Moon Child

24. Rogues

I woke with a headache. I groaned as I slowly opened my eyes to a dark room. I was in Liam's room. I sighed and just relaxed as I laid there. I was tired still. I felt drained. I felt a hand on my head.

"You're awake," Liam said softly.

"Yup," I said, popping the 'p' at the end. "Did you just watch me the whole time I was out?" I asked. He shrugged.

"Had to make sure you were still breathing," he explained. I sighed before I sat up with a grunt. Liam tried to help but I waved him off.

"Will you open a window?" I asked. He jumped up quickly and threw the window open. I took a deep breath as the crisp air rolled through the room. "How's the injured rogue?" I asked. Liam moved to sit beside me again.

"He's alive... paralyzed, but alive," Liam explained. I thought about healing him more when I was stronger tomorrow.

No, that's enough. The new moon is still out and you've already done more than you were supposed to. Leave him, Aria said to me. I rolled my eyes. So that was her plan? Give Sophia a mate that she'd have to wait on hand and foot? It was evil... it was genius. Sophia would definitely have her hands tied doing everything for her mate. Oh Moon Goddess you work in mysterious ways.

"Help me get outside," I said to Liam. He cradled me and carried me easily without question. Once we reached the front door, he stopped.

"Now what?" he asked.

"Set me down in the forest," I answered. He let out a sigh before he began walking towards the trees. It was incredibly dark out, but I could see easily.

"I hope that there's a purpose to this," Liam said more to himself than to me as he stopped in a clearing and set me on my feet. I carefully laid down on the ground with my palms pressed flat into the earth. It was chilly, but I welcomed the burst of energy the wind brought. I sighed and relaxed as I felt the energy return to my body.

"I can pull energy from the earth. You can't tell anyone, but new moons weaken me," I explained with my eyes closed. I felt Liam sit beside me.

"Is that like a recent thing?" he asked. I released a breath before I shrugged.

"Since I found out who I really am," I answered. It was peaceful and quiet for a moment before I felt Liam lay beside me.

"Do you still hate me?" he asked. I thought for a moment before I sat up and looked at him. His eyes were already trained on me.

"I don't hate you," I answered. "I was disappointed and hurt and first. Then I was angry, and now I'm just... seeing where it goes," I added.

"Why won't you kiss me then?" he asked. I chuckled as I looked at the stars for a moment.

"Because of when you want to kiss me. It's always public, like you're trying to prove a point. It doesn't feel sincere; rather territorial. But if you tried to kiss me in a setting like this, where we're alone, I would be less inclined to stop you," I explained. There was a good tension in the air as his eyes met mine. He leaned forward slightly and I felt myself doing the same. We were only centimeters apart.

"Liam?! Are you out here?" Luna Addie called from the front door. He stopped and closed his eyes for a second with a breath of frustration before sitting back again.

"Yeah, mom. Dani wanted to go outside," he answered.

"We should go check on that injured rogue," I said, standing. Liam stood as well and we walked back to where Luna Addie was waiting by the door. She smiled warmly at us.

"It's dark out and with the recent rogue incident, your dad doesn't want to take any chances," Luna Addie said to Liam.

"It was my fault. I needed to reenergize," I apologized. "Can we go see the rogue?" I asked. Luna Addie hesitated.

"He's... not what you would expect," she tried to reason. I looked at Liam confused. He just shrugged.

"It's okay. mom," Liam said. She sighed before grabbing her coat.

"Alright," she said, heading towards the garage. We got in the SUV and she drove us to the infirmary. It seemed to still be busy despite the late hour. After checking in with the front desk, we went to the waiting room to wait to be called back. Mya and her mate were in there. I smiled at her immediately and hugged her.

"Hey," I greeted her. She looked like she hadn't stopped smiling since the incident in the field.

"Hey yourself," she chuckled. She moved back to stand beside her mate. "This is my mate, Carson," she introduced him. I smiled and shook his hand.

"Nice to officially meet you," I greeted him.

"Likewise," he chuckled. "I owe you a huge 'thank you' for saving my brother. Anything I can do, please let me know," he added. I waved him off.

"How is he doing?" I asked. Carson averted his eyes for a moment.

"He's... alive, but he's not taking the news of his state well," Carson explained. A nurse came into the room and smiled politely at us.

"You can see him now," she informed us. I turned back to Carson.

"I guess I'll see for myself," I joked. Liam and I followed the nurse back to a room. Immediately walking in, Sophia was sitting by his bedside with a remote in her hand while the rogue laid in the bed.

"No, no, no, no, no," he was saying as Sophia flipped through channels for him. She looked slightly annoyed. They stopped when they saw us.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, trying to break the awkward silence.

"Well let's see, I can't feel anything from the neck down. I'm paralyzed," he retorted. I blinked in surprise. Such an attitude for someone who was just on the brink of death.

"Well at least you're not dead," Liam defended me.

"Can you heal Clay again like you did in the field to make him not paralyzed?" Sophia asked. Ah, so his name was Clay. I shook my head.

"I can't," I answered. Her eyes narrowed at me.

"You can't, or you don't want to? This is you trying to get back at me, isn't it? You're still mad that I was with Liam first and he chose me over you," she snapped. Liam growled at her to back down.

"I chose my pride, not you specifically. And if it wasn't for Dani, you're mate would be dead right now, but I'm not going to let her kill herself over it. He's alive. That's all that matters. Be grateful you're not turning feral," he stopped her.

"Thank you for saving me to live a life where I can't do anything for myself," Clay said sarcastically. It was evident that they were both crawling under Liam's skin. He looked about ready to pop a blood vessel. I touched him gently to calm him down.

"You're welcome," I replied anyway. He rolled his eyes before turning his attention to Sophia.

"Go get me water. I'm thirsty. And none of that warm crap either. Use ice this time... and a straw," he ordered her. She sighed before she got up and went to the little serving area in the room. Liam and I turned and left. I couldn't help the smile that cracked through. Clay and Sophia were absolutely perfect for each other.