Jax P.O.V.

I had been enjoying a nice date with Valerian. We watched a movie, had dinner, and were in my room at the pack house making out when the doorbell rang. I let out frustrated groan and pulled my shirt back on before heading downstairs to answer the door. I plastered on a smile and a cheerful voice when I opened the door and saw Luna’s parents standing there.

“Good Evening Alpha Wyatt and Luna Claris, What can I do for you?”

They both gave polite smiles as I moved out of the door and let them inside. We went to the living room and sat down just before Valerian came waltzing in the room with his shirt messily buttoned back together. I averted my eyes as Titus, my wolf, decided to let out a low growl of approval. Valerian walked over and sat next to me with a smile.

“Good Evening, who might this be?”

Luna Claris greeted Valerian and then asked me. I could feel my cheeks heat up and knew I was blushing slightly. Valerian let out a chuckle before he put his hand out to shake Alpha Wyatt’s hand and kiss the back of Luna Claris before he answered.

“I am Valerian ma’am.”

He said with a slight southern twang. I loved hearing that voice of his and got distracted for a moment. Alpha Wyatt and Luna Claris both smiled and waited for my reply. Valerian nudged my side with a low chuckle.

“Sorry..I spaced out there for a moment..”

I said as I took a hand and rubbed the back of my neck.

“Valerian is my mate…and the EMT that brought Luna in to the hospital.”

I said after a moments pause. Alpha Wyatt and Luna Claris both smiled wide and looked at Valerian in awe

“Thank you for saving our daughter young man.”

Alpha Wyatt said with thankfulness shining in his eyes.

“Ah, It was nothing, Was just doin’ my job sir.”

Valerian said with a huge smile on his face. I smiled as well before resting my arm around his shoulders. He leaned closer so that his body was resting against mine and I knew I was blushing even more. Titus was wagging his tail in my mind at the close contact. Alpha Wyatt and Luna Claris both smiled still as they stared at us. The silence had started to become awkward so I decided to see if I could help them.

“So, Is there anything I can help you with Alpha Wyatt?”

I asked.

Alpha Wyatt nodded as his face became serious again.

“We would like to see our daughter Beta. I know that your Alpha is her mate and needed time to bond with her, but we haven’t seen her for 16 years.”

He said firmly. I nodded and picked up my phone that was on the coffee table.

“Let me call Alpha and ask him.”

I said then dialed Alpha’s number to call it. I had the phone on speaker so they would hear what he had to say right away. After two rings Alpha answered with a short

“What?”

I noticed his aggravation in his tone as he spoke.

“Alpha, Luna’s parents would like to see her.”

I said wondering what was going on. We all heard him growl before he responded with a huff

“Well, no one can see her..”

I was very concerned when I asked

“Is everything alright?”

I heard another low growl come from the phone and then he replied full of agitation

“No, no it’s not..”

And then he hung up on me. I jumped up with a face full of concern. I realized something must be wrong, especially since his mind-link was blocked.

“Somethings wrong..”

I said as I moved towards the front door. Valerian, Alpha Wyatt, and Luna Claris were hot on my trail as I walked quickly to the car. I got in and started the car barely waiting for them all to get in.

“We need to be there for him.”

I said as I sped off down the road towards the hospital.

When we arrived I parked the car in the parking lot and quickly walked inside with everyone else. I went straight to Luna’s room and knocked on the door.

“Come in”

I heard Alpha answer me. I slowly opened the door

“Alpha?”

I asked softly as I entered the room followed by everyone else. My eyes went wide as I saw Alpha, but Luna and her bed were gone.

“What happened?”

I asked as I took a tentative step towards Armand. He looked up with a pained look.

“She isn’t back yet..”

He said after a moment of silence. I pulled the empty chair next to him and sat down.

“What happened Armand?”

I asked getting informal. Armand stared at me silently before he answered me.

“She was fine and then she wasn’t. Last I knew the nurse told me a broken rib slipped out of place and punctured her lung, but they had fixed it. She said she would be back in about half an hour..that was 45 minutes ago..”

He said as his eyes filled with tears that threatened to fall. I pulled him into a hug

“It’s going to be alright Armand. She’s a little fighter.”

I said filling my voice with conviction. He let out a sigh and returned my hug. This is my best friend, pretty much my brother, and seeing him so broken hurt me as well. I pulled back from the hug after a few moments and met his eyes. He wore a frown on his face.

“Armand..For all she has been through..I don’t think this will be what takes her out.”

I said and he gave a pained chuckle. The room grew silent and remained that way for the next 15 minutes. I could tell he was getting more agitated as more time passed. I saw him stand to leave, but he paused when the door opened. A nurse and Doc pushed Luna back in on her bed. She had bandages covering her whole chest and an oxygen mask on.

Armand was next to her bed the moment they locked it in place. His touched her face gently assuring himself she was really there. Doc waited for Armand to sit down.

“I apologize for taking so long Alpha. Luna’s injury was worse than I had expected. She should survive, but we have to keep a closer eye on her.”

Doc took out the spinning doctor’s stool and sat down then turned to face us.

“First off, the baby is fine. Though I had to fight that darned human O.B. to not do an abortion.”

Doc scoffed at that before he continued

“After we got Luna’s lung fixed it collapsed twice more. All the silver and poisons in her system really damaged her insides. We had to fix so many things. We lost her for a few minutes after I had the nurse speak to you, but we got her back. I can’t say if there will be lasting damage from that. The biggest problem was when we found a small cut in her left pulmonary veins. Which means there were cuts on the viens connected to the left side of her heart. We got those fixed though. She should wake up in a few hours. Once she finally shifts she should heal completely, until then we have to be careful with her.”

Doc explained. Armand stared at Artemis and nodded.

“Ok..thank you Doc.”

He said so soft it was almost a whisper. Everyone in the room wore frowns and a sadness lingered in the air as we all realized how close to losing her we were. Titus let out a whimper in my mind. We couldn’t imagine losing our Luna after just finding her nor what it would do to Armand.

“I’m so sorry you are enduring this, my love.”

I heard Armand whisper into Luna’s ear. I looked up at Valerian as he moved to stand in front of me. He gave me a small smile asking with his eyes if he could sit in my lap. I smiled at him in return and opened my arms wide.

“Come on. Take a seat..”

I said softly. He smiled widely before turning and sitting down so his back was pressed against my chest. I wrapped both arms around him and rested my chin on his shoulder. Armand kissed Artemis’s forehead before he shifted into Tafari. Tafari stood on all fours as the clothes Armand had been wearing fell in shreds on the floor. Valerian’s eyes went wide and his mouth hung open as he stared at Tafari. Tafari stood taller than us while we were sitting and looked at us before jumping gently onto the bed. He sniffed the side of Artemis’s face and neck before gently laying down with his head on her stomach. His eyes locked onto us as he laid there silently.

“Whoa…He’s so…beautiful…”

Valerian said causing Titus to inwardly scoff. I inwardly shook my head and outwardly said

“Careful what you say there darlin’ ,Titus doesn’t like you looking at others very much…”

Valerian snickered as he turned his face to look at me

“Well, don’t be jealous..you or Titus…I only have eyes for you…but that doesn’t mean I can’t say the truth..”

He said and I shook my head.

“In our community…us wolves are very protective and jealous creatures. You saying that makes Titus very jealous. When he is jealous so am I…”

I said giving him a slight glare. He chuckled again

“Well, don’t be…He’s just the first wolf I have ever seen up close..in a long time..”

He said. Titus let out a jealous whimper that escaped my lips. Valerian let another chuckle pass through his lips.

“Ohh..Now I see how jealous you and your wolf can be.”

He said with a wide smile. My eyes focused on his lips as he spoke. Tafari let out a huff and closed his eyes.

“Tafari, Titus says it will be alright..”

I said causing Tafari to open his eyes which shimmered a cobalt blue tinged with sadness. He let out a low whine before placing his head back onto Artemis’s stomach. I sighed and held Valerian tighter to me. I took a deep sniff against his neck taking in his scent that smelled of freshly made cherry cobbler and french vanilla ice cream. Titus relaxed in our mind as his scent filled my nostrils.

“Why are you sniffing me?”

He asked softly as he tilted his head sideways giving me better access to his neck. I hummed against his neck taking in more of his scent before replying

“Because, you smell amazing..”

I said before burying my face into the side of his neck again.

“I smell like sweat though..”

He said after sniffing himself. I chuckled against his neck causing him to shiver.

“Not to me. To me you smell like freshly made cherry cobbler and french vanilla ice cream.”

I explained in a slight whisper into his ear. He shuddered slightly and said

“Oh, well at least I don’t stink..”

I let out a soft chuckle before pressing my lips against the side of his neck and nuzzling my nose against it. We all sat in comfortable silence while we waited for our Luna to wake up.