Long Night

Once again everyone seemed to converge on Jessa's room. She knew something was wrong. Very wrong. What had happened?

As expected, the moment Jessa found out about what all Amelia had gone through she broke down crying. Her heart breaking for her best friend.

"Honestly, how evil could they be?" she seethed through tears

All James could do was hold her and let her sob, he wondered just how bad the injuries to Amelia had been. At least the ones Jessa knew about. It must have been bad, but to imagine it was much worse? No wonder she was beside herself.

Picking up on James's thoughts Jessa dried her eyes and met his.

"It was terrible. She came crawling back into the room. I had just settled Caleb down for the night. I could smell them on her, I had heard tale of what happens when an omega female reaches age, I just didn't think it would be so cruel. They had beaten her so badly. I used the shower to clean her up as much as I could. She had so many cuts and bruises. Oh Goddess the blood. It was pouring from her there. So much of it. In hindsight I should've noticed the wound on her arm, but it was barely bleeding. Looked like a long deep scratch. I just thought it was where they held her down."

Anna let out a horrified sound. She couldn't imagine going through that. How truly disgusting! These creatures were not the sort she ever wanted to meet, but rather destroy on sight. She noticed a movement out the corner of her eye and saw Caleb bolt to Amelia's room.

"Uhh guys? Caleb just heard all that and ran to Amelia's room…" she said.

Luna Mae jumped up followed by Roz and Jessa tried to get up but her legs wouldn't cooperate with her will. She was still too weak and she cursed herself for it. Anna patted her shoulder gently.

"It's ok sister, I'll help you to walk to your chair. I know you don't want to be in it, but you have to rest your body. We need you healthy so you can eventually take your place as Luna."

As Jessa finally made her way to Amelia's room, she saw Caleb sobbing at the side of her bed. Her heart broke for him. He was a child, what did he belong knowing these things… She reckoned that's why Amelia never told him, and apparently only gave her an abridged version. She couldn't even bring herself to be angry right now, her heart was just breaking.

After a moment Luna Mae ushered Caleb out of the room and into his own bed. He was a mess of teary hiccups and sighs. Suddenly anger flashed into his eyes.

"Why didn't she tell me? I would have killed them! I would have stopped them! How could they do this to her? To anyone? I want to go rip their heads off!" he roared

"Caleb, calm down. I know your rage, I share it too. For ALL of you. And your rage right now is exactly why I think she didn't tell you or Jessa. Honey, I know you want to kill them, but honestly all you would have accomplished was getting yourself hurt and likely her hurt more. They all have their wolves, you don't yet. I promise you, we will get them for this. The elders have met and are going to make a plan with James and the others to bring them down. It will just take some time. Why don't you run yourself a nice hot bubble bath and go relax for a few. Don't give me that look boy-o even grown men indulge in a hot bath after a hard day. You've had your butt kicked physically in training and emotionally tonight. Go on now." She coaxed him.

He went on to his bathroom as she turned down his bed. She rang for one of the kitchen staff to bring up a plate of cookies and a cup of milk for him. A boy is still a boy, teenager or not. They all loved sweets and junk when they're sad or upset. She raised two and is currently raising a third. She called for Alex to come hang out and play some video games or something with Caleb to help distract him from all he'd just learned. The resilience of kids never ceased to amaze her.

A night of teenage tomfoolery is exactly what he needs now. When Alex arrived she left the room to find Lloyd following her second oldest son Drayven into the suite. He had a look on his face she couldn't pretend not to place. He's caught the scent of his mate. He ran straight into Amelia's room. He saw her on the bed and knelt down. His wolf was howling something fierce. Something was wrong with mate. Her wolf was almost undetectable.

He looked all around at the people in here, he didn't know the female in the wheelchair but could quickly deduce that it was his brother's mate as he moved into a defensive crouch in front of her. It was then he realized he was snarling outloud. He snapped out of it immediately.

"Mother, who is this? What's wrong with her?" he asked

"She's been poisoned son, but she's going to be ok. She has to undergo a rather unpleasant reunification with her wolf that has been kept from her, but I believe she'll come through just fine. She just needs to be sedated to keep her from the worst of it."

"Who? Who did this to her?" he spat out in a rage

"It was our former pack, they did this to her, and much worse. They also did this to me." It was Jessa who spoke up this time. "You must be Drayven and guessing by your reaction, I'm pretty sure you've scented her out as your mate."

"Yes, she is my mate. What do you mean by much worse?" he asked

"Perhaps you should walk with him James and give him the run down away from here. She needs quiet and I am also sure he's going to need to destroy things and vent then run after hearing it all." She nudged James out the room with him.

"My, my, already speaking like a Luna. I am very proud of you, my daughter. You have wisdom and grace already. Sizing up and taking charge of a situation is a very good skill for a Luna. Come, let's get you back into bed. And Anna, you have school tomorrow. Off to bed with you, grab your brother from Caleb's room while you're at it. Everyone needs to get on to bed. It is late. We'll all meet and talk at breakfast tomorrow. And Jessa? Don't even think of trying to walk down those stairs, I'll send Anna or one of the ladies in waiting for you. 8 am sharp. Now off with all of you!" Luna Mae said in a motherly tone that left no room for arguing.

Jessa was already tired out from the day and it seemed like Roz had this under control. She had a million thoughts running through her mind as she laid on the bed waiting for James to come back. How was this going to play out? Amelia was in such a vulnerable state already. Could she begin to accept a mate right now? Would he accept her after hearing the truth? She wouldn't survive another rejection after everything she's already enduring. Somewhere in the middle of all her thoughts she drifted off. She barely noticed Jame's crawling into the bed and pulling her closer to him.