The Shadow of a Luna
Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Chapter 12

TYLER POV

I bought Tessa home from the hospital a week ago and since then, she hasn’t left my bedroom. She either sleeps all day or she’s in the bathtub or shower. That’s all she does. She doesn’t talk very often. I get food delivered up to the room for her but I noticed that she only takes little nibbles out of bits of it but that’s it.

She’s becoming a shadow of the women that I once knew and it was staring to scare me. Other were concerned about her but I was making excuses for Tessa because she refused to see anyone.

I know that this had been happening for so long in her life, but she concealed it. She hid it and just lived her life pretending like it wasn’t happening. But she couldn’t do that now. Everyone knew what had happened to her and they had never tried to kill her like that before. But it kills me sleeping in the same bed with her every night and not being able to touch her. And I don’t mean anything bad, just being able to put my arm around her. That’s all I want. Me and my wolf need that. But she’s too fragile and I can’t push her.

If I push her too hard then I might loose her for good. And there was no way that either of us were going to risk that.

I went to the conference room where Cade, Carter, Parker, Ethan, Wyatt and Tobias were all waiting for me.

"Thanks for meeting me here. There’s only one thing that I want to discuss with you. The attack on Blood Moon Pack. I’m sorry Ethan, but I’m taking your father down." I asserted with no room for argument.

"I’ll be right there to help you." Ethan says without batting an eye.

"Alright. We need to know how to get into the territory and take out the warriors and get to the packhouse. Our main objectives are Alpha Matthias and Beta Danny. Their the ones that are going to die. No matter what." I demanded.

"When an Alpha kills another Alpha, he usually takes over that pack and absorbs it into his own pack. Is that what you plan to do?" Wyatt asks.

"No. Once Matthias is dead, the pack is Ethan’s. I don’t want the pack. I just want him dead. I want his Beta dead. I want any warrior dead that was more than just a warrior like those bastards we have in our dungeon." I demanded.

"I can help with that. I was the head warrior there. I know how they work. Matthias has probably tried to change things up now that he knows I’m not there, but he wouldn’t know the first thing about setting up patrols or protecting the territory. I was the one that was in charge of all of that." Tobias says.

"Well, you are going to be very valuable to us here. How many warriors deserve death on site?" I asked.

"Probably half. But you guys will have trouble telling them apart in their wolf forms." Tobias says.

"Alright. When we attack, try not to kill the warriors. When they are in human form Tobias can point out the bastards that deserve to be thrown in the dungeon and then Ethan can deal with them accordingly." I state. And they all nod. " How many warriors does Blood Moon pack have?" I asked.

"Honestly, 150." Tobias says and I stood there staring at him like I was waiting for the punchline. Like I was waiting for the joke. " Matthias uses his reputation and the size of his pack as leverage. So that no one else will attack. And no one has ever attacked because they think that his army is huge. When really, it’s tiny." Tobias explained.

"That pack has over 1000 pack members and you’re telling me that there are only 150 warriors protecting them." I say.

"Yeah. Exactly. Basically, we could walk onto that territory using the main road and there isn’t a whole lot he can do to stop us." Tobias says.

"How many warriors do you have?" Wyatt asked.

"530." I respond and they looked at each other like Matthias didn’t stand a chance. And I honestly don’t believe that he does stand a chance.

"Well, even if they are outnumbered I don’t want to be unprepared for anything. We are going in with a plan and we are going to stick to that plan and make sure it is executed with precision. Parker, alert all warriors that we will be meeting in the meeting hall tonight after dinner. We’re gonna start planning this." I ordered him.

"Yes Alpha." Parker responded.

When I left the conference room I went upstairs to my bedroom but Tessa wasn’t in bed like she usually was. I heard something in the bathroom and the door was open a crack so I stood there listening to Tessa mumbling something to herself.

"Their still on me. I’m dirty. I’m disgusting. I can feel them. Their still on me." She kept mumbling to herself. So I slowly pushed the door open and she was sitting in the bathtub and the water was so hot that her skin was the color of a beetroot and there was steam coming off the water and she was scrubbing her skin raw with a brush.

"Holy shit Tessa." I said. And it snapped her out of her daze and she dropped the brush.

I rushed over to her and I put my hand in the water but jerked it back immediately because I wasn’t prepared for how hot it was. But I put my hand back in the water and pulled the plug and I pulled Tessa out of the water and put her on the floor of the bathroom and wrapped the towel around her.

I could still feel the heat off of her skin through the towel but I saw a tear falling down her face and I pulled her to my chest as she started crying.

"I can’t get them off of me. My skin is crawling. It won’t stop. I can’t get them off." She sobbed out. And I exhaled and rubbed her back.

I eventually got her back to the bedroom and I helped her get dressed and I mindlinked Dr. Missy to come to the packhouse immediately.

I stayed with Tessa until Missy arrived and I explained everything to her in the hallway and then she went into the bedroom and shut the door and I stayed in the hallway. I wasn’t going anywhere. There was obviously a lot more going on inside Tessa’s mind then I thought.

I assumed it was just simple depression which she had every right to have since the attack. And I was just being supportive of her. But after today, there’s definitely more going on. And we needed to get to bottom of it. I really miss the girl that she used to be. I hate what they have done to her.

When Missy finally came out of the bedroom she looked upset and disturbed.

"Well, it took a bit but I finally got Tessa to start talking to me. She’s got all the signs of depression and social anxiety. She fears public events at the moment because she’s afraid that she’ll be the topic of conversation. And let’s face it, that’s not unfounded. She would be. She is usually stronger than this but this is a different pack and she actually hates herself for feeling this way. She used to hold her head high and now she feels like she can’t because she’s in a different territory and a different pack and she thinks that they won’t accept her now. Because of what happened." Missy explained.

"Well, I can see where she’s coming from but that’s not right. No one in this pack will reject her. They are all worried about her." I say.

"I know that. But these thoughts are irrational to us but make they make sense to her. And there is nothing wrong with that. Anxiety is an irrational disease. It doesn’t make sense but it’s very real. I also believe that she’s suffering from some sort of Psychosis. What you saw in the bath, she can actually feel her skin crawl. She’s trying to make it stop but obviously, she can’t because there’s nothing there. It’s all in her mind. I’ve given her medication to deal with all these issues. And it’s not the typical crap that doctor pedal on patients to get them out of their office. This is the good stuff. She should start to feel like herself again withing 24 to 48 hours. Hopefully sooner, but you need to make sure that she takes them every day." Missy explained.

"Where are the pills now? Did you leave them with her?" I asked.

"They’re on the bedside table. She just took one of each pill. So, she won’t need any more until tomorrow. Make sure that she takes them." Missy repeated again.

"I will. Thank you very much Missy." I say.

"If you need anyone to talk to then you know where I am. Victims of this kind of trauma are not just the victims. They are also the victims families. Sometimes they need someone to talk to as well." She said.

"I’ll keep that in mind. But I’m alright. I am." I said.

After Missy left I went into the bedroom and Tessa was sitting up in the bed just looking out the window to her side and I went and sat on the bed beside her. But not to close to scare her or anything. And I saw the pills sitting on the table next to her.

"Do you want anything to eat?" I asked.

"No. Thank you." She says looking down at her arms. And where she had scrubbed the skin off. But now that there was no wolfsbane in her system I knew that she would heal pretty quickly.

Tessa took a deep breath and then she turned to look at me.

"I’m sorry." She said just above a whisper.

"Sorry. What are you sorry for?" I asked.

"For everything. I know that I’ve been a pain in the ass." She says.

"You have definitely not been a pain in the ass." I assure her.

"Missy told me that I need to talk to you about everything that I am feeling. Instead of keeping it to myself. So, I’m gonna try. But it’s not easy." She explained.

"You can tell me anything. You know that." I said.

"No Alpha or pack wants a damaged Luna. They need someone strong and I don’t feel like that’s me anymore. They broke me that night. And I don’t know how to put myself back together. It was easier when I was younger because no one knew about it. But now, everyone knows about it and are talking about it. So, I know that you being the Alpha needs to do what is best for the pack." She explained. " If you reject me then I will leave and that will probably be best for the pack." She finished. But I sat there listening to the whole thing and taking my time to answer her when she finished.

"Yeah. I’m not gonna do that." I say casually and she looked at me weird. " I’m not rejecting you. You’re my mate. You belong her. And if any pack member has a problem with that then they can leave. What happened to you was not your fault, you did nothing wrong and no one is talking about it. They do know about it, but I have ordered them to mind their own fucking business because they wouldn’t appreciate everyone talking about it if it happened to them. But the most I have gotten from the pack is that they want to see you. Your friends want to see you. Bella is worried sick." I explained.

"I forgot that she was here." She said.

"Bella, Ethan, Wyatt and Tobias are all here. They never left after the rogue attack. They helped us then and they are helping us now. We’re taking down your old pack. Matthias and Daniel are dead. We are going to kill them." I say. And for the first time in ages it looked like she had a little twinkle in her eye. Only a very little one.

"You’re gonna kill my dad?" She asked.

"Yeah. He doesn’t deserve to live. God knows who he is abusing now that you’re not there. He needs to be stopped. Do you have a problem with that?" I asked. And she paused for a moment.

"No. I don’t. I want him dead. Does that make me a horrible person?" I asked.

"Absolutely not. You’re not a horrible person. They are. And your father should have been stopped years ago if anyone had the guts to stand up to him." I say to her.

I saw her take a deep breath as another tear fell from her eye and I slowly leaned over and wiped it away with my thumb and I caressed her cheekbone with my thumb and felt all those familiar sparks that I once felt before the attack. And before I knew it she had moved closer to me and rest her head against my chest.

I couldn’t help but smile and I rubbed her back with my hand calming her and myself. And I could feel her physically relax in my arms. It was something that I had been craving for a week. Just this small intimate contact. That was all I really wanted right now. Well, obviously I wanted more. I am a man after all, but no, I can’t go there. No way in hell can I go there. I could definitely settle for this. _{fre.eweb novel\.c om}

I told Tessa about the meeting with the warriors after dinner that night but she said that she still wasn’t ready to see anyone. So we had dinner bought up to the room again and we ate together tonight. Usually she eats alone and I’m in the dining room with everyone else. But tonight she wanted me to stay with her.

We sat at the table on the far side of the room and she had her feet on the chair with her knees against her chest while she was picking through her food. But I noticed that it was taking her a while to eat, but she was eating more than she had been in the last week.

She put on The Big Bang Theory to watch and I can honestly say that I had never been interested in that TV show. I always thought it was a little lame. But Tessa said that she liked it so we put it on and she started watching it.

I had to admit it, it was actually pretty funny. Like, laugh out loud funny. I could see why she liked it. She wasn’t laughing out loud but I saw a small smile on her face occasionally with the really funny parts. I could definitely accept that.

After dinner I needed to go to the meeting hall and I told all the warriors that we were attacking the Blood Moon pack. And they all cheered. I think they were waiting for this news. This was something that they obviously wanted.

"They are a large pack but apparently, they have very few warriors. Only about 150. So, getting to the Alpha won’t worry us at all. Even if he is training more warriors now knowing that we have his head warrior then they still won’t be ready in time. Once we get a game plan in place then we will work out when we will attack. But I can guarantee you, it will be within the next week. And Ethan will be taking over that pack. And I believe that we will have a strong alliance with that pack as long as Ethan is in control." I explained.

"Absolutely." Ethan agreed.

So we started coming up with strategies and brainstorming. But most people said to just charge them because we could get through the warriors with no troubles. But I explained how we were going to try not to kill the warriors. Ethan is going to deal with the ones that needed to be dealt with.

"Alpha, please tell me to mind my own business if you see fit. I was just wondering how our Luna was doing?" A warrior asked.

"You’re not out of line. You’re concerned for your Luna?" I asked.

"We all are. What they did to her is unforgivable." He said.

"Well, she might be on the mend. I hope she is. But it’s going to take a long time before she’s back to somewhat normal." I explain.

"Of course. Just let her know that we’re all thinking of her and can’t wait for her to start ruling as our Luna." He says and I smile at that.

I walked pack the packhouse with the others and I felt completely exhausted and felt like it had been a really long day. But I guess that’s what you get when you’re planning a war. But we needed as much rest as possible before a battle.

As we were approaching the packhouse we heard a gunshot go off, BANG and we all froze dead in our spots when we heard another one BANG. And my worst fears were running through my head. Tessa wasn’t getting better at all. She just told me all of that before she ended her life. My wolf was going crazy in my head and I started moving without even realizing it. Running towards the packhouse and slamming open the door to see plenty of other scared faces around the house.