Luna Rising by Sloane Murphy
Chapter Thirteen
The alarm sounds seconds before an explosion rocks the foundations of the house. Levi is up in an instant with Raze and Remy at his side, wings out. Icy cold fear runs down my spine at the sounds.
Not again.
“We’ll go check it out,” Levi says before they disappear and take off into the skies. Doesn’t matter how many times I see their wings, it won’t ever not be awesome. I pull my attention from them and focus. My fear has me diverting apparently.
Roman shares a narrow-eyed look at Dad, and they stand at the same time, motioning for Maddox to join them. “We’ll go check it out too, you guys stay here.”
“I’m coming,” I tell them, and Roman nods his agreement.
“Luna—” Mom starts but I shake my head, cutting her off.
“I have to, Mom.” There’s no way I can’t. Fear or not, this is my pack. I guess this is that Alpha pull my dad keeps mentioning, but the urge to protect is overwhelming.
Creek and Kain both stand, looking ready to go to battle. “We’ll check the back perimeter.”
“I’ll stay here with these guys,” Nova tells me as I stand to follow them. I nod, looking at Mom quickly and offering her a tight nod before taking off running to catch up with the others who are sprinting toward the gates. Another explosion causes the ground to shake, followed quickly by another.
“Fucking rogues!” Roman growls as we reach the gates. Levi drops to the ground as Remy heads back toward the house. Raze sticks in the skies.
“There are at least six groups, and they’re well-coordinated. Remy spotted some people coming in from the forests, so she’s going to grab Creek and Kain and head them off. I’ll take Raze and deal with the other two coming from the back and sides. That leaves you guys to handle the three trying to breach the front.”
“We’ve got this, thanks, brother,” Roman says, clapping a hand on Levi’s shoulder before he takes off into the skies. Thunder rolls through the clouds above us as Levi’s power breaks loose, and he and Raze shoot off to the far side of the compound.
The enforcers finally reach us, and Roman starts barking out commands as gunfire starts up again. The man before me right now isn’t the man I’ve always known. No, this is the Roman Knight of legend. The warrior, the leader, that the history books talk about. This is the Alpha of Alphas coming to protect his people and lay waste to those who threaten us.
“Maddox, keep Luna safe. Both of you take out as many as you can. If you can incapacitate them without killing them, do so. “We need information if we can get it.” Roman’s orders settle over me and I nod, moving with Maddox and crouching behind a car. My fear and need to protect battle inside of me. Hiding like this doesn’t feel right.
The rogues start to filter into the compound, and my eyes go wide as I watch Roman become the man of legend. He fights like no other Lycan I’ve ever seen. It’s literally like brutal and bloody poetry in motion. He tears through people like they’re nothing. Obliterating any obstacle in his path.
Another explosion blasts just on the other side of us, and my ears ring as we fly forward. I groan as I try to push myself up from the ground, and I can feel the abrasions on my back from the rubble that hit me. I can feel the sticky warmth of blood running down the small of my back, and I grit my teeth through the pain. There are far more important things to worry about right now.
My arms shake as I continue to push my way up. They almost buckle beneath me when I glance around. Maddox. Panic sets in when I don’t spot him.
Where the fuck is Maddox? He was right next to me.
I push myself up off the ground, screaming when I realize my leg is, at best, fractured, at worst, broken, when I try to put my weight on it. But that doesn’t matter right now. What matters is figuring out where the fuck Maddox is. The longer it takes me to fully stand, the better my leg feels. I can’t focus on the pain or the rapid healing, not when I can’t fucking hear anything over the ringing in my ears.
The panic over my lost friend only abates at the sudden, sharp sting I feel on my arm. I glance down to see that I’m bleeding from a new, gaping wound.
Shit, I think I got shot.
I shake my head, trying to clear it of the overwhelmingly fuzzy feeling that’s taking hold. Goddamn, I wish my ears would fucking clear. I close my eyes for a nano-second, urging my accelerated healing to work where I need it most.
Sound starts coming back to me slowly, building from a low din to an absolute fucking cacophony. Screams, gunfire, and the sound of battle ping against my consciousness, but all I manage to do is spin in a wild circle. My heart palpitates with a painful, heavy beat in my chest, panic and adrenaline warring for control inside of me. After a moment of sheer panic, I hear my name being called.
I spin around, eyes searching frantically, to find Maddox pinned beneath the car we were hiding behind.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!
I sprint to him while he grunts his frustration. He pushes against the car, muscles straining against the weight of the car on top of him. He clenches his jaw, and the muscles in his neck and shoulders bulge with his effort. After a long moment of pushing against the car to no avail, he loosens his muscles and growls toward me, “Help get this thing off of me.”
I help him lift the car, my own muscles screaming in protest. The adrenaline and panic duo comes in clutch, though, and between the two of us, we manage to lift the car enough to get him out from under it. Maddox drags himself up before pulling me into his arms. Only a moment passes before he drags me away from the gates and out of the area in general. We take cover behind a building, and he scans my body, as if reassuring himself that I’m okay.
Other than the blood pouring from my arm, I’m good—my leg has healed quickly and the pain in my back is a distant memory. I glance down at the wound on my arm, and I just know that the bullet had to be obsidian because the bleeding isn’t slowing. And obsidian bullets mean the bleeding isn’t going to stop on its own. He doesn’t need to know that right now though. There are more pressing issues at hand. Including the third group of Lycans Levi warned us about at the gate, though I don’t think they’ve breached yet. It’s already chaos in the streets, but it would be absolute bedlam with yet another group of Lycans through the gate.
What I can’t wrap my mind around is just how many Lycans there are here. How did this many slip through the net? Are they all from one pack or have multiple banded together?
Maddox ducks around the side of the building, assessing the situation before pulling me out far enough to get a read on the gate. “We need to help out our dads,” Maddox says as he points toward the mind-numbing amount of Lycans at the gates facing Dad and the enforcers. My heart beats in my throat. Fuck, that’s a whole lot of people.
Thunder and lightning crackle through the sky, pulling my attention solidly away from the gate. I look up to see Remy linking hands with Levi and Raze. My mouth falls open when a torrent of crackling, white fire emanates in the sky around them. The Angels attack the group at the gate from above at the same time that Creek and Kain join the fray on the ground, racing in with no weapons needed. Creek’s eyes are pure black as shadows seep from his hands, and Kain is lethal enough with his hands. I don’t envy the fools on the other side of any of that group’s powers.
“I’m not sure they need our help, but let’s see if we can’t help the wounded,” I say as our dads, the enforcers, and Remy’s family handle the absolute fuck out of the group at the gate. He nods, agreeing with my quick assessment before we launch ourselves into the madness around us. Maddox follows my lead, helping me quickly triage those that we can and pulling those who need more help away from the craziness of what’s happening around us.
It feels like we’ve been out here forever, fighting for our home and pack mates, but we can’t have been out here more than twenty minutes.
Insanity and chaos, that is what this day has dwindled down to.
I work tirelessly, triaging wound after wound. I get lost in the work, trying desperately to help my people in a moment that feels hopeless. My focus is singular, and I don’t look up until I hear Maddox.
“Luna!” he cries out my name as he dives for me, and my world tilts all over again
The gunshot rings out loudly, practically deafening me as we hit the ground.
Shit.
“Maddox!”
* * *
I see another flash of light, followed by a scream, just as I manage to roll an unresponsive Maddox off of me. I clamber up, assessing the wound with shaking hands as my eyes threaten to tear up. I sniff back the tears. This is not the time to lose my shit.
Blood pours from a gaping wound on his chest, and my heart all but stops in my own.
He saved me.
He has to be okay.
Shit, fuck. Shit!!!
I push down on the wound in his chest as Remy and Levi reach me. Tears stain my vision. He can’t die. Those bullets are obsidian, and he’s a Lycan. I don’t know if his Angel blood is going to be enough to save him, but I have to have hope. The other option is far too bleak.
“We’ve got him, Luna,” Levi says softly. I shake my head, mouthing mute words as I press against the wound on his chest. Fuck, this is so not okay. Levi pulls me out of the way and Remy rushes toward her son, knocking me out of the way in her haste.
I stumble in the exchange, but a pair of arms catch me before I fall. The ‘thank you’ I’m prepared to offer dies on my lips when I see that it’s Jackson who’s caught me. Jackson, the same man who can barely stand to look at me, kept me from hitting my ass. I try to wrench out of his grasp as I assess the rest of the scene—the gunfire has all but stopped at this point, and with Remy and Levi free to care for Maddox, I can only guess that the fight is pretty much over. I need to get to Dad to make sure he’s okay.
Jackson hasn’t let go of me, though, so I try to wrench away from him again. He has a tight grip on my arm. “We need to get you to Doc,” he all but growls at me. Your arm isn’t healing.”
“My arm can wait,” I snap back at him, and he shakes me.
“Your friend has help,” he snarls. “I was given the responsibility, yet again, of making sure you stay alive, so we’re going to Doc.”
“Doc needs to work on Maddox, you fucking idiot,” I scream at him, unable to calm my racing heart as Roman arrives. He looks like he’s going to end worlds at the sight of his son bleeding out on the pavement.
Levi lifts Maddox from the ground and takes off with him at a run with Raze at his side. Remy holds Roman, tears sluicing over her grief-stricken face.
“What the fuck happened?” Roman demands, looking right at me. There isn’t any accusation in his glare, but I feel guilt spear my gut anyway.
“I don’t know, we were going to help people once Levi and Remy arrived with Raze. The fight looked like it was in hand, so we turned our attention to the injured. He screamed my name out of nowhere, and he jumped on top of me as I heard the gunshot.” I only barely manage to get the words out, and my voice shakes the entire time. All my words do is fuel Roman’s rage.
“Who shot him?”
Fuck, I don’t know.
“That guy,” Jackson pipes up, motioning to a man that Thatch has on his knees a few feet away at gunpoint.
“Roman,” Remy warns, putting a hand on his arm. It’s like a wave of calm comes over him at her touch, his face slackens, and his muscles loosen, but fury and pain are still so very obvious in his eyes.
“Roman, leave the Lycan with us and go check on Maddox,” Kain commands as he and Creek step forward. I hadn’t even noticed them arrive, but relief floods my entire being at the sight of them. If Remy and her men have left the fight, it’s all but over.
Roman looks at him and nods once, stiffly, before taking off with Remy at his side toward the med building.
Creek and Kain offer me tight nods before moving toward where my father stands in the distance, barking orders at the enforcers closest to him. In one moment, I was surrounded by a group of people who love me dearly, and now I’m left with Jackson. The surly man who still has me held firmly in his grip. How the fuck did this happen? “If you won’t let me take you to the doc, I’ll stitch you up myself. Come on.”
“I’m fine,” I say emphatically and try to pull away from him once more. The man has a grip of steel, apparently, because no matter how much I pull against him, he doesn’t budge. “Let me go check on Maddox. I need to know that he’s okay.”
“He has enough people checking on him, and I’m sure someone will give you an update. If you bleed out, your dad will kill me. So let’s just skip the dramatics, shall we?” He half drags me through the chaos to the guards’ rooms in the business center and pulls me into their first aid room. He doesn’t say a word to me and just shoves me into a chair and glares at me before rummaging through the cupboards.
“I’ll be fine, honestly,” I say, standing with every intention of heading toward the door. Really my arm isn’t bleeding that much. I’m sure I’ll be fine—Maddox is the only thing on my mind right now. I can’t believe that fucking idiot took a bullet for me.
“I swear to all the gods and Fates, Luna. Sit your fucking ass down.” His growl vibrates through the room, and while I might normally bristle at the command, tonight I’m tired. The gruff timbre of the command makes my ass plant back down on the chair, but I sit and seethe about him speaking to me as if I’m a petulant child. I’m over here fucking terrified that Maddox isn’t going to make it, and this jackass is being a dick.
He comes over with a first aid kit in his hand. Jackson doesn’t look at me as he pulls another chair close and begins rustling through the kit. Alcohol swabs, bandages, and tools make their way out of the bag in record time, and I barely have time to brace myself before he starts cleaning up the blood. He pulls a hiss out of me when the alcohol wipe touches the edges of the wound. “You’re lucky. It’s only a graze.”
Well, isn’t he just the king of understatements, but if it gets me out of here faster, he can call the gaping wound a graze. “I already told you I was fine.”
“You’re not fine. Now stop being a brat while I stitch you up; otherwise you’re going to have a gnarly scar,” he scolds, and I settle against the chair, trying to encourage him to get this over with quickly. I wince when the small obsidian needle pierces my skin and hiss between my teeth. I find it ironic that I have to be fixed with obsidian for an obsidian wound, since my skin would just heal around a standard needle, but I also know the suture string was provided by the Witches and helps us to heal quicker.
It doesn’t take him very long to stitch me up, but it still feels like an eternity. By the time he’s done, I’m practically vibrating to get to Maddox.
My legs tense as he ties off the final stitch, and my fingers flex around the edge of the chair’s seat when he cuts the needle away from the shiny magic-laced thread. “Off you go, run along,” he says once he’s finished studying his handiwork.
I jump from the chair and rush toward the door, pivoting to face him just before I leave. When I turn back toward Jackson, I find him watching me as I step through the door. “Thank you for stitching me up.”
He offers me a curt nod before I turn around and haul ass to the med building.
If Maddox dies because of me... I’ll never forgive myself.
* * *
By the time I reach the med building, Maddox is in a room with Levi, Doc, and a Witch that Remy called. The rest of us are left in the waiting area, holding out impatiently for a scrap of news. I am strangely calm, it's like all sensation has left my body except for the guilt gnawing at my chest. It’s why I sit away from Remy and her family. I won’t take comfort in their presence when this is all my fault.
It feels like a literal eon passes before the door opens and Levi appears. “He’s going to be okay.” I wheeze out a breath, and all the calm I felt melts away as relief hits me like a train. “The bullet just barely grazed his heart. We were able to extract it, and with Rebel’s help, I managed to heal most of the deep tissue problems. She’s finishing up with Doc now, and then they’ll start stitches. He’ll need some rest; and while shifting might be advantageous for him, I think he needs at least twenty-four hours of human rest first so we can keep an eye on him.”
“Oh, thank fuck,” Roman says, heaving out a shuddery breath and sliding down a wall until he’s sitting on the ground. Remy races across the room to sit with him, whispering quietly enough to him that I couldn’t hear her even if I tried.
Levi heads back into the room, and I slump back in my chair. Thank fuck he’s okay.
I don’t know if the world, or the realms, would survive Remington Bennett losing a child. And if I was the reason for it… I’d accept every bit of punishment she meted out.
Remy stands first before offering Roman a hand up, and even though I know the Lycan doesn’t need it, he still leans on his mate, allowing her to pull him to his feet. I suck in my own shuddery breath as they move across the room, huddled closely together, and pop their heads around the door of Maddox’s room. My heart beats against my ribcage as they back out of the room and close the door behind them..
Kain and Creek drop by and chat quietly with Remy before announcing they’re going back to the house to check on the others, and Remy manages to get Roman to agree to leave too. I stay firmly planted in my seat as I watch the family trickle out little by little.
This is all my fault, and I’m not going anywhere until I see that he’s alive with my own damn eyes. My phone buzzes in my pocket, and as much as I want to ignore it and stare lasers through the door to his room, I know that won’t actually help anyone or anything.
Nova: Is he okay?
Me: Everyone says so, but I’m waiting to see him myself.
Nova: Are you okay?
Me: No fucking idea, I’ll work that out later. I just need to know he’s okay first.
Nova: What happened?
Me: He saved me and got himself shot instead of me. This is all my fault.
Nova: This is not your fault. He was the one playing hero. I mean, I’m glad you’re both okay, but this isn’t even close to your fault, Luna.
Nova: I know you’re not going to listen to me, so I’m not going to waste my breath beating it into you. Do you want me to come wait with you?
Me: You don’t have to
Nova: Shut up, bish. I’m on my way.
I slide my phone back into my pocket, barely able to focus on anything other than the door to Maddox’s room. Time passes in a crawl, the minutes moving like molasses as I wait for the chance to see my best friend. I’m singularly focused on the door to his room and don’t notice Nova entering the waiting room until she’s in front of me.
“Hey,” she says as she slides into the seat beside me, startling me out of my stupor. “Oh shit, you got shot?”
“Yeah, Jackson stitched me up before he’d let me come here. It was just a graze though,” I tell her, only half paying attention. I bounce my foot impatiently, and my stomach knots as I wait for Levi to reappear.
From the corner of my eye, I can just make out the look of shock that falls over her face at my blasé response to her question. I love her even more for her silence at that moment. Nova could say any number of things about Jackson being the one to stitch me up, but she simply takes my hand and waits with me quietly.
I can’t help but watch the clock even though it only makes the time pass that much more slowly. After thirty minutes, there’s still no sign of Levi, and I can’t wait anymore. As I jump to my feet, the door swings open, stopping me in my tracks. A tired looking Levi walks out with a golden-skinned woman who looks a bit older than me, who I’m guessing is Rebel. Her dark eyes look concerned and my stomach flips. They don’t pay a bit of attention to me and Nova on the opposite side of the room.
Levi thanks her quietly, and she nods curtly before leaving the building with nothing more said between them.
“Can I see him?” I ask as soon as she’s gone, startling Levi. My heart nearly stops in my chest with the realization that I’ve startled the Archangel of War, which probably isn’t one of the most sensible things I’ve ever done.
“Sorry, Luna. I didn’t even see you,” he offers with a tight smile. Damn, I didn’t know Angels could actually look exhausted. He heads toward the exit, pausing long enough to say, “Yes, he’s still asleep, but you can sit with him if you want. I’m going to head back to the house and clean up.”
“Thank you,” I gush in the moment before he pushes through the door, shoulders sagging.
“I’m going to go see if I can help the enforcers with anything,” Nova says as she finally stands. She hugs me tightly, holding on just a second or two too long. I accept the comfort silently. “Keep me updated.”
“Always,” I tell her as I pull out of her embrace. I don’t wait for her to leave before I rush into Maddox’s room. I freeze when I catch sight of him in the bed, shirtless, bloody, and paler than I’ve ever seen him.
Shit.
He is really hurt.
“He looks worse than he is. He’s just going to need some rest. If you’re staying here with him, you need to make sure that happens,” Doc says sternly. “He has an IV drip in to help him hydrate, but if he wakes up, do not let him have water until I’ve seen him.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Okay,” she nods. “I’m going to head to my office. If you need me, or if he wakes up, you know where to find me.”
I nod and sit on the chair beside the bed where Maddox lies and take his hand.
Please, to any gods or Fates who are listening, please let him be okay.
