A Luna's Flame

Chapter Seventy-Six

Rhea's POV

I rushed into the hospital with blood slicking my fingers, my mind running faster than my legs could carry me. I trailed only slightly behind two male nurses who carried the unidentifiable council warrior to the ICU wing, where I mindlinked my top intensive care team to meet them. I was able to find a faint pulse once I was alone with the man, but he only had a 5% survival rate based on his condition. Only the Goddess could save him now.

My thoughts quickly shifted from the likely culprit to the vandalized state of my hospital. Miscellaneous important documents littered the floor, portraits were askew on the wall, if not shattered on the floor, and all of the patients' doors were wide open, hanging off their hinges. My dedicated staff rushed around the halls, catering to panicked pack members and cleaning the mess the warriors left behind.

"Diona, where are you?" I asked as I trekked through the litter that covered my once pristine lobby.

She never replied.

"Has anyone been able to locate Diona?" I asked through my connection to the hospital staff as I wiped my hands on a discarded rag.

No's began to flood in, deepening the panic that gripped my heart. However, I didn't have the time to sort through my feelings as I looked at the chaos that surrounded me.

"Are all of the patients accounted for?" I questioned as I dashed down the hall to my office.

"Everyone but one. Nikias has also disappeared," my head nurse, Chloe, responded.

"When was he last seen, and what was his condition? Our scheduled rounds should've been made before the Council warriors intruded, if my memory serves me well," I asked as I rounded the corner to my office.

My office mirrored the disheveled nature of the rest of the building. My door lay on the floor in splinters, roughly taken from the cracked door frame. My file cabinets were all open, and some notable files were missing. In the center of the room, my large mahogany desk was overturned, pieces of my shattered lamp surrounding it. I took a deep breath as my eyebrows furrowed in frustration, my wolf filling my mind with vibrant cursing and colorful threats. Diona's scent was still fresh but was muddied in the aromas of various warriors that once overfilled the space. My gums ached as my wolf threatened to retaliate.

"He was still unconscious but stable, Doctor. I personally checked him before they bombarded us," Agathe, another nurse, answered as an idea popped into my mind.

"I have two nurses checking each level for his whereabouts, Dr. Iaso," Chloe quickly added as I walked out of my room and toward the stairs that lead to the private wing.

"Did they take anything or anyone else?" I asked as I hastily climbed the steps, fidgeting with my fingers as I went.

"The supply room was rifled through. We found that a few blood bags, an adrenaline injection, isopropyl alcohol, and a few gauze wraps have been taken. Once everything is cleared, I can give a more thorough assessment, Doctor," a new nurse detailed nervously.

I began to check each room, swiftly making my way to Nyx's.

"Tend to the patients first. Their safety is our most important priority. Chloe, I need you to double-check the drug counts. I don't need uncontrollable wolves hooked on prescription medication. I will call the Alpha for support to secure the hospital. There's an attack on the way, and we haven't much time to waste," I dictated as I walked into yet another thrashed room.

Nox's bed was overturned while Nyx's bed was ripped to shreds. The door to their bathroom lay on the floor next to discarded bed sheets and clothes. I quickly left the room and continued to check every door on the floor.

"Helen, Phoebe, and Ophelia start preparing the basement in case we need to move everyone to a more protective shelter. There's no timeline for war, and we are the most vulnerable part of Night Fang," I commanded as I headed toward the last door on the right, wanting to check the supplies on this level before looking for Diona elsewhere.

The old, tricky-handled refrigeration room was hidden in the darkest corner of the floor, meant to be overlooked, and held the blood of the highest-ranking officials in Night Fang. I fussed around in my pocket for the cold, iron key I always carried. It was the only copy to the lock of the dark wooden door that blended almost perfectly into the wall, the black handle the only clue to its whereabouts.

"Alpha Maddox, the hospital has be—" I began before dropping the key in shock.

"Diona?" I asked, looking at a small, unmoving lump covered in blankets in the middle of the floor.