Lucy’s POV
“The Southern border is completely compromised,” Adrianne said, leading us to the infirmary-although I had some doubts as to why corpses would have been taken there, unless it was merely for the sake of investigation. “The rest of our men had to evacuate the area immediately, or risk losing their own lives.”
“Good goddess, what is all this madness?” asked the Luna, lifting both hands into the air to lay emphasis on her rhetorical question. “It’s been barely a week since we got the first account of suspected rogues roaming the South. Now this?”
We made a sharp turn, and had to wait a little for the warrior to open a large set of doors before we could proceed further. The doors led to another hallway, but this one had a distinct look to it.
The floors were pristine, and the faint smell of rubbing alcohol filled my nose as we proceeded. People wearing white walked back and forth with hurried steps, while some moved people on small, movable beds into rooms.
One woman in particular emerged from one of the rooms situated in the hall and pressed herself to the wall, sobbing terribly. Her white had been stained with scarlet, and even her hands were covered in blood. The sounds she made were heart-wrenching, even though I didn’t understand what had made her so sad.
When she saw us approaching, she straightened up and tried to put up an unaffected front, but her bloodshot eyes and splotchy face told us otherwise.
She bowed to the Luna. “My Luna.”
The woman looked down at the medical personnel, and touched her shoulder gently. The moment her hand made contact with the white of the subordinate’s attire, she started to cry again.
“Marissa, I’m so sorry about what happened. I’ll make sure he gets a befitting burial fit for a brave soul such as himself.”
Marissa shut her eyes tightly and nodded, pressing her jaw together as a way to somehow stop her sobs from getting beyond her chest. “Thank you my . . . Luna.” A sharp sob followed, breaking free of her internal cage.
My heart broke for this stranger. Likely, one of the dead had been a loved one, and now, she would have to live for the rest of her life in mourning.
Shaun’s hand found mine, and squeezed gently. I turned to him, wondering how I would have felt if such a thing happened to him. When the thought brought a sharp jolt of wild fear into my heart, I pushed the thought away. The answer was as clear as day.
It would shatter me completely.
We moved on from the crying woman and entered the room she came out of. There, we were met with a gruesome sight that immediately had my stomach lurching with disgust.
The overhead lights attached to the ceiling were bright and brilliant, providing sufficient lighting to the room, but if they had been a little dimmer, I would have preferred that. There were some things that didn’t need to be seen so clearly.
Still, I couldn’t bring myself to turn away from the three stretchers, which each held a covered body. Adrianne went over to them and opened the black nylon sheets which had been used to cover them up, revealing the mutilated bodies underneath.
The Luna brought her hand up to her lips as she gasped. “Good grief.” She went closer to them, assessing their great wounds and injuries. “What manner of beasts could have done such a thing?”
All three of the scouts were in various states of severe disfiguration. One in particular had deep gashes etched into the flesh of his face, which would have made even identification of his features difficult. A huge chunk of flesh was absent from his shoulder, and a gaping hole stared at us from the centre of his chest.
Adrianne pointed to him. “As you can already tell, he got the worst treatment out of the three. I’m not sure why, but I’ll do a follow-up with the only surviving scout.”
The Luna looked up sharply. “Someone survived?”
“Barely, but yes. However, she’s currently unconscious. The medics are doing everything they can to aid her condition.”
“It’s that critical?”
Adrianne nodded. “She would have died if not for one of the farmers who found her. If he had been any moment later, she would definitely have met the same fate as these three.”
“Have you spoken to the farmer?”
“His farm is quite a distance from the border, so it’s unlikely he saw anything else. But we will definitely be investigating him further.”
“Good, leave no stone unturned,” the Luna said, sighing. She shook her head as she regarded the deceased scouts once again, before she closed them up. “May the souls of these ones find rest in Selene’s bosom.”
–
“You can’t leave at this moment, don’t you see what’s happening? It’s extremely dangerous out there, and I will not have my nephews risking their lives,” the Luna objected.
“Aunt, it is incredibly important we return to Moongrowl as soon as possible. We weren’t meant to even stay here for more than a few days,” said Shaun.
We had returned to the meeting chambers after visiting the dead. Shaun had immediately brought up the notion that we had to return to Moongrowl as soon as possible to see how things were going within the pack.
“Did you not see what happened to those scouts, Shaun? They weren’t merely killed, they were put to gruesome, torturous deaths-ripped apart like flimsy fabric. And you want to return to Moongrowl? Passing through the very danger that we are trying to isolate?”
“You’re exaggerating a little. The south isn’t as close as you think it is to the trail we used. Besides, we know what to expect, and we’ll be more alert.”
“No, you’ll get yourselves killed. Why are you so stubborn?”
“And you are being overprotective, Aunt. This is a matter of life and death, as you have well stated, but what happens to the people of our own pack? We need to get back and put systems in place to protect ourselves. There’s only so much my proxy can do before things get overwhelming.”
“I’m sorry, Shaun, but there’s absolutely no way you’re leaving here until we’ve better understood what’s happening.” She stood from her chair, eyes blazing with relentless resolve.”This is for your own good.”
“You can’t keep us here!” said Shaun, voice deepened with impatience.
“Your mother told me a long time ago that if anything ever happened to her, I was to make sure that her sons were kept safe at all costs. At the time, I thought she was joking, and laughed. I never would hae thought that fate would play such a cruel joke on us.” She moved to where Shaun sat, and leaned against the table, watching him with sad eyes. “I know you are angry, and I understand that you have to return home, but I am only doing this to keep you safe. To keep my promise to your mother.” He touched his cheek gently, and abruptly pulled away. “Once we have better knowledge of what we’re dealing with, I’ll let you leave,” she said, walking out of the room.