The Blood Moon Twins
Chapter 105

HARPER

The pack house was chaotic when we entered it. Doctor Zayla was already prepared with her assistants to work on Luna Adira. Alpha Mark, Remy, and Blade followed Doctor Zayla to the medical wing with Luna Adira still in Alpha Mark's arms. I was confident Luna Adira would be okay. Even though she was struggling with keeping consciousness, her heart was strong and so was she, which was how I knew she would pull through.

I felt okay after the attack, especially because Caulder had taken me to safety, and the vampires hadn't focused on me, but I was still shaken up. For them to target Remy like that was scary. If Caulder hadn't been there, I would have been more seriously injured, and there was a chance Remy would have been dragged away.

I still had my fingers intertwined with Caulder's, but we were starting to get swarmed by various pack members, shocked to see Caulder. He had been missing for a while, so I wasn't surprised that everyone was eager to see him. I just wished we had a moment alone once we were at the pack house to catch our breaths and relax.

"It's been a while, man. Glad to see you back."

"I didn't know you were getting back today!"

"We should have thrown a welcome home party."

Too many people were around us, and I started to feel a little suffocated and jealous. I wanted to keep Caulder all to myself, but I knew I couldn't be selfish like that. Caulder was loved by the entire pack, so, of course, everyone was eager to see him. "I'm going to get something to drink," I linked Caulder. I slipped my fingers away from his and pushed my way from the crowd.

"I will be there in a minute," Caulder linked back.

I could feel his eyes on me, but more people had taken my place, and it would be hard for him to get away from the crowd. Very few people cared that I was back home safe. I knew my parents would gush over me when they had a chance, but I was sure they were busy taking care of pack stuff or checking up on Luna Adira.

The kitchen was quiet, to my relief. It was in between meal times, and everyone was focused on other things. I felt like I could breathe now that people weren't rushing around me. I grabbed a glass and filled it with water before taking a long sip. I was lucky Caulder had protected me during the ambush. Part of me felt like I was too lucky. I was the only one who had walked away with zero injuries. I didn't even have to fight off any vampires, since they were too focused on the others. "What are you doing here?"

I flipped around and saw Julie standing in the doorway of the kitchen. She was staring at me with daggers in her eyes. She was angry, but I didn't understand why.

"I'm getting a glass of water, not that it's any of your business," I snapped back. I had no desire to be around Julie after what she tried pulling with Blade. She was a harlot who was too impatient to wait for her own mate bond, so she wanted to steal guys away from everyone else. I had never liked her, but after what she tried to pull, I completely despised her.

"I thought you were gone." Julie continued to glare at me.

"We came back just a few minutes ago. What's your problem?" I felt uncomfortable with the way she was glaring at me.

She pushed over a chair before huffing and turning on her heels to leave. Under her breath, I could have sworn she said, "You weren't supposed to come back."

I blinked a few times as the door slammed shut behind her. I wasn't sure if I had heard her correctly or not. I couldn't have heard her right, right? It didn't make any sense. I had to be missing something. I felt strange about the interaction, and I couldn't put my finger on the exact reason why.

I wasn't surprised that she hated me. I punched her pretty face in front of everyone. Not only did I damage her only good asset, but I also embarrassed her in front of everyone else. I had called her out for her poor behavior, and I was pretty sure not many people did that. I wouldn't have been surprised if she hated me more than anyone else in the pack, but the look in her eyes was darker than I expected.

I shook my head and finished my glass of water. I was tired and on edge after the ambush, and I didn't want to read too much into the situation. I didn't want to ever be alone with Julie again though. I didn't trust her and didn't want to put myself in an unnecessarily uncomfortable situation. "Are you okay?"

When I looked up, this time Bennett was standing in the kitchen, watching me. I hadn't heard him enter, either, and I knew I was really out of it. Normally, people weren't able to sneak up on me like this. "Yeah, I'm fine," I said.

"Julie just stormed out of here looking pissed. Did you punch her again?" There was a chuckle in his voice, which I wasn't surprised at. Bennett was considered to be one of the nerdy kids, so Julie was often unnecessarily cruel. I wondered if there was anyone out there who actually liked someone like her.

"I wish." I shook my head, thinking about how angry she was at just the site of me. "I honestly don't know what her problem was. Yeah, I get that she doesn't like me, but she overreacted at just seeing me."

Bennett picked up the chair from the ground and sat on it backwards. "Her pride is hurt. I've seen her act petty for months over something much smaller. Don't let it get to you."

"Yeah, she's not worth my time." I leaned against the counter and looked at Bennett. I used to hang out with him from time to time, but I had hardly seen him since Caulder and I started dating. "Hey, how far do you think Julie would go with someone she doesn't like?" Bennett rested his chin on the back of the chair. "What do you mean?"

"Like, do you think she would intentionally try to hurt me?" I couldn't shake the strange feeling I got from Julie, but I thought getting Bennett's opinion on the matter would put my mind at ease.

He hummed at my question, taking a moment to think about it. "I don't think so, at least not physically. I've seen her tear girls down psychologically, though. I don't think that would be a problem for someone like you. Why? Did she threaten you?"

"I don't think so. She just seemed more... aggressive than usual. I'm probably just in my head, though." I needed to get away from other people and take a chance to calm down. My mind hadn't stopped racing since the attack. I also wanted to check on the others to make sure they were okay.

"Maybe," Bennett shrugged his shoulders. "I wouldn't test her though. Just be careful."

"Yeah, will do." I pushed myself off the counter and started leaving. "I'm going to go rest for a bit. Thanks for talking to me."

"Sure thing. Oh, and Harper?" Bennett said, making me pause in my step.

I glanced back at him. "Yeah?"

"I'm glad you and the others made it back safely."

-

REMY

I sat on my bed with my knees pulled into my chest. I was freshly showered and wearing a set of clean and fully intact clothes again, so I felt better. My head still felt fogged up from the wolfsbane, and Doctor Zayla said that the effects of the drug should completely wear off in a day or two.

Blade was getting checked up right now. I had wanted to stay with him, but he and Doctor Zayla insisted that I relax because of the wolfsbane. I was tired, so I didn't protest too much. My mom was in the clear, although she was still unconscious. She was in good hands and was expected to make a quick recovery.

I was relieved to hear that news. I had been feeling guilty the entire way back. My mom was the only one with magical healing abilities until I discovered I could do it, too. I had wanted to heal her to show how strong I could be, but I hadn't been able to do what I wanted to with my magic. Even though I was stronger now and had more control than I had expected over my magic, I still felt like I was miles behind Caulder.

He was amazing during the fight. He stayed level headed and didn't hesitate to rush to my defense. Watching him fight was incredible. I had felt his strength and his power, and it was making me question whether I was the right choice to lead this pack. Caulder had a natural charm to him, and when I saw him taking charge, it felt like he was born for the role of future alpha.

As much as I wanted to be considered to lead the pack, now that it was actually an option, I was starting to wonder if it was the right choice. I wanted to lead the pack because I wanted to feel useful, but it has always been difficult for me to take charge when other pack members were around. It was starting to feel like I was trying to force myself into a role I didn't belong in. I had been so desperate to get my parents' attention that I never stopped to realize that being a leader may not be something I actually wanted to do for myself.

I had always wanted to be like Caulder. He was strong and confident. Others listened to him. I wanted to be like him so badly that it wasn't uncommon for me to take up his hobbies as a child. I often let my own desires and likes fall to the side. It felt different now, though. I didn't feel like I had to prove myself to anyone, and I felt like that was giving me more freedom to just be me. It was growing harder and harder each day to actually see myself as the leader of the pack.

I needed to talk to Caulder about how he felt about it all. He didn't want to lead the pack, so if I suddenly backed out after he fought for me, it would force him into a situation where he had to do something he didn't want to. That conversation would have to wait, though. Too much had happened, and Caulder had gone through too much recently. There would still be time before one of us had to take over the pack, so it wasn't an urgent matter.