6 A Worthy Surprise (2)

At night:

"I wish I could take you back with us when we return, Elora. You are a treasure." Syn enthused after downing a large plate of chicken pasta with a touch of cheese. "The flavour just bursts in my mouth and I drown in a pool of pure ecstasy." Syn had a blissful expression on her face after taking the first bite of the cheesecake that posed as the dessert.

"No stealing my mate, young lady." Logan warned with a playful smile.

"Alas! Your words generate grief in my heart, Monsieur." Syn wailed.

"This drama queen!" Jo shook her head.

"May I know when the Alpha will be available to have a chat?" Tobias asked Logan.

"I'm sorry, Tobias. I know his marked disappearance is indeed a bit rude. But he was needed at the borders." Logan paused and let out a weary breath. "There's been casualties." He informed them.

"What?" A shocked chorus rang out in the room.

"Why wasn't the pack informed, Papa?" Aurora asked in a distressed voice.

"Alpha is suppressing the link and pain. They'll live. Don't worry. It's just that they are injured so heavily and with vanadium to top that. It's fatal than silver. They are trying to drain it out of them." Logan explained.

"That's pure stupidity." Joan sounded outraged.

"We have no other options." Logan looked defeated.

"I can help. I'm a healer." Jo volunteered. "Let me go to them. I can surely do a better job than draining their blood to let out the vanadium." Joan declared in a strong voice.

"I'll go with her. I should be able to protect her well." Liam piped up.

"But the borders are dangerous. You may..." Elora started to protest.

"We came here to lend a helping hand. Let Joan do this." Syn said in a voice that brook no arguments.

Elora gave a resigned smile. "Go ahead, then. Stay safe."

"Please wear thick clothes, I'll personally take you there. Aurora, let your brother know that we are coming. Give a call to Lorenzo. They have closed the mind links due to the extra effort that is spend on keeping them alive."

"Yes, papa. On it."

Joan and Liam rushed upstairs to wear warmer clothes and collect Joan's medical bag. It was a small square leather bag that could be attached at the waist. It was an enchanted bag, a graduation gift from Fleur herself to Joan. It had several compartments, filled to the brim with rare medicinal herbs. Joan was born into a long standing family of healers. It was a hereditary position. The reason being that they had their own magic. The sort that helped them heal the sick and injured. Healers were treasured to such an extent that Jo had felt uncomfortable very often. She was a down-to-earth girl.

The duo returned soon and got into the Audi A4 Allroad Quattro of Logan. After hurried good byes they set off to the borders.

"Well, that was so sudden." Cassie remarked.

"Yes. But that brings us back to the elephant in the room. Elora, you were the Luna. And now, the Alpha's mother. Surely you know about the situation. We wish you would share it with us." Tobias turned to the former Luna.

"Oh yes. I will tell you. We didn't want you all to be burdened with all this as soon as you arrived. But I guess it's high time you knew the details."

" The disturbance at the borders started almost six months ago. It was something we expected to happen. Because the whole werewolf community was facing troubles from an unknown foe. The packs were subjected to sudden attacks followed by aquisition. Many innocents were slaughtered in cold blood. At first these incidents were isolated occurings. But then the frequency rose up sharply. The werewolf council called for a meeting and the most powerful Alphas gathered together after almost one and half centuries. The anonymity of the enemy had a greater impact than one could imagine. Nobody knew what they were against, who they were against. The attacks were carried out by werewolves, but they seemed different somehow."

"Different?" Syn tilted her head to the side, filled with curiosity.

"I don't know the details. No survivers do. It was like their memories were somehow erased or distorted. Therefore we couldn't get the required info. All we know is that those werewolves are brutal to the core. They could withstand more injuries than a normal one. The attack on us was actually a blessing in disguise. Since we were prepared, the casualties were very minimum. And it seemed like they changed their strategy of instant kill. Afterall, we have the strongest Alpha of the past five centuries." Elora said.

"But our defences were wearing thin. That's why I decided to seek your mother's help. Having magic on our side will definitely let us have an edge over them." Elora concluded.

"What about the mastermind behind this? Were you unable to collect even an inkling about this person? What about the rumours?" Syn wondered out loud.

"Dead men tell no tales." Elora said in a quiet voice.

An ominous silence hung in the room.

Suddenly Aurora spoke up. "Well, there is something I heard brother discuss with Lorenzo. He hasn't disclosed this with anyone else because the doubts and conclusions are very vague. I accidentally came across their conversation. They seemed to talking about some Rock Alpha."

"Oh, Moon Goddess!! Elora exclaimed with distress. "Let the enemy be anyone but him!!"

"Why!?"

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