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“I asked Dr. West about her lack of nausea. He said it was common for some not to get it until after the first month, which he said was probably within the next few days, so I thought I’d be prepared.”
Celeste stood up and took the bottle of water from me. She swished some around her mouth before she spit it into the wastebasket, then took a sip.
“Goddess love you, Maya,” she said as she took one of the tablets, making Maya smile brightly.
“Dr. West said your nausea might hit worse than usual because it’s twins. I stacked my purse with stuff for you.”
Celeste glared at me for a moment as she continued to drink, confusing the hell out of me.
“Wait, what did I do?” I asked, catching up when she walked to the double doors.
Kara said we caused this, Atlas said, torn between amusement and sadness that our mate was mad at us.
I sighed. That was not a fight I’d ever win, so I simply took her hand and opened the double doors in front of us. We walked in and saw the girl’s surprise at seeing Celeste walking in, which only grew when Maya walked in with Danny and Gillian behind us.
No one said anything until a girl about thirteen or fourteen pushed through the frightened crowd of girls and ran straight at us, arms opening. Celeste bent down and allowed the girl to jump into her arms. Atlas growled lightly, the sound leaving my chest before I could stop it, and then he whined in my head.
What are you whining about?I asked.
Kara told me to shut it, he whined, and I laughed.Apparently, I’m not allowed to be concerned for my pups. She said if they can kick Sandra’s ass, they can hug a terrified girl.
She’s not wrong, I pointed out.
She’s never snapped at me before. Are mates going to be mad at us from now on?he asked as Celeste’s annoyance continued flowing through the mate bond.
I don’t know. We may be in for a rough few months. I think we’re about to get used to being put in our place, I predicted.
Fuck, no one tells you these things when they talk about having pups, Atlas whined with his tail between his legs.
They certainly fucking don’t. We’ll have to ask Dad for some advice when we get home. Maybe then we’ll have a chance at surviving this,I commented as Celeste and Maya went to hug the terrified girls, half of whom were in tears.
‘Tuli?’I reached out tentatively when I saw she was also getting teary. She turned away from the girls and walked back to me. She wrapped her arms around me and got on her toes, signaling my cue to bend down and kiss her softly. She returned her eyes to the room, her hand in mine. Her emotions felt more settled now.
“Alpha Markus is my mate. He has been investigating Alpha Geoff for months. He figured out what was happening to all the girls who disappeared over the past eleven years. All of our theories were wrong. Alpha Geoff has not been exiling us after we gained our wolves. He and Luna Luisa sold our friends on the black market.” A few more girls started shaking and crying at her words, and Celeste let out her luna aura. It was strong, as strong as an alpha aura, but still somehow gentle. The girls started calming down and looked at her in awe. “We had a meeting with the council this morning. They’ve stripped Alpha Geoff of his title. We’re taking you home with us. Crescent Moon Pack is a place where we’ve been accepted,” she said.
“But you’re mated to ranked members,” one of them said. “We are just slaves.”
Celeste was going to respond when Maya surprised us both, taking a step forward.
“I wasn’t always mated to Daniel when I first got to Crescent Moon. I spent an entire month there before I met him. Everyone in the pack was kind to me, helped me, and cared for me. Alpha Markus allowed me to study. They never beat me or touched me, or made me feel worthless. In the short time I’ve been at Crescent Moon, I’ve realized that what we’ve gone through here is not how an alpha treats its pack members, no matter how low-ranked they are. Celeste is an amazing luna, and she has been working so hard to help all of us.”
Celeste stepped forward, too, when Maya was done speaking.
“We won’t force any of you to come with us. You are free, but I hope that after everything we have been through together, you give us a chance to take care of you.” She turned to look at all of us with a smile.
“Beta Gillian has been sending Dr. Castle money to feed you since we left. He’s the reason you’ve been taken care of over the past few months. Gamma Daniel has been investigating the black-market sales, often putting himself in danger. Without his effort, we would not have gotten the proof to present to the council. We are bringing Dr. Castle and his family with us. He’s cared for us as much as he could all these years, even when it got him in trouble.” She smiled at Dr. Castle, who still had blood splatter on his white coat from where he had protected the girls, proving Celeste’s point.
“I’m not asking you to go someplace strange. I’m asking you to go where the people have already been working hard to help us. Even before I was mated to Markus, he was already looking for a way to help us. Everyone who comes with us will have a full medical assessment by doctors and therapists Markus has hired specifically to help all of us. You won’t be forced to work until the doctors clear you, and when you do, you will be paid for your work. Maya and I have been organizing everything since we left. We want you to go to school, and once you have an education, we’ll discuss what you want to do. If you choose to go to another pack, you’re free to do so. We’re giving you back that power. Your life is yours to choose again.”
“The council is also doing some research on each of you. They will check to see if you have any family that might have been away at the time of the massacre or any relatives that didn’t know you were alive. You see, no one outside of this pack knew you were survivors of the Sky Moon. We were led to believe you all died,” I told them. I could see them thinking and talking to each other. Finally, it was the same little girl that rushed Celeste, who spoke up first.
“I want to go with Celeste. She always stopped Sandra from hitting me, and she was the one who took care of us,” she said. Celeste smiled at her and took her hand with her free one. Slowly, all the girls agreed to come with us, and Celeste let out a breath.
“We have a bus outside ready to take us home. Bring what you want to take and meet us outside. We have clothes waiting for you at home.” Celeste let everyone know, and an excited bubbling of talk filled the room.
“It’s about a five-hour drive back, and we will be stopping to get takeout on the way, so the sooner we hit the road, the better,” I said, and the thought of takeout seemed to get everybody even more excited. I grinned at Celeste, happy with the joy I could feel through the mate bond coming from her.
“Dr. Castle, my men are at your house. They are helping your mate and kids load the moving truck. We’ll drive you there to pick them up, and someone will drive the rental back to the pack grounds. You and your family can ride on the bus with the girls if that plan works for you?”
