Sitting in Mia’s bedroom, River was reading a book. Elijah had sat down for the entire night with Mia, holding her h*and. River and Hunter pitied him but they didn’t stop him from coming to her. In the morning, River had to force Elijah out of the room so that he could get some rest.
Mia had come out from the hospital after a week and the doctor had advised her to take rest because her b*ody received so many toxins that it would be a miracle if she would recover within a few days. The doctor used to come every day and assess her health. Mia’s b*ody would shiver with tremendous pain in her stomach. The doctor had said that it was the effects of all the drugs that Rosalie had injected in her body.
Hunter came into the room and sat at the edge of the bed. “How is she doing?” He held his sister’s h*and and caressed it with his thumb. His heart was full of tenderness and he would feel helpless seeing her in this state. “I think she is doing well, Hunter? River said as she looked at Mia’s face. There was pallor on her face and now she had some color. Her l*ips were chapped and often there would be movement beneath her eyelids as if she was seeing a dream.
“When will she wake up?”
“Soon. The doctor said that the more she rests, the better. I don’t want to wake her up. This is the time she can recover. After this she will have to go to school and then she will become very busy.”
“Maybe, she can skip school this year? Hunter said as his t*hroat choked with emotions.
River let out a sigh. “Hunter;’ she said as she closed her book and got up. She cupped his cheeks. “How long are you going to stay on this guilt trip of yours? None of it was your fault. Mia decided to go to Natalie’s house on her own. I decided to look for Mia on my own. Where were you involved in this decision? You were not even here!”
“I should’ve been here,” he said. “I shouldn’t have gone. I failed to protect both of you.”
“Can I just smack you?” River shot back at him with irritation.
“You may…”
River closed her eyes and shook her head. She leaned forward and pressed a k*iss on his forehead and he curled his arms around her waist. “She was too young when our parents died. Since then I have been taking care of her. She is ten years younger than me and I learned all this the h*ard way. While I was taking care of the pack and our businesses, I was keeping an eye on her too. I made sure that Mia gets the best of the world. Everything was going fine until I made the decision to get Rosalie in my life. Actually, I didn’t want her. She was just pushing her way inside. Had you not come in my life-” a shudder ran down his body. “I don’t know what Rosalie would have done to Mia.”
River stroked his scalp softly. “I know what she would have done. She confessed that she would have sent Mia to the boarding school.” She paused. “Well, now that things are all over, let’s not talk about it.” She grabbed his hair and yanked his head up. She leaned down and k*issed him on his l*ips. “This is a new beginning. Stop brooding!” Hunter took a deep breath as he continued to gaze in the eyes of his beautiful wife. “I love you…” he said after a long while.
“I love you, too…”
Elijah came back in the afternoon. He had taken a bath and the dark circles that were beneath his eyes had reduced. “I will sit here now,” he said as if informing her.
River knew that there was no room for negotiation here. She smiled and got up to leave. She was going to meet Faria. “Where is Asher?” she asked on her way out.
“He is still with the IT guys. They are installing more cameras around the pack.”
Ever since Mia and River were kidnapped, Hunter had ordered them to install more cameras around the pack. River wanted to visit Mr. and Mrs. Jenna in the dungeons but Hunter had asked her to go with Asher. The two were still lodged in the prison. As for Rosalie, her punishment was gruesome. She was taken to the center of the market square where she was tied to a post. She had wailed and cried and sobbed. She had beseeched the pack members to save her from the tyranny of the werewolf Luna, but no one heard her.
River was the first one to hurl a stone at her. After that all other pack members were so angered that they started throwing stones at her with jeers and insults. River brushed her h*ands as if brushing the dirt off her. After that, Hunter held her h*and and they walked out of the crowd.
After this all the pack members had wanted the same punishment for her parents as well. But Hunter didn’t allow it. However, it was a lesson to all those who harbored ill feelings for his Luna. Hunter ensured that every pack member submitted to his Luna.
Asher was too busy with the IT guys. Though he would have taken River to Rosalie’s parents, she decided that installing cameras was far too important than visiting them. She decided to go and meet Faria.
“Luna…” Faria said in a voice that was like slipping on gravel. Faria was lying on the bed in the hospital. She was a gaunt figure when they retrieved her from Jenna’s basement. Evidently, they weren’t feeding her and so she had become very thin. Apart from that, they were giving her drugs to subdue her Lycan. After a week of staying in the hospital with doctors looking after her round the clock, Faria looked better, but she was still too thin and weak. There were tubes running all over her body.
“Faria!” River held her h*and and squeezed it lightly. This was the first time River was seeing Faria awake. “I am so glad that you have come back. Had I known that you were with the Jennas…” River’s t*hroat burned with anger. “I would have retrieved you.”
“You couldn’t have known,” Faria replied. “They would spray a lot of mint and lavender around their house to subdue my smell.”
River took a shaky breath in. “The whole family was twisted.”
Faria chortled and then began coughing. River stroked her c*hest to ease her. When Faria settled, she had a smile on her l*ips. “Yes, the whole family was twisted as hell. I heard what you did with Rosalie.”
“And?” River asked with anticipation. Faria’s opinion meant it was the general pack members’ opinion. “And what you did was awesome!”
River sagged with relief.
“The pack members were very happy with that decision of yours. They want her parents at the same post because they want to pelt stones at them. The bastards k*illed Howard and Natalie. They used their own family for their nefarious plans. Such s*hitheads should get the worst treatment possible. I mean the pack is so beautiful and rich. We have everything here. Alpha Hunter has given us so much and yet-” Faria shook her head.
“It’s greed, Faria…” River said. “And let’s not think about them any further. We have to move on.”
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