The Lunas Second Chance Mate
(Book 2) Chapter 18

Alyson

I have to duck, Ryan's massive wolf shifting right over top of me, cradling me between his four, large paws. My heart races and I plead to replace my wolf but the wolfsbane is still in my system. I can't touch her now, and I can't intervene, seeing Olivera's wolf force itself out and the two Alpha's stare each other down with snarling, sharp teeth bore at the ready to strike.

Even if I know better, I still try, crawling out between the two of them, hoping I can mediate this a little bit better but it's an utter failure. If anything, I make it worse, reaching for Olivera's wolf and hearing Ryan bark menacingly, as though I have left his side for Olivera's when in reality, I just want to this interaction to end.

Olivera nudges me with his head, shoving me aside, against a rock or a boulder, before the two of them pounce inward. The sounds of their wolves fighting makes my heart break. I don't want Ryan to hurt Olivera because even the moon goddess told me this rogue Alpha is wounded and the thought of losing my mate would be the worst pain in my life; and Olivera is suffering through that.

He just wants to make it right, and I would do the same thing for Ryan.

"Stop!" I scream, standing hurriedly and throwing myself into the brawl.

Ryan is already charging, his teeth bore, and I don't feel it until my knees hit the ground, seeing a trickle of crimson run down the length of my forearm. Olivera shifts to my side, pale and out of breath as he holds the scratch in his massive palm to stop the bleeding. I groan a noise, my head spinning, seeing his hands drenched in my blood in a matter of seconds.

"RELEASE MY MATE!" Ryan roars, standing over me with wild, furious eyes.

"Ryan-" I cough, my body limp and cold to the touch. "Please, relax-listen to him-"

"I will when he gets his damn hands off of you!"

"You're the one who is at fault for this," Olivera snaps, pointing a bloody, accusing finger in his direction. "I'm the one trying to help her out here!"

"Please," I mumble, my head falling back, Olivera managing to keep me somewhat upright while the blood lose in my arm grows by the second and the disconnect from my wolf is still too far for me to reach out to so I could heal. "Ry-"

"Come here," Ryan breathes, gentler in tone, pulling me off the ground and to his chest, curling me tightly to his masculine hold. His lips come close to mine, his ear then pressing to my neck for a second, near the spot he marked me at. It tingles with his touch. "Shallow breathing, slow pulse-I can't smell her wolf at all, what happened?"

"Wolfsbane," Olivera grumbles. "She put up a few fights. Had to settle her down."

"I will kill you later," Ryan snarls. He breathes into my scalp, his beautiful scent returning to my nostrils. I inhale dangerously deep, needing his scent to smother me. "There, you go, Alyson, you're back in my arms. Let's get you to the palace." "Olivera-" I groan. "Too-"

I feel my mate tense but he eventually gives into my request. "Fine, but Fritz is still at the palace so I will take you to the healer outside of the palace village, just so we don't spark a war inside the gates."

I nod in agreement to his plan. He has always been the quick thinker, the strong one, and I need him now more than ever to verify that I'm doing the right thing. I need him to agree. He is a kind man, an understanding mate, and he will trust that I only want to help Olivera avenge what was taken from him; I would do the same if it were me.

Ryan is running now, my pulse dangerously slow.

"Open the door," Ryan says brashly. Olivera follows suit, swinging the wood door open and my mate rushes me inside, a light rain starting to trickle down outside as the world grows gray overhead. "Here we go," he murmurs, setting me on a lowly couch, curling me up under a thin quilt while barking for the healer. "Gustavo! Gustavo, it's me!" "Alpha?"

A meek man pokes his head around the corner of the room, wearing a puffy white shirt and brown velvet pants like a sailor returned from sea. He rubs his eyes to clear them of his obvious fatigue and pulls something off a nearby shelf before meeting me on the couch. I hardly look up at the man, my eyes drooping and my head spinning.

"I-going-be-sick-to be sick-"

"Here we go," the healer hums, pressing a glass vial to my bottom lip. I flinch, recalling the pain of wolfsbane being forced down my throat and burning my skin. I fight back slightly, spiting the liquid out as it greets my tongue, now overwhelmed with a minty taste. "Dammit, she's refusing it, Alpha, and it's vital to slow her pulse so she doesn't lose blood so fast."

"It's not wolfsbane," Olivera chimes in before Ryan can. "Relax, sweetheart."

I hear someone being pushed against the far wall, the small hut rattling in the rain. "Say it again," Ryan growls, my head tipping sideways to see him pinning the rogue Alpha against the wall. "Call her that one more time and I'll kill you." Olivera chuckles sideways at my mate; a threat if I've ever seen one. "I'd love to see you try. But let's save that for later. I don't want her to watch me tear your throat out."

The healer manages to pinch my jaw, drowning the rest of the vial down my throat. I gasp, convulsing slightly and almost spitting it up, but his hand covers my mouth and presses the back of my head down into the couch cushion. I claw at his forearm. Ryan returns to my aid. "I'm here, Alyson, just calm down, he's trying to help you."

I gust an inhale when the healer finally releases my mouth and allows me to take a sharp breath, the minty flavor lingering in the back of my throat like I've swallowed ice cubes. I reach for my mate, feeling my fingers go numb, my head go light, and my eyelids fall closed. "Ryan, don't leave," I beg, pleading through a soft weep, the healer spreading something over my clawed arm. I feel my mate hold my hand in support, unwilling to release. "Stay, please. Don't fight him."

"I would never leave your side," Ryan says instantly.

"Thank-"

My vision goes dark instantly.