Chapter 20 - Flynn

“ Lila?!” I rush forward, planting my wolf frame between Lila and the ground just as her wolf knees give out from under her. She doesn't respond to the mind link, just sighs in wolf form when she passes out.

Just in time, Miles comes rushing out from the woods.

“ What happened? ” he asks as he comes closer. “ Woah…who is this?”

“Your sister.”

“My sister…?”

“Just help me get her to the clinic,” I respond irritably. He comes forward and helps lift Lila up while she remains in wolf form. I shift into human form, reaching down and lifting her into my arms to carry her to the clinic.

***

“How is she doing?” Miles asks when I step out of the room where Lila lies unconsciously on a clinic bed.

After bringing her to the clinic, Doctor Stevens, the pack's doctor, had to administer a special potion of herbs to get her back into human form. She hasn't woken up since, so he's running more tests.

The drawing of her blood isn't exactly pleasant to watch, so I've decided to step out for a moment.

“Doc says she'll be fine. He just needs to understand why she didn't shift when she passed out.” I look up and notice that Miles's arm is in a cast. “How are you doing?”

“I'll live,” he grins, flinching only slightly when he pats the cast. “Thanks to you.”

“Thanks to your sister,” I correct, taking a seat on the bench beside him.

“What do you mean?” he frowns. “It was you who chased the rogues and got them off my back.”

“And it was Lila who helped me find you. She helped me get to you in time,” I admit with a huff. The attack on Blood Moon was a close call, and I almost lost Miles near the Fort Smit border—the same place where we lost the rogues’ scent the other night. But thanks to my newfound gifts after marking Lila, I was able to see through the mask of invisibility they wear that allows the rogues to disappear without a trace.

It's the only reason Miles is safe now, even with his arm broken and in a cast. As soon as I found him, I'd been able to chase the rogues out of Nightclaw territory. It was then I felt a strong pull in my chest, and I knew Lila needed me.

Every time I felt that pull before, I ignored it. Now, with her neck bearing my territorial mark, there's a connection so strong that I will never mistake her cries for me as my wolf's foolishness.

I was the one foolish enough to think that I could resist being drawn to her from the very beginning. Fate. I'll never question it again.

Even in her current state, while she lies in a semi-coma in the other room, I'm certain that she'll be fine. The moment her eyes open, our lives will change forever. It's a promise I've made to myself.

“I don't understand,” Miles repeats, and I sigh when I turn my face to him, a wave of relief washing over me just for the mere fact that he's right here with me.

The moment I heard about his capture, I was flung into the past, when we received word of my brother's passing. As the days went by and the truth unfolded, I was left with a massive hole in my chest of regret.

If I had been there…

I sigh, deciding to let go of the past. It's done me no good before, turning me into a monster who denied my attraction for my fated mate because I was a coward. A coward who only cared about his image, when the truth of who Lila is to me is the reason I am who I am right now.

If I hadn't marked her last night, I would have lost Miles to the rogues.

I can't lose another brother…

But even that fills me with a sense of remorse.

“There's something you should know, Miles,” I admit tentatively, gauging the way he stares at me intently. “Your sister is my fated mate.”

Miles takes a deep breath, turning to stare out ahead of him as if he's processing what I've just said.

“Your fated mate, huh?” he sniffs, turning to me. “Is that even possible?”

“Apparently, yeah,” I shrug nonchalantly. “It should have been Finch. But the Moon Goddess…”

“Has other plans,” he finishes for me with a chuckle. “Congrats, bud.” He throws a playful slap on my back with his good arm. “That's why her wolf never came before,” he laments.

“I suppose so,” I acknowledge. “It would have come sooner if I wasn't a complete idiot.”

“When are you not?” he quips.

“Hey!” I defend with a chuckle. When the laughter subsides, I sigh and lean forward, bracing my elbows on my lap. “You're right. I've always been an idiot. I was hell-bent on doing things my way, I didn't accept the fate I'd been given. That's why—” I halt abruptly, turning my face to Miles and feeling regret wash over me. How was I so foolish?

“That's why I treated her the way I did before.”

“Like the others?” he scoffs, shaking his head.

That regret lodges in my throat, forcing me to gulp with trepidation. “You—you knew?”

“I always suspected it,” he sighs. “But you're my best friend. I didn’t wanna interfere unless Lila came to me. Of course, she didn't.”

“She's too good for me…”

“No shit, Sherlock,” he chuckles, lightening the mood and allowing the claws of regret to dissipate. “But she is your fated mate. I knew she'd get her wolf when she was mated, and now she's mated to my best friend. I only ask that you treat her well and show her the same kindness that she's shown everyone else. Even those who've hurt her.”

I straighten when I turn to him fully, pinching the skin over my Adam's apple between two fingers when I say, “I promise to be a better man for her.”

Miles accepts my solemn oath with a curt nod and a wistful smile. He checks his watch and titters, “Do you know what today is?”

“I'm guessing you're gonna tell me.”

He lifts his head and stares deadpan into my eyes. “Lila's birthday.”

“Shit.” I drop my face into my hands. “I had no idea.”

“Now you know, so do better,” he warns with a friendly pat on my back.

“Alpha Flynn?” comes Doctor Stevens’s call.

I look up to see the doctor standing at the door to Lila's room with a clipboard in hand. I immediately get to my feet, my heart pounding with anticipation.

“Is she awake?”

“Not yet,” he reveals, his eyes hardly readable behind the thick specs on his face. “But I need to speak with you.”

I glance at Miles as my heart drops to the soles of my feet.

“Take care of Lila,” he says as he stands up. “I'll take care of things with the others,” he adds, referring to last night's attack. Though we didn't catch them, we'd discovered a key piece of evidence that might help us locate their whereabouts. An urgent meeting was called with the Alphas of Oklahoma, but that was before Lila's wolf sprung out from the shadows.

Right now, my first priority is her, and whatever Doctor Stevens has to speak to me about.

“Let them know why I'm not attending the meeting,” I tell Miles. “Tell them that my Luna needs me.”

Miles smirks and nods. “Of course, Alpha.”

Taking a deep breath that turns into a gulp, I follow the doctor inside the room.

When I walk in, it's not just the Lila I know who lies on the bed. I see beyond that, to the majestic wolf my eyes beheld last night. With her ice-white coat of silky fur and piercing blue eyes, Lila in wolf form is only a sight for eyes worthy of appreciating such extraordinary beauty. If ever the Moon Goddess visited Earth, she'd be embodied in the image of Lila's wolf.

The steady beeping of the heart rate monitor hooked to her arm is the only sound in the room. Beyond that, the eerie silence is almost deafening, building up the intensity of dread I feel simmering in my chest.

When I'm beside Lila, I can't help myself from holding her hand. With her lips parted ever-so-slightly as she breathes in deep slumber, her clear skin is pure and her round face is angelic.

The thought of losing her forever is crushing.

I can't.

I won't.

The doctor clears his throat, drawing my attention to him.

“What is it, Doc? Just tell me what's wrong, and what I can do to fix it.”

“I wouldn't say that anything is wrong, Alpha Flynn,” he tilts his head and scrutinizes my reaction over the rims of his glasses.

I frown. “Then why isn't she awake yet?”

“Because she needs the rest. Shifting for the first time at her age is cumbersome, especially in her condition.”

A frustrated growl rumbles in my chest. “Doctor Stevens…what are you talking about? What condition?”

A feeble smile grows on the older man's lips. “It appears that Luna Lila is pregnant.”

In a split second, my whole life takes a turn. Too stunned to move, all I can do is blink in disbelief, my jaw dropping as words fail me.

My gaze lowers to Lila, a plethora of different emotions passing through my being and clouding my vision.

“I'll give you a moment,” the doctor says softly as he quietly leaves the room.

As soon as the door clicks into place, I fall to my knees, clutching Lila's hand to my forehead as tears roll down my cheeks.

“Y-you're pregnant,” I stammer, choking on the sob in my throat. “I don't believe it…I didn't think it was possible to be so happy…”

I didn't think I was worthy of this amount of happiness, the joy welling in my chest, ready to burst out. All I can do is sob, wishing to the Moon Goddess that Lila would wake up and bask in this moment with me.

Just when I thought I was complete, whole when I marked her, I've just been given the greatest news ever. The man I was before this moment becomes eternally wiped from existence. I have to do better now. Be better. For my mate, and our child.

“Y-you kn-know,” Lila croaks hoarsely, prompting me to look up and see a feeble smile playing on her lips.

“Lila!” I immediately get to my feet and scoop her into my arms. “Oh, my Goddess! You're awake!”

Peppering kisses on the top of her head, I hold her tightly to me as relief flows through my veins. It's in this moment that I realize just how important Lila is to me—not just because she's my fated mate, but because she's the only she-wolf who's been able to turn my whole world on its axis and give new meaning to what it means to be an Alpha.

I don't deserve her, I think again as I cradle her face and stare into eyes so pure like gems. She softens me.

“Hi, Alpha,” she smiles warmly.

“Hi, Luna,” I respond with a gentle kiss on her lips. “Happy birthday.”

Her eyes widen with surprise. “How do you…?”

“It doesn't matter,” I shake my head, folding her hands in mine as I take a seat on the edge of the bed. “Though you're the one who's given me a gift today.” I lift her hand and place a chaste kiss on her knuckles.

“You've already given me the perfect gift,” she whispers as she softly touches her neck, where the indentations of my canines glow as if on fire with golden, flickering flames.

“It's not enough,” I admit firmly, staring deeply into her eyes. “You deserve the world, Lila. And I am ready to give it to you.”

A moment of blissful silence stretches out as we stare into each other's eyes. When her lips lift to smile, she sighs.

“What happened? Is Miles okay?”

I nod, going on to reveal everything that has happened since we came back from the mountains. It's long overdue, and the unfolding of the impending threat is something I should have told her. As my Luna, she's meant to lead beside me, not be kept in the dark.

I know that now.

She listens intently as I tell her about what happened last night before I heard her call out to me.

“He broke his arm, but he's fine. He's been here all night, but he had to go to meet with the others. There's a lot that we need to take care of.”

She nods. “Shouldn't you be there, too?”

I purse my lips, patting the pocket of my sweatpants. “I'll show them what I found some other time.”

“No,” Lila shakes her head, a firm look of deep concern on her face. “You need to take care of it now. We can't afford to lose anyone. Last night was a close call.”

“I'm not leaving your side, Lila. I—”

“Shh…” She presses a finger to my lips. “I know that you're not leaving me. Besides, I'll be fine.” She drops her gaze to her belly and cups a hand there. “I need to rest, anyway. And you have to ensure that the pack is safe.”

Goddess! How did I get so lucky? All I can do is marvel at her, how fiercely determined she is as the Luna of this pack.

Lila cups my cheek again and smiles. “Now that your powers are unleashed, you can put to rest your suspicions of Dorian. Then, you may form bonds with the others that'll be advantageous to the safety of our pack. The safety of our child,” she says as she rubs her belly.

I place my hand over hers and smile. I've underestimated her, only because she was the wolf-less Omega who was shunned because of societal norms in the Blood Moon Pack.

Finch was right when he decided to do things differently. I just couldn't see it back then. When he died, I'd been so determined to follow the rules that I'd become blinded.

In hindsight, my parents and Grandfather saw the advantages of changing the course of leadership in the pack. It was only me who couldn't see it, determined to maintain an image that I thought I needed to be a worthy leader.

Fate had to guide me in the right direction, toward a destiny and future with the woman I love.

The woman I love…

I look up at her angelic face, the words on the tip of my tongue.

“Go now, Flynn,” she encourages with a smile. “I'll be right here when you get back.”

I decide not to tell her how I feel just yet. Not like this, anyway, with the responsibilities of being the Alpha looming over my shoulders. It has to be special, and I think I know exactly how to make up for the past.

“We have a lot to do,” I tell her. “There's so much I have to teach you.”

“Like training my wolf?” she giggles. “I would expect nothing less.”

I crush my lips to hers then, foreseeing a bright future ahead of us. There's so much more than just training her wolf that I want to teach her, but for now, I'll keep those surprises up my sleeve.