Dead Luna
Chapter 6

Derrick's POV

I can't believe Amelia is really dead. She looks so peaceful lying there, as if she is just quietly sleeping. But I doubt anyone could sleep thru the loud sobbing of Leo. We are all saddened that we couldn't save her, but Leo is taking it especially hard. He feels that her death is completely his fault. In a way, I suppose it is, even if the true culprit was currently chained up in the dungeons below the Green Mountain pack house.

I actually feel sorry for Leo, even if I do still consider him to be one of the most selfish and immature pricks of my acquaintance. He must have hidden depths of conscience, though, if he feels this much sorrow over a woman he rejected several years ago, and appeared to everyone as if he despised her.

Do you smell that? Harry asks me.

"Fruit salad?" I accidentally say out loud.

Leo looks up at me, his face one full of abject misery, his eyes completely bloodshot. He looks confused by my little outburst. Zachary, however, looks over at me as well, and gives a slight nod, so I know I'm not the only one imagining things. "It's certainly something fruity. With a hint of coconut and marshmallow undertones."

Mate?

Suddenly a phone starts ringing from somewhere within the room. I realize the sound is coming from underneath Amelia, and I shove her body just enough to grab the phone from her back jeans pocket. Then I let her back down gently, not that it matters since I couldn't possibly hurt her in any way at this point.

The screen says the call is from "mom". I start freaking out. How am I going to break the news to her that her daughter just died? Then a hand reaches out and takes the phone from my hand. Was that AMELIA's hand that just did that? I hear everyone in the room gasp out loud, but my brain doesn't seem to comprehend what my eyes might have just seen. It can't be real, can't it?

"Hey mom, I was just about to call you!" Pause. "Yeah, sorry I didn't call you when I got home from work, but I'm not actually home yet." Pause. "Well I had a run in with some unhappy customers after work, but everything is fine now." Pause. "I'm sorry to worry you." Pause. "I'm really tired right now, can I call you in the morning?" Pause. "Yeah, love you too! Bye."

"Hey Derrick, I guess you were right!" Amelia says as she tries to sit up. Her stomach must be giving her a lot of pain, as she couldn't quite manage to sit up until she asked Leo to help (seeing as how he had been holding her left hand for the last 20 minutes at least). She managed to swing her legs off of the bed, but thought better about standing up by herself just this moment.

I just stood there dumbfounded. Is this real? Is this even possible? People don't just come back from the dead, do they?

Zachary seemed to collect his senses before anyone else and ran off to get the doctor. Leo and I, well, neither of us were able to speak coherently for several minutes. I mean, she was DEAD just a few moments ago. DEAD! We had been grieving over her DEAD body for the last 20-30 minutes (I had lost count). Things were currently being prepared for her cremation in the morning. Because she was DEAD!

And now Amelia was sitting up and talking to me as if it was all completely normal. And Harry says she might be my mate, but he's not completely certain.

I might be feeling just a bit lightheaded. There are suddenly several more people in the room surrounding Amelia and checking on her health. Someone shoves me down into a chair, which was probably wise since I think I might have been about to keel over anyhow.

"Why do you smell like fruit salad?" I finally managed to say something. And I probably sounded a lot like an i***t.

"Oh," Amelia giggles. "That's actually Ambrosia, my wolf. The moon goddess just gave her to me to help people replace their mates!"

"I love how quickly I heal now!" She continues. "I'm already feeling well enough that I can walk to the bathroom by myself now."

The doctor cautions her to take it easy, and she just waves Dr. Lyndon off like it was no concern at all. Like she hadn't been DEAD just a few minutes before. And then she proves exactly how alive she is by hopping off the bed and walking to the en-suite bathroom, closes the door, and anyone in the room with werewolf hearing and a desire to listen in, clearly hears the sounds of a fully functioning digestive system getting rid of bodily waste, and then a toilet flushing. A few seconds go by, and we can hear her humming as she washes her hands in the sink. Then the sounds of a hot air hand dryer. Then Amelia returns, and hops back on the bed. And she's smiling at us!

Everyone in the room is stunned into silence, so it's not just me.

"How?" I finally replace my tongue and ask what im sure everyone is dying to ask. "How... is this even possible?"

"Oh!" Amelia exclaimed, a strange look comes over her face. "I guess this is a bit unusual."

"Ambrosia would explain it all much better than I could, but she's busy right now knitting my intestines back together and arranging them back where they belong, and then she needs to deal with the concussion I got from being slammed against a tree. I just need a hearty meal, followed by a good nights rest, and I'll be right as rain! Then I'll explain everything to everyone tomorrow morning at the alpha meeting, if that's ok with you, Alpha Joshua?"

"I suppose that could be arranged," Alpha Joshua responds. "But what could you possibly have to say that all of the alphas need to hear it?"

"I have special message for all of you from our very own moon goddess, Selene."