Once Rejected, Thrice Accepted
Chapter 68

Waking up was no walk in the park. The pain started radiating from where the claw marks were all the way to my toes before I woke up screaming. The lights were blinding, and the noise made my brain feel like it was ready to explode.

I tried to speak but only a croak came out. Just needed a drink or my saliva back to actually wet my lips. Maybe I should just try to link the guys. I tried searching for our connections, but they were barely there. 'Moonlight?' She had to be there. 'Moonlight, where are you?'

Nothing. Nothing in reply. I couldn't feel her not even a tiny bit. My wolf, my best friend, my sister was gone. What happened to me?

"He...he...lp." Finally getting a word out even if it was almost a whisper. "Moonlight...gone...please..." I cried out feeling each tear as they hit my cheeks.

"Gemma!" Erin yelled from somewhere in the room but I couldn't place where. "Call the doctor. Now!"

He had made it to the side of my bed bumping into it in his haste. The pain from the movement was intense but I was more focused on the loss of my wolf. Was she gone for good? I couldn't deal with that.

"Duncan, Leo. Get the hell over here. Leave the traitors to deal with your warriors." Erin growled before throwing something across the room making my body jerk when it hit the wall. "Sorry. It was just my phone. Everything is ok now that you are awake." "Moonlight...gone..." So hard to talk. "Dr... Wa..."

"Oh, shit. I bet you need a drink. Forgive this crazy forgetful man." I heard his chair squeal across the floor as he got up to grab me something to drink. "Can you lean forward to drink it?"

I shook my head no. "Need-"

"I got it. Don't strain yourself right now. You need all your strength." He chided me only to make me grin.

He pushed the straw into my mouth as he gently lifted my head. The water felt like the best thing I had ever tasted as it soothed my throat and cooled my burning chest. My head started to clear and everything that had been too loud for my eyes and ears was dimming.

"Moonlight." I cried out when he pulled the straw back. "She's... I can't feel her."

The door slammed open with Leo and Duncan running through it saying my name over and over before making it to me. They didn't slam in to the bed but tried to drag me into a hug. Only my scream of pain had them stopping in my tracks.

"Why aren't her eyes open?" Leo worriedly asked as he lightly swiped his fingers across my forehead. "Did she pass back out?"

"Did they figure out what was wrong?" Duncan just grabbed my hand and held it lightly in his. "Please be ok, my love. We need you."

I wanted to answer them. I wanted to let them know about everything and to ask them what the hell was going on. Nothing came out. The only change was the weight I felt in my heart was getting heavier and heavier.

"Hey, get your hands off me." A voice I didn't recognize shouted getting louder and louder as though they were getting closer. "I said I was headed here with a few answers. No reason to rough me up."

"Get in there and fix my mate. If she dies, so do you." Lucas growled before my door slammed. "She is the only thing that matters to me."

I knew he loved me and that his love ran deep but this made me feel even better after some of the crap he had pulled. This was just how he showed his love. With the dad he grew up with I should have known at least one of them would have issues showing their feelings but being overprotective was one of the ways he did.

"Lucas." I whispered but it seemed to be loud enough they all stilled. "Leo. Duncan."

They were at my side in seconds. They left room for gramps which made my heart swell. They accepted him. Now if he was Jackson they would have shoved his a*s to the side.

"Are you hurting? Do you need something? Anything?" Lucas worriedly started barking out orders but I stopped him.

I put my hand on his arm. "Stop. Slow down." I swallowed hoping the soreness would go away. "Water, please. Then talk."

"While you are getting her something to drink I will give you a quick update." The voice from before who now seemed to be the doctor. "The claw marks on her back are of a normal wolf shifter but they had their claws covered in some kind of mix of poison. One of them being wolfsbane but the others we haven't figured out yet."

"Then figure it out. My granddaughter will not be dying like this." Erin shouted from his seat beside me sending more pain my way.

"I am calling the King and he will send his best doctors here to help." Feet stomped sounding farther away until a door slammed.

"Please know that we are still working on it and I have my best people on it. For now we need to keep her calm and comfortable." I heard a few buttons beep from beside me. "Gemma, are you in pain? We can do more meds to help relax you."

Meds. It must be the meds. Meds. It must be the meds. 'Moonlight, please!' I shouted with everything I had. I kept shouting louder using different voices. I even tried calling her the biggest bitch of the century nothing.

Something must have worked because before I knew it my eyes were flying open as my body jerked up until I was sitting breathing heavy and Moonlight was all the way in the front of my mind with her eyes showing through. A growl ripped through my body sending even my mates a few steps farther from us.

"They did this. They did this with black witches. They will all die. Die they must or we will all fall!" She snarled before falling back to the very back of my mind to rest. This time it seemed I wouldn't be losing her.

I turned to the doctor who seemed to be an older man who looked ready to piss his pants. "Please keep searching for what the poisons were. The pain is almost unbearable but I can't lose my wolf again. I won't do it."

"But Gemma!" Duncan whined hating the idea that I was in any type of pain.

"I said No. I was a mess without her and wanted to die. I won't be that way again." The tears started again and this time I let everyone see them. "We need to be stronger so once this is over we will train harder and get this over with. Now I need more rest and someone needs to update me on our friends we saved."

"I will go get an update on them and grab Erin. He has barely slept or ate anything since we have been here." Leo pulled me into the softest hug I had ever had with light kisses on my neck. "We all missed you. We had to threaten Allie's life to get him to go back to the pack and update everyone. He was torn up and wanted to go back to kill them all until they told us what was happening."

"And Lucas was all for it huh?" I teased rubbing his arms and getting his scent all over me. I was going to be needing all of them to help me through this. "Where are we?"

"I hear you talking about me. You wanna get in trouble?" Lucas teased half-heartedly. "We are about two hours from our pack. We couldn't risk you getting any worse."

"That's all you do. That is also why you will be staying with me while Duncan heads to check on my friends and Leo heads back to our pack." Leo started to get up to argue but I held him against me. "Leo I need you leading and helping our pack. They might attack us and they need an Alpha. The calm one."

"Fine. Its because I love you that I listen." I snorted knowing better. He listens because he is a good man.

"You all listen because you are amazing men. You just humor me because you love me."

They all nodded and came in for cuddles. We would be parting soon enough.