"What happened?" I ask with a serious sense of dread creeping over me.

"There was an attack," Liam says.

"Where's Chris?!" The panic blooming inside me is clear in my voice.

"Resting in there," Xavier states flatly, his dark eyes are locked on me.

My blood starts to boil as I spin on him, shoving him in the chest. He wasn't prepared for the force of my anger as he stumbled back a step before regaining his footing. "You had no right!" I yell as my body begins to tremble. He simply shrugs like he didn't think he did anything wrong. I feel something snap as his reaction rubs me the wrong way. 

"You show up in the middle of the night and treat me like some runaway in front of my friend! You should have told me instead of making me think I did something wrong." I'm furious, hurt and more importantly worried about Chris. 

Before I can explode further I turn my attention back to the hospital entrance, to where Chris is. I leave Xavier standing there and beeline for the doors where the women are waiting. Sara is unreadable as usual and Claire looks pissed, I'm far too worked up to apologize. Her anger isn't directed at me though I realize as she wraps an arm around me. "I'll take you to him honey, I'm so sorry. He's going to be fine, he's just resting."

I silently follow her direction as we walk to a quiet wing and she opens the door. I freeze at the sight in front of me. Chris is unconscious on the bed, his bare chest has two large, dressed wounds. A sheen of sweat glistens across him. His regular warm tanned complexion looks pale and grey and his eyes are sunken and shadowed.

"It's not as bad as it looks, Luna," Dr. Phillips says behind me, breaking me out of my trance. He gestures for us to go in. I cautiously make my way to his bedside, the only sound is my drumming heart and the steady beep of his heart monitor. An IV pole has two bags feeding into Chris' arm.

"What happened?" I whisper, unable to take my eyes off of him.

"They were ambushed on patrol," Sara speaks up. "Patrol linked that they thought they had a rogue and were investigating, Chris took off to help. The rogue pulled back and led them into an ambush," she trails off angrily, clenching her fists.

"There's more," I reason. The shoulder wounds don't look bad enough to explain his state.

She nods. "Even out numbered, with the Alpha's help patrol had little problems holding back the attack, but Chris was silvered before reinforcements arrived."

"He's going to be fine," Doc assures me. The IV is to break down the silver trace and flush it, it just takes time then he will heal like normal. We had to sedate him to let the medicine work, he won't wake up for several hours yet."

I put a hand on his clammy skin. The sparks still fly, giving me a small reassurance. He stirs and the heart monitor makes an unhappy sound as he fights the sedatives. I take a step back as Claire's hand lands on my shoulder. 

"Why don't you get cleaned up and get something to eat. It'll be awhile before he's up," she says with a sad smile.

Before I can protest, Doc agrees, "It will give the medicine more time to work, I promise he will look better when you come back." He smiles kindly at me as he gestures to the door.

I reluctantly agree and make my way back to the pack house heading upstairs to Chris's room. I did need a shower since between working in a hoodie, welding and crawling around in a garage, I feel disgusting.

After my shower, I grab some fresh clothes to wear and put on one of his hoodies on my way out. I'm lost in thought as I make my way to the kitchen.

Ever since I've known him, Chris has always seemed larger than life, invincible even. So to see him lying there so vulnerable scares me. No matter how hard I fought, he made it into my heart and I can't imagine losing him. The very thought rocks me to my core.

"He's had worse," Derek says, setting a plate down in front of me. I just stare at him.

Was that supposed to make me feel better?!

"Werewolves live in a different world. It isn't easy, and often violent and dangerous, particularly for Alphas. That's why they are so strong, genetically designed to heal faster, and able to withstand a lot of damage." He wraps an arm around me for reassurance. "You'll see he'll be back to normal by morning," he says with a sympathetic smile.

"I'm afraid I'm not very hungry," I say picking at the plate.

"Just try and eat something and we'll go see him," Derek bargains. 

Turns out Derek is as bad at small talk as I am. He tries to start a couple of times before giving up. Finally relenting after I pick at my plate for a half hour, we head back to the pack hospital.

I've always struggled with hospitals since my mother passed. They send my anxiety into overdrive, they are for goodbyes.

'Not always, Chris is strong, he'll be fine.' 'God I hope so...'

The only saving grace is this hospital is quiet. Earlier there were a couple men getting minor treatment in the open ward, but now there's no one left, just staff.

I pause outside of his room, afraid of what I'll see. Derek reaches around me, opens the door, and herds me in. Jace is sitting next to his bed and looks up when we enter. His hair is a mess from running his hand through it too much, and brow looks to have a permanent worry crease. 

He looks haggard.

Derek walks over, giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze before checking on his brother. 

Jace stands and walks over to me, wrapping me up in a hug. "Oh little elf, don't worry, he's going to be fine." I bury my face in his chest and feel the tears pricking my eyes but I refuse to cry. He just holds me for a moment, rubbing my back while I gather myself.

Eventually I pull away, and make my way to Chris. He does look better than before, his colour is back, his skin no longer feels clammy, and the sparks from our contact are stronger.

"Can I stay?" I mumble, not taking my eyes off of Chris.

"Of course Luna," Doc says. I didn't even hear him come in. "He has responded well, and should be released by the morning."

"Thanks Doc," Derek says, closing the door after Doc leaves.

I just stand there, looking at him as I skim my fingertips down his arm. He shifts like he's trying to come to. His hazel eyes flutter open and find mine as he gives me a small smile. "Hey."

"Hey," I say cupping his face, dropping my forehead to his. A small sigh of relief passes my lips as it feels like a weight is lifted, seeing him awake.

"Don't worry baby, I'm fine. It'll take more than a ragtag pack of mutts and silver to keep me away from you." He caresses my cheek, reassuring me as I struggle to keep my composure. I kiss him softly, as a throat clearing reminds me we are not alone.

"I swear to God, Jace," Chris growls.

"Doc needs to check you, but he wasn't about to interrupt," he teases, but the relief is clear in his voice.

"At least one of you has common sense," Chris grumbles.

I kiss him once more before stepping back. "Let him check you, I'm gonna go find something to drink and I'll be right back, okay?"

He nods and I step out, then Derek and Jace follow. Jace leads us to a lunch room caff and asks me what I want. Apparently whiskey isn't an option so he sets a pop down as we take a seat.

"I thought you would relax more once he woke up," Derek says as he locks his gaze on me.

"I feel a lot better seeing him awake," I admit. His raised brow tells me he wants more. "Hospitals haven't been my happy place the last few years," I mumble.

"Who'd you lose?" Derek asks.

"My mom, she had a multi-year battle with cancer, followed by my grandmother a few months later. Then two close friends the following year," I trail off.

"Sorry Jess, I had no idea," Jace says, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and giving a reassuring squeeze.

"Thanks. It's just one of those things. People die, that's just part of life, was just a lot all at once. It's hard to watch people you love slip away like that." I nervously fiddle with the pop can, focusing on my fingers.

Next topic please.

"Doc's done, you guys can go back," Jace says with a sad smile. "I've got to get back to work anyways."

"Don't worry about it, I'll take care here, you just focus on the pack. If you need anything you know where I am," Derek says with a nod as Jace nods back and heads out.

We make it back and Chris is laying back eyes closed, but he looks at us as we enter. "What happened to your hand!?"

I had completely forgotten about my smashed knuckles in all of this. "It's nothing really, I bumped my knuckle working on a wagon," I trail off embarrassed. Doc rushes in a moment later on alert.

"Chris-"

"Jess please," he cuts me off. I unwrap it to show him it's not bad, but that had the exact opposite effect. His eyes zero in on my swollen, bruised hand and split knuckles with dried blood. 

Okay, it didn't look pretty.

"I'll take care of her hand Alpha, you need to rest," Doc bargains. He nods and I sigh but follow Doc and get cleaned up.

As I said, nothing's broken, just soft tissue damage, but the clean professional binding does give me relief. By the time I get back, Chris has nodded off but Derek is sitting waiting.

"You should try and sleep," he says matter-of-factly.

I sigh, "My mind's way too wired for that."

"What do you normally do when this happens?" he asks.

"Shoot, but my shoulder is still fucked."

He stares at me a moment before shifting and grabbing something from behind his back. He hands me a dagger hilt first. "Take it."

"But Chris said-"

"You don't have a tendency to follow orders," he cuts me off. "And I don't report to him, I've always done my own thing. Besides, it's a good distraction."

The dagger is similar to the ones he has given me but not made of silver, and larger. It feels awkward in my hand.

"It's not going to bite you," he says, sounding disappointed. "Just don't drop it, hold it like you mean to. No not like a kitchen knife," he groans, palming his forehead.

He spends the next hour or so going over different grips, finding the balance of a blade, and switching from one grip to another. Fortunately, the rest goes smoother than it started. He grunts in approval as he watches me switch from a defense hold to throwing grip even. 

Maybe I'm not a lost cause after all.

Knife practice does the trick, as my yawn signals the end of my first training session. I move the chair right against Chris' bed, curl up and fall asleep in no time.

-----

I wake up the following morning to Chris stroking my hair. He smiles down at me as I wipe the sleep out of my eyes.

"Come on, let's go get some breakfast. Doc says I'm good to go," he says with a smile. 

We get up and head back to the pack house. "You okay?" He asks.

"Yeah, I'm just a bit tired I guess," I trail off with a shrug. On the way to the kitchen, I notice everyone is going out of their way to nod respectfully to Chris and it feels odd.

Everyone is happy to see him when we come in, I hang back letting them have their moment, eventually opting to go fix myself a plate away from the commotion.

I set a plate down for Chris and start to dig in, barely paying attention to the conversation around me. Chris heads to the kitchen for something, and Jace moves over.

"What's up, lil' elf?" He's eyeing me suspiciously.

"Nothing," I say, going back to my plate.

"I can keep bugging you till you tell me or you can just spill it now. You know how annoying I can be," he says with a mischievous grin.

"Nothing, I'm just tired. It's making me twitchy I think," I grumble. He just stares clearly expecting more. "I just feel like everyone is staring at me or something, I don't know, it just feels off. I know I'm being paranoid and it's just because Chris is back and..." 

I look up to see them all staring at me with a weird look. "What? I know I'm crazy, you don't need to remind me," I say with a frown.

Jace rubs the back of his neck nervously searching for the right words. "You are crazy, but not this time," he tries to joke but I just glare. "Everyone is relieved their Alpha is recovered but..."

"But what?" Chris cuts in, taking a seat.

"You officially exist now, not that you didn't before to us, but there are unspoken rules in a pack. Until you are declared, none of the regular pack members can really say anything. I mean it's not unheard of for an Alpha to date in case he doesn't find his mate but um-" Chris cuts him off with a growl.

"Smooth," Derek cuts in. "You were considered a special friend before, but when Chris declared you his mate, that made things official so to speak." 

I bury my face in my hands as I try to wrap my head around this. 

I so didn't need things to get anymore complicated right now.

"I'm sorry, I wanted to talk to you about it before this but everything just kinda got out of control." He gently grabs my wrists to see my face. "I know you don't like the attention, but really it's a good thing, the pack is happy I've found you. They were giving up hope of ever having a Luna."

Embarrassment over how it happened floods me, followed by regret. The whole thing is completely overwhelming, and the timing is total shit. We are just starting to grow a relationship and the hospital leaves me feeling shaky and anxious. 

"Baby, please, say something," Chris whispers, grabbing my hand. His hazel eyes are full of concern as they search mine.

"It's okay, it's my fault for forcing your hand. I'll figure it out," I mumble. 

Between my fall out with Xavier, anxious night in the hospital seeing Chris like that, and now my relationship being pack gossip central, it's all too much. I've moved right past panic and am left feeling numb as I shut down. "I'm gonna go lay down, I didn't sleep very well at the hospital." I stand and feel everyone staring at me as I look down.

"Jess," Chris starts. He gives my hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze, drawing my attention back to him.

"I'm fine, just tired. I just want to go to sleep... please," I whisper, dropping my gaze once more.

"Okay, I'll be up in a bit," he trails off as he kisses my hand before I head out.

For fuck's sake!