Chapter 2 2

𝑨𝒓𝒊𝒂 𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓, 𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏. "𝑮𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒓, 𝒏𝒐𝒘!" 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒔𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎.

𝑰 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒂'𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅, 𝒎𝒚 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒙𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆. "𝑷𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆, 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒂, 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒆. 𝑫𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒆."

𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔. 𝑰 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒔𝒆, 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒌 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔, 𝒂 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆. 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒂 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒍𝒚, 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆.

"𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅?" 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒔, 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒎 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒆.

𝑨𝒓𝒊𝒂 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒅𝒔. "𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒐 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆, 𝒏𝒐𝒘."

𝑰 𝒏𝒐𝒅, 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒂'𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅. "𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘. 𝑷𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆."

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒕, 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒊𝒓. 𝑨 𝒔𝒐𝒇𝒕 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒆𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒔 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒂'𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒂 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆.

𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒓'𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒚, 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒂𝒍𝒆. 𝑰'𝒎 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓, 𝒎𝒚 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒕-𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒔.

I wake up with a start, my heart racing and my sheets drenched in sweat as the memories of what happened Came flooding making me realize it wasn't a dream. It takes me a moment to realize I'm in my own bed, in the healer's sanctuary. The events of the previous day come flooding back – Luca's battered body, the Pack attack, the healer's urgent chanting...

At first, I think it was all just a terrible dream. But as I sit up and look around, I see the healer, Elara, sitting in a chair beside my bed, her eyes watchful.

"Good morning, Luna," she says softly. "How are you feeling?" She asked as she held my hands .

I rub my eyes, trying to shake off the haze. "What... what happened to Luca?" I said panicking, looking around in search of Luca.

Elara's expression turns serious. "He's stable, but still unconscious. I've been keeping a close eye on him." She said as she lowered her gaze in a sad gaze.

I throw off the covers and swing my legs over the side of the bed. "I need to see him." I said

Elara nods. "I expected as much. Let's go." Elara didn't wait for me before she started walking out of the room.

I rush out of the room, Elara following close behind. We navigate the winding corridors of the sanctuary, and I can feel my anxiety growing with each step.

Finally, we reach Luca's ward, and I burst through the door. He lies motionless on the bed, his face still bruised and swollen. I rush to his side, taking his hand in mine.

"Luca, my love, please wake up," I whisper, tears streaming down my face.

I press my fingers to Luca's wrist, feeling his pulse. It's there, but it's weak and faint. My heart skips a beat as I sense the fragility of his life force.

I look up, my eyes locking onto Elara's concerned expression. She approaches me, her steps quiet.

"Luna, we need to speak," she says, her voice low and serious.

I nod, feeling a sense of trepidation. What does she need to tell me?

I gently lay Luca's hand back on the bed, my touch lingering for a moment. I follow Elara out of the ward, my mind racing with worst-case scenarios.

We step into a small, cozy room adjacent to the ward. The door closes softly behind us, and Elara gestures for me to sit. I do, my heart pounding in my chest.

Elara's expression is grave as she begins to speak. "Luna, I need to be honest with you. Luca's case is critical. The attack... it's caused significant damage. We're looking at a long and difficult recovery, with many potential medical complications." She said Sighing loudly as she say I wasn't ready to say anything and Continued speaking.

I feel a cold dread creeping up my spine as she continues.

"The treatment he requires... it's going to be expensive. Very expensive. I'm not talking about a small fortune, Luna." She said while I just slapped my forehead in exhaustion as I sat down trying to process everything That Elara Just said.

"...We're not talking about a small fortune, Luna. We're not just talking about the cost of my services, but also the rare herbs, the specialized care... it adds up quickly. And to make matters worse, Luca's family... they're not in the best financial position to cover these costs."

I frown, confusion etched on my face. "But they're wealthy, aren't they? I mean, they're one of the most influential packs in the land."

Elara nods. "They are, but... they've recently incurred some significant expenses. Moon's travel, the mating ... it's all added up. They've spent nearly half their fortune in the past year alone. And now, with Luca's medical bills... it's going to be a struggle for them to cover everything."

I feel a wave of worry wash over me. We can't let Luca's pack go bankrupt because of his medical bills. But what can we do? I think back to the conversation I had with Aria earlier... Maybe there's a way to raise the funds we need.

"Elara, can I ask you something?" I say, a plan is beginning to form in my mind. "How much time do we have to raise the funds? And are there any... alternative treatments we could consider?" I asked Elara while She just stared at me.

Elara nods understandingly. "I see what you're getting at, Luna. Yes, we can work out a payment plan. It doesn't have to be a lump sum. We can break it down into smaller, manageable amounts. Even monthly payments would be acceptable, as long as we can see a commitment to covering the costs." She explained while I smiled in Satisfaction as I breathe a sigh of relief, feeling a weight lift off my shoulders.

"That's great, Elara. I was worried we'd have to come up with the entire amount at once. But if we can spread it out over time... I think we can make it work." I said.

Elara smiles, her expression softening. "I'm glad we can work something out, Luna. I want to see Luca recover just as much as you do. And I'm willing to work with you to make that happen." She said smiling warmly.

I nod, feeling a sense of determination. "Okay, let's do it. Let's get Luca the help he needs, no matter what it takes." I said in determination.

Elara's expression turns somber, and she places a gentle hand on my arm. "Luna, I'm sorry to tell you this, but... you're alone in covering the sum. Luca's Pack has spent their resources on his sister's travels and his own mating ceremony. They won't be able to contribute to his medical expenses." She explained Sadly.

My eyes widen in shock, and I feel like I've been punched in the gut. "What? But... but I thought they would help!" I stuttered, gulping, Sweating, Panicking...

Elara's grip on my arm tightens. "I'm afraid not, Luna. You're on your own in this. But don't worry, we'll work out a payment plan that suits you. It won't be easy, but... we'll make it work." She said.

I feel a wave of despair wash over me, and my mind races with the impossible task ahead. How can I possibly cover the entire sum on my own?" But I know I have to try... for Luca's sake.

And with that, Elara's words hang in the air, leaving me with a sense of uncertainty and a daunting challenge ahead...