Chapter 9: The Ribbons Turned Red

She walked with green ribbons. The forest answered with blood. The pack gathered. The bond held. The healing began.
The letter spoke—revealing the wolf she never knew she was. And as the Alpha prayed, the Moon whispered: “All will be well.”

Rosa woke up on Saturday morning and remembered what had happened the previous day: she had searched for and found what she had seen. She had found her family’s gravesides. It was a complete and total shock to her. All this time, she thought they were in Italy; they were resting in peace here instead, and she did not even know how that came to be because no one else had told her anything after the car accident. She had no memory of what had happened to them after that fatal night. She had been exhausted when she got home after what had happened last night and had gone straight to bed.

Rosa explored further before spending more time at her family’s gravesites. She showered, dressed, had breakfast, took her tablet, and got ready to go out again. This time, Rosa picked the light green ribbons from her backpack and wrote about them in her notebook, just as she had done the two earlier times, though she had forgotten to write about them in the notebook. Rosa remembered this morning to write them down and remember how to get there and back again in the notebook, and come and visit them. After getting her backpack ready, she went out the back door like usual instead of going out the front. Clutching onto the light green ribbons, she repeated her previous day’s activities.

Rosa suddenly noticed that everything around her had gone quiet as she walked. Too quiet, she thought to herself. Rosa had gone further than intended to. She went to turn around to go back, but a large, growling, black-furred wolf with pitch-black eyes stopped her. Rosa’s eyes went wide with fear when even more wolves of various colours and the same pitch-black eyes joined in and surrounded her. Rosa stood there, frozen in fear. She was shaking so much that she did not see the black wolf approaching her. By the time she did, it was too late. The black-furred wolf attacked. Rosa screamed as loud as she could, but nothing worked. Her screams had made the wolf even angrier. She was not strong enough, as the wolf bit her arms and legs. They were ripping and tearing at her clothes. Luckily, her backpack protected her back from getting hurt more than it already had.

Just as quickly as the attack started, it was all over in the next minute. It was then that Rosa realised the wolves had left her lying on the ground, hurt and in extreme pain. They had left her there to die alone. Moaning, trembling, and crying in pain, she wondered where they had gone, hopefully far away from her. Rosa also wondered why this had happened to her as she lay there. Where are they, the ones that follow her around in the shadows? What happened to them? I hope they are okay,” she thought to herself, and prayed. Freezing after hearing other noises from several ways as the forest became alive again, she heard a long, loud howl followed by more howling. The cries were growing closer and closer to where she lay on the ground, Rosa thought to herself.

When everything seemed lost, a large brown-furred wolf suddenly burst through the bushes and barked loudly; as it did, two or more wolves arrived. One wolf stepped forward. This wolf’s fur was a mix of black and brown. Like the wolf, it pricked forward its ears, and it was beautiful, with its long-feathered tail hanging down behind it. The wolf lay down on the ground and crawled towards her, whining. Rosa looked up but did not recognise the eyes that were watching her. They were not the gold eyes from the first night she had come outside her house. This wolf has brown eyes. Scared, she looked and pleaded to the wolf as if it could understand her. “Please, can you help me?” she asked, grimacing in pain. The strange thing was that the wolf seemed to understand her. As she lost consciousness, she could have sworn that the wolf had turned into a man with black hair and brown eyes.

Everything went blank after that, but before that happened, the man said to her, “Hold on, Miss, help is coming. My name is Gamma Giovanni Conte”, he told and then said to Lorenzo and Tommaso, who had shifted back into their human forms, “Go get the pack doctors as quickly as possible and bring them back here. She’s in no condition to move now.”

They both replied, “Yes, Sir!” They both shifted back into their wolf forms and sprinted back to the pack’s hospital, linking with the pack’s doctors about the situation with the Luna they ran.

In the meantime, Giovanni stayed with the woman and continued talking to and comforting her, assuring her that everything would be all right, which would devastate the Alpha when he heard this. Giovanni contacted his Alpha about what had happened to his mate, our precious Luna.

“Alpha!” Giovanni yelled through the link.

Meanwhile, back at the Ferrera Wolf Packhouse, Luca’s head immediately shot up from the paperwork he was going over. “Yes, Giovanni, what’s wrong?” he asks, worried.

“I’m so sorry to tell you this, but wild wolves attacked Luna. I’m with her, but I’ve sent Lorenzo and Tommaso back to get the packs from the doctors. It isn’t good, Alpha. She has a lot of bites and scratches on her arms and legs, and she’s bleeding as well as being unconscious at the moment,” he replies with shock in his voice, sounding upset and angry as he says.

Luca thanks him while he rushes out of the packhouse, saying, “I will be there as soon as possible.” He yells out for his brother, Constantino, and his Beta, Stefano, as he tells them what happened while still in shock. The looks from his brother and best friend about his mate say it all. After ripping their clothes off, they shift into wolf forms and rush to where Giovanni and his mate await help.

Luca and his wolf, Diego, were beside themselves, worried about how bad their mate was. They get there; the sight of seeing his mate and the condition that he finds him in is heartbreaking and terrifying, to say the very least. Luca shifted back into his human form, not even worried about being naked in front of the others. No one even noticed that Rosa had come to for a few minutes as he shifted back. Rosa just got a glimpse of this wolf’s eyes before falling unconscious. His eyes were gold. This wolf was the same one she had seen at her place the first night she had gone outside her house. Those gold eyes belonged to him. No, the pulling sensation was not correct; the compulsion called to her as she felt it. Rosa recognises it. The feeling stopped when another wolf arrived, as if he meant something to her.

Rosa had come to for a few minutes. What she saw was unbelievable but true. Like the other man, this one had just transformed from a dark brown wolf into a man with dark brown hair and eyes, trying not to notice that he was naked and did not seem to care. Rosa saw the wolf’s eyes before he shifted back into his human form. She recognised those gold eyes. They were the gold eyes she saw from the first night she came outside her house. Those gold eyes belonged to him.

The pulling sensation was not correct; it was the compulsion calling to her as she felt it. Rosa could recognise it before going back under again, and the feeling had stopped when this other wolf arrived on the scene as if they meant something to her. Rosa slipped back into unconsciousness from the pain, wondering why it had stopped. She would have to ask him when, or if, she would wake up again. Rosa willed herself to fight and win the battle. She would do everything she could to win and could ask him millions of questions, getting the answers she needed to commit to memory. He was the only one who could, and she would not back down until she got the answers from him, Rosa thought to herself as she slid back under into unconsciousness.

As Luca and the others broke through, they saw his mate and his condition. It was heartbreaking and terrifying. He asked Giovanni in a frightened voice, nearly breaking down at the sight of his mate when they had reached them, saying to him, “What the hell happened, and how did it happen?” Luca growled.

“I’m not sure what happened, Alpha,” Giovanni replied. “We were waiting for her out the back like normal, but she didn’t come back like normal; she went out the front door instead,” he explained. “By the time we realised this and arrived as quickly as possible, they had already attacked her and left. As soon as I saw her, I told Lorenzo and Tommaso to get the pack doctors, and then I linked you straight away. I’m so sorry, Alpha,” he says sadly, visibly upset with himself.

“It’s alright, Giovanni, and I’m not blaming you,” Luca replied as he comforted the upset Head Warrior. “Why would she go out the front door instead of the back door?” Luca wondered.

“Well, I noticed green ribbons marking the way. It looks like she went too far. She had tried to turn back, but the wolves attacked before she could. But the only person who knows anything is your mate, and she’s in no condition to talk to for the moment.” Giovanni answered. They talked and discussed the situation, keeping their eyes on her.

Lorenzo and Tommaso had just entered the area where they were waiting, having arrived with the doctors in tow. “Alpha, the doctors are here,” says Lorenzo.

Luca replied, “Thanks for getting back here so quickly,” he replied, upset.

“No worries, Alpha,” replied Lorenzo and Tommaso.

One Doctor carefully approached the upset Alpha.” Alpha, my name is Doctor Cristian Mancini, and this is my partner and mate, Doctor Arianna Greco-Mancini. I’m so sorry that we are meeting up this way, but we will do everything we can to help her get stabilised enough first to move her and take her to the pack hospital,” he said.

Luca replies, “Thank you for your kind words. Can you please help her?” he asks, nearly in tears.

“We will, Alpha,” they both said to him. “How bad are her injuries?” Doctor Mancini inquires.

Luca answers him, “As far as I can tell, she has bites, scratches, and blood all over her arms and legs. She is currently unconscious because of the pain,” he said, sounding worried.

Doctor Mancini tells him, “Alright, all we can do for now is treat and dress her wounds as much as we can before we move her.”

Luca replies, “Okay.” Both doctors started their treatment, but they had to remove the backpack from her back before they did.

They then sedated her to pull off the backpack and treated her without hurting her. As soon as they could, Doctor Greco-Mancini asked, “Where is the stretcher we brought with us?” she inquired.

“It’s here, Doc,” replies Tommaso for the first time since returning. Setting up the stretcher next to their patient, Rosa carefully lifted them onto it. They started to the pack hospital for further treatment while Giovanni carried the backpack.

Forty-five minutes later, they arrived at the pack hospital, where someone had set up a private room for her. Both doctors were in attendance, setting up the heart monitor and an intravenous drip for fluids and medication to help keep her hydrated and out of pain and giving her antibiotics to help fight against infections. Luca sat quietly in the waiting room while the doctors attended to their tasks. It was agony; I was waiting for any news about his mate.

Finally, after what felt like hours but was only thirty minutes at most, the doctors came out of the room and said to him, ‘She’s okay; that’s all we can do for now.’ She needs to rest and have time to heal. It will take longer because she is human. She is comfortable for the moment. I gave her some more pain medication, and she will be out for a few hours. We will check back on her later. In the meantime, please take a shower and eat something. The bathroom is through there,” pointing to the other side of the hospital bed. “There’s nothing more to do but wait,” said Doctor Mancini.

Luca replies, “Okay, I will try to.”

Before leaving the room, Doctor Greco-Mancini asks him, “Do you know if she takes any medicines or medications?”

Luca replied, “No, not that we are aware. Why?” he asked.

“We need to know if she is so that she is not allergic to anything, and someone needs to go to her place to check it out and bring it here. Plus, it might be a promising idea for one of the mated females to get clothes and toiletries here. She might be more comfortable in her clothes than in the hospital gown, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Yes, we do, and I will get right on to it,” he answers her.

“Okay, we will be back later to check up on her. Until then, make sure that they bring everything here,” she instructed.

“Okay, Doc, and please call me Luca,” he answers the Doctor.

“Okay, as long as you call me Arianna,” she replied, and he nodded before leaving the room.

After the Doctor left, Luca quickly went through the mated females of his pack members in his mind. He chose Emma Moretti, a blonde-haired, green-eyed she-wolf. He links up with her, saying, “Emma, it’s Alpha Luca here. Are you busy?”

She replies, “No, Alpha, I’m not busy; how can I help you, Alpha?”

He replies, “Could you and Antonio please go to my mate’s house and grab whatever clothes and toiletries for a couple of weeks? If you are taking any medications, please bring them with you to the hospital. The doctors need to know if she is on anything. Could you and Antonio please do that for me? She is staying at the old Romanetti family property. I would appreciate it very much,” he says to her.

Emma replies, “Yes, of course we can, Alpha. It will be our pleasure to help,” Luca said to her.

“Thanks, Emma. I will see you at the hospital. I will be in my mate’s room; that will also double as my office for now,” he said.

Emma replies, “Yes, Alpha, I will be there as soon as I can be. May I ask how our Luna is?”

Luca informs her, “Luna Rosa has bites, cuts, and scratches on her arms and legs; the Doctor has given her pain medication, and she is now resting and under sedation. It’s just a waiting game now, and she will take longer to heal because she’s human. Doc said it would help her if I were with her because the mate bond will help, too,” he tells her.

Emma answered, “Oh my gosh, she was fortunate it wasn’t worse, and yes, the mate bond will help. We are heading over to her place now, Alpha. We will be at the hospital as soon as possible and praying hard for Luna to get better soon,” she said to him.

Luca replied, “Thanks, Emma, it means a lot.”

“You’re welcome, Alpha. We will see you soon,” she told him.

Luca replies, “Okay, thanks again for your help, and I will see you both soon.”

Emma returned, “No worries, Alpha.”

Luca then links with Stefano next. “Stefano, how is everything going at the packhouse?” he asks.

His Beta answered him. “Everything is fine, Alpha. Concentrate on your mate for now. Constantino, the pack, and I will do the rest,” Stefano told him.

He replies, “Okay, thanks, buddy. I linked Emma and Antonio Moretti to her place to bring her belongings and any medication she might have over to the pack hospital for the doctors to review. Do you know where her backpack went?” He remembered she had it on her back after the attack.

Stefano replied, “Giovanni had it last. He was carrying it to the hospital for Luna while carrying it here. He must still have it; why?”

Luca replied, “I just needed to see if something was important inside.”

“Oh, okay, how is she?” he inquires. Luca replies, “She has an intravenous drip, which has her sedated and giving her pain medication, and her wounds are getting looked after. It is now just a waiting game. She will take longer to heal than a human. It’s going to be a long wait,” he says back.

Stefano tells Luca, “Yeah, but don’t worry; she will make it. She is one tough cookie, and please do not forget that we have not yet heard from Elder Gabriel. Wait and see what he says about what he has found out. If he has found anything, it has only been two days since you talked to him. In the meantime, being with her and the mate will strengthen the bond because I can tell she feels it. She was looking at you the first night we checked her out. What do you think about that?” Stefano said to him.

Luca replied, “That sounds good to me. I must ask the doctors if I can set up a temporary office in her room.”

“And if the doctors say yes?” Stefano asked him.

Luca replies, “Then I will do it and let you know if there are any updates on how she’s doing, okay?”

Stefano says to Luca, “Yeah, okay, I will talk to you soon” Luca answers, “Yes, for sure.”

Luca then goes to find a doctor. He sees Doctor Mancini and asks, “Doctor Mancini, would it be all right if I could set up an area for a small temporary office in her room to do work and be near her so that the mate bond will strengthen?”

Doctor Mancini replies, “Yes, Luca, that’s fine with me, but no phones. We need to keep it quiet for the other patients here, and we can organise a bed. Please call me Cristian.”

Luca replies, “That’s fine with me. I understand about the phones. Thanks, Cristian.”

Cristian answered, “No worries, and you’re welcome, Luca; I will see you both later when I check up on her.”

Luca replies, “Sure, Cristian, see you soon.” Cristian returns for his hospital rounds, while Luca returns to Rosa’s room.

He links Stefano back to tell him the news. “Stefano, the doctor said yes to the small temporary office, but we don’t have phones, so that we don’t disturb the other patients here, so if anyone needs me, they need to do it via the link,” Luca tells him.

Stefano replied, “Okay, I will get everything organised for you. Which paperwork do you need the most?” he asked.

Luca replies, “Just what’s already on my desk; for now, I can come back and get more if I need to,” Luca informs him.

Stefano tells Luca, “Okay, I will bring everything over as quickly as possible.” Luca replies.

Luca says, “Thanks, and please get someone to help you.”

Stefano tells Luca, “Yes, I will see you soon.” Luca answers.

Luca replies, “Okay, let me know when you get here, and I will come and help you, but we have to be quiet because of the other patients here.”

Stefano replies, “Yes, I will make sure that they are as quiet as possible. See you soon,” he tells him.

Luca replies, “Okay, see you soon.”

Stefano says to Luca, and they break off the link.

Luca then links up with Giovanni, asking him, “Giovanni, it’s Luca. Do you know what happened to my mate’s backpack?” he inquired.

Giovanni answers, “Yes, Alpha l does; I left it at the Reception Desk with the Head Nurse, Elena Ricci. Why?” he asks.

Luca says, “I just wanted to see if there was anything important in it.”

Giovanni informs Luca of the backpack’s contents. “No, there were only bottles of water, energy bars, coloured ribbons she used for marking her way around, plus her house keys. That was it, Alpha,” he replied.

Luca replies, “Okay, thanks for letting me know. I just wanted to let you know that Dr Mancini allowed me to set up a small temporary office in her room, so I could work from home, be near Rosa, and strengthen our bond. Hopefully, Stefano is organising all of that and bringing it all here with some help,” he tells him.

Giovanni asks Luca, “Okay, Alpha, is there anything else you need?”

Luca replies, “No, not for the moment. Training is the same as usual. There is only one final task remaining. I need someone to go where we found her and put something together to cut the area off so that those wolves cannot hurt anyone else,” he said.

“Oh, Lorenzo, Tommaso and I will do that, Alpha. We have special tape available for that purpose. It should do the trick because it reflects a yellow light, helping you see in the dark. We can do that now and let you know when we are through,” he replied.

Luca answers, “Okay, and can you thank the others for me, please?” he asks.

Giovanni says, “No worries, Alpha and I will,” he replies before breaking the link.

In the meantime, Luca sat in the chair beside her bed and waited. An hour later, there was a soft knock on the door. Stefano stuck his head through the door and asked Luca, “We brought everything. Where would you like the table and the chair?”

Luca replies, “Over near the window, please. There’s plenty of light to work in,” he said.

Stefano replied, “Okay, Constantino is with me, too.”

Luca replied, “Alright, I will open the door for you. Did anyone else come with you?”

Stefano said, “Yes, Giovanni, Angelo, and Emma Moretti. They just got here and brought everything she might need.”

Luca asked him, “Did she find any medicines or medications?”

Stefano replies, “Yes, Emma did and gave it to Dr Mancini immediately. She has medication in tablet form. Emma says she takes the tablet as directed on the label every day. Why? We do not know yet.” But the weird thing is, Emma found four envelopes,” he replies as he waits for Luca’s reaction.

Luca replies, “What? Where did she find them?” —asking, confused by the information.

Stefano replied, “She found them in a box with some other items that Emma thought she might want with her,” he explained.

“Alright, where are they now?” Luca asks him.

Stefano says, while his hand goes to the back pocket of his jeans, “I’ve got all of them. Emma gave them to me to give to you,” and hands the letters to Emma. Luca thanks him. Stefano then leaves to return to his duties as second-in-command.
After Stefano leaves, Luca hears people knocking on the door before entering the room, as Luca ponders what the letters could contain. Luca looks over and sees Constantino and Giovanni bringing in the table, with Angelo Moretti carrying the chair behind him. Emma follows her mate, Angelo, with a box in her arms. Luca tells the guys to place the table and chairs near the window. So, they do what he asked. Emma puts the box on the table, and Luca says Thank you,” to them. He notices they are looking at his mate.

Luca said to them, “She’s under sedation for the pain but also to help her with the healing,” the Alpha explained. “Other than that, it’s a wait-and-see how she goes daily,” he said.

His brother replies, “Luca, she will make it. The Moon Goddess will not take her away from you now that you have found her after all these years,” he says, comforting and encouraging his brother. We are all praying to the Moon Goddess for her recovery. We can’t wait to meet her,” he says to him.

Luca replies, “Thanks, everyone, for the support. I appreciate it, and Rosa will, hopefully, appreciate it too when she wakes up. Until then, I will spend as much time as possible with her.”

Giovanni replied, “Alpha, we understand. Ask us for help whenever you need it, and we will be there,” he said to Luca.

“Thanks, Giovanni; I will. I appreciate your help with this. In the meantime, it is time for me to catch up on work before dinner,” he tells them.

They all said, “Okay, see you later,” and left the room to return to their duties before dinner.

A light knocked on the door, no sooner than Luca had sat at the table and done his work. Dr Greco-Mancini entered the room and informed him that his bed had arrived. “Where would you like the bed to go?” she asked him as two orderlies entered the room carrying the bed and a mattress.

“Um, please sit on the other side of the table, guys, and thanks,” he said to them.

“Yes, Alpha, and you’re welcome. Anything for our Luna,” they said to him. They placed the bed where he wanted it to go while the Doctor checked on Rosa, and then the three left the room.

Before she left, Luca asked, “How is she?”

Dr Greco-Mancini replied, “She’s doing well, but we will take it one day at a time for now,” she said to him.

Luca responds, “Okay, what about the medication that Emma found at her house?”

Dr Greco-Mancini replies, “Well, apparently, she took the tablet form every morning, so that she will need one tomorrow morning. However, I would like to have the tablet evaluated before giving it to her tomorrow morning. Is that okay with you? It’s just a theory at this stage, but when you said you could not scent her when you first met, is that right?”

Luca replies, “Yes, that’s right. Why, what are you thinking?”

Dr Greco-Mancini replied, “I’m thinking, and this is a theory. But I think the medication she has been taking might be a scent blocker. “She explained her theory to him as she continued, “As I understand it, there is a letter addressed to you as the Alpha of the pack. It would be best if you read it first. It could hold the explanation for everything that we looked for,” she said to him.

Luca looks at the Doctor and says, “You think that could cause it? And by her family, why would they do that?”

The Doctor replied, “Who knows, maybe the letter could explain it, so read it and let me know as soon as possible. It could be helpful with her treatment, okay?”

Luca replied, “Yes, okay, I will read it. I had better make up my bed before dinner so I can read it,” to her.

Dr Greco-Mancini replies, “Yes, that’s fine. I will see you later. Please call me Arianna; there will be less confusion.”

“Okay,” he replied as Arianna walked out of the room to look at her other patients.

Luca makes the bed before it is time for dinner. When he has done so, he returns to work and resumes his duties. An hour later, Luca completes the paperwork.

Luca looked up at the letter with his name on it, which he had put on the desk. He was deciding whether to open it and wondered who could have written it. There was only one way to find out, as Stefano had brought the letter opener and run it under the seal to open it. Luca unfolded the letter and read it.

It reads, To The Alpha of the Ferrera Wolf Pack.

When you get this letter, it will be years too late. You might or might not recognise Romanetti’s family name. Please let me explain. I know you will have questions that need answers. My name is Antonio Romanetti, and I am a mate with Nicoletta Romano Romanetti. My parents are Mario and Maria Romanetti.

If you read this letter, Alpha Ferrera, we have all passed on. My family and I left our pack shortly after meeting my mate, Nicoletta, for family reasons. Not long after we mated, Nicoletta fell pregnant with a little girl, as we later discovered.

When she was born, we named her Rosa. Her full name is Rosa Maria Romanetti, and she is our only child. And yes, Rosa is a full-blooded werewolf. As she grew up, we took precautions to ensure her safety because she left the pack. We were to change her surname to her mother’s family name, Romano, and have her take a daily tablet form of a scent blocker until she turned eighteen. We gave her the tablets as they were more comfortable. She has been taking them since she was thirteen. If she still takes them, something has happened to us, so we were not there to stop the dosages. We took these precautions to protect our daughter from Rogues and other werewolves. We also used the scent blockers for safety so that no one could discover our secret: that we were werewolves and not part of a pack, except for your father.

There is one thing about our daughter, Rosa, that you should be aware of. Since she was young, Rosa has had a sixth sense. She can feel when something is wrong and tell when it is. If you come across our daughter, could you take care of her? She means the world to us, even if we are no longer alive.

I leave these instructions for you and the Doctor. Someone must stop the tablets. It will take a month or more for them to withdraw from her system. Please keep her sedated until her wolf surfaces. Please follow these instructions and show this letter to the doctors in charge of Rosa’s care if anything should happen.

However, please ensure that she is safe until her mate finds her. You are the only person whom I can trust with our daughter. My family and I hope you understand why we took the actions we did to ensure her safety.

Before I sign off, please give her the letter, as it explains everything. The message to Rosa and her mate states that their last wills and testaments stay sealed until Rosa finds her mate. That is the only condition for opening that letter.

Yours sincerely,

Antonio Romanetti.

Luca just sat there, stunned and dumbfounded by what he had just read in the letter. He had realised that Dr Greco-Mancini was, in fact, right about the tablet being a scent blocker. Luca linked her straight away, saying, “Arianna,” remembering to call her by her first name. Could you and Cristian please come to Rosa’s room? There’s something I must show both of you,” he says to her.

Arianna replies, “Yes, of course we can. We will be right there. Is this about the letter addressed to the Alpha?” Luca answers.

“Yes, it is,” he replies.

“Okay, we are coming,” she said to him.

“Okay,” he said, waiting for them to go to his mate’s room.

Minutes later, both doctors entered the room. Cristian asks, “Luca, what’s going on?”

Luca shows him the letter. “Unbelievable!” he exclaims, giving Arianna the message to read for herself. She skims over it. “I was right?” she says in shock.

Luca replies, “Yes, you were right, even if it was only in theory,” he responds to her. “What will happen now?” Luca asks them.

“Well,” Cristian said as Arianna checked Rosa’s notes and saw she was due for pain medication. She added it to the intravenous drip and replaced the regular saline bag while listening to Cristian. We will do what Antonio says in the letter,” he replied.

Luca answers, “Alright, when will you start?”

Arianna answered, “We will start tomorrow morning, as I said before you read the letter,” to him.

“Okay,” he replied.

Arianna told him, “We will come and check on her later.”

Luca replied, “Alright, see you then,” and turned back to them.

The doctors left the room while Luca went back to continue his work.

Two hours later, Luca looks at his watch and sees it is dinnertime.

There is a knock at the door; Luca tells them to enter and sees Stefano holding a plate and a drink.

Stefano tells him, “I brought your dinner over just in case you wanted to stay with her.”

Luca replies, “Okay, thanks for that. I appreciate it. I have something to show you. It’s the letter for me, and you would not believe who it’s from!” Luca informs him. Here, read it for yourself,” he says as he hands it over. While Luca eats his food, his best friend reads the letter, and the look on his face says it all.

Stefano finished reading the letter and said to Luca, “Wow, which was the last thing I suspected, but now we know why.”

Luca replied, “Yes, now that we know why, and I was right about her being one of us, even if she doesn’t know about it yet.”

Stefano asks him, “So what are the doctors doing?”

Luca answered, “What Antonio has asked to do in the letter, starting tomorrow morning.”

Stefano says to him, “Okay, is there anything else you need for tonight?”

Luca replied, “No, I will come and pack a couple of weeks’ worth of clothes and other stuff into bags, as I will work from here until then. Everyone knows to call if they need me for anything.”

Stefano told Luca, “I can stay here while you can do that now, but after you have eaten, you need to update Elder Gabriel Lombardi on what’s happened, too.”

Luca replies, “Okay, thanks, I will.” Luca quickly finishes eating and heads back to the packhouse, carrying his dirty dishes and rinsing them under the hot water before putting them in the sink. He enters the kitchen. He then heads up to his bedroom to pack his bags.

Luca was filling his bag when someone knocked on his door. He told them to enter and saw his brother coming through the door.

Constantino tells his brother, “Hey, brother, I thought I would let you know that I’ve closed the office down for a few weeks. It’s slow now, and I thought that you might need the extra help around here while you are with your mate,” he says to his brother.

Luca replies, “Okay, thanks for letting me know. I appreciate it. I am packing weeks’ worth of clothes and other stuff to return to the pack hospital. I will work from there. Link me if you need me for anything,” he informs his brother. Here, you need to read this letter too,” he hands over the letter from Antonio Romanetti.

“What’s this?” Constantino asks him.

Luca replied, “It’s a letter addressed to the pack’s Alpha from none other than my mate’s deceased father. It explains everything about what they did and why they did it,” he informed Constantino.

Constantino then takes the letter from his brother and reads it as well. “This is unbelievable,” he exclaimed after reading it. “So, she is one of us?” Constantine asked his brother, who replied, “Yes, she is.”

“What is going to happen?” he inquired.

Luca replied, “We are going to do what Antonio asked us to do in the letter. Arianna will start tomorrow morning,” he informed Constantino of the update.

“Okay, do you need me to do anything for you?” Luca replied, “Just keep an eye out; I’m working from her room to be near her.”

“Alright, I will let you finish packing. Link me if you need me for anything,” said Constantino.

Luca replies, “I will.” They both say, “See you later.” Constantino leaves while Luca finishes packing his bags.

After looking around to see if he had left anything and seeing nothing else he needed to take, he left his room. He was coming down the stairs and into the lounge room to inform everyone where he would be and to use the link for pack business only if needed.

Everyone said, “Yes, Alpha, we will think of you and Luna in our hearts and minds, and we pray for her to get better soon so that we can meet her,” they said to him.

Luca was proud of his pack members and thanked everyone for their good wishes for their future Luna.

They all replied, “You’re welcome, Alpha.”

Luca then left the packhouse and headed towards the hospital and his mate. He arrives back at his fated mate’s room. Luca thanks Stefano for staying with her. As Stefano stands up and leaves the room, he nods his head back in acknowledgment. After Stefano had left, Luca changed for bed, leaving the lamp on for a bit of light but just enough not to disturb his mate.

Arianna pops her head in the door after knocking to check up on Rosa and Luca. Seeing that he has changed for bed, she does a quick check-up on Rosa while Luca sits on his bed, waiting for her to finish the examination. Arianna completes her check-up, writes her notes on the chart, and tells Luca, “She’s doing well under the circumstances.”

Luca thanked her and said he would call Elder Gabriel Lombardi first thing in the morning to update him on his mate and what had happened to her.

Arianna told him, “Let me know when or if he is arriving here. If he comes here to the hospital, I will come and explain the medical side of what we are doing. Wasn’t there an envelope for him, too?” she inquired.

Luca replies, “Okay, I will, and yes, there was. It was for the Alpha or Gabriel, whoever came first,” he tells her. They both say goodnight as Arianna leaves the room. Before getting into his bed, Luca reaches out to the Moon Goddess and prays for his mate to get better soon.

He hears the voice again, and it says, “All will be well soon, Alpha Luca.”

Luca breathed and then slipped into the bed next to his mate. After settling under the covers, he looked at her and lay his head on the pillow. He silently watched his mate as he slowly drifted off to sleep with a smile, thinking, “I finally have my mate with me.” Finally, he fell asleep with his Fated mate beside him.