Chapter 24 - April

As I left the forest with Aiden to walk to where the pack had cars waiting for us, I felt tremendously guilty. Not only had I not taken the time to explain that I was willing to stay with the Dark Moon Pack, but I had just left Jasper without an explanation for what I was doing.

Nothing about what I had done in the past few minutes had been helpful for building peace between the packs. More than that, I worried that I had completely destroyed any faith that Jasper and the Dark Moon Pack had in me.

The last thing I wanted to do was leave him, but I hadn't seen another option. Jasper loved Killian more than anyone else in the world. He wouldn't have survived without him.

What hurt me even more was that this entire confrontation might have been avoided if I had thought to send a message to my friends in Sparkle Hollow. Since the moment that Jasper had begun to open up to me, I had put them out of my mind. I had become blinded by my growing feelings for him and lost track of my responsibility to my old pack. Now the shit had finally hit the fan, and it was all my fault.

The shame I felt for my short-sightedness mingled with my guilt, and I began to wallow in my feelings. My head hung low as I walked, uncertain of how to get the packs out of this mess.

"I'm sorry it took us so long to rescue you," Aiden said as we got into the car he had parked a few miles away. "It took us a while to figure out who had taken you, and where you were hidden."

I didn't respond to his apology. It wasn't wholly necessary, but with all my jumbled thoughts of feelings bouncing around in my head, I didn't have the words to explain why.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Back to Sparkle Hollow. Lex and Grace have a room in the pack house ready for you," he explained. "They want you to stay with them for a while, until things are stable again."

When we arrived, I was shown immediately to a comfortable private room with a bed and shower.

"I'm sure you're feeling overwhelmed," Luna Grace said. "Aiden and Lex want to ask you some questions soon, but for now, we'll make sure you have some time to recuperate from your ordeal."

The moment the door shut behind me, I lay down on the bed. Exhausted, I fell asleep before my head hit the pillow.

My first thought the following morning was that Jasper hadn't come for me. I knew I had left of my own accord, but surely he had to have known I'd only done it for Killian's benefit. Didn't he know by now that I was in love with him?

It was more likely that he knew and didn't care. After all, I had been a pawn in his fight against Sparkle Hollow. He had only taken me to hurt them, so it made sense that he'd been willing to let me go when the tables turned. Obviously, he felt nothing for me in return.

I was devastated by the turn of events that had led from the joyful gathering of wolves in Pinedale to my current sorrow and self-pity.

Without even bothering to get out of bed, I decided to fall back asleep. At least when I was unconscious, I couldn't think about what a fool I had been.

Grace managed to hold off my interrogation for the entire day and the following night, which I spent wallowing in bed. When I was finally summoned to speak with the alpha and his council, I looked much worse than even when I was first captured by Jasper. I had yet to shower, and my fitful sleep had left me with dark circles under my eyes.

"April, are you feeling prepared to speak with us about what you've been through?" Alpha Lex asked kindly.

"I guess so," I said with a shrug.

"Can you tell us about your kidnapping, and how you came to be luna of the Dark Moon Pack?" he asked.

I began my story from the moment I saw Jasper in the alley outside of the bridal shop, telling them how I had been given wolfsbane and transported to a group of cabins not far from Pinedale. As I recounted my marking ceremony, I saw Aiden Moonstone wince. I realized that part of my story must have reminded him of his own mate, Madi, and the trauma that she had endured at his hands.

When I mentioned the death of the wolf who had accosted me in the woods, I saw a few eyebrows raised when I described how Jasper had prevented my attack.

"After a few days, I began to spend more time with the pack," I continued. "After I left the cabin, Jasper never touched me without my consent or punished me with any violence. Whatever I needed, he made sure I had it."

"And what about your dealings with the town wolves?" Aiden asked.

"Before I arrived, Jasper had been planning to infiltrate the pack and take over their territory," I said. "As of right now, he and the Pinedale alpha, Nile, have come to a peace agreement. The Dark Moon Pack will be moving into town soon."

At the thought of Jasper moving into the house on the hill without me, I began to tear up. Grace took my sudden emotional state for exhaustion and called for an end to my questioning for the day.

"I think that's enough for now," the luna said. "April, why don't you head back to your room and get some rest."

I followed her orders and spent a few more days alone in my room, leaving only to eat and answer questions from the alphas about the Dark Moon Pack's tactical capabilities. After being a part of the vibrant community Jasper and I had created in our pack, the silence and separation from them jarred me.

Aiden and Lex hadn't asked much about the rest of the pack, only Jasper's behavior toward me and what his plans of attack against their packs might be. I had answered them as honestly as I could. As much as Jasper disliked the two of them, he hadn't spoken to me about making any moves against their packs since I had become luna.

After a week, I knew it was time for me to bring up the changes I had seen in Jasper since I became part of his pack. The pack leaders needed to know that he wasn't a threat to them and that all he wanted was to take care of his people.

I left my room and went directly to Lex's office. When I arrived, I saw that both alphas and lunas were already inside.

"Sorry for interrupting," I said. "But do you have a minute?"

"Of course," Madi said, ushering me into a seat near Lex's desk.

"You have understandably asked a lot of questions about whether Jasper is planning to attack your packs," I began. "But I think if I had done a better job of explaining his motivations, you wouldn't feel the need to be so worried about that."

"What do you mean?" Lex asked.

"Are you saying that Jasper isn't a threat?" Aiden added doubtfully.

"I can't speak to what he's doing right now, but I can tell you that the change I saw in Jasper's attitude towards strangers was dramatic," I explained. "When I arrived, he had a short fuse, was quick to punish any suspected wrongdoing, and hated women. But I've seen him make friends with wolves who had nothing to offer him, take pride in making peace with others, and show genuine love and care for his people."

"That's all well and good," Lex said, "but that doesn't mean he isn't going to come after us for threatening his authority."

"You don't understand. Everything Jasper has done has been for his pack, not for himself. All he wants is for his pack to have a home where they are safe," I insisted.

"No one can change that much," Aiden mumbled.

I wished I could argue with him, but I didn't know how much information the Moonstone alpha had about Jasper's past. I was unwilling to speak about his childhood to someone who considered him an enemy. That was Jasper's business, and I didn't want to break his trust.

"I think anyone can change if they have the space to process what they've been through," I argued.

Aiden was silent again, as if I had brought up another painful memory for him. Jasper and I had only briefly discussed his relationship with his old alpha. I wondered if Aiden was recalling some past shared trauma or if something else was on his mind.

"Thank you for telling us all of this," Grace said.

"We will take it into consideration as we make our plans for the future of our packs," Lex agreed.

With that, I was dismissed back to my room, but I wasn't quite ready to leave. I had realized what I needed to do and wanted to get the words out before I lost my nerve. I stood up, wanting them all to see me as the luna I had become.

"I agreed to come back here so that I could prevent any bloodshed from happening in those woods," I said.

They all looked up at me, and I was about to ask them for their permission—no, to demand my release—so that I could return to Jasper and the Dark Moon Pack when a sudden commotion from outside drew our attention.

"Halt!" a voice shouted.

"Kneel down with your hands in the air immediately!" another voice yelled.

"AIDEN MOONSTONE, COME OUT NOW!"

It was Jasper's voice.

My mate had come to Sparkle Hollow.