“Do whatever it takes. Please, save her,” I pleaded, my voice barely above a whisper. Desperation clawed at my insides, a mother’s helplessness crashing over me in waves.
Jacobs nodded, moving swiftly to organize his team. As I watched him work, Tobias silently sidled beside me and lowered his head as if in apology.
“Forgive me, Luna. I failed to protect the princess.”
“What happened, Tobias? Why are you gravely injured? Where is Aiden?” I demanded, my voice trembling with both fear and anger.
There was a long stretch of silence before the Beta answered, as if he was weighing his words.
“I'm sorry, Luna, but I'm not sure myself. Alpha Aiden received an urgent call, and judging from his expression, it seemed important. So he ordered us to lead your daughter to the spring. We tried to protect her, but the rogues—”
“Aiden left Lyra!?" I interrupted in utter disbelief. “He abandoned his own daughter in the woods?”**
"It wasn't supposed to be like this,"Tobias said softly, guilt etched across his face. "We were supposed to protect her, Luna, but the rogues—"
"The rogues wouldn't have even dared attack if Aiden had been there!" I snapped, my voice rising with anger. “How could he just leave her like that? Our daughter needed him, and he walked away!”
Tobias flinched at my words, but I couldn’t stop. The betrayal burned in my chest, searing and unrelenting.
“He was supposed to be with her, to guide her to the spring! This was meant to be a sacred moment for her, not a nightmare! I trusted him, Tobias! I trusted him to keep her safe, and he failed us both!”
Tobias nodded, his eyes cast downward. “I know, Luna. I know. I wish I could have done more. I tried to fight them off, but there were too many. They were relentless. It was as if they knew exactly when to strike.”
My heart clenched at the thought of Lyra in danger, the image of her alone in the woods making my blood run cold. My disappointment in Aiden was like a weight pressing down on me, heavy and suffocating.
“Aiden will have to answer for this. He abandoned his own child, Tobias. He left her vulnerable and unprotected. I can’t forgive that.”
*
The dimly lit corridors of the pack's infirmary buzzed with a sense of urgency. Healers moved with purpose, gathering herbs and remedies, their faces etched with determination and concern.