Alpha's Blind Luna



We all watched as Hector dished up some of the almost curry-like concoction. Jax put the bread in one of the breadbaskets we used. He took everything to the table but Hector held one bowl back. Opening up the fridge, he took out the container of sour cream. Putting a large dollop in the center, he smirked and held out the bowl to me. I took it and looked down at it. It smelled amazing even with the sour cream.

"It softens the spice. You should be able to take it now."

I rolled my eyes but swung around and took my bowl to the table. Everyone was sitting down and it was so long since we had done this. Sadly, everyone was more serious.

“Anyone have any news before I start? I'd like to eat a little before I talk my head off.”

Hector grabbed a baguette slice and dipped it into his bowl. Everyone seemed to take that as a go ahead to eat. Lucy was the first to start.

“Hospital is all set up. We also managed to snag two OBGYN doctors for the hospital. I had to bribe them quite a bit but we've got them. Outside of the family doctor we have in town."

"Did we need to expand the residential area?" I asked mixing the curry with a piece of bread.

She shrugged. "Honestly, I think we will need to eventually."

Simon and I groaned together. Vale chuckled as did Bryan.

Simon shook his head. "We should have another wine shipment in the next month or so. Also, Finnegan wanted to dip into whisky. We've looked into a few options but it seems fun."

"Fun he says. Extra work is what it means." AJ grumbled.

Simon shrugs. "It's an experiment. Honestly, it's relaxing and half the time you just stick it in the barrel then leave it for years."

Everyone quieted as we all ate, a moan or two escaping people as they ate. I started down at my bowl for a moment.

"Vale and I are going to adopt two pups.'

Vale's eyes widened and he looked up at me. I smiled at him and his face beamed back at me. Everyone was shocked but Hector smirked, nodding to me.

"So we'll probably need your guys help." I added.

"Not Dad. Don't let him help. Don't let him fill the place with pool noodles." Lucy laughed.

Bryan glared at her. "You grew up safe and sound!"

"I broke my arm when I was three! Don't bother them Dad!!"

Hector added, taking a quick bite. "She's not wrong. Auri even kicked him out when he tried helping with Tyr and the twins."

A chill ran through the group at mentioning her name. It was something we didn't mention. All of us dealing with a various degrees or guilt, pain, and sadness. Hector looked around at us and sighed.

"I guess I need to get to my business. Before everyone goes to their corner." He took a bite of food before finally moving the bowl away from him. Placing his elbows on the table, he leaned forward. His eyes glazed over for a moment before coming back.

Vale leaned back, his arms crossed over his chest. "How about the last time we heard from you? You were headed north after Ireland?" Hector sighed. "I was going to a rumored lab in Iceland. I'd pulled the information from the offices in Ireland. Pipsqueak helped me sort out the encryption and I headed up there. I'd been making waves though. I'd hit too many in two short of time I think." Grabbing his water glass, he took a sip. "Iceland is actually really green, did you know that? Rolling hills, very much like Ireland. It's lovely. The air is clear..."

"Hector." Vale growled out.

'Give him a moment, Vale. It's not him losing focus, it's him collecting himself so that he doesn't drown in the feelings.' I mind linked Vale directly and he gave me a long hard stare before settling back down.

"They were waiting for me. Let me come in close to see that Auri wasn't there. Then they tightened the rope. I took out as many as I could but there were too many. Even someone skilled can be outmanned." Hector looked at me and nodded. "I was dropped in a complete concrete room. No windows. No lookouts. No food or water. Then the beatings came; the torture. Asking why I was there. What I was looking for. How many had I taken out. What other locations did I know of. It was constant. The pain was constant. I felt myself slipping, felt my soul starting to leave. Rydere was already suppressed and I was alone. I know I was muttering like a mad man. But one day it stopped. The pain stopped. I was being transported to a different facility."

Everyone was on edge. My nails were digging into my legs until Lucy, who was sitting next to me, took my hand. The memory flashed of what I had gone through, I knew somewhat the pain Hector felt. Bryan had a look on his face. I think it was regret. That he'd been angry or upset this whole time over his friend being gone. Leaving him behind. When really, he'd was probably going through his worst.

Bryan swallowed hard. "How long till they moved you?"

"Months? I think. Your sense of time gets lost." Hector shook his head, as if trying to rid his mind of the memories.

Jax was the one who put a hand on his shoulder and it seemed to ground him. "Where did you end up going?"

"I didn't find out later, not until we escaped but it was in the eastern part of China."

"We?" AJ looked at Hector, leaning his hand on the table.

Hector looked up at me, his eyes dark but not with his wolf. It was dark with memories. "I met the head of the BloodHunter sect. I met Oran." Vale swore, his chair coming out from under him and falling to the floor. He put his hands on his head. We had thought...we'd guessed but Hector had proof now. He had seen him not just alive but working.

"Vale sit down." I called to him in the middle of his pacing.

He turned on his heel. "How can I? How can I when it's the previous High Councilor? How can I when we have proof now that my Dad needs to be executed for crimes against his race?"

I fell silent, looking down at the bowl in front of me. Bryan pipped up.

"Sit your ass down, Alpha. You can't do shit right now and pacing won't do anything either. So sit and shut up till the end."

Vale stopped and a few of us snickered as he finally sat back down. "Sorry. Continue Hector."

Hector, though, was far away. His eyes boring into the table. Jax squeezed his shoulder again and he looked up. "Oran spoke to me. Told me I was going to be used against the one person he needed to cooperate. Who'd been fighting him tooth and nail. He drugged me after that. But the first time I came to, he used me. Used me by putting a silver brand on my skin and my scream to get her to comply."

"Her?" Bryan was whispering now.

“Auri. The first I saw her, two fucking years. She was hanging from chains on the wall. Rail thin, no muscle, no fat. She couldn't even put weight on her legs for a while. They stopped feeding her food. They just injected her with shit." Hector closed his eyes. "They...they used me against her. The threat of hurting me, she...she just gave in every time. Even using her against me. They did...things. Mostly to her...experiments. She'd come back and be out for days. I..." his hands went into his hair.

"She was alive though? She was actually alive?" Vale was hysterical.

"As alive as she could be. She...I..." Hector was struggling.

Reaching out, I took Hector's hand that had fallen off his head onto the table. "Breathe. It's alright. We don't needs specifics."

Vale was about to argue but I glared at him. Immediately, he shut up.

"One of the days...they were...they were going to...rape her. They drugged me so I wouldn't fight. But she said she got help and we managed to get out. I came to while we were running through the trees, away from the facility. It exploded while we walked on the side of the road. She flagged someone down and spoke Mandarin to him. Found out where we were and asked for a ride. A few hours later we were in Beijing. Free and out of the clutches of the coven."

Vale's brows were knit. "Then where is she? Why isn't she here with you? Why hasn't she contacted us?" His voice rose a little bit at the end. "She wanted to bring them down. Take Oran down. All she wanted to do was fight and I was done fighting."

"She left you..."

Hector didn't say anything for a while. "I spent some time in India. Worked as a cook. Then hopped around Egypt. No ID, no phone, nothing. I just was a nomad really. Managed to get my hands on a less than authentic passport and after doing a couple of smuggling jobs for the local vampires, I made enough to fly back."

"Fuck! Why didn't she contact us? I mean, how long were you running around India and Egypt?" Vale couldn't hide the agitation in his voice. The frustration and anger carried through the bond as well.

"She's been hitting different sites. I don't know how she's gotten more information that me, but she's hit ones both Pipsqueak and I couldn't find. I believe it's with the King of the Fey as well."

My eyebrows shot up. "She's with King Uriel?"

Hector shifted slightly. "Yes. I believe King Uriel's mate was killed by Oran as well. Their combined power is a level that could begin and end a war. So, she's most likely already spoken to Pipsqueak and Morgan."

"Goddess, why is she so infuriating?" Vale threw up his hands.

We all laughed and Hector smirked. The first true sign of emotion I had seen.

"So...what now?" Lucy looked at all of us, ending with Hector. "What happens now?"

Taking a deep breath, Hector spoke first. “In regards to Auri, nothing. Maybe keep an eye out and warn packs to stay away from her. She also might be going as Astra or the Huntress now as well, I'm not sure. But as long as we stay out of her way, we won't be counted in the collateral damage." His smirk was gone entirely. "She's taking no prisoners, no one is getting away. It's...a bit frightening if you actually look at the numbers."

Vale narrowed his eyes. "Okay. So basically we have a werewolf on the rampage but getting rid of BloodHunter labs. Could we use that?" Lucy shook her head. "With that news reel that's still floating around...it creates sides. Either your got the labs or you aren't. Endorsing her would be taking a side. So I would say it's better to let her go her thing. It actually might be why she's taken up a different name. It doesn't associate her with us. Especially if she's taking no prisoners."

I chimed in. “Plus, with only the stupid program, people don't really understand the full extent of the BloodHunter coven and what even was incorrect when it came to it. Even more may be against her with her choice to not only shirt down the locations but draw blood as well."

Vale rubbed his forehead. His frustration through the bond was apparent but there were so many different threads of it, so many things he was frustrated at that it made me chuckle.

"As for me..." Hector leaned back in his chair. "I'd like to get back to some semblance of normalcy. If I need to, I'm happy to move out of the pack house since I'm not technically leadership anymore."

I shook my head. "I'd prefer it if you stayed. But it's about to get a little noisier than normal if thats okay with you. I missed a daily sparring partner." "What about me?" Vale looked hurt but there was amusement behind his eyes.

"Not only do you not want to train daily but it's nearly impossible to get you up before 9 a.m. so yes, it would be lovely to have a training partner again. We can add you to the patrols too, if you would like."

Hector nodded but stopped. "I...I wouldn't mind. However..." He was chewing on his words. "I won't shift."

This hushed the table entirely.

"Is everything okay? I'm sure I could..."

Hector gave Lucy a hollow smile. "Thank you, but no. It's...not medical. I'd just prefer it if it was left at that."

“I'll work something out." I smiled at him and he nodded to me.

"So when are you picking up these pups?" Simon smirked, leaning forward on the table.

"I'll contact the pack, let them know when we will be coming." Vale's frustration was buried under pure excitement.

I leaned back in the chair as well. "We'll need to set up the room first. Make sure we have everything before we bring them in."

"Shopping trip!" Lucy squealed and shook my arm.

Laughing, I nodded. "Once we are set up, we will go get them together. So AJ, Jax, you will be in charge for a bit."

"Goddess save us all." Simon mumbled and AJ threw a piece of bread at him.

This made all of us devolve into laughter, with even Hector smirking. For the first time in months, it finally felt back to normal. Like our family was back and the pack house was more of a home than it had been. I knew it wouldn't last, but I could enjoy the moment for now. That and I had the feeling of excitement might change in Vale the closer we got to picking up these pups. He might be able to feel it from me but I was scared. Starting a family was what I always wanted but babies, taking care of them, is a monumental task. One I didn't know if we could ever be completely prepared for. A pack was one thing but two little pups were something else entirely.

Vale's hand reached out across the table and took hold of mine that had been resting on top.

“We can do this, Zeke. We are ready. Everything will be okay."

Bryan snorted. “As ready as any parent can be."novelbin

Lucy smacked him in the chest. "You not helping is also you not provided unsolicited advice as well."

The table dissolved into giggles again and I felt more at peace than I had in years.