Chapter 140
The tiny fire of hope that was almost snuffed out by many cul-de-sacs suddenly flared up again. The belt might very well be a stolen good!
“When did this raid happen and where can I get more information about it?” Lucien asked enthusiastically.
Lady Fangblade had to suppress a smile when she looked at Lucien.
“For that, you need to ask Ronan yourself. The raid happened around a week after he became the Alpha. So to say a speck of dirt at the start of his reign. Until now he is still very unhappy when he has to talk about it.”
“I don’t care how uncomfortable he is, I will get him to talk,” Lucien insisted.
It was necessary to solve the big riddle that was ahead of them. Their enemy was lurking in the darkness, pulling invisible strings and making one move after another against them.
Lucien needed to find the person before he caused even more harm to the people that he cared about.
At that time, his phone started to ring. Lucien took his phone out of his pocket and saw that it was his mother.
.....
“Sorry, Lady Fangblade,” Lucien quickly said. “I need to go.”
Lucien rushed out of Ronan’s ward and walked toward the stairs. He picked up the call as he ran down the flights of stairs.
“Mom? How is Anna?”
“The doctor just came,” Alice informed him. “Are you coming? I think I can hear your footsteps.”
At the end of the other line, Alice furrowed her brows and shifted her eyes toward the door.
Sure enough, Lucien appeared at the door seconds later, panting and sweating as he stumbled into the ward.
“Sorry,” he apologized while pulling her mom into a hug. And then he scanned the ward for other people who were already there.
Kendra and Acatha were seated on the chairs. Kendra was more or less unscathed. She only had scratch and bite wounds that healed within a day. Acatha’s arm was broken and put into a cast.
On the bed sat Annalynne with half her head covered in thick bandages. She also broke her right leg during the fight.
Lucien greeted Kendra and Acatha, and then he went to sit next to Annalynne.
“Hey, Anna,” he took Annalynne’s hand in his and gently squeezed at it. Annalynne turned her head to look at her brother, but her gaze was empty and she said nothing in return.
Ever since they returned from the war, Annalynne had not said even a word, let alone conversed with others.
The doctor said that it was caused by immense shock.
She was one of the werewolves who were trapped under the mudslide. When they first recovered her, she started screaming in horror until she passed out. After that, a complete radio silence.
The door was opened again and a nurse rolled Desmond’s wheelchair into the ward.
“Am I late?” He asked, looking around at the people inside the ward.
“No, you are just in time,” Alice said with a smile. “Come in, Desmond.”
“How are you doing, Desmond?” Lucien inquired.
Desmond shrugged.
“Eh. I was hit hard and some of my bones were dislocated. I think I am more or less fixed, but the doctor insists on keeping me around for observation.”
“That’s because you need to practice walking again,” Kendra reminded him. “The doctor told you that he will not let you go until you can leave the hospital on both feet.”
Desmond groaned.
“That will take months! I want to go back to my wife and kids!”
Kendra and Acatha exchanged smiles.
While Alice entertained the visitors, Lucien wrapped an arm around Annalynne’s shoulder and gave his sister a kiss on the forehead.
“Anna, you will be fine,” he whispered. “The war has officially ended. No one is going to hurt you anymore.”
The red-headed woman said nothing, but she leaned her head on Lucien’s shoulder.
“Good girl,” Lucien praised as he rubbed his sister’s upper arm.
The next time the door opened, Gordon Clearwater entered.
Kendra, Acatha, and Desmond were mildly surprised.
“Mr. Clearwater!!!” They shouted in unison.
“Hello, everyone,” Gordon nodded at the three members of his pack. He then approached the bed and took both of his children into his arms.
“Lulu, Anna, you two have worked very hard,” he said, his voice trembling from emotion. “I am sorry that I could not be there for you.”
Lucien hugged his father as well.
“It’s alright, Dad,” he mumbled against the man’s shoulder.
Anna still said nothing, but she kept looking at Gordon with a pair of sad eyes.
“How is my little princess doing?” Gordon raked his fingers through Anna’s curly hair.
No answer as always.
“The doctor is coming soon,” Gordon informed them.
“I don’t know about this,” Alice said, rubbing her hands together nervously. “What if Anna is getting worse?”
“Mom, don’t say that,” Lucien said while covering Annalynne’s ears. “Anna will be fine. She is just...”
She was just traumatized, that’s all.
The word “just” sounded like an impartial diminution of what happened to every single werewolf who took part in the war.
How could she not be traumatized? It was traumatizing for all of them.
It was not Annalynne’s fault at all. She was one of the victims.
The doctor came in accompaniment of two nurses.
“Ready?” He asked everyone in the room.
Some remained silent while most nodded stiffly. Annalynne was moved to the edge of the bed and the doctor held a pair of scissors up.
Once Annalynne caught sight of the pair of scissors, her eyes turned round and she jumped off the bed.
“Anna...!!!”
Panicked, Annalynne pushed everyone who was in her way as she stumbled with one foot toward the door.
“Anna!!!”
Lucien threw himself at Annalynne and grabbed her from behind.
“Anna, please,” he begged. “We will always be with you. No matter what happens, we are still one family.”
Tears started forming in Annalynne’s eyes. She opened her mouth and a sorrowful cry came out.
“Waaaahhhhhhhh... Ahhhhhhh...!!!”