The One He Claimed by Cooper
The One 52

Chapter 52: Brooklyn Hunter

It takes all my training as an Alpha to hold my s**t together while I race Brooklyn to the pack hospital. All I really want to do is run to Alpha Owen's pack and tear him to shreds.

'Incoming emergency to the pack hospital,' I mind link to my pack members.

I hear several pack members respond and I know they'll be there waiting for me when I arrive.

I turn, seeing that Leah is struggling to keep up. "Sophie, can you carry her?" I ask, not wanting to leave her behind, but knowing that Brooklyn has lost too much blood in the time it's taken Leah to get here. I can't slow down to let her keep up.

"I've got her, go!" Sophie says.

I begin running faster, feeling Brooklyn's blood soaking my arms. and the clothes I'm wearing.

"Hang on, Brooklyn. You're safe now. I won't let anyone hurt you ever again. You're back in Alpha Hunter's pack. You're safe," I say to her, not knowing if she can hear me or if it will help, but hopefully if it comes down to her living or dying based on her own will power, she'll know that she's safe and she'll choose to live.

As I rush up to the pack hospital, the doors are opened, and a gurney is waiting.

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Chapter 57. Brooklyn

"What happened?" Dr. Felicity asks.

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"I don't have all the details, but from what I understand she was claimed publicly and then cast aside," I say to the doctor, who looks up at me in horror before turning back to Brooklyn. She pulls the shirt away from her neck and there is the mark, she's been claimed.

"But she's not a ranked she-wolf!" Dr. Felicity says.

I feel my claws come out and I have to step back as the nurses in the room yelp with the strength of my anger.

"Hunter!" Sophie says, pushing into the room and past the nurses. "Go talk to Leah, replace out what happened. I'll stay with -Brooklyn."

"Our guests..."

"I've already told Kinsley and Lucas what's happening. They'll take care of it."

I can't seem to tear my eyes away from this young girl, covered in blood, with a f**ki**g mark on her neck.

"Hunter!" Sophie says, putting her hands on my face and pulling

attention to her. "Breathe with me, Hunter. I need you to calm down. Our staff can't help her if they're trying to work around your aura, baby. Breathe," she says taking two deep breaths. I follow her lead until I can pull my aura back.

"Come with me," she says, taking my hand like I'm a child and leading me from the room. "I'll be right back" she tells the doctor.

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When I get out of the room, I pull Sophie to me, holding her against me and breathing in her orchid scent. She holds me until I finally feel calm and when pull away, I'm ready. 288 Wouchers

"Leah's over there. I'll be back as soon as I know something," she says, lifting up on her toes and kissing me deeply.

"You can do this, Alpha, I have faith in you."

She starts to step away, but I grab her wrist gently. "Thank you."

"That's what mates do. We help each other, right?"

I smile at my mate. "Yeah, that's right."

I release her arm and turn to see Leah, her arms wrapped around herself as she sits in a chair, rocking herself and sobbing. I take one more deep breath to make sure I'm calm, and I head over to her, sitting beside her and putting my arm around her.

She turns her head and begins sobbing on my shoulder. I hold her until she starts to calm down and when she pulls away, I get up and replace some tissues for her. I squat down in front of her and hand her the tissues, waiting until she wipes her face and blows her nose.

"Tell me what happened," I say gently.

She continues to cry and hiccup as she talks, but I get the story.

"I didn't want to leave. I knew it could be dangerous for Brooklyn because she was so close to turning 18. Michael insisted that we had to leave because you kicked G**a Koden out of the pack, and they were friends."

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She begins rocking again as she talks. "Almost as soon as we got there, Alpha Owen took a liking to Brooklyn. He asked her how old she was and if she'd ever considered being a Luna. I tried to keep her away from him, but after we accepted him as our Alpha, he knew where she was all the time. I'm guessing that Koden knew her birthday because how else would Alpha Owen have known?" she asks, looking at me as if I have the answers. Since I have none, I stay quiet.

"He called an all-pack meeting and then he announced that today was Brook's birthday, and he was going to claim her. Michael seemed pleased, but I've never liked Alpha Owen. I didn't want him to claim Brook, but he pulled her up on the stage with him and introduced her as his new Luna. Then...."

She stops, beginning to s**b again.

"Then he ripped her dress, saying that if she was going to be mated to an Alpha that we had to follow the rules for a ranked claiming. Brook started crying, trying to hold her dress to her. My girl is sweet, kind, we've never raised a hand to her, but that man....that monster, tore my baby apart on that stage for the entire pack to witness. Those sick pack members were cheering and howling while my baby was crying for her mother, crying for ME!"

Her eyes meet mine and there is fire in them. "And do you know why I couldn't get to her?" she asks through gritted teeth.

"No," I say quietly.

"Michael was holding me back. Her own father just stood by and allowed it to happen."

She stops, covering her mouth as if she's going to vomit. I

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quickly look around, grabbing a garbage can just in case, but she pulls herself together.

"Then he stood up there and marked her, sank his teeth into her neck while she sobbed. When he pulled himself out of her body, he let her drop to the ground and turned to look at the pack. 'She's too weak. She's not worthy of being your Luna' he said, and he walked off the stage, leaving her there to bleed out."

"How did the pack respond?" I ask, wondering if they felt this was wrong.

"I don't know. I just know that Michael finally let go of me and I raced to the stage, to her, telling her I was so sorry I couldn't protect her," she says and begins sobbing again.

"Do you know what's it's like to feel helpless? Knowing you can't help the one you love?"

I think about my sister, about how I would have done anything for her, but I didn't protect her, not like I should have.

"Yes," I say quietly.

She nods, looking down and shredding the tissue in her hands. "I grabbed some banner or flag and covered Brook before picking her up and carrying her off that stage. When I got to the bottom, Michael was standing there. He told me to give Brook to him."

She lifts her head, and her eyes are blazing again. "I rejected him, and I watched as he fell to the ground in pain. He is supposed to be some warrior, a fighter and while he lay writhing on the ground, me, a simple omega, carried my daughter all the way here, hoping you'd help us." She begins crying again.

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Thank you. Thank you for helping us."

"You'll be safe here now," I say, and she nods.

"I know, I know you're a good Alpha. I know you care about your pack, and I know that you will protect us with your life. I know that you will do that for us."

"Yes, I will. Now, let's get you looked at,” I say, standing and gesturing for a nurse to come over.

"No, I'm fine..." she begins.

I bend over so my eyes are level with hers. "Brooklyn is going to need you when she wakes up. You rejected your mate, that means your body will look like you've gone ten rounds with an Alpha. Let them look you over and help you to heal so that you can be here for your daughter when she needs you."

When I stand, I get a mind link from the border patrols. 'Michael is at our borders, requesting entrance to our pack.'

'Entrance or sanctuary? I ask.

'He said entrance to our territory, Alpha."

I look at Leah, being led away by a nurse.

"What do you want me to do if Michael shows up?" I ask her.

She turns and looks at me. "I can't tell you not to let him into your pack, Alpha. But I don't want that man anywhere near me or my daughter," she growls.

I nod and turn away before returning the mind link.

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'Denied.'

'Yes, Alpha.'

When I turn back, Sophie is walking towards me. I open my. arms and when she walks into them, I wrap her into my embrace, feeling her arms go around me.

"I'm going to have to take a rain check on you winning the wager today," I tell her, pressing my lips to the top of her head.

"I know," she says, looking up at me. "I would be disappointed in you if you didn't."

"Are you exhausted? I feel exhausted."

"I'm exhausted. How's Leah?"

"They're probably going to keep her overnight. She rejected her mate who is at our borders requesting entrance to our pack." "Entrance?" she asks, catching the same word I did.

"Yes, and his entrance was denied."

"Good."

"How's Brooklyn?" I ask.

"Not good. Dr. Felicity said she'll be in surgery for hours stitching her up, but she'll mind link us when she's out of surgery and let us know how it went." "Do we need to take care of our guests?"

"Nope, it's all handled," she says, putting her arm through mine.

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and leading me out the door. "Want to hear something Interesting?"

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"Yes," I say, smiling down at my mate who is somehow pushing my black cloud of anger away.

"Allison agreed to go to Kayce's room with him. They been there for hours," she says, smirking up at me.

"That sounds promising," I say.

"Do you think she'll be wearing his mark tomorrow?" she asks.

"No."

Her face falls. "Why not?"

"Because if Alpha Kayce plans to mark her privately, he can't show up to the Committee meeting with a mark on his neck and unlike that f**khead Owen, he wouldn't mark Allison without letting her mark him as well. But," I say as we get to the packhouse and start climbing the stairs to our room. "I would expect her to have quite a few h**k*y *s on her n**k and several on and around her marking s**t. That brings the smile back to my mate's pretty face.

"I'll take it, it's still a win."

"A big win!" I say, opening the door and letting Sophie walk into our room ahead of me.

Sophie strips off her dress, tossing it aside and turning to me. She's wearing a lace bra, lace panties and high heels.

"You know, suddenly, I'm not so tired after all," I say. Thankfully

neither is my mate.