The Unknown

Chapter 27

Once the threat has been taken care of I look up to see both Oliver and Colton laying motionless on the floor and know I need to make a decision on who to care for first. I can tell from where I am standing that Colton is at least breathing, Oliver seems to be in way worse shape. As much as it pains me to not rush over to Colton I know that Oliver needs my attention first.

Oliver seems to be loosing a steady stream of blood out of the bullet hole in his side. He needs to get back to the pack house where some of our doctors can help him.

I shift quickly so that I will be able to communicate to the others. As soon as the shift is complete I hear many voices.

"All threats are taken care of over in the east part"

"West area is clear as well"

"Has anyone heard anything about Mia yet?"

"I'm safe but I need a medic quickly! Oliver's been shot!"

Pleased hold on Oliver, help is on the way.

Luke is the first one to us after I sent out the message. When Luke arrives I know that I can now leave Oliver and go to check on Colton.

I lay one hand on his face and the other on his chest. It brings me comfort being able to feel his chest rise and fall and being able to feel his strong heart beats.

He slowly opens his eyes and takes my hand off of his chest and squeezes it in his own hand. "We won."

I give him a small smile. He has no idea that things like this can happen at any moment. He doesn't understand how it feels to constantly be worried about being attacked or hunted. We also have no idea how many of my people have lost their lives or how many hunters got away.

The next few hours pass in a blur. Most of my pack arrive, some as wolves and others as humans. Oliver is quickly gathered up and rushed out of the room. The members who have Oliver race ahead of the rest of us to get him back to the house. We sent word back to the members who stayed at the house that we would be needing all of the doctors prepared.

In total we lost only three men and killed many hunters. Many people, while not dire, do have injures that need to be attended.

My father ran ahead with the group who carried Oliver while I stayed back with Luke to make sure everyone else got home safely. Colton makes sure to stick by me, stopping when I stop and pulling forward when I do. He must know that he is not in the best position to stray too far from the one person who actual cares what happens to him. He is also the only human in the group since everyone, including myself, chose to make the journey back home as our wolf.

Colton is unknowingly the center of our talk.

"I say we should keep him as a prisoner. He knows too much about our pack and how we run to let him go free" Luke mumbles. "I'm not saying we should kill him, I'm not cruel. We can make sure he is taken care of but he will always be under our watch."

As much as I hate to think about him being considered a prisoner I know that I will have to do something so that it doesn't look like I am incapable of running my pack. "When we get back to that pack I will have him taken to a room where he will be watched until a decision had been made. He will not be harmed under any circumstances."

Some mumble in agreement with my decision while others snicker in disapprovement.

A few of the warriors glance at Colton and give a low growl which sends Colton taking a step closer to me. They do not agree with me protecting him. While they don't know that Colton was raised by a hunter, they do know that the man that shot Oliver and that I killed was someone Colton knew. This also means that people will likely blame Jessica for the events that have taken place in the last few months.

Colton lightly grabs some of the fur on my shoulder out of fear which brings me out of my thoughts. One of the warriors is still growling at Colton which caused a few other members to back away.

Frustrated and tired I let out a soft growl of my own as a warning. The warrior instantly stops and lowers his head to the ground. He knows his place. Even though I am younger and smaller than him, I still hold power over him.

Avery comes toughing up to me and rubs her face on the side of my face, "I missed you and I don't know what I would have done if anything happened to you."

"I wouldn't have gone down without a fight"

She lowers her thoughts to that of a whisper so that only I can hear her, "So what up with you two? I know there is more going on than what you are letting on. I'm pretty sure everyone can see something is up by the way he is clenching on to you."

I sigh, "I'll tell you when we get back to the pack house and I know that our family is getting the medical treatment that they need."

The rest of the walk back is pretty quiet besides a few crying over the lose of a member. The dead were carried back with my father and the group with Oliver. No one dares say anything more about Colton and the role he may or may not have played in the attack tonight.

When we arrive back at the pack house people immediately shift back to find their loved ones who have gathered at the house to let them know that they mad it back safely. Others wonder off to find a medical person to patch them up.

Colton is forced to let go of my fur that he has been clinging to for most of the walk back because I shift back into human form. I squeeze his hand then let go as I nod to Luke. He is one of the only people that I trust at this moment to not harm Colton.

Luke walks up to us and softly places he hand on Colton's arm. He slowly leads him in the direction of the pack house. Many people are still at the pack house since a lot of parents chose to keep their children in there when the other packs were under attack. Many of the elderly stayed as well. The room that Colton had previously been staying in is now being used as one of the three rooms that have been set aside for the families of the fallen. With no where to really hold Colton until I have time to meet with him to get his side of the story, I tell Luke to place him in my room.

At first Luke does not seem to like the idea of Colton being left in my room alone but after I explain that there simply were no other rooms to keep him isolated and that he wouldn't truly be alone, he warms up to the idea. I tell Luke to stay with Colton and to not let others in the room until I get there, whenever that will be. I don't want any members taking his fate into their own hands and harming him. I trust Luke with my life and know that he will follow me until the day he dies just like Oliver.

Oliver. I hope that he makes it through this.

I go up to the closet member that had remained at the house, "Where's my father?"

"He's down in the clinic I think", Mumbles the young boy who seems to be waiting for his father.

I can't leave him looking terrified. I bend down to his level and pull him into a hug, "Zachary, the fighting is over for now. Your daddy is coming. He is in the back making sure everyone makes it home."

I feel his hands tighten on me before he screams from happiness and runs into the arms of one of the men.

His dad nods a thank you to me as he picks up the little boy.

I am now able to hurry down to the clinic to check on my Beta.

When I walk into the room the first thing that I see is Oliver hooked up to machines and his dad, Alan, holding his hand. I can tell he is sleeping because his chest rises and falls in a nice even pace.

"He will live" my father speaks up from the other side of the room.

I let out the breath that I had been holding.

My father walks to me and places his hand on my shoulder, "He needs to rest. You can come back up later to visit. Mia, I'm glad that you are safe but I believe we need to go have a talk with our guest."

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So there are only about five more chapters after this. I just wanted to give a heads up.