Chapter 38

Lucas’s POV

“Anything?” I ask as I reunite with Mason and Roman. They both shake their heads, and I curse. “We have men everywhere!” I growl. “How could he have gotten away?”

“Maybe one of the other groups found him,” Mason suggests while cracking his neck.

“Group two, Jonathan, have you found the rogue?” I ask through the mind link.

“Nothing yet, Alpha,” he snarls, “And if I find him, there won’t be much for you to get back.”

I shake my head, but I don’t blame him. I contact each of the five groups who were sent out after the rogue, and each gives me the same response as Jonathan. They haven’t found him, and if they do find him, he won’t be alive when he returns.

“Everyone, keep searching and link me if you do find him. Bring him back dead or alive,” I order.

“Alpha!” Ryan shouts in my mind. “We have a problem!”

“What? What’s wrong?” I swear to the Goddess if he tells me there are more rogues attacking, I’ll blow up.

“I found the rogue, and he won’t be bothering anyone ever again, but I also scared your healer,” Ryan says, confusing me.

“My healer? What are you talking about?”

There’s a pause before he responds, “Shit, she’s freaking out.”

“Who?”

“Healer Harper! She saw me kill the rogue and now she’s running through the forest freaking out,” he tells me. “I’m running after her, but she’s scared. I can smell her fear.”

“Where is she?” Shit, Harper isn’t supposed to be in the forest. She knows there is danger out here, and she can’t protect herself.

“She’s all over the place, but we’re coming from the south. I’m trying to guide her back toward the pack house, but when she sees me, she just freaks out more and keeps running. She doesn’t look so good, either. Is she sick? You may want to—”

“Keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn’t get lost. I’m headed your way.”

Shifting, I sprint toward the tree line that leads to the south side of my land, hoping that Ryan can get her there safely. Harper is a gentle soul, and seeing someone get killed isn’t something she’ll be able to deal with. Not like this, anyways.

So, I push myself to run faster than I’ve ever run before. Worry climbs up my throat, making it difficult to breathe.

Ryan said she didn’t look well and asked if she was sick. I haven’t seen her in a few days, so I’m not sure if she’s been sick. However, if she was sick, she wouldn’t be in the forest, right?

I growl. Whatever is going on, I’ll deal with it after I find her and make sure she’s alright. Only then will I be rid of this blinding worry.

Soon, I burst through the trees and shift back to my human form.

“Incoming!” Ryan shouts in my mind, and I whip around just in time to see Harper burst out of the trees about fifteen feet away. She stumbles, looking pale and sweaty as she pants for breath.

I move toward her, noting how she’s blinking and stumbling sluggishly. The moment she begins to fall forward, I jump into action.

“Harper!” I catch her just before she can hit the ground and turn her over in my arms.

“Is she okay?” Ryan asks, but I ignore him, taking her in.

Harper blinks up at me, but her pupils are pinpoints, and with the way she’s staring, I can tell she isn’t really seeing me. She gasps for air, and her heart is beating too fast. The sour smell of fear and anxiety seeps out of her every pore, filling the air.

“I didn’t mean to scare her,” Ryan says as I sweep her up into my arms.

“H—”

Before I can even say her name, she goes limp, her head rolling and thudding against my chest.

“Fuck,” I curse, running toward the medical wing. She doesn’t look injured, but that doesn’t mean everything is alright. With her healing magic, she could’ve been hurt and already fixed herself, but I doubt that because she fucking passed out.

She’s so much weaker than any of my other pack members, and from what Ryan said, she just ran at least three and a half miles. For a werewolf, that’s nothing, but for someone weak like Harper, that has to be harmful.

“Jenna, I need you!” I shout as I stride through the medical wing.

Jenna, the only other female doctor, looks up from the nurse’s station and blanches. Usually, Jenna only handles pregnancies, but I don’t trust the other doctors with Harper. Jenna follows me into the room and hovers at my side as I lay Harper on the patient bed.

“Figure out what’s wrong with her and make sure she’s alright.”

Harper’s POV

I blink slowly, letting my eyes adjust to the bright lights above me while I come back to my senses.

I’m in the medical wing, in a patient room, but… I look around and rub at my aching temples. How did I get back?

The last thing I remember is running through the woods with that warrior chasing after me. I don’t remember making it back to the pack house or coming to the medical wing. Although, I do remember a strong pair of arms wrapping around me.

Had Logan found me and brought me here?

If he did, where is…

Images flash through my mind. The warrior… the dead rogue… blood…

Nausea rolls through me, and my heart jolts. I yank the IV out of my arm and slide of the bed, stumbling out of the room. I need to talk to Lucas.

I waited too long and now someone is dead because of it. Someone who was probably innocent, which is we’ll never know now because he can’t speak for himself now that he’s dead. And it’s all my fault. I should’ve tried harder to find Lucas before now… before… before… I groan and press my hand over my mouth. I can’t stop seeing the blood. It’s so bad that I can still smell it.

“L-Lucas!”

He’s at my side in seconds, and the first thing I notice is a cut above his eye. Reaching up, I touch it and quickly heal it.

“What are you—”

“You were hurt, but that doesn’t matter. I need to talk to you. One of your warriors killed someone. He didn’t even listen to what the man was trying to say before killing him!” I cry, looking around to make sure the man isn’t here. “He probably wants to kill me too because he chased me all through the forest.”

“Harper, there’s so much more going on than you know about,” Lucas says, grabbing me by the shoulders.

“That doesn’t mean he can kill an innocent man!”

“What are you talking about?” Lucas asks, “Harper, none of my warriors would do such a thing.”

I look up at Lucas, shocked. “You’re lying. I saw him with my own eyes, and—”

“Then you misunderstood the situation, Harper,” he says sharply, and I take a step back.

“Are you defending a murderer?”