Awakening (2 book series)
Awakening – Following Fate Chapter 114

"I'll show you what suffering is right now." Radar leans in again with anger but I step forward and tap him on his shoulder to loosen his grip before he does anything to him. A sudden surge of guilt flowing through me because what Aiden said isn't completely wrong and I know Radar won't hesitate to break his bones. We did leave them, and they have suffered. I don't blame the ones left to roam free for hating us and believing we abandoned them. Radar relents a little and sits back on his haunches with a sulking hint of grudged obedience, giving Aiden room to breathe once more. I exhale heavily and try to calm my swirling nerves, knowing as Luna I really need to take command here.

“Aiden.... I'm Alora Santo, Colton's mate. I'm the Luna Radar refers to and this is Sierra. You must remember her; she is Rema now and once was Juan's Luna. The woman he locked up for a decade and betrayed. You are still our pack and that is why we are here. We're here to help." My heart bleeds for these wolves and I can already tell by reading their emotions that the intention to attack us was not for Juan, but for their own heartbreak and pain. I wonder how many of the villagers were hostile towards our wolves fighting for them for the same reasons. Nerves swirling that maybe already our wolves are fighting among them as well as taking on that blood thirsty enemy.

"Help? How? Do you have any idea how messed up things have become because of Colton? What are you going to do?" Another of the men on the dirt responds with that same bitter, curt tone. Stubbornness strong in his aura.

"The whole pack is here to fight the vampires off. Stop and listen to the noise in the air. That sound of war and death! Your people are fighting for their lives and where is Juan? Who are the ones who came for you? Scoff all you want but she IS your Luna, and WE are here to help." Carmen steps forward and kicks the thigh of the second wolf with a sharp dig, gaining a snarl in response from the one I recognize as Taemin. A once valued sentinel and someone Colton treated like a brother. A wolf who couldn't leave because his family were tied here.

"Don't say that scum's name. He's dead to us. Just like his son. Nothing good ever came from the sacred Santa bloodline where they're concerned." The third, Robyn grinds out to join the conversation, another from the same sub pack and yet despite his hateful tone, there's a sadness in his eyes as I lock my focus on his face. Behind their fury and venomous words, are wolves who have been abandoned and are suffering from the syndrome caused by fracturing a pack and leaving them Alpha-less. It's a sense of detachment and can cause insane anger and bitterness among our kind.

"We don't have time for this. We're not here to fight or hurt you. We're here to protect the pack and take Juan to the vampires. You can either assist or be tied down until this is all over. You don't want to live on as free roaming wolves, then help us and we will reunite the pack when this battle is won. Your suffering can end after this." Sierra becomes dominant in the conversation with a commanding tone I've never heard from her. Stamping towards Aiden and towering over him with a fearless aura as she glares down at him with all the presence of a queen. "You can go on with this attitude and become a hindrance, or you can get up, dust off and do everything to free and reunite our wolves. The vampires are the enemy, not us and Juan..... we're here to make sure he pays for everything he has ever done. Don't you want to be part of that?" She spits it at him and then places a flat palm on Radar's shoulder to move him back so she can lean down and gain eye contact with his prisoner. "We need allies. We need the villagers to join the fight. If not, it looks like a lot of us will die here tonight."

"Why should we trust any of you? Where were you all these months when Juan turned on us?" Taemin struggles to get free but is kneeled upon by an extra wolf as they regain control of him. None of the guards are letting up and seems even if they were once brothers, the priority is to keep me safe.

"You're right! We weren't here..... we were in another place fighting to survive and trying to figure out how to fix a fractured pack. We were out there licking our wounds and struggling to know what to do, while being oblivious to your suffering. We have no excuses." I try and soothe with my words, feeling the intensity of betrayal among them and attempting to push this conversation onwards.