ETHEREAL

13

The south wing of the pack home was always one Dante felt uncomfortable walking through. It was where the in home nurses and doctors resigned, with many of the sick and elderly choosing to remain close to the healers at their disposal. Despite werewolves naturally being able to heal rather quickly, there were illnesses that had plagued their kind for centuries. They were not invincible, despite what humans had once conjured about them. The south wing reeked of death, in his opinion, for it was the resting place of many in his ranks, having watched brother's fall in battle only to come here and not being strong enough to be saved. Perhaps it was a mental thing, or perhaps it was much deeper than that, with scars etching the very lining of his mind at the thought of such an environment. As Alpha he had to be strong. As Rosa's mate, he could not.

He had watched nurses surround her tiny body, checking her pulse, her eyes and breathing. It had felt like a blur and yet an eternity all at one, his hands shaking as he watched her eyes slowly begin to close whilst her weak hands that had once held his shirt so desperately slowly fall limp beside her. Had it not been for the shallow breaths and the gentle rising of her chest, he would have sworn he had watched his very existence die before him. They had taken her away almost instantly, with news spreading like wildfire throughout the entirety of the house. Once again, someone had attacked their sweet Luna - wishing for death to press it's longing arms around her once and for all.

It had been three days since that incident and she had yet to wake up. She laid on a bed in a large room, much colder than what they were used to due to the sudden shift in weather outside. It seemed it pained even mother nature to see such a pure being so vulnerable, drifting within her own mind after being attacked so mercilessly. He had sat her with her for most of those three days, only leaving her side to bark orders at his subordinates. Lon and Ada had visited regularly too, a pile of daisies forming by the window outside from children who adored their Luna.

"You need to eat." Lon murmured gently, his hand pressed against Dante's shoulder in a firmer manner than usual. He had been neglecting himself entirely, but the pack needed him now more than ever. A cruel fate, indeed, and in that moment Dante had wished he was no more than a simple omega so that he could have prevented this in any way possible. Furthermore, he wished that he had never met Rosa. Not due to any fault of her, for she was perfection defined in every complete way but he - he was not. He was not worthy of her, his past hanging over him like a rainy cloud on a hot summer's day, he wanted to be everything for her just as she was for him and all it had gotten them was her laying here asleep.

"I'm fine." He argued, eyebrows furrowed as he took her gentle hand into his own rough ones. The blue tint had disappeared after the first day and a half, thank goodness. The nurses had mentioned to him that the poison was unlike anything they had ever seen before, it was not that of a natural substance but rather artificially made to be as strong as physically possible. The mating bond had activated her dormant Luna genes months prior which, unbeknownst to her, had been there since birth - the fact she was a daughter of a Beta that aided in ruling a rather powerful pack meant it was in her very blood to fight back. Had it been anybody else, they wouldn't have survived past minutes and yet here little Rosa laid - a physical example of the power she held without knowing.

"Dante." Lon resisted, sitting beside him as his mate, Ada, sat on the opposite side of the bed, softly dabbing a cold washcloth to her dear friend's forehead. "You need to eat." He grabbed his shoulder once again, firmer than the previous time, forcing him to look up. "If we have any chance of finding the fucker who did this, I need you to get up and eat. Take a shower." He continued on, a flame in his eyes that could not be sedated until he could ensure the safety of his Luna. She was beloved by all, many having joined the fighting ranks in the past few days just to be a part of anything that would bring her justice.