked at me with skeptical eyes. “Fine, I’ll just go see who it is then.” Noni crossed the room and walked into the foyer before I had time to even utter a sound. It wasn’t uncommon for anyone of us to prank the other, but this was a bit extreme. I would never joke about stuff like this around Aj. I didn’t want to scare him… just his mom.

I waited for the moment I would hear her scream or call for help but there was nothing other than the sound of her opening and closing the door after only a few seconds. She walked back with a confused look on her face and a small piece of paper in her hands. Her eyes no longer held the skepticism from moments ago, now they held genuine concern. “I think we should get the boys back home,” she said.

“What was at the door,” I asked knowingly.

“This note was for you… stuck in the door with an axe…”

I snatched the note from her hands and read it aloud. “Rid yourself of your pups or else the next dead thing will be you…”

“I’m pregnant?”

“You’re pregnant?” We asked at the same time.