Chapter Twenty Eight.

I groaned awake, resisting the urge to stretch knowing that the pinch in my side would only worsen. It was tolerable for now but any slight movement would no doubt open up the gash that I knew was embedded in my side.

The memories of the battle were still freshly imprinted in my mind. Every single detail replayed over and over again in my mind like a CD that was stuck of repeat. The last thing I remember I was Logan reassuring me my dad was dead and that I was finally safe.

The news that my dad was dead didn't bother me as much as I knew that it should. He was my dad, at one point in my life my dad had been loving and caring I was sure of it but for as long as I could remember my dad was nothing but a monster. Before the challenge I would have cried over the loss of my dad but what had happened has proven that he was no longer worth my tears. It may have been heartless but I had cried my last tear for my dad the day of the challenge.

I opened my eyes slowly. The invasion of a bright, white light had me blinking rapidly. I was familiar with the ceiling above and knew that I was in the pack hospital. My eyesight was no longer blurry and I began to look around seeing that I was the only one in the hospital wing, the beds on either side of me empty.

The only other person in the room was Logan. My heart swelled at the sight of Logan, slouched in the chair beside my bed, his feet crossed at the ankles resting at my side on the bed and his arms folded across his chest, tucked securely under his armpits. Logan looked so peaceful asleep; his head tilted to the side and mouth slightly open as he slept. His hair was sticking up in all different directions from where he'd been no doubt running his fingers through it repeatedly.

My eyes trailed over his entire form searching for any visible injury or sign that he was hurting in any way but after a minute of looking over every inch of him I could see that he was fine. Any injury that he may have had seemed to have healed by now.

He looked so beautiful, so relaxed. The man in front of me had vowed to protect me from the very beginning and he had done just that. My wolf and I smiled slightly, feeling nothing but love for our mate. I wanted to wake him up, to thank him and tell him just how much he meant to me.

I also knew that as soon as he knew I was awake that I would be in trouble, a lot of trouble for putting myself at risk. Logan was no doubt angry at the fact that I had challenged my dad. I just hoped that he would forgive me and see that I only every wanted to protect him and the pack from the threat that I had forced them to face.

A glass of water was resting on the table beside my bed and I wasted no time in reaching over and downing the entire contents of the glass. My mouth no longer felt dry and I took full advantage of it wanting nothing more than to hear Logan's voice.

"Logan," I whispered softly, hoping to wake him gently. I moved my hands to my sides so that I could force myself into a seating position. The pain in my side had me biting on my lower lip to stop myself from whimpering but after a few seconds I was sitting upright on the bed.

Logan reacted within a second of me whisper. He jumped up from the chair instantly, looking around the room scanning for any sort of danger. I couldn't help but giggle at the sight of Logan's confused face drawing his attention to me where I sat, awake on the hospital bed.

"You're awake." He exclaimed launching himself at the bed so that he could take my face in between his hands and pressed soft kisses over my exposed skin causing me to laugh loudly. Tingles were dancing across my face and spreading through my body dulling any pain I felt.

"Hi." I smiled, feeling an ache already in my cheeks from smiling so much.

Logan's forehead now rested against mine. His chocolate brown eyes were starring in my own as he still held my face gently.

"I'm so mad at you but all I want to do is kiss you." He muttered, shaking his head gently from side to side.

I had expected Logan to be angry. I was prepared for him to start screaming and shouting telling me how irresponsible it was for me to challenge my dad not to mention stupid. I sighed slightly, the happiness that seemed to bubble around us had now popped and I tensed ready for Logan to start shouting.

"Go on," I said, "start shouting."

"What were you thinking?" Logan began, releasing my face and taking a step away from the bed. "You could have gotten yourself killed! You nearly did get yourself killed! I agreed to let you fight because I didn't think you'd do anything like that! Esme the situation would have been handled without the challenge!"

Logan began, his hands balled into tight fists at his side. I opened my mouth to speak but then thought against it knowing that Logan needed to get everything off of his chest. It wouldn't help if I began to argue against him.

"Do you have any idea what would have happened if you had died? It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do watching you get beaten and then tackled and nearly killed by a rogue! Do you know that I don't think I can live without you, that I don't want to live without you. I would much rather die than live without you." Logan was now whispering by the end.

My heart was beating rapidly in my chest. At the time I hadn't been thinking all I cared about was keeping Logan and the pack safe, it didn't matter what happened to me as long as they lived. I know now more than I did at the time how stupid I was. I hadn't given much thought to how Logan would have felt if I died, all that mattered to me was that he was safe. It was selfish of me to not have thought about the outcome if I had died but at the time I wasn't thinking.

"Logan," I began, my voice just a whisper and thick with emotion, "I just wanted you to be safe. I couldn't have you or the pack get injured because of me. It was my dad who came to your territory looking for me. It was my problem to fix. All I could think about was your safety."

"Esme," Logan sighed, coming closer to me once again and sitting on the side of my bed, his hand encasing mine, "I understand why you did it and I know it's silly, because obviously you're alive and will be healed in not time. I just can't even think of losing you."

"You won't ever lose me," I tugged on his hand so that he fell forwards a little allowing me to take his face between my hands, "you're stuck with me forever."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Logan grinned before pressing his lips to mine.

I sighed blissfully into the kiss. Logan's kisses were the best thing in the entire world. It was as if I could forget everything and everyone with just a simple brush of his lips against mine.

Logan's outburst could have been a lot worse. I had expected it to be a lot worse. I was just pleased that he hadn't gone all Alpha-male and started wrecking the place. If it was possible, it just seemed to make me love Logan more.

"Oh my god," I murmured pulling away suddenly feeling panicked, "how is everyone? My mum? What about the rogues and my dad's pack? What happened?"

"Esme," Logan chucked, his hands placing themselves on my shoulders to sooth me, "everyone's fine, those that were injured were treated and have since healed, no one died from the pack. And Kerry is fine; she's with Vincent who's trying to keep her distracted by baking, by the way your mum can make some serious cookies. The rogues were all killed and buried along with your dad at the edge of our territory and well your dad's pack.."

"What?" I asked when I realised that Logan wasn't going to continue any further. "What about my dad's pack?"

"When the rogue attacked you it meant that all the rules in the challenge had been broken and you automatically won. The rogue sort of kicked started everything after I had killed it I turned to see that it wasn't just our pack killing the rogues but most of your dad's pack as well. Your dad's pack turned against him and helped us, those that remained loyal to your dad were killed but most, if not all of your dad's pack that came with him turned against him. I have a few of my pack at your father's territory now watching over until we decide what to do. Since you won the challenge you are now there Alpha so to speak." Logan stated in one big rush.

"They just turned against him?" I asked, speechless.

"They did and when everything was over they all gathered together with their heads bowed, surrendering completely." Logan had a small frown on his face. I reached out and smoothed the crinkles out of his forever with my thumb.

"Where are they?" I asked.

"They're in the holding cells, you're technically there Alpha and so I thought that we'd wait until you were better to go and talk to them." Logan stated.

I nodded in agreement, my mind a scrambled mess. I was now there Alpha, an Alpha of a pack that I had only known about for a couple of months and had never met. Logan was the Alpha not me, he was both born and raised to be in that sort of position. I didn't know the first thing about being an Alpha.

"I can't be there Alpha," I stated, "I can barely look after myself."

My wolf was silent. She wasn't growling or trying to break free. She was just there in the back of my head.

"We will figure this out together, I promise." Logan assured me.

"I have to go talk to them," I threw the blankets off of me; "I need to find out what happened."

"You don't need to go right now, you're still healing." Logan gathered the blankets in his hands and tried to cover me back up.

"Logan please," I begged, "I need to find out what happened, please."

Logan studied my face for a second before dropping the blankets at me knees and taking my hand in his again. A sign that he had given into my pleas.

"Only if Doctor Luke gives you the all clear." Logan insisted. I grabbed Logan's face between my hands once again.

"Deal." I agreed pressing my lips to his.

*

I pulled my hair out from under the scarf that was tightly wrapped around my neck. I winced at the slight pain it caused in my freshly dressed side.

Doctor Luke had come shortly after Logan had insisted that I get looked over. After checking over me and redressing the wound on my side that Doctor Luke has told us would be healed in the next day or two he had given me the all clear to get out of the hospital. I knew that Logan had secretly hoped that he would say I wasn't ready so that I didn't have to face the pack so soon. I was also feed after leaving the hospital, Logan hadn't let me leave until I had a full stomach.

Logan appeared in the mirror behind me. I looked terrible, that was the only word that I could use to describe my appearance. My face was a shade of different yellows and greens from the healing bruises, the wound on my side was disgusting and constantly needing to be redressed. I found out that I had been asleep for a day and night healing. Logan had been worried but Doctor Luke had assured him that it was normal.

Logan tugged on the end of my hair drawing my attention away from scrutinising my appearance before I could look any more at myself to him as he stood behind me.

"You look beautiful." He smiled as he dipped his head so that he could kiss the bruise on my jawline.

"I look like I've been dragged through a bush backwards." I state.

Logan chuckled before wrapping his arm loosely around my hips, cautious of my side. "Let's go."

Logan walked us through the house and out the door, just like always. We passed many people who seemed a little shocked that I was walking around but never the less greeted us both with beaming smiles. I smiled warmly at those that passed and even spoke to those that stopped to make conversation.

I felt different in myself. I no longer felt the usual weight on my shoulders; I could hold my head high and openly be myself without having to look over my shoulder in case my dad was lurking in the shadows. He was gone and I was free. My mum and I were free to finally be the people we wanted to be. I wanted to do dumb stuff, the silly little stuff that I never got to do when I was younger.

"You're different." Logan said, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I turned to see that he was looking down at me as we walked, an adoring smile on his face that had me ducking my head to hide the blush that coloured my cheeks. I guessed that would never change.

"Different?" I question as we made our way over to the training field.

"A good different," he concluded with a nod of his head, "I feel like I'm seeing the real you at last."

"I feel free." I stated.

As if to prove my point I let go of Logan's hand and skipped a little bit in front, twirling in the air before stopping when my ribs protested too much.

"Okay, I think that's enough for one day." Logan laughed taking my hand a guiding me to a building I hadn't noticed before.

Two men stood outside the door, standing up a little straighter once we approached. They bowed their heads whilst one opened the door for us. There were steps on the other side leading down and I guessed underground.

"Alpha, Luna." They spoke.

"Guys." Logan nodded his head the two. I gave them both a small smile.

"Call us if you need us." One said.

I followed Logan down the stairs. It was dark apart from the light at the bottom of the stairs where another door was closed.

"Are you ready? You don't have to do this right now we can come back in a few days." Logan hesitated with his hand on the door handle.

"I just want to get this over and done with." I confessed.

"I'm right here." Logan kissed the back of my hand before opening the door and closing it behind us.

I didn't know what I expected the holding cells to look like but I hadn't expected them to look so nice. The pack was kept behind bars but there was a single bed that looked comfortable, for each person in the cells and a sofa as well. A door was closed and I guessed that a toilet and shower was behind the door. A fridge filled with bottled water and a few pieces of fruit could be seen. It wasn't luxurious but everything looked clean and nice.

A familiar face sat on one of the beds in the closest cell. He looked different from when I had last seen him but that was to be expected seeing as I had only ever seen him at school in maths. I hadn't even known that he was a werewolf until a few seconds ago.

"Mr Rogers?" I asked stepping closer to the bars. I was almost a foot away when a arm wrapping around my middle stopped me.

"You know him?" Logan asked.

"He was my maths teacher." I nodded.

"Esme?" Mr Rogers asked causing me to look back at the cell to see that Mr Rogers had now gotten off of the bed and was a foot away from the bars on the other side.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Well I'm sure you already know." He laughed nervously. The man in front of me was so different from the maths teacher I had once known. He had been so strict and composed but the man in front of me looked nervous.

"I didn't know you were a part of my dad's pack." I stated, with a small frown.

"Everyone in school was a werewolf; the entire town was a werewolf. We were ordered to hide who we were from you." Mr Rogers stated.

"I can understand that," I nodded with a shrug. It would make sense as to why I didn't know about the existence of werewolves sooner.

It was most likely to easy to hide what they were from me. I only ever left the house to go to school where I was ignored and so I kept to myself. I had to be home by a certain time every day and then I wasn't ever allowed to leave the house. I never stepped outside unless it was to go to school. At home I was to busy avoiding my dad to care what was going on in the outside world.

"Look Esme," Mr Rogers began. I was aware that we had the attention of everyone in the holding cells that mostly consisted of my dad's pack, well my pack now. "We had no idea what your dad was doing to you or your mum. We only found out on the day that you left when I saw the bruises on your wrist I knew that it couldn't have come from anyone or anything else. I had every intention of helping you but by then you and your mum had already escaped."

I remained silent allowing Mr Rogers to explain everything without interruption.

"Your dad went crazy when he found out you were missing. He called an entire pack meeting and ordered everyone that could to find out where you had gone. It didn't take long for some rogues that he had hired to find you. The rogues that attacked you were ordered to by your dad to warn you that he had found you and then he left a note as well. As soon as he knew where you were he had us training none stop just so that we would be able to fight off your mates pack."

Logan tightened his arm around my waist and pulled me against his chest. I wrapped my hand around his arm to sooth him.

"I had already told a few people about what your dad did to you but we thought you were safe since you ran away. As soon as the rogues found you we started to a get a group together in secret to discuss what we could do. It didn't take long for almost everyone to find out what had happened. We would meet in secret, it was surprisingly easy to meet and keep those that were loyal to your dad away from our meetings. We planned in secret that as soon as the time was right we would help you."

I felt my heart start to warm a little at hearing what those that were now locked up did for me. They risked my father finding out that they planned to help me. I had no doubt that my dad would have locked them away or worse killed them for even thinking of helping me.

"As soon as the rogue attacked you we turned on the rogues and helped protect you. A pack is supposed to protect every member and even though you and your mum are not werewolves you were a part of our pack and we failed to protect you. We weren't about to make the same mistake twice."

I was speechless. I didn't know what to say or how to react and I was sure that my face showed exactly how I felt.

"I vow to protect, serve and care for my Alpha, but first I beg for forgiveness." A voice called out from the cell to the side and I looked to see a man on his knees, his head down and tilted to the side so that his neck was exposed. A sign of submission.

The man's vow seemed to cause a chain reaction as all at once other began to declare the same as each other before asking for forgiveness. It wasn't long before everyone was on their knees, heads tilted and necks exposed. Mr Rogers included. I was suddenly overwhelmed, forcing me to take a step back but Logan's chest stopped me from backing away.

My wolf was howling inside of me, finally reacting. She was proud of her pack for what they had done to keep us safe. They were now her, our pack.

"They can join our pack." Logan's voice flittered into my mind.

I turned slightly so that I could see Logan over my shoulder. He was looking at the pack before him with an unreadable expression.

"Can that happen?" I asked.

"Of course," Logan stated, "They protected you with their lives when most packs would not. It will take time for our pack to adjust but after they are told what your pack did I'm sure it will be fine. It may take a little while for everyone to adjust but in time everyone will come together."

"I can't be an Alpha, we both know that."

"It's going to be okay," Logan reassured me. "We will figure something out."

Logan was right. We could figure something out that will suit us all out in the long run. For now, all I could do was that merging the two packs was the best thing for us all.

"You don't need to ask for forgiveness because you didn't know, none of you did anything wrong."

AN: Hello again! So I have every intention of finishing this story before christmas as there is only a few chapter left! So, did anyone think that the wolf would have been Mr Rogers? Thank you all for your support, love you! And thank you to @freelywild for the beautiful picture of her favourite quote.